From supernova to Solar System: Few years only; first Solar System components apatite and spinel determined

We separate minerals using essentially density gradient centrifugation followed by stepwise heating noble gas analysis. Our procedure loses nearly no material and is in sharp contrast to the otherwise used dissolution of >99% of material to obtain single presolar grains (Anders and Zinner, 1993). Our method safeguards minerals considerably more fragile than SiC or TiC presolar grains, such as apatite, Mg-Al-spinel, graphite clusters and even apatite coated graphite clusters. We find graphite, apatite and Mg-Al-spinel containing highly anomalous noble gases. For the first time, apatite, containing anomalous Ar with an isotope ratio for 38Ar/36Ar of 0.35, twice the normal ratio, is reported. Such a ratio is produced by a 20 solar mass type II supernova in the C-O-Ne-burning shell. Unmatched pure Ne-E from 22Na measured in the same samples sets the timeframe for this interaction to a maximum of only a few years.