Containing carbon or composed largely of carbon; relating to or resembling coal or charcoal.
From carbon + -aceous (suffix meaning 'of the nature of' or 'containing'). Latin carbonarius relates to charcoal (carbo). The term became common in geology and chemistry to describe carbon-rich materials.
Carbonaceous meteorites that fall to Earth are like ancient space capsules—they're some of the oldest materials in the solar system and contain the original carbon compounds that existed before our planet even formed!
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