Lost in space: Why some meteorites look less 'shocked' than others

This Hubble image, taken in 2010 with the Wide Field Camera 3, reveals a point-like object about 400 feet (120 meters) wide, with a long, flowing dust tail behind a never-before-seen X pattern.

What happens when two carbon-rich space rocks slam into each other?

You'd expect to see clear signs of impact in the ensuing meteorites — but for over 30 years, scientists have puzzled over why meteorites that contain carbon appear less affected by such violent encounters than those that don't.