passed between the supernova and the time the meteorites had solidified and trapped the 129I. These two events (supernova and solidification of gas cloud) were inferred to have happened during the early history of the Solar System, because the 129I isotope was likely generated shortly before the Solar System was formed, seeding the solar gas cloud with isotopes from a second source. This supernova source may also have caused collapse of the solar gas cloud. In a similar way, xenon isotopic ratios such as 129Xe/130Xe and 136Xe/130Xe are a powerful tool for understanding planetary differentiation and early outgassing. For example, the atmosphere of Mars shows a xenon abundance similar to that of Earth (0.08 parts per million) but Mars shows a greater abundance of 129Xe than the Earth or the Sun. Since this isotope is generated by radioactive decay, the result may indicate that Mars lost most of its primordial atmosphere, possibly within the first 100 million years after the planet was formed. In another example, excess 129Xe found in carbon dioxide well gases from New Mexico is believed to be from the decay of mantle-derived gases from soon after Earth's formation. Compounds After Neil Bartlett's discovery in 1962 that xenon can form chemical compounds, a large number of xenon compounds have been discovered and described. Almost all known xenon compounds contain the electronegative atoms fluorine or oxygen. The chemistry of xenon in each oxidation state is analogous to that of the neighboring element iodine in the immediately lower oxidation state. Halides Three fluorides are known: , , and . XeF is theorized to be unstable. These are the starting points for the synthesis of almost all xenon compounds. The solid, crystalline difluoride is formed when a mixture of fluorine and xenon gases is exposed to ultraviolet light. The ultraviolet component of ordinary daylight is sufficient. Long-term heating of at high temperatures under an catalyst yields . Pyrolysis of in the presence of NaF yields high-purity . The xenon fluorides behave as both fluoride acceptors and fluoride donors, forming salts that contain such cations as and , and anions such as , , and . The green, paramagnetic is formed by the reduction of by xenon gas. also forms coordination complexes with transition metal ions. More than 30 such complexes have been synthesized and characterized. Whereas the xenon fluorides are well characterized, the other halides are not known, with the