Clipmarks | jetcloud's 'meteorite' clips

Arctic Impact Crater Lake Reveals Interglacial Cycles in Sediments

Thu, 13 Dec 2007 15:38:01 GMT

clipped by: jetcloud
clipper's remarks: "The coring equipment and other instrumentation was set up using a tripod over the hole in the ice. The scientists were able to extract a core of the topmost 8.5 meters of sediment.

The international team of researchers in the field included Guillaume St-Onge; Reinhard Pienitz, principal investigator; Veli-Pekka Salonen of the University of Helsinki, Finland; and Richard Niederreiter, coring expert. Please visit http://www.cen.ulaval.ca/pingualuit/index.html for more information."

Clip Source: dailyheadlines.uark.edu

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - A University of Arkansas researcher and a team of international scientists have taken cores from the sediments of a Canadian Arctic lake and found an interglacial record indicating two ice-free periods that could pre-date the Holocene Epoch.

Sonja Hausmann, assistant professor of geosciences in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Arkansas, and her colleagues will report their preliminary findings at the American Geophysical Union meeting this week.

Sonja Hausmann, professor of geosciences at the University of Arkansas (center) and her colleagues prepare to ride Ski-doos to get their equipment to Lac Pingualit. They took a core of sediments from the crater lake and found evidence of two ice-free periods that could pre-date the Holocene Epoch.

The researchers had to pull the equipment into the crater-fed lake using sleds.

spent three weeks traveling back and forth to the lake in sub-zero temperatures to gather their data.

Tags: arctic, climate change, global warming, last ice age, meteorite, canadian arctic lake, sonja hausmann

Great beasts peppered from space

Thu, 13 Dec 2007 07:29:48 GMT

clipped by: jetcloud
clipper's remarks: "And geoscience consultant Allen West added: "If the particles had gone through the skin, they may not have made it through to vital organs; but this material could certainly have blinded the animals and severely injured them."

The mammoth and bison remains all display small (about 2-3mm in size) perforations.

Raised, burnt surface rings trace the point of entry of high-velocity projectiles; and the punctures are on only one side, consistent with a blast coming from a single direction.

Viewed under an electron microscope, the embedded fragments appear to have exploded inside the tusk and bone, say the researchers. Shards have cut little channels.

The sunken pieces are also magnetic, and tests show them to have a high iron-nickel content, but to be depleted in titanium.

The ratios of different types of atoms in the fragments meant it was most unlikely they had originated on Earth, the team told the AGU meeting. "

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Startling evidence has been found which shows mammoth and other great beasts from the last ice age were blasted with material that came from space.

Eight tusks dating to some 35,000 years ago all show signs of having being peppered with meteorite fragments.

The ancient remains come from Alaska, but researchers also have a Siberian bison skull with the same pockmarks.

The scientists released details of the discovery at a meeting of the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco, US.

They painted a picture of a calamitous event over North America that may have severely knocked back the populations of some species.

"We think that there was probably an impact which exploded in the air that sent these particles flying into the animals," said Richard Firestone from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

"In the case of the bison, we know that it survived the impact because there's new bone growth around these marks."

The embedded particles have a high iron-nickel content

Tags: dinosaur, last ice age, meteorite

Comet 17P/Holmes Erupts in the Sky

Thu, 25 Oct 2007 01:55:23 GMT

clipped by: jetcloud
clipper's remarks: "Hi List,
In the ancient constellation of Perseus (Rising in the NE just after Sunset
and highest in the sky around 2-4 am), a fading comet has suddenly exploded
back into life. This comet, 17P Holmes, is suddenly visible to the naked
eye, although it had already swung by its perihelion months ago and was now
about 2.5 AU from the Sun. (and a little bit more than the Sun-Mars
distance from Earth). Initially mistaken for a companion to the Andromeda
Galaxy, Comet Holmes was discovered in 1892, and has had a lesser outburst
before...

Not bad for a Jupiter family (main belt asteroid like) comet estimated at
less than 3.5 Km in diameter.

What is happing aboard Comet Holmes? Why is it suddenly 100,000 times
brighter than it was before? Don't touch that dial and stay tuned for some
exciting scenes next week
Happy Hunting,
Doug"
meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com

Clip Source: www.universetoday.com

Astronomers from Europe and Asia are reporting that the normally dim Comet 17P/Holmes has had an eruption. Instead of being 17th magnitude - only visible to powerful telescopes - it's now 3rd magnitude. This makes it easy to spot with the unaided eye, even in cities with heavy light pollution.

To confirm this discovery, head outside after the skies are dark, and look to the Northeast. The comet is currently in the constellation Perseus, which is below the more familiar Cassiopeia. If you're familiar with the constellations at all, you'll now see a new, bright yellow star. A telescope reveals the fuzzy corona surrounding the comet.

One report from Japan says, "Perseus does not look 'Perseus' familiar to us due to the bright stellar object now."

Spaceweather and Bad Astronomy have more details.

Thanks to BAUT member Keith G for the photograph. Here's a link to the forum where people are discussing it.

Filed under: Comets

Written by Fraser Cain

Tags: comet, 17p/holmes

Peekskill Meteorite Car

Tue, 09 Oct 2007 21:37:57 GMT

clipped by: jetcloud
clipper's remarks: I just love meteorites.

Clip Source: www.nyrockman.com

Not only is our Peekskill Meteorite car world famous — it has been around the world. Click on any country name, above, to see pictures from the Peekskill Meteorite Car's international tour!

S. Eichmiller's extraordinary photo of the Peekskill fireball of October 9, 1992

The impact of a twelve and a half kilo H6 chondrite into the back of Ms. Michelle Knapp's parked car on the evening of October 9, 1992 is the best known meteoritic event of modern times. Everyone has heard of the "car that was hit by a meteorite."

R.A. Langheinrich Meteorites own the world-famous car, and this vehicle has seen the world too. The battered red Malibu coupe has been featured in museums and exhibitions in New York City, Tucson, Arizona, Paris, Switzerland, Germany, and Tokyo! It has brought wonder and amazement to the thousands of people who have flocked to see the car who's trunk was caved in by a visitor from outer space.

follow its journey by clicking on

the links below, or on the country names above.

Tags: meteorite, fireball

Massive Fireball Carancas, Peru

Sat, 06 Oct 2007 17:36:45 GMT

clipped by: jetcloud
clipper's remarks: "Witnesses describe a massive ball of fire which slammed into the ground, creating a mushroom cloud of smoke, steam and dust, and shook the ground like an earthquake. Many windows were broken in the village of Carancas as well. People who arrived at the fall site within minutes of the impact report that the crater rapidly filled with water, which was boiling, and erupting nauseous steam that smelled overwhelmingly of sulfur. Many people reportedly were sickened by the gasses, and media reports of hundreds sickened were vastly exaggerated. The fear created by such a traumatic even likely caused mass hysteria and the fear of the object almost certainly played a part in the reports of illnesses.'

Clip Source: meteoriteguy.com

Fell September 15, 2007 at ~11:45 AM.

At ~11:45 am on September the 15th, 2007 a massive fireball entered the atmosphere over Lake Titicaca in Bolivia. The fireball was larger and brighter than the sun, and rapidly moved over the lake on the Bolivian side, and along the border with Peru. It crossed over the town of Desaguadero which straddles both countries, and broke many windows as it passed overhead at what must have been supersonic speed! Within a couple of seconds, the meteorite impacted in the village of Carancas, Peru, less than 4 kilometers from Bolivia. When the meteorite impacted the soft, wet soil, it created a large crater measuring over 13.8 meters in diameter and 3 meters deep. Ejecta was thrown in all directions up to 150 meters away.

This meteorite fall will be one of the most studied and important meteorite falls in the last few decades, and I am distributing pieces to laboratories all over the world.

his is a photo of the Carancas meteorite smoke trail

Tags: fireball, meteorite, smoke trail

Cali Colombia Meteorite - Fell July 6, 2007 at ~4:10 PM

Sat, 28 Jul 2007 15:55:37 GMT

clipped by: jetcloud

Clip Source: www.meteoriteguy.com

Cali #001

N0323.946 W07631.022
Barrio Mariano Ramos

EXACT WEIGHT of this stone unknown, but I estimate it to be ~65 to 80 grams.

This stone impacted the home of Yuly Melecio in the Barrio Mariano Ramos neighborhood of Cali. She lives on the second floor of a building and the stone impacted her rooftop and penetrated both the zinc metal and ceramic roof tiles. She was at home at the time, and heard a sound like thunder outside. She told her son who was outside on the back balcony to come inside, as she thought a storm was coming. Moments later, a loud crash shook the home and when she went into the bedroom, she saw pieces of stone and roof tiles on the floor. There was sunlight shining through a new hole in the roof and the floor tile had been chipped by the meteorite.

This meteorite was sold to someone in Spain. I made an offer but it seems that it was topped by someone in Spain, I never had a chance to offer more, even though I would have gladly raised my offer.

Tags: meteorite