“Responding to challenges to the hypothesis that an asteroid impact caused a mass extinction on Earth 65 million years ago, a panel of 41 scientists re-analyzed data and provided new evidence, concluding that an impact in Mexico was indeed the cause of the mass extinction.” Quoted from the University of Texas at Austin press release.
A meteorite that fell in 1969 near the town of Murchison, Australia is still being analyzed because it contains abundant organic compounds – that probably were formed before Earth.
On February 17, 1930 the Paragould Meteorite fell near Finch, Arkansas producing a fifteen-foot wide crater. An article on the KAIT8.com website reports on the event and the 820-pound meteorite dug out of the crater.
A meteorite crashes through the roof of a doctors office in Lorton, Virginia and the doctors give the rock to the Smithsonian. Now the landlords say the rock belongs to them. Who really owns it?
NASA has released an image of a cloud of debris that looks like a comet but is probably a hyperveolcity collision between two asteroids. The image was captured by the Hubble Space Telescope on January 29, 2010.
A meteorite crashed through the roof of the Williamsburg Square Family Practice Office in Lorton, Virginia on Jan. 18. Scientists at the Smithsonian estimate that the chondrite meteorite was traveling around 223 miles per hour when it hit the building.
The Science Channel will begin a new series of Meteorite Men featuring the work of veteran meteorite hunters Steve Arnold and Geoffrey Notkin. The premiere is this Wednesday, January 20 at 9:00 PM. Tune in to learn more about meteorites.
Related: Geoffrey Notkin’s Meteorwritings series on Geology.com.
Radiometric dating can be used to estimate the age of incredibly ancient things. Greg Brennecka, a researcher from Arizona State University, has found that this method may be inaccurate for dating meteorites and other cosmic material.
A new study concludes that the Earth’s atmosphere was not formed from within the planet, such as through volcanic activity. Rather, the atmosphere and oceans may have formed from cosmic matter.
What caused the sudden cooling of the Earth 13,000 years ago, known as the Younger Dryas? One theory is a meteorite impact, but no substantial proof of such a collision can be found.
If the methane on Mars is not coming from meteorites, then what is creating it? Eliminating meteorites as a primary source leaves only two possibilities: geological processes or life.
The Maine Geological Survey has an article that describes some of the meteorites found in Maine. Meteorites included in the article: Nobleboro Meteorite, Castine Meteorite, Searsmont Meteorite, Andover Meteorite, and the Walnut Hill Meteorite.
The world’s largest meteorite was discovered by a Namibian farmer plowing his field in 1920. It is known as the “Hoba” meteorite and weighs about 66 tons.
The SpaceWeather website reports that many people in the western United States saw a “bright as day” fireball while watching the Leonid meteor shower last night. They link to three videos of the event.
An article at National Geographic reports that the 2009 Leonid Meteor Shower might have a strong outburst where rates reach up to 300 per hour. The shower is expected to peak between 2 and 4 AM on November 17th.
With the Leonid Meteor Shower peaking on November 17th at between 2:00 and 4:00 AM you might be interested in an article by David Lynch that explains two topics: “How to Observe a Meteor Shower” and “What Causes Meteor Showers?”.
“On October 8, 2009 about 03:00 Greenwich time, an atmospheric fireball blast was observed and recorded over an island region of Indonesia. The blast is thought to be due to the atmospheric entry of a small asteroid about 10 meters in diameter that, due to atmospheric pressure, detonated in the atmosphere with an energy of about 50 kilotons (the equivalent of 100,000 pounds of TNT explosives).” Quoted from the NASA press release. Fortunately the asteroid exploded in the atmosphere and did not cause any injury or damage.
A resident of Grimsby, Ontario found a smashed windshield in her SUV and then heard reports that researchers were looking for meteorites from a fireball that passed over the town on September 25. A video of the fireball is below.
NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity drove just 700 meters after finding the “Block Island” meteorite and spotted another! This one is about 47 centimeters long and has been named “Shelter Island”.
Sixty years ago today the Beddgelert Meteorite crashed through the roof of the Prince Llewelyn Hotel in Beddgelert, Wales. You can read the full story at the BBC website.
NASA has released thousands of new images from the Mars High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment. One of the new images is the Pit Crater Chain located south of Arisa Mons.
Google Earth can be a great program to use in the classroom for both lecture demonstrations and student investigations. Google has a getting-started page with links to a number of resources. Google maps provide another opportunity for interactive learning.
NASA needs between $800 million and $1 billion to find and track earth-crossing asteroids. Congress ordered NASA to perform this work but did not provide line-item funding.
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Hobart King
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