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Asteroid Impact & the Dinosaur Extinction
March 7, 2010 | University of Texas at Austin

“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.

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Organic Compounds in the Murchison Meteorite
February 16, 2010 | Discovery News

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.

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Paragould Meteorite
February 14, 2010 | KAIT8.com

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.

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Who Owns the Lorton, Virginia Meteorite?
February 4, 2010 | Washington Post

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?

Related: What are meteorites?

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Collision in the Asteroid Belt: NASA Image
February 3, 2010 | NASA

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.

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Lorton, VA: Meteorite Hits Doctor’s Office
January 22, 2010 | WUSA9.com

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.

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New Meteorite Men Series
January 18, 2010 | Science Channel Videos

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.

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Meteorite
Radiometric Dating Inaccurate for Meteorites
January 6, 2010 | Arizona State University

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.

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Cosmic impact
How Did the Atmosphere Form?
December 15, 2009 | University of Manchester

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.

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Cosmic impact
No Proof of Younger Dryas Impact
December 9, 2009 | University of Hawai'i Manoa

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.

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Meteorite
Mars Methane Not from Meteorites
December 8, 2009 | Imperial College London

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.

Learn more about methane on Mars.

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Maine
Meteorites Found in Maine
November 29, 2009 | Maine Geological Survey

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.

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NASA Image
World’s Largest Meteorite
November 29, 2009 | Geology.com

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.

Related: What Are Meteorites?

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Fireball Over the Western US
November 18, 2009 | SpaceWeather

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.

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2009 Leonid Meteor Shower
November 16, 2009 | National Geographic

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.

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How to Observe a Meteor Shower
November 16, 2009 | Geology.com

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?”.

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Indonesian Superbolide
October 27, 2009 | NASA Near Earth Object Program

“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.

Learn more about near-earth asteroids and how they are found.

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Ontario Meteorite Hits SUV
October 16, 2009 | CTV.ca

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.

Related stories.
Mars Rover Finds Another Meteorite
October 7, 2009 | NASA

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”.

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The Beddgelert Meteorite
September 21, 2009 | BBC

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.

Related stories.
Mars Crater Chain
September 8, 2009 | NASA

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.

Related stories.
Google Earth in the Classroom
August 25, 2009 | Google

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.

Google maps of impact craters, San Andreas Fault, selected plate boundary features, state high points, sea level rise.

Related stories.
Meteor Crater, Arizona
Impact Craters on Earth and the Moon
August 17, 2009 | Earth Observatory

Impact craters on the Earth are eroded rather quickly, but stay preserved for much longer on the Moon. This article details recent craters on both.

Related stories.
Perseids
Photos: Perseids Meteor Shower
August 16, 2009 | National Geographic News

National Geographic has a collection of images that illustrate the Perseids meteor shower.

Related stories.
NASA Needs $ to Find Dangerous Asteroids
August 13, 2009 | Space.com

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.

Related stories.
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East Africa Rift The East Africa Rift System: Learn some basics about the East Africa Rift System from this article by James Wood and Alex Guth of Michigan Technological University.


meteorites What are Meteorites? Join meteorite hunter, Geoffrey Notkin, as he begins a series of monthly articles on the topic of meteorites.


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Mineral Rights Mineral Rights / Oil & Gas: Who owns the minerals under your land? Have they been sold? Can someone mine without your permission?


sliding rocks of racetrack playa Sliding Rocks of Racetrack Playa: How these rocks slide across a dry lake bed is a mystery. Learn what is thought to move them. © iStock / S. Hoerold


yosemite rockfall Spectacular Yosemite Rockfall:A photo sequence of the fall and debris avalanche by Herb Dunn.


coal through a microscope Coal Through a Microscope: Coal is more than a black rock. It's THE most interesting rock.



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