[meteorite-list] Thin Sections Illustrated - A "Must Have" Book

From: Alexander Seidel <ase_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 09:37:33 2004
Message-ID: <3A341909.EF8F87C3_at_planet-interkom.de>

Sure, Kevin! It is a fine book that you have been reviewing, and I also
have it on my bookshelf, but as you made clear in between your lines it
is devoted mainly to terrestrial rocks. In fact, I did not find a
specific reference to meteorites, but nonetheless this publication is
helpful in explaining "the basics" of thin section study.

Many of the subscribers to this list, and especially those who are also
subscribed to the METEORITE! magazine from NZ, know of the great
contributions that O. R. Norton, besides his famous and widely-known
book "Rocks from Space", has made especially about the optical study of
thin sections. What we thin section lovers (me included, yes! :-)) need
is that announced (in M!) book authored by him with the working title
"Meteorites - Fragments of Other Worlds", which is supposed to have that
special inclination towards the interpretation of meteorite thin
sections. I am eagerly awaiting it, but may be it will suffer from the
same fate of late delivery as the latest "new blue book" (Catalogue of
Meteorites, 5th ed.) did, before it finally and happily appeared on the
market recently.

BTW: why are there so few of the meteorite lovers AND dedicated list
people subscribed to one of the ultimate authorities in the field of
meteoritics (The Meteoritical Society) and their journal (Meteoritics &
Planetary Science, shortly known as MAPS)? I always wondered....

Alex

MARSROX_at_aol.com wrote:
>
> I've been studying a book recomended to me by our great colleague Bernd
> entitled "A Color Atlas of Rocks and Minerals in Thin Section" (W.S.
> MacKenzie & A.E. Adams - ISBN 1-874545-17-0 - paperback, 1994). I would
> suggest to all of those who want to go beyond the "pretty colors" that this
> is THE BOOK YOU WANT to put next to the 'scope and on the same shelf as
> "Rocks from Space", etc.
>
> If you've ever scientifically studied your meteorites, the papers you've
> acquired talk about "twinning", "phenocrysts", "euhedral crystals",
> "absorption color", "birefringence", "extinction angles", "zoning",
> "alteration", etc. The clear definitions of these concepts are here and lots
> more. Color charts will help you ID the minerals present in your thin
> sections. Perfect color photos of ts's under cross polars of terrestrial
> olivine, orthopyroxene, augite, anorthosite and clinopyroxene will enhance
> your study of extraterrestrial varieties.
>
> After reviewing this book, I'll also guess that many of us (myself included)
> will likely consider acquiring a collection of Earth rock thin sections as a
> useful comparative reference.........
>
> Kevin Kichinka
>
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Received on Sun 10 Dec 2000 07:00:09 PM PST