[meteorite-list] Fw: Tektites & Soil

From: meteorites_at_space.com <meteorites_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 09:44:15 2004
Message-ID: <20010630155924.22404.cpmta_at_c000.snv.cp.net>

On Fri, 29 June 2001, "Darryl S. Futrell" wrote:

>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: E.L. Jones <jonee_at_epix.net>
> To: Darryl S. Futrell <futrelds_at_gte.net>
> Cc: meteorite-list_at_meteoritecentral.com
> <meteorite-list_at_meteoritecentral.com>
> Date: Monday, May 14, 2001 12:18 AM
> Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Fw: Tektites & Soil
>
>
> Deeply regret just now getting around to responding to this. Got around to
> finally opening Elton's Post yesterday. From what I'ce seen and read, most
> of the sub-mm Apollo lunar glass pyroclastics are individual little complete
> "splashforms", and, as such, are still in their original erupted form and
> have not been subjected to any pulverization by micrometeorites or larger
> meteorites. In my 1999 Rock and Gem article, I explained and illustrated
> that such lunar pyroclastics, when they fall to Earth, are called
> microtektites. Generally, only the ones with certain compositions survive
> devitrification here on Earth. The microtektites that welded together to
> form layered tektites in the heat around the lunar conduits, or vents, are
> the key to the other forms of tektite glass that are found on Earth.
> Although sub-mm pyroclastics are found, I think, in all lunar soils in the
> Apollo samples, in order for any sizable, or regular, splashform tektites to
> be formed from them, a certain series of events must occur. I don't think
> this series of events would occur very often. Therefore, one shouldn't
> expect cm-sized splashform tektites to exist in most of the lunar soils.
> They may exist in only a few areas. I've never given much thought before to
> exposed sizable tektites (both layered and splashforms) being eventually
> pulverized by micrometeorite, etc. impacts, but makes sense.
>
> D. Futrell
>
>
> >"Darryl S. Futrell" wrote:
> ><snip> Apollo 14 soil samples contain plenty of sub-mm glass particles that
> >have been shown to be a mix of lunar pyroclastics and impact glasses.
> >
> ">Is there a suggestion here that any tektites that may have been on the
> surface
> >of the moon, have been pulverized to sub-mm sized particles? Is
> micrometeorite
> >impact a plausible explaination as to the absence of sizeable tektites in
> >return samples?"
> >
> >Elton
> >


Due to the reasons of the dynamics of hypersonic ablation as these objects supposedly entered the Earth's atmosphere after falling the distance from the Moon-- this discussion of splash forms for tektites on the Moon is purely hypothetical. Maybe for the forms of impact glass, and or possible volcanic glasses on the Moon, (if these can even be considered tektites?) but certainly not as an explanation for the tektites found on the Earth.

No "layered tektites" or any tektites for that matter
have been found on the Moon. And most certainly the forms found on Earth were formed in the vicinity of Earth by processes involving the Earth that have yet to be fully understood.

As I outlined before-- Stretch tektites clearly demonstrate that they formed on the Earth and not on the Moon-- for such forms would never survive hypersonic atmospheric entry at 7 plus miles per/sec after falling the distance from the Moon to the Earth.

Steve Schoner
http://www.geocities.com/american_meteorite_survey

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Received on Sat 30 Jun 2001 11:59:24 AM PDT