[meteorite-list] Researcher Says Tons of the Moon on the Earth; Tektite Events May Have Triggered Extinctions

From: meteorites_at_space.com <meteorites_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 09:44:42 2004
Message-ID: <20010325015919.14190.cpmta_at_c000.snv.cp.net>

On Sat, 24 March 2001, "Roman Jirasek" wrote:

>
> Hi Darryl and List
>
> My question is probably explainable.
> Muong Nong tektites are made of green glass, right?
> Our moon has a higher reflectivity than these tektites, no?
>
> Is the lava from within the moon green? If so why?
>
> Roman Jirasek
Though the idea of tectites being of lunar origin was held by Nininger, and others, the notion has with recent evidence fallen into disfavor. Dr. John Wasson has done, and is as I understand it, doing work on tectites. His research, as he explained it to me, indicated a terrestrial impact origin for these objects. A "atmospheric cratering event" such as what occured at Tunguska, but of a much greater magnitude, would generate enough heat and the conditions to create them. Such an explosion would splash the atmosphere back so that the vacuum of space would reach the ground (even though no land crater was created). The enourmous heat pulse would have been such that the sands and rocks on the ground would be vaporized and then recondensed in that vacuum. All water found in earth material thus vaporized would be released, and not become part of the recondensing melt. The layered tectites are those that are closest to ground zero, and they most likely would not have attained ejection velocites sufficent
enough to throw them up into space. Those towards and closer to the edges would be expelled over and above the onrushing air before it came back into the void created by the initial explosion. Such events, if this case scenario is true, will not produce any large and visible crater on the earth's surface.
I am no expert on tectites, but this is one of the best theories to explain their origin that I have heard thus far. Regards, Steve Schoner, AMS. http://www.geocities.com/american_meteorite_survey. P.S. I obtained one of the wildest "stretch" tectites that I have ever seen. It is a dumbell indochinite with one half missing, and stretch areas like taffy extending out where it once was. I'll post a picture of it soon.
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Darryl S. Futrell <futrelds_at_gte.net>
> To: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>; Meteorite Mailing List
> <meteorite-list_at_meteoritecentral.com>
> Sent: Friday, March 23, 2001 3:17 PM
> Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Researcher Says Tons of the Moon on the Earth;
> Tektite Events May Have Triggered Extinctions
>
>
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>
> > To: Meteorite Mailing List <meteorite-list_at_meteoritecentral.com>
> > Date: Friday, March 23, 2001 11:14 AM
> > Subject: [meteorite-list] Researcher Says Tons of the Moon on the Earth;
> > Tektite Events May Have Triggered Extinctions
> >
> >
> > There is one important correction I'd like to make about that ENN article.
> > I don't recall ever publishing any statement about that Apollo 12 rock
> > (however, O'Keefe and Chapman did have a lot to say about it). And, I
> have
> > never mentioned that Apollo 14 rock (a glass bead), originally written up
> by
> > Bill Glass and J. A. O'Keefe, in any of my publications or statements.
> This
> > is because the original analysis of the bead turned out to be defective.
> > Bill Glass later published a retraction. My interest in the Apollo rocks
> is
> > mainly in the small high-silica glass beads and chips found in the soils.
> > Bill Glass is the only researcher I know of who ever looked for any. He
> > concluded that a number of them were probably volcanic.
> >
> > Darryl Futrell
> >
> >
> > >
> > >http://enn.com/direct/display-release.asp?id=3798
> > >
> > >Vector Science News Release
> > >Thursday, March 22, 2001
> > >
> > >Researcher Says Tons of the Moon on the Earth; Tektite Events May Have
> > >Triggered Extinctions
> > >
> > >The Moon is not the geologically dead world that most astronomy textbooks
> > >claim, says Darryl S. Futrell, a California-based petrologist. Futrell
> > >believes there's strong evidence of massive, lunar-volcanic explosions
> > right
> > >here on Earth. The most recent eruption on the Moon, which showered a
> > >portion of the Earth with many tons of natural glass, occurred within the
> > >past 770,000 years, he notes.
> > >
> > >Futrell, who has written about his studies of meteoritic stones called
> > >tektites in the journal Nature, says he has amassed evidence that
> strongly
> > >suggests these natural glass stones are volcanic material blown off the
> > Moon
> > >by eruptions. Futrell studied the long-debated tektite origin puzzle
> under
> > >the guidance of the famous Project Apollo lunar scientist John A. O'Keefe
> > >(1916-2000) beginning in the late 1960s; like his famous mentor, Futrell
> is
> > >convinced that the Moon periodically hurls volcanic debris into Earth's
> > >gravity well causing climate change and extinctions.
> > >
> > >"The Earth has experienced about 12 tektite events in the last 65 million
> > >years," Futrell says. "Even though another event may not occur for
> > thousands
> > >of years, the slight possibility that it could occur tomorrow needs to be
> > >taken into consideration."
> > >
> > >Futrell refutes the popular theory that tektites were formed when
> asteroids
> > >or comets impacted Earth and melted sediments and rocks. He has
> identified
> > >volcanic structures within chunky, layered tektites (called Muong Nong
> > >tektites), which cannot be explained in the context of terrestrial
> > >impact-melt origin. According to Futrell, based on other physical
> evidence,
> > >including the fact that Apollo 12 and 14 astronauts found rocks with
> > >tektite-like chemistries on the lunar surface, it's now easy to conclude
> > >tektites come from the Moon.
> > >
> > >"There is an another extremely important reason why the scientific
> > community
> > >should take a closer look at the origin of tektites," he says. "If the
> > >massive biological extinctions do have a tektite association, and
> tektites
> > >are formed within the Moon, then we should be watching our natural
> > satellite
> > >for signs of explosive volcanic activity."
> > >
> > >For more information: Darryl S. Futrell, 6222 Haviland, Whittier, CA
> > >90601-3735 USA
> > >
> > >For more information, contact:
> > >Louis Varricchio
> > >Science Correspondent
> > >Vector Science News Release
> > >802-388-3268
> > >morbius_at_together.net
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >_______________________________________________
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> >
> >
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Received on Sat 24 Mar 2001 08:59:19 PM PST