[meteorite-list] Meteorites From Vatican Collection On Display At California Planetarium

From: Dolores Hill <dhill_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 09:52:04 2004
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.1.20020801102736.01e47600_at_hindmost.lpl.arizona.edu>

--=====================_5581976==_.ALT
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed

Hi fellow meteorite enthusiasts,

In case you wanted to see the meteorites on loan from the Vatican collection...
Cranbrook Institute of Science is outside Detroit, Michigan.

It is a wonderful place that inspired many amateur and professional scientists.

Enjoy,
Dolores Hill

At 09:26 AM 8/1/2002, Ron Baalke wrote:


>http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=4907576&BRD=982&PAG=461&dept_id=467992&rfi=6
>
>Meteorites hit Cranbrook
>By BOB GROSS
>The Oakland Press
>July 31, 2002
>
>BLOOMFIELD HILLS - The little boy who haunted the halls of the Cranbrook
>Institute of Science grew up to be an astronomer and curator of the
>Vatican's meteorite collection.
>
>"I grew up at 15 Mile and Cranbrook," said Brother Guy Consolmagno. "Every
>weekend I'd ride my bicycle up here and wander through the exhibits.
>
>"That's what inspired me to become a scientist."
>
>Consolmagno was back at Cranbrook on Tuesday to deliver specimens from the
>Vatican's meteorite collection, including a piece of rock that was blasted
>from the surface of Mars by some kind of impact and fell to Earth about
>1,000 years ago in the Dar al Gani region of the northern Sahara Desert in
>Libya.
>
>It's the first time the Vatican has ever lent any specimens from its
>collection of meteorites - and Cranbrook gets to keep them for three years.
>
>The Vatican meteorites, specimens from Cranbrook's own collection and
>several meteorites on loan from the National Museum of Natural History will
>be on display this fall in the lobby of the institute's planetarium as part
>of a new exhibit called "Rocks from Space."
>
>"This little exhibit is going to have some cool stuff in it," said John
>Zawiskie, geologist and museum educator, as he accepted the meteorite
>samples. "Thank you very much."
>
>Michael Stafford, acting director of the institute, said the loan of the
>specimens presents a unique opportunity for Cranbrook and residents.
>
>"We have specimens that spend most of their time in Rome," he said. "Now
>Oakland County residents are going to be able to see them in their own back
>yard."
>
>The samples on loan from the Vatican Observatory at Castel Gondolfo - the
>pope's summer home - include a piece of a meteorite that fell near Allegan
>in 1889 and a piece of a meteorite that fell near Ensisheim in the Alsace
>region of France in 1492.
>
>The Thunderstone, as it's called, has an interesting history. It was seized
>upon by the Emperor Maximilian as a portent of victory.
>
>After he defeated a larger French army, the stone was bolted to the door of
>the Ensisheim church, said Zawiskie, where it stayed for 300 years. It was
>taken down during the French Revolution and the greater part of it remains
>in the Ensisheim town hall.
>
>The specimens, together with a vial of chondrules - rocky matter that was
>swept together to form rocky planets and asteroids - weigh about 200 grams.
>
>Consolmagno carried the specimens to Cranbrook in a small 5-by-3-inch wooden
>box.
>
>They are literally priceless, having value only to scientists and
>collectors.
>
>"See that little fragment at the bottom?" said Consolmagno as he removed the
>Mars rock from a plastic zippered bag. "Some crazy collector would pay a
>thousand dollars for that."
>
>Earth not likely to be hit by meteor
>
>It's nice to know that a newly discovered 1.2-mile-wide asteroid will miss
>the Earth in 2019.
>
>But the chances weren't all that great to begin with, said Brother Guy
>Consolmagno.
>
>"The odds of being hit by a car crossing the street are much greater," said
>Consolmagno, curator of the Vatican meteorite collection and a native of
>Birmingham. He was at the Cranbrook Institute of Science on Tuesday to
>deliver samples of meteorites on loan from the Vatican's collection.
>
>Last week, preliminary calculations of the orbital path traveled by asteroid
>2002 NT7 suggested the space rock had about a 1-in-250,000 chance of plowing
>into the Earth on Feb. 1, 2019. Such an impact would cause devastation on a
>continental scale.
>
>Follow-up observations during the weekend showed the asteroid and the Earth
>won't meet - at least for now, according to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory
>on Monday.
>
>An asteroid collision with the Earth 63 million years ago likely caused
>dinosaurs to become extinct.
>
>Such an event today, said Consolmagno, "would have such enormous
>consequences that it would be useful to know where these things are."
>
>Useful - and perhaps lucrative.
>
>"The net worth of the metal alone in a 1-kilometer asteroid is something
>like 100 trillion dollars," said Consolmagno. "How much would it cost to go
>up there and collect it? About the same amount."
>
>But the cost will come down as humans become more used to living in space,
>he said, and when that happens, "it's useful to know which gold mine is
>coming toward us."
>
>______________________________________________
>Meteorite-list mailing list
>Meteorite-list_at_meteoritecentral.com
>http://www.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list

--=====================_5581976==_.ALT
Content-Type: text/html; charset="us-ascii"

<html>
<font size=3>Hi fellow meteorite enthusiasts,<br><br>
In case you wanted to see the meteorites on loan from the Vatican
collection...<br>
Cranbrook Institute of Science is outside <i>Detroit,
Michigan</i>.<br><br>
It is a wonderful place that inspired many amateur and professional
scientists.<br><br>
Enjoy,<br>
Dolores Hill<br><br>
At 09:26 AM&nbsp;&nbsp; 8/1/2002, Ron Baalke wrote:<br><br>
<br>
<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite><a href="http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=4907576&amp;BRD=982&amp;PAG=461&amp;dept_id=467992&amp;rfi=6" eudora="autourl">http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=4907576&amp;BRD=982&amp;PAG=461&amp;dept_id=467992&amp;rfi=6</a><br><br>
Meteorites hit Cranbrook<br>
By BOB GROSS<br>
The Oakland Press<br>
July 31, 2002<br><br>
BLOOMFIELD HILLS - The little boy who haunted the halls of the
Cranbrook<br>
Institute of Science grew up to be an astronomer and curator of the<br>
Vatican's meteorite collection.<br><br>
&quot;I grew up at 15 Mile and Cranbrook,&quot; said Brother Guy
Consolmagno. &quot;Every<br>
weekend I'd ride my bicycle up here and wander through the
exhibits.<br><br>
&quot;That's what inspired me to become a scientist.&quot;<br><br>
Consolmagno was back at Cranbrook on Tuesday to deliver specimens from
the<br>
Vatican's meteorite collection, including a piece of rock that was
blasted<br>
from the surface of Mars by some kind of impact and fell to Earth
about<br>
1,000 years ago in the Dar al Gani region of the northern Sahara Desert
in<br>
Libya.<br><br>
It's the first time the Vatican has ever lent any specimens from
its<br>
collection of meteorites - and Cranbrook gets to keep them for three
years.<br><br>
The Vatican meteorites, specimens from Cranbrook's own collection
and<br>
several meteorites on loan from the National Museum of Natural History
will<br>
be on display this fall in the lobby of the institute's planetarium as
part<br>
of a new exhibit called &quot;Rocks from Space.&quot;<br><br>
&quot;This little exhibit is going to have some cool stuff in it,&quot;
said John<br>
Zawiskie, geologist and museum educator, as he accepted the
meteorite<br>
samples. &quot;Thank you very much.&quot;<br><br>
Michael Stafford, acting director of the institute, said the loan of
the<br>
specimens presents a unique opportunity for Cranbrook and
residents.<br><br>
&quot;We have specimens that spend most of their time in Rome,&quot; he
said. &quot;Now<br>
Oakland County residents are going to be able to see them in their own
back<br>
yard.&quot;<br><br>
The samples on loan from the Vatican Observatory at Castel Gondolfo -
the<br>
pope's summer home - include a piece of a meteorite that fell near
Allegan<br>
in 1889 and a piece of a meteorite that fell near Ensisheim in the
Alsace<br>
region of France in 1492.<br><br>
The Thunderstone, as it's called, has an interesting history. It was
seized<br>
upon by the Emperor Maximilian as a portent of victory.<br><br>
After he defeated a larger French army, the stone was bolted to the door
of<br>
the Ensisheim church, said Zawiskie, where it stayed for 300 years. It
was<br>
taken down during the French Revolution and the greater part of it
remains<br>
in the Ensisheim town hall.<br><br>
The specimens, together with a vial of chondrules - rocky matter that
was<br>
swept together to form rocky planets and asteroids - weigh about 200
grams.<br><br>
Consolmagno carried the specimens to Cranbrook in a small 5-by-3-inch
wooden<br>
box.<br><br>
They are literally priceless, having value only to scientists and<br>
collectors.<br><br>
&quot;See that little fragment at the bottom?&quot; said Consolmagno as
he removed the<br>
Mars rock from a plastic zippered bag. &quot;Some crazy collector would
pay a<br>
thousand dollars for that.&quot;<br><br>
Earth not likely to be hit by meteor<br><br>
It's nice to know that a newly discovered 1.2-mile-wide asteroid will
miss<br>
the Earth in 2019.<br><br>
But the chances weren't all that great to begin with, said Brother
Guy<br>
Consolmagno.<br>
<br>
&quot;The odds of being hit by a car crossing the street are much
greater,&quot; said<br>
Consolmagno, curator of the Vatican meteorite collection and a native
of<br>
Birmingham. He was at the Cranbrook Institute of Science on Tuesday
to<br>
deliver samples of meteorites on loan from the Vatican's
collection.<br><br>
Last week, preliminary calculations of the orbital path traveled by
asteroid<br>
2002 NT7 suggested the space rock had about a 1-in-250,000 chance of
plowing<br>
into the Earth on Feb. 1, 2019. Such an impact would cause devastation on
a<br>
continental scale.<br><br>
Follow-up observations during the weekend showed the asteroid and the
Earth<br>
won't meet - at least for now, according to NASA's Jet Propulsion
Laboratory<br>
on Monday.<br><br>
An asteroid collision with the Earth 63 million years ago likely
caused<br>
dinosaurs to become extinct.<br><br>
Such an event today, said Consolmagno, &quot;would have such
enormous<br>
consequences that it would be useful to know where these things
are.&quot;<br><br>
Useful - and perhaps lucrative.<br><br>
&quot;The net worth of the metal alone in a 1-kilometer asteroid is
something<br>
like 100 trillion dollars,&quot; said Consolmagno. &quot;How much would
it cost to go<br>
up there and collect it? About the same amount.&quot;<br><br>
But the cost will come down as humans become more used to living in
space,<br>
he said, and when that happens, &quot;it's useful to know which gold mine
is<br>
coming toward us.&quot;<br><br>
______________________________________________<br>
Meteorite-list mailing list<br>
Meteorite-list_at_meteoritecentral.com<br>
<a href="http://www.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list" eudora="autourl">http://www.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list</a></font></blockquote></html>

--=====================_5581976==_.ALT--
Received on Thu 01 Aug 2002 01:32:57 PM PDT


Help support this free mailing list:



StumbleUpon
del.icio.us
reddit
Yahoo MyWeb