[meteorite-list] A "Strike" with a spare ball

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From: MexicoDoug_at_aol.com <MexicoDoug_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 10:32:45 2004
Message-ID: <1e9.1a5405b0.2d76692b_at_aol.com>

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A brief of this (current from space.com) was already posted to the list (Bob
V. / Ron B.) as some onlookers mouths dropped in disbelief. Personally it
sounded like much fun and that there is plenty to learn from observing terminal
velocitied meteoroid like objects smashing into the ground and studying the
aftermath.

http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/mystery_monday_040301.html
Bowling Ball Dropped from Airplane Simulates Meteor Impact

By Robert Roy Britt
Senior Science Writer
posted: 06:15 am ET
01 March 2004

On Feb. 13 a single-engine Cessna flew low over the Utah desert toward the
Bonneville Seabase at 80 knots. Pilot Patrick Wiggins checked his altimeter. As
planned, he was just 820 feet (250 meters) above the surface.

The mission's bombardier, Ann House, readied a 14-pound (6.5-kilogram)
bowling ball in her lap and opened the right-side window. This was a test to see if
she could safely manage getting the ball out the window. Wiggins called on the
radio to make sure nobody was in the drop zone.

(Photo)
Patrick Wiggins and colleague Bruce Grim inspect the bowling ball, seen here
as it ended up.

(Photo)
The bowling ball during less exciting times, along with acrylic spheres
planned for use in future drops.

(Photo)
Bombardier Ann House with the bowling ball used in the drop from a Cessna.
"Then Ann opened the window and chucked the ball out."

Thus began an offbeat effort -- equal parts science and thrill seeking -- to
learn what happens when space rocks hit the ground.

Do they bounce, stick or disappear? Nobody knows. An answer would help
meteorite hunters figure out where and how to search for extraterrestrial material
that rains down on the planet daily.

"It's perfectly legal, as long as you make sure nobody is going to get hurt,"
Wiggins said in a telephone interview last week after a night spent in his
backyard observatory. "Admittedly there is an element of fun. I'm not going to
deny that."

Wiggins is a volunteer "solar system ambassador" for NASA, working to spread
good words about astronomy and the space program. But his colleagues -- other
amateur astronomers and meteorite hunters with the Salt Lake Astronomical
Society -- say he's involved in the current project more for the excitement of
throwing things out of airplanes.

Indeed, next time Wiggins wants to don a parachute and jump out of the plane
along with the bowling ball. More on the importance of that in a moment.

The idea

Space rocks hit Earth regularly. Small, iron-laden meteors can streak to the
surface largely intact. Those made more of stone often vaporize. A car-sized
asteroid can explode high up, only its fragments reaching the ground.

Space rocks as prized possessions. They are found, sold and traded by avid
meteor hunters and collectors worldwide.

Scientists prize the chunks of iron and stone for the clues they carry to
corners of the solar system that can't easily be studied directly. Meteorites can
be chunks of primordial asteroids, or they can even come from Mars, from long
ago asteroid collisions that kicked planetary bedrock dramatically into
space.

Aerial bowling for science is partly the brainchild of Kim Hyatt, who works
at an architectural firm by day.

Hyatt and others at the Salt Lake Astronomical Society think Utah's
Bonneville Salt Flats -- a vast, dead, unchanging white sea of nothingness -- should be
a good place to search for small, dark extraterrestrial rocks that have
survived plunges through the atmosphere.

Perhaps, they figure, the meteorites will be pristine, sitting there for
decades or centuries undisturbed and waiting to be studied for clues about the
primitive solar system.

Preliminary rough searches of the salt flats, however, have not turned up
much. Yet meteorites have been found in dry lakebeds elsewhere in Utah and in
California, and also on the permanent ice of the arctic.

The bowling ball drop was the first of many planned schemes to understand
what happens when falling objects hit the ground.

"If we determine it's going to bury in mud or punch through salt, then it
might be a fruitless search," Hyatt told SPACE.com . "If we find that objects are
just going to bounce on the salt or the mud flats, then they might sit there
for centuries. Then we can get 20 to 30 people to space out, walk across the
desert and see if we can pick some up."

Hyatt would also like to generate a science paper from the results of several
drops.

The drop

The plan was hatched more than a year ago. When the Bureau of Land Management
got wind that someone wanted to drop a bowling ball onto the salt flats,
which it manages, officials were not pleased. Hyatt and his colleagues "have a
challenge to present a formal proposal" that convinces the BLM the drops can be
safe.

Meanwhile, Wiggins got permission to make a dent in the grounds of the
privately run Bonneville Seabase. This sprawling but isolated destination for scuba
divers is, as Wiggins describes it, "the only place in the desert where you
can swim with sharks." And it is surrounded by unpopulated mud flats.

Wiggins checked with a local official of the Federal Aviation Administration,
who said, "We don't need to be involved," then smiled and added, "unless
something goes wrong."

The bowling ball hit the wet mud with a thud.

It was found partially embedded, its top half above the surface looking
decidedly otherworldly. An ejecta blanket -- stuff kicked up by the collision --
spread 115 feet (35 meters) from the impact site. All the ejected material shot
in one direction, indicating that the ball still had some horizontal velocity
when it struck the ground.

Higher and more personal

The amateur researchers are eager to move to the salt flats for future drops.
And they'd like to see if the bowling ball behaves differently when impacting
dry mud.

They also plan to toss different sized spheres made of various materials,
including lead, iron and acrylic, from the Cessna. One club member has a chunk of
slag that is presumed to more closely resemble a real rock from beyond.

Wiggins hopes to make the next drop at more than a half-mile up (1,000
meters), from where an object should achieve "terminal velocity," or top vertical
speed, zooming straight down and having lost all its horizontal movement induced
by the airplane ride.

He also wants to jump with a bowling ball, reach his own terminal velocity --
he knows when that occurs -- and then drop the ball to observe its more
streamlined shape race away from him.

It's not clear what scientific purpose that would serve, but it sounds like
fun.

"We're pretty sure it's going to leave us in the dust," he says of the
bowling ball. "We've done this before with pumpkins. People have trouble keeping up
with pumpkins."

from our friends at Space.com




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Content-Type: text/html; charset="US-ASCII"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable

<HTML><HTML>A brief of this (c=
urrent from space.com) was already posted to the list (Bob V. / Ron B.) as s=
ome onlookers mouths dropped in disbelief.  Personally it sounded like=20=
much fun and that there is plenty to learn from observing terminal velocitie=
d meteoroid like objects smashing into the ground and studying the aftermath=
. 
<A HREF=3D"http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/mystery_monday_040301.html"=
>
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/mystery_monday_040301.html</A><=
FONT COLOR=3D"#333333" BACK=3D"#ffffff" style=3D"BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffffff"=
SIZE=3D2 PTSIZE=3D10 FAMILY=3D"SANSSERIF" FACE=3D"arial" LANG=3D"0"> 
Bowling Ball Dropped from Airplane Simulates Meteor Impact 
 
By Robert Roy Britt 
Senior Science Writer 
posted: 06:15 am ET 
01 March 2004 
 
On Feb. 13 a single-engine Cessna flew low over the Utah desert toward the B=
onneville Seabase at 80 knots. Pilot Patrick Wiggins checked his altimeter.=20=
As planned, he was just 820 feet (250 meters) above the surface. 
 
The mission's bombardier, Ann House, readied a 14-pound (6.5-kilogram) bowli=
ng ball in her lap and opened the right-side window. This was a test to see=20=
if she could safely manage getting the ball out the window. Wiggins called o=
n the radio to make sure nobody was in the drop zone. 
 
(Photo) 
Patrick Wiggins and colleague Bruce Grim inspect the bowling ball, seen here=
as it ended up. 
 
(Photo) 
The bowling ball during less exciting times, along with acrylic spheres plan=
ned for use in future drops. 
 
(Photo) 
Bombardier Ann House with the bowling ball used in the drop from a Cessna.<B=
R>
"Then Ann opened the window and chucked the ball out." 
 
Thus began an offbeat effort -- equal parts science and thrill seeking -- to=
learn what happens when space rocks hit the ground. 
 
Do they bounce, stick or disappear? Nobody knows. An answer would help meteo=
rite hunters figure out where and how to search for extraterrestrial materia=
l that rains down on the planet daily. 
 
"It's perfectly legal, as long as you make sure nobody is going to get hurt,=
" Wiggins said in a telephone interview last week after a night spent in his=
backyard observatory. "Admittedly there is an element of fun. I'm not going=
to deny that." 
 
Wiggins is a volunteer "solar system ambassador" for NASA, working to spread=
good words about astronomy and the space program. But his colleagues -- oth=
er amateur astronomers and meteorite hunters with the Salt Lake Astronomical=
Society -- say he's involved in the current project more for the excitement=
of throwing things out of airplanes. 
 
Indeed, next time Wiggins wants to don a parachute and jump out of the plane=
along with the bowling ball. More on the importance of that in a moment.<BR=
>
 
The idea 
 
Space rocks hit Earth regularly. Small, iron-laden meteors can streak to the=
surface largely intact. Those made more of stone often vaporize. A car-size=
d asteroid can explode high up, only its fragments reaching the ground. 
 
Space rocks as prized possessions. They are found, sold and traded by avid m=
eteor hunters and collectors worldwide. 
 
Scientists prize the chunks of iron and stone for the clues they carry to co=
rners of the solar system that can't easily be studied directly. Meteorites=20=
can be chunks of primordial asteroids, or they can even come from Mars, from=
long ago asteroid collisions that kicked planetary bedrock dramatically int=
o space. 
 
Aerial bowling for science is partly the brainchild of Kim Hyatt, who works=20=
at an architectural firm by day. 
 
Hyatt and others at the Salt Lake Astronomical Society think Utah's Bonnevil=
le Salt Flats -- a vast, dead, unchanging white sea of nothingness -- should=
be a good place to search for small, dark extraterrestrial rocks that have=20=
survived plunges through the atmosphere. 
 
Perhaps, they figure, the meteorites will be pristine, sitting there for dec=
ades or centuries undisturbed and waiting to be studied for clues about the=20=
primitive solar system. 
 
Preliminary rough searches of the salt flats, however, have not turned up mu=
ch. Yet meteorites have been found in dry lakebeds elsewhere in Utah and in=20=
California, and also on the permanent ice of the arctic. 
 
The bowling ball drop was the first of many planned schemes to understand wh=
at happens when falling objects hit the ground. 
 
"If we determine it's going to bury in mud or punch through salt, then it mi=
ght be a fruitless search," Hyatt told SPACE.com . "If we find that objects=20=
are just going to bounce on the salt or the mud flats, then they might sit t=
here for centuries. Then we can get 20 to 30 people to space out, walk acros=
s the desert and see if we can pick some up." 
 
Hyatt would also like to generate a science paper from the results of severa=
l drops. 
 
The drop 
 
The plan was hatched more than a year ago. When the Bureau of Land Managemen=
t got wind that someone wanted to drop a bowling ball onto the salt flats, w=
hich it manages, officials were not pleased. Hyatt and his colleagues "have=20=
a challenge to present a formal proposal" that convinces the BLM the drops c=
an be safe. 
 
Meanwhile, Wiggins got permission to make a dent in the grounds of the priva=
tely run Bonneville Seabase. This sprawling but isolated destination for scu=
ba divers is, as Wiggins describes it, "the only place in the desert where y=
ou can swim with sharks." And it is surrounded by unpopulated mud flats. 
 
Wiggins checked with a local official of the Federal Aviation Administration=
, who said, "We don't need to be involved," then smiled and added, "unless s=
omething goes wrong." 
 
The bowling ball hit the wet mud with a thud. 
 
It was found partially embedded, its top half above the surface looking deci=
dedly otherworldly. An ejecta blanket -- stuff kicked up by the collision --=
spread 115 feet (35 meters) from the impact site. All the ejected material=20=
shot in one direction, indicating that the ball still had some horizontal ve=
locity when it struck the ground. 
 
Higher and more personal 
 
The amateur researchers are eager to move to the salt flats for future drops=
. And they'd like to see if the bowling ball behaves differently when impact=
ing dry mud. 
 
They also plan to toss different sized spheres made of various materials, in=
cluding lead, iron and acrylic, from the Cessna. One club member has a chunk=
of slag that is presumed to more closely resemble a real rock from beyond.<=
BR>
 
Wiggins hopes to make the next drop at more than a half-mile up (1,000 meter=
s), from where an object should achieve "terminal velocity," or top vertical=
speed, zooming straight down and having lost all its horizontal movement in=
duced by the airplane ride. 
 
He also wants to jump with a bowling ball, reach his own terminal velocity -=
- he knows when that occurs -- and then drop the ball to observe its more st=
reamlined shape race away from him. 
 
It's not clear what scientific purpose that would serve, but it sounds like=20=
fun. 
 
"We're pretty sure it's going to leave us in the dust," he says of the bowli=
ng ball. "We've done this before with pumpkins. People have trouble keeping=20=
up with pumpkins." 
 
from our friends at Space.com 
 
 
 
 
 
 
</HTML>
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Received on Tue 02 Mar 2004 05:48:11 PM PST

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