[meteorite-list] Thunderstones & Shooting Stars by Robert T. Dodd
From: MARK BOSTICK <thebigcollector_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Wed Nov 16 08:15:34 2005 Message-ID: <BAY104-F33EE76AA67CB25062D19C4B35C0_at_phx.gbl> Hello again, Another book, fitting the fairly cheap and good read catagory is "Thunderstands & Shooting Stars" by Robert Dodd. This one, and the two others I posted on, are books that anyone who does not have should search for. Besides Amazon and the book search engines, be sure to check various meteorite dealers. Some of them listed on the Meteorite Exchange's book dealer page, http://www.meteorite.com/book_list.htm. (I noticed I am missing from this list, but I am still in the process of moving so I suggest checking one of the other book sellers, like the Jensens.) Anyone have any other books to suggest, that you think are good reads, and can be found for $20 or less? Clear Skies, Mark Bostick www.meteoritearticles.com "Thunderstones & Shooting Stars" by Robert T. Dodd. HARDCOVER (c) 1986, 196 pages, Harvard University Press, Reference Index, Book Index. >From dust jacket of soft cover: A streak of light crosses the night sky as a bit of extraterrestrial material falls to Earth. Meteorites, which range from particles of dust to massive chunks of metal and rock, bombard the Earth constantly, adding hundreds of tons of new material to our planet each day. What are these objects? How do we recover and study them? Where do they come from, and what do they tell us about the birth and infancy of the solar system? Why do many scientists now believe that meteorites have played a dramatic albeit occasional, role in the evolution of life on Earth? In Thunderstones and Shooting Stars, Robert T. Dodd gives us an up-to-date report on these questions. He summarizes the evidence that leads scientists to believe that most meteorites come from asteroids, although a few come from the moon and a few more from a planet, probably Mars. He explains how chondrites-the most numerous and primitive of meteorites-contribute to our evolving picture of the early solar system and how some of them may tell us of events that took place beyond the sun and before its birth, Finally he examines the controversial hypothesis that impacts by asteroids or comets have interrupted the evolution of life on Earth, accounting for such geological puzzles as the rapid demise of the dinosaurs. Meteorites have been called "the poor man's space probe," for they are the only extraterrestrial rocks that we can collect without benefit of space-craft. This lively and accessible book both illuminates the complex science of meteoritics and conveys a sense of its excitement. University teachers and students will appreciate its synthesis of new research on a broad range of topics, and amateurs will delight in its lucid presentation of a science that is unlocking many mysteries of Earth and space. Notable Photos include: Two page B/W Arizona crater (before page 1), Micrometeorite (page 3), Miller Arkansas Meteorite (page 3), Polished slice of the Mount Edith Iron Meteorite (page 25), Photomicrograph of a thin section of the Manych LL Meteorite (page 26), Polished etched slice of the Thiel Mountains Pallasite (page 27), Slice of the Bloomington, Illinois LL Meteorite (page 39), Abnighite ("the tent") Cape Cod meteorite (page 114), Polished Etched slice of the Carbo Medium Octahedrite Metal Meteorite (page 117). Thin Section of the Kenna Ureilite (page 143), Australasian "Button tektites, two photos, (page 182), Rizalite, Philippine tektite (page 182), and more. Notable charts and tables include: Relationship between mass and frequency for meteoroids in the vicinity of Earth (page 4), Geographic distribution of meteorites recovered after observed falls (page 12), Comparison of population density and number of recovered falls (page 13), Vital statistics for the sun, planets and moon (page 56), Hypothetical structures of ordinary chondrite parent bodies with different histories (page 90), Tektite strewn fields and impact craters to which each is or may be related (page 181) and more. Mark Bostick's comments: This is a good book on the ABC's of meteorites. Lots of photos, charts and tables. Wrote by Robert T. Dodd who was at the time the Professor of Mineralogy of the State University of New York at Stony Brook. This was Dodd's second meteorite book, following "Meteorites: A Petrologic-Chemical Synthesis". Received on Wed 16 Nov 2005 08:15:30 AM PST |
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