[meteorite-list] Earthites

From: Sterling K. Webb <kelly_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Fri Sep 23 21:00:14 2005
Message-ID: <4334A4F2.14F8B400_at_bhil.com>

Hi,

    Some scientists are aware of the possibilities
and the problems. See (from 1994):
<http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/programs/desertswa.txt>
    and scroll down to:
Wright, I. P.; Grady, M. M.; Pillinger, C. T.
   "The Acquisition of Martian Sedimentary Rocks:
   For the Time Being, Collection as Meteorites from
   Terrestrial Desert Areas Represents the Best Hope"
    where they discuss "amathosites" and "calcarites"
the old terms for limestone meteorites. They are primarily
interested in MARTIAN limestones, though. They agree
that most linmestone meteorites would be thrown away
by museum curators...
    Interestingly, they dismiss terrestrial meteorites as having
"no scientific value" and of being academic curiosity value
only, a rather strange attitude, it seems to me. Hot for Mars,
I guess.
    They cite, on the subject of Earth return, a paper by
Melosh, H.J. and Tonks, W.B. (1993), in Meteoritics,
28, 398, but don't quote a title (?).
    See also simulations by Bret Gladman and his colleagues
(got to Google; I don't have the reference handy).
    As to whether an extraterrestrial meteorite could contain
fossils, well, that is just what the argument about the famous
Alan Hills Antarctic meteorite is all about! But if I saw fossils
in a meteorite, I'd think "Earthite"!
    And, recently, a suggestion has been made that the
Moon should be a rich source of early Earth rocks older
than the oldest recoverable Earth rocks:
<http://technology.guardian.co.uk/online/science/story/0,12450,870850,00.html>

    and
<http://www.arn.org/docs/gonzalez/gg_sfchronicle042202.htm>
    For terrestrial meteorites on other planets, see:
<http://www.meteoritetimes.com/Back_Links/2002/April/Stuarts_Slices.htm>

    For a lot of historical references, mostly to the question
of fossils or organic materials in meteorites, see:
<http://web.mit.edu/afs/athena.mit.edu/user/r/e/redingtn/www/netadv/bioast/clash/pre1950.html>

    The possibility of certain Earthly bacteria being descended
from Martian bacteria is discussed in:
<http://72.14.207.104/search?q=cache:GuHqHEfOYlkJ:biospace.nw.ru/astrobiology/Articles2002/Astrobio_pavlov_25-34.pdf+terrestrial+meteorites&hl=en>

    And so on...

Sterling K. Webb
---------------------------------------------------------
drtanuki wrote:

> List,
> Which would be the most likely event that
> potentially could have created an Earthite meteorite?
> What age would it be? And of what earth rock
> material and how could it be determined (other than
> fusion crust)? Would they not be more valuable than
> Lunites?
> Thanks for any comments. Dirk Ross..Tokyo
Received on Fri 23 Sep 2005 08:59:30 PM PDT