[meteorite-list] 33,000 BCE asteroid impact

From: Jason Utas <meteoritekid_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu, 13 Dec 2007 11:55:27 -0800
Message-ID: <93aaac890712131155n19629cb2ic9263b8cdffcda9d_at_mail.gmail.com>

E.P., All,

Well, that hardly seems likely; no crater-forming mechanism would
create iron pellets of ejecta such as what occurred on those tusks,
and the likelihood of their being caused by a low-altitude airburst,
though intriguing, seems physically impossible, at least if we're
talking about a globally cataclysmic event.

Simply put, such particles wouldn't travel far at any appreciable
velocity. Thus, the airburst (assuming that it did, in fact, occur),
must have taken place at a very low altitude, making it highly
unlikely that such an event would have had a global effect on wildlife
across the globe.

Seeing as we're talking about an iron impactor (based on those
embedded particles, that would appear to be the most logical guess for
the composition of the body in question), I think it's safe to say
that we're not talking about a Tonguska-like event. In fact, since
we're taking about an iron body in the atmosphere, we can probably
rule out any possibility of an atmospheric airburst even occurring in
general, at least to the extent that such features (on the tusks)
would lead us to believe.

An iron meteorite simply would not break up in such a manner; even
'fragile' iron meteorites such as Sikhote Alin, though they fragment
to a great degree, still remain in somewhat intact pieces (larger than
tiny-pellet-sized) when they reach the ground, and if we're taking
about material from a crater, it would have to be a small explosion
crater as opposed to a larger crater even the size of Canyon Diablo,
for such impact mechanics would not generate such a spray of metal.
Even were we to suggest that such an impact would generate such a
mechanism, the animal, as well as its bones, being so close to the
crater, would be vaporized, or at the very least, very, very badly
burned.

So, if we are to assume that a Sikhote-like event generated these iron
pellets in question, I think it's just as easy to say that, unless
we're talking about a multiple-impact event, consisting of at least
one small impactor (to create the features seen on tusks), as well as
at least one larger impact (to generate the necessary crater/climate
change, etc), this is simply a load of rubbish.
\
To be frank, this looks like it was cooked up by someone who doesn't
know anything about entry or impact mechanics, never mind the physical
nature of meteorites.

Jason

On Dec 13, 2007 10:58 AM, E.P. Grondine <epgrondine at yahoo.com> wrote:
> Hi all -
>
> Looks to me like vaporization of impactor, the bits
> falling back to ground several hundred kilometers
> away.
>
> I think there will be a search for an iron impact in
> that range. Maybe survivals of fossil irons, ala
> Canyon Diablo, but Canada is not as dry as Arizona.
>
> we'll see...
>
> E.P. Grondine
> Man and Impact in the Americas
>
>
>
>
> ____________________________________________________________________________________
> Looking for last minute shopping deals?
> Find them fast with Yahoo! Search. http://tools.search.yahoo.com/newsearch/category.php?category=shopping
> ______________________________________________
> http://www.meteoritecentral.com
> Meteorite-list mailing list
> Meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
> http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
>
Received on Thu 13 Dec 2007 02:55:27 PM PST