[meteorite-list] Meteor(ite) crater discovered

From: Mike Jensen <meteoriteplaya_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Wed, 5 Nov 2008 16:02:36 -0700
Message-ID: <6f9da8300811051502u8a041e6me731c847e7b93125_at_mail.gmail.com>

Hi All

This article has a picture of a meteorite IIIAB, Om;

http://tinyurl.com/5t4r4u

Couple of more articles about the site
http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/metsoc2008/pdf/5109.pdf
http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/metsoc2008/pdf/5108.pdf


Mike


Mike Jensen Meteorites
16730 E Ada PL
Aurora, CO 80017-3137
USA
720-949-6220
IMCA 4264
website: www.jensenmeteorites.com


On Wed, Nov 5, 2008 at 3:17 PM, Darren Garrison <cynapse at charter.net> wrote:
> http://www.whitecourtstar.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1282298
>
> Meteor crater identified
> Posted By Alexandra Pope
> Posted 4 hours ago
>
> What local hunters in Whitecourt thought for years was a sinkhole is actually
> the crater left behind by a meteor that fell to earth 1,000 years ago and is now
> attracting international attention from researchers.
>
> George VanderBurg, MLA for Whitecourt-Ste. Anne, said he was very surprised to
> learn about the crater. He recalled going hunting with his father and using the
> site as a meeting point. Deer could often be found drinking rainwater that
> collected in the bottom of the crater, he said.
>
> "All of us that have grown up here have known about it, but we didn't know it
> was the big scientific thing that it is," he said.
>
> Chris Herd, a professor with the University of Alberta's department of earth and
> atmospheric sciences who is leading the research on the meteor crater, said he
> couldn't believe his ears when someone from the area told him about the crater
> last year.
>
> "We still joke about how skeptical I was on the phone, because we literally get
> hundreds of these calls every year," Herd said in an interview at the crater
> site last Monday. "This is very exciting."
>
> The crater is 36 metres wide and six metres deep, which is small as far as most
> craters go, Herd said. At an estimated 1,000 years old, it is also one of the
> youngest craters in the world. The second-youngest crater in Canada, located in
> Quebec, is 1.2 million years old.
>
> Herd said the meteor, which was made primarily of iron, was probably formed very
> early in the life of the solar system by the same process that formed the
> earth's core. Herd thinks the meteor came from the asteroid belt and measured
> one metre across. However, researchers have so far found 74 different pieces of
> the original meteor ? which is called a meteorite once it hits the ground ?
> scattered around the crater, some up to 70 metres away.
>
> "The big mystery is the relationship between the meteorites and the event," Herd
> said.
>
> Herd explained that most meteors travel so fast, they are completely vaporized
> when they hit the earth. In some cases the pressure of earth's atmosphere slows
> a meteor down enough to leave a portion of it relatively intact when it lands.
>
> But something happened to the Whitecourt meteor on its way to earth, Herd said.
> The meteorites found around the crater have sharp edges, which tell researchers
> a story about what might have happened to the meteor before it hit the ground.
>
> "The rock was ripped apart on impact or at a low altitude," Herd said.
> "Otherwise the atmospheric pressure would have rounded (the edges of the
> meteorites)."
>
> The site is one of only 12 of its kind in the world and has been very well
> preserved, Herd said.
>
> "It's a phenomenal opportunity for the research that I do," he said.
>
> Lindsay Blackett, Alberta minister of culture and community spirit, said the big
> concern for local authorities is how to prevent meteorite hunters from coming to
> the site and digging up meteorite fragments.
>
> The province will designate the site as a historic resource and post signs
> asking visitors to do their part in preserving it, but researchers fear that
> won't stop some meteorite collectors from stealing rocks.
>
> "You really just have to count on the local community to keep an eye on it,"
> Blackett said. "I think people having a vested interest in this site will
> (encourage them) to keep an eye on it."
>
> VanderBurg said once the researchers have finished their work, the site could be
> a great educational opportunity for the public and local students.
>
> "This is the kind of place that inspires kids to go out and seek careers in
> science," he said.
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Received on Wed 05 Nov 2008 06:02:36 PM PST