[meteorite-list] Science Channel's Top Ten Meteorites Of All Time

From: Jason Utas <meteoritekid_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu, 31 Dec 2009 13:59:10 -0800
Message-ID: <93aaac890912311359o35b27ff5ud06b29f997798633_at_mail.gmail.com>

Hello Mike,
On the contrary, Orguiel is a CI1, and is thus one of the most
primitive pieces of matter on the planet. It hasn't experienced
temperatures above about 200C - and contains a multitude of complex
organic molecules, just like Murchison. The only reason more work
hasn't been done on it is because there's simply not that much to go
around - it's much less common than its Australian rival.
But, yes, perhaps Tagish lake should belong on the list, as it *is*
the freshest available sample of such material available to modern
science. And Orgueil's historic, to boot! Great rock, that.
Such meteorites likely contained the building blocks of the earliest
organisms, as they seeded planets that, science tells us, would have
been devoid of complex organic molecules and water, those compounds
that are so necessary for the existence of life as we know it.

> #2 - Hoba. The world's biggest iron and it certainly belongs on the
> list. But if Hoba was selected, then why not Canyon Diablo? The
> glaring absence of Canyon Diablo is also made more curious by the
> inclusion of Willamette.

That's all very well, but I don't know what you mean by a bias towards
irons. The only one I see that doesn't belong is Wilamette, and I
think we're in agreement that it should be replaced by either Canyon
Diablo or Campo del Cielo.

Also, the whole "life" in ALH 84001 thing...it could well be, but
until that's proven, I don't think you can really say it's the most
important meteorite that we have. It could be proof of
extraterrestrial life, but it might just be a cool Shergottite. Until
that's *proven,* you're just looking at another Port Orford, or a
Chinguetti of the scientific world, so to speak.

But we're degenerating into making personal lists of ten again...there
it goes....

Regards,
Jason


On Thu, Dec 31, 2009 at 12:53 PM, Galactic Stone & Ironworks
<meteoritemike at gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi Eric and List,
>
> An interesting little presentation, but I don't agree with some of the
> entries on the list.
>
> Let's start from #10 and work our way to the top.
>
> #10 - Allende. ?Allende certainly belongs on the list, but I think it
> may merit a higher rank than #10.
>
> #9 - Murchison. ?This one also belongs on the list, and based on the
> science alone, it should rank in the top 3 or top 5. ?Murchison has
> taught us much and it deserves a higher rank.
>
> #8 - Peekskill. ?A fine hammer fall and a great witnessed fall. ?I
> have no issues with this one, but Murchison should rank higher than
> Peekskill.
>
> #7 - Orgueil. ?Historical falls from previous centuries opens a whole
> new can of worms. ?If Orgueil is included, why not L'Aigle? ?Or why
> not another type fall like Nakhla? ?No offense to Orgueil, but this
> one is dubious entry on a list that is directed towards the mainstream
> lay-public audience.
>
> #6 - ALH 84001. ?This one should be #1 in my opinion. ?It is the Holy
> Grail of meteorites and it contains what many scientists agree is
> proof that life once existed on Mars. ?As the latest papers have
> revealed, the evidence for Martian life contained in this meteorite is
> increasingly solid. ?I can't think of a more significant meteorite
> than this one.
>
> #5 - Sylacauga. ?Mrs. Hodges would rank this one as #1. ?But is it
> more significant than ALH 84001? ?In my opinion, no. ?And couldn't
> they find a photo for it? ?A quick Google Image search or Encyclopedia
> of Meteorites search reveals several.
>
> #4 - Sikhote Alin. ?A great historical fall by all measures. ?I have
> no issue with this one, other than the obvious one - it shouldn't
> outrank ALH-84001.
>
> #3 - Willamette. ?Nice choice, but we are now seeing a definite bias
> on this list towards iron meteorites. ?If Willamette made the list,
> why not one (or more) of the Cape York masses? ?Heck, Murchison is
> certainly more significant than this one.
>
> #2 - Hoba. ? The world's biggest iron and it certainly belongs on the
> list. ?But if Hoba was selected, then why not Canyon Diablo? ? The
> glaring absence of Canyon Diablo is also made more curious by the
> inclusion of Willamette.
>
> #1 - Tunguska! ......a non-meteorite. ?This one is an odd choice.
> First, it's not a meteorite, it's an impact event. ?It was probably
> caused by a meteorite or comet, but no meteorites were recovered. ?And
> if we are going to include an impact event, why not Canyon Diablo? ?CD
> is more recognizable to the target audience of this list and there are
> tons of iron meteorites laying around to show for it. ? And if we are
> going to include speculative comets like Tunguska, then why not Tagish
> Lake?
>
> It's a fun list, but you can tell an intern put it together and not
> someone familiar with meteorites.
>
> Best regards and Happy New Year!
>
> MikeG
>
>
> On 12/31/09, Meteorites USA <eric at meteoritesusa.com> wrote:
>> Hi All,
>>
>> Did anyone read the Science Channel's Top Ten Meteorites of All Time list?
>> http://science.discovery.com/top-ten/2009/meteors/meteors.html
>>
>> My article on MeteoriteBlog.com
>> http://meteoriteblog.com/top-ten-meteorites-of-all-time-science-channel/
>>
>> Opinions?
>>
>> Regards,
>> Eric Wichman
>> Meteorites USA
>> Meteorite Blog
>> Meteorite Wiki
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Received on Thu 31 Dec 2009 04:59:10 PM PST