[meteorite-list] Asteroids: Million Year Video & Meteorite Makers

From: Meteorites USA <eric_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu, 30 Apr 2009 23:27:11 -0700
Message-ID: <49FA963F.7050704_at_meteoritesusa.com>

Article about the color of asteroids. It's interesting to think about
what those cherished rocks from space look like before the end up in a
collection here on earth.
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn17062-sun-damage-conceals-asteroids-true-ages.html

This is a related topic to a post I made a while back on list about
fusion crusted meteoroids and asteroids and the color of other small
bodies in space. I was imagining what it would be like to fly around our
solar system for millions of years witnessing the changing of our
planets, moons, comets and asteroids. Could you imagine an
indestructible digital video camera with unlimited memory and harddrive
space mounted on an asteroid that traveled around the solar system for a
million years? Imagine downloading the data and fast forwarding the
video through a million years of time. Wonder what we could learn then.

Too bad we can't send out a spaceship and tow an asteroid back into a
high orbit around earth and study it up close. That would be pretty darn
cool. Could you imagine a 20-30 foot wide asteroid orbiting Earth
forever allowing scientists to study it closeup. Heck maybe install a
little cannon on it and launch pieces of it at the Earth every so often
when we need a new meteorite to study. If we can calculate the impact of
2008 TC3 we can certainly put the meteorite launcher in a low orbit
around the Earth. Kind of a meteorite maker.

Ok, yes it's late, I'm tired and bored.

-- 
Regards,
Eric Wichman
Meteorites USA
http://www.meteoritesusa.com
904-236-5394

Received on Fri 01 May 2009 02:27:11 AM PDT