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From: lebofsky at lpl.arizona.edu <lebofsky_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Sun, 4 Apr 2010 09:46:11 -0700 (MST) Message-ID: <5471179fd559be71eac45372aac0d3c5.squirrel_at_webmail.lpl.arizona.edu> Hi Mike: These are good definitions for things on Earth (meteorites, etc.), but once one talks about things in orbit around the Sun, this is in the purview of the IAU and they already have (not so perfect) definitions for small Solar System bodies. As I said previously, I would be hard-pressed to call anything larger than 1 meter an asteroid. Larry > Hi List, > > Excellent paper and a great read. > > If Mr. Rubin or Grossman are reading this reply, may I have permission > to quote portions of this article (the definitions) to another list > for newbies? > > Best regards, > > MikeG > > > On 4/4/10, countdeiro at earthlink.net <countdeiro at earthlink.net> wrote: >> Thanks Shawn, >> >> Excellent post. If accepted...these definitions will bring about a >> standardization in description that was sorely needed in some quarters. >> Particularly in the trading of micro-meteorites and smaller material. >> >> Count Deiro >> IMCA 3536 >> >> -----Original Message----- >>>From: Shawn Alan <photophlow at yahoo.com> >>>Sent: Apr 4, 2010 3:14 AM >>>To: meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com >>>Subject: [meteorite-list] "Meteorite and meteoroid: New >>> comprehensive definitions" second part of the artical >>> >>>Hello List >>> >>>Here is the second part of the artical >>> >>>Meteorite and meteoroid: New comprehensive definitions >>> >>>by >>>Alan E. RUBIN1* and Jeffrey N. GROSSMAN2 >>> >>>1Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, University of >>> California, >>> Los Angeles, California 90095???1567, USA >>>2U.S. Geological Survey, 954 National Center, Reston, Virginia 20192, >>> USA >>>*Corresponding author. E-mail: aerubin at ucla.edu >>>(Received 05 May 2009; revision accepted 14 September 2009) >>> >>> >>>There are more practical reasons that can be used >>>to select the best upper size cutoff for micrometeorites >>>and micrometeoroids. Meteorites have long been >>>recognized as rare, special kinds of rocks. The practice >>>of naming individual meteorites after the places where >>>they were found is based on this special status. >>>Generally, to receive a name, a meteorite must be well >>>classified and large enough to provide material for >>>curation and research. Much of the material that >>>forms meteorites in the inner solar system is relatively >>>coarse grained. Many chondrites and nearly all >>>achondrites and iron-rich meteorites have mineral grain >>>sizes that exceed 100 lm. Although in many cases it is >>>possible to classify small particles of meteoritic >>>material at least tentatively, this process is greatly >>>hindered when the particle size is significantly smaller >>>than the parental rock???s grain size. To allow for >>>proper classification, 2 mm is a more useful size cutoff >>>than 100 lm. In addition, the number of objects that >>>accrete to the Earth (and other bodies) varies >>>exponentially with the inverse of mass (e.g., Brown >>>1960, 1961; Huss 1990; Bland et al. 1996). Single >>>expeditions to recover micrometeorites have found >>>thousands of particles in the sub-millimeter size range >>>(Rochette et al. 2008), but very few that exceed 2 mm. >>>The 2 mm divide also seems to form an approximate >>>break between the smallest objects that have >>>historically been called meteorites and the largest >>>objects called micrometeorites. This leads to additional >>>refinements to our definitions: >>> >>>Micrometeorites are meteorites smaller than 2 mm in >>>diameter; micrometeoroids are meteoroids smaller >>>than 2 mm in diameter; objects smaller than 10 lm >>>are dust particles. >>> >>>By this definition, IDPs are particles smaller than >>>10 lm. We are not proposing a lower size limit for IDPs. >>>Before it impacted the Earth, object 2008 TC3 was >>>approximately 4 m across and was officially classified as >>>an asteroid (Jenniskens et al. 2009). It is likely that >>>when smaller interplanetary objects are observed >>>telescopically, they will also be called asteroids, even if >>>they are of sub-meter size. Thus, the boundary between >>>meteoroids and asteroids is soft and will only shrink >>>with improved observational capabilities. For the >>>minimum asteroid size. We thus differ from Beech and >>>Steel (1995) who suggested a 10 m cutoff between >>>meteoroids and asteroids. >>> >>>The Relationship between Meteorites and Meteoroids >>>It is tempting to include in our definition of >>>meteorite a statement that meteorites originate as >>>meteoroids, which, using our modified definition are >>>natural solid objects moving in space, with a size less that >>>1 m, but larger than 10 lm; this was done in previous >>>definitions such as that of McSween (1987). However, >>>because the Hoba iron meteorite is larger than 1 m >>>across, it represents a fragment of an asteroid, not a >>>meteoroid, under our definition of meteoroid. If a mass >>>of iron 12 m in diameter deriving from an asteroidal >>>core were to be found on Earth or another celestial >>>body, it would almost certainly be called a meteorite, >>>despite the fact that it was too large to have originated >>>as a meteoroid even under the Beech and Steel (1995) >>>definition. In addition, the Canyon Diablo iron >>>meteorites associated with the Barringer (Meteor) >>>Crater in Arizona, are fragments of an impacting >>>asteroid that was several tens of meters in diameter >>>(e.g., Roddy et al. 1980); the Morokweng chondrite may >>>be a fragment of a kilometer-size asteroid that created >>>the >70 km Morokweng crater in South Africa (Maier >>>et al. 2006). >>> >>>Comets, particularly Jupiter-family comets (JFCs), >>>could also produce meteorites. A small fraction of JFCs >>>evolve into near-Earth objects (Levison and Duncan >>>1997) and could impact main-belt asteroids at relatively >>>low velocities (approximately 5 km s)1) (Campins and >>>Swindle 1998). Meteorites could also be derived from >>>moons around planetary bodies. Lunar meteorites are >>>well known on Earth, and meteorites derived from >>>Phobos may impact Mars, especially after the orbit of >>>Phobos decays sufficiently (e.g., Bills et al. 2005). >>>We see no simple way out of this semantic >>>dilemma, so we add the refinement: >>> >>>Meteorites are created by the impacts of meteoroids >>>or larger natural bodies. >>> >>>Additional Complications >>>Fragments of Meteorites >>> >>>Meteorite showers result from the fragmentation of >>>a meteoroid (or larger body) in the atmosphere. In the >>>case of the L6 chondrite Holbrook, about 14,000 >>>individual stones fell (Grady 2000). Each of these stones >>>is considered a meteorite, paired with the others that >>>fell at the same time. A meteorite can break apart when >>>it collides with the surface of a body or it can fragment >>>at a later time due to mechanical and chemical >>>weathering. Each fragment of a meteorite is itself >>>considered a meteorite, paired with the other objects >>>that fell during the same event. >>> >>>Degraded Meteorites >>> >>>Weathering and other secondary processes on the >>>body to which a meteorite accretes can greatly alter >>>meteoritic material. Chondritic material has been >>>found embedded in terrestrial sedimentary rocks in >>>Sweden (e.g., Thorslund and Wickman 1981; Schmitz >>>et al. 2001). Other than the minor phase chromite (and >>>tiny inclusions within chromite), the primary minerals >>>in these extraterrestrial objects have been replaced by >>>secondary phases. Despite this extensive alteration, >>>some of these rocks (e.g., Brunflo) contain wellpreserved >>>chondrule pseudomorphs. Iron meteorites >>>can be severely weathered at the Earth???s surface, >>>forming a substance known as meteorite shale >>>(Leonard 1951) in which the original metal has been >>>completely oxidized; nevertheless, this material can still >>>preserve remnants of a Widmansta?? tten structure. The >>>NomCom considers these types of materials to be >>>relict meteorites, defined as ??????highly altered materials >>>that may have a meteoritic origin. . .which are >>>dominantly (>95%) composed of secondary minerals >>>formed on the body on which the object was found?????? >>>(Meteoritical Society, 2006). Many relict meteorites >>>have received formal meteorite names in recent years. >>>We support the use of this terminology and would >>>further revise our definition as follows: >>> >>>An object is a meteorite as long as there is something >>>recognizable remaining either of the original minerals >>>or the original structure. >>> >>>We assert that objects that are completely melted >>>during atmospheric transit or weathered to the point >>>of complete destruction of all minerals and structures >>>should not be called meteorites. This would include >>>cosmic spherules (reviewed by Taylor and Brownlee >>>1991), ice meteorites that melted, and bits of what >>>appear to be separated fusion crust from larger >>>meteorites (eight of which have received formal >>>meteorite names from the NomCom as relict >>>meteorites, incorrectly in our opinion). A report of >>>possibly meteoritic material in sediments near the >>>Cretaceous ??? Tertiary boundary (Kyte 1998) presents a >>>borderline case. No primary minerals remain in this >>>object although the textures of secondary minerals are >>>suggestive of some kind of primary chondritic >>>structure. >>> >>>Meteorites accreted by their own parent body >>>We now consider whether it is possible for an >>>object to become a meteorite on the same celestial >>>body from which it was derived. For example, if >>>ejecta from a terrestrial impact crater lands back on >>>Earth, can it be considered a meteorite? Tektites are >>>widely held to be glass objects produced by large >>>impacts on Earth. Australite buttons were launched >>>on sub-orbital ballistic trajectories from their parent >>>crater and quenched into glass; they were partly >>>remelted on the way down when they encountered >>>denser portions of the atmosphere (e.g., Taylor 1961 >>>and references therein). Most researchers would likely >>>agree that these objects should not be considered >>>meteorites. However, if terrestrial ejecta reached the >>>Moon, we have argued that it should be considered a >>>terrestrial meteorite. The critical difference is that the >>>hypothetical material in the latter case escaped the >>>dominant gravitational influence of Earth, whereas >>>tektites did not. >>> >>>Material launched from a celestial body that >>>achieves an independent orbit around the Sun or some >>>other celestial body, and which eventually is re-accreted >>>by the original body, should be considered a meteorite. >>>The difficulty, of course, would be in proving that this >>>had happened, but a terrestrial rock that had been >>>exposed to cosmic rays and had a well-developed fusion >>>crust should be considered a possible terrestrial >>>meteorite. In a related context, Gladman and Coffey >>>(2009) calculated that large fractions of material ejected >>>from Mercury by impacts achieve independent orbits >>>around the Sun and are re-accreted by Mercury only >>>after several million years. Any of this material that >>>survived re-accretion could be considered a meteorite. >>>The next refinement of the definition of meteorite is >>>then: >>> >>>An object that lands on its own parent body is a >>>meteorite if it previously escaped the dominant >>>gravitational influence of that body. >>> >>>Relative sizes >>>As a final clarification, we suggest that: >>> >>>An object should be considered a meteorite only if it >>>accretes to a body larger than itself. >>> >>>REVISED DEFINITIONS OF METEORITE AND >>>METEOROID >>> >> >From the discussion above, new definitions of >>>meteorite and meteoroid are proposed: >>>Meteoroid: A 10 lm to 1-meter-size natural solid >>>object moving in interplanetary space. Meteoroids may >>>be primary objects or derived by the fragmentation of >>>larger celestial bodies, not limited to asteroids. >>>Micrometeoroid: A meteoroid between 10 lm and >>>2 mm in size. >>>Meteorite: A natural solid object larger than 10 lm >>>in size, derived from a celestial body, that was >>>transported by natural means from the body on which >>>it formed to a region outside the dominant gravitational >>>influence of that body, and that later collided with a >>>natural or artificial body larger than itself (even if it is >>>the same body from which it was launched). Weathering >>>processes do not affect an object???s status as a meteorite >>>as long as something recognizable remains of its >>>original minerals or structure. An object loses its status >>>as a meteorite if it is incorporated into a larger rock >>>that becomes a meteorite itself. >>>Micrometeorite: A meteorite between 10 lm and >>>2 mm in size. >>> >>>Interplanetary dust particle (IDP): A particle >>>smaller than 10 lm in size moving in interplanetary >>>space. If such particles subsequently accrete to larger >>>natural or artificial bodies, they are still called IDPs. >>>Acknowledgments???We thank our colleagues for useful >>>discussions and C. R. Chapman, P. Schweitzer, and >>>J. Mars for useful reviews. >>> >>>This work was supported in >>>part by NASA Cosmochemistry Grants NNG06GF95G >>>(A. E. Rubin) and NNH08AI80I (J. N. Grossman). >>>Editorial Handling???Dr. A. J. Timothy Jull >>> >>>REFERENCES >>>Armstrong J. C., Wells L. E., and Gonzalez G. 2002. >>>Rummaging through Earth???s attic for remains of ancient >>>life. Icarus 160:183???196. >>>Beech M. and Steel D. 1995. On the definition of the term >>>???meteoroid???. 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Mineralogy of carbonaceous >>>chondrite clasts in HED achondrites and the Moon. >>>Meteoritics & Planetary Science 31:518???537. >>> >>>Shawn Alan >>>______________________________________________ >>>Visit the Archives at >>> http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html >>>Meteorite-list mailing list >>>Meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com >>>http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list >> >> ______________________________________________ >> Visit the Archives at >> http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html >> Meteorite-list mailing list >> Meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com >> http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list >> > > > -- > ------------------------------------------------------------ > Mike Gilmer - Galactic Stone & Ironworks Meteorites > http://www.galactic-stone.com > http://www.facebook.com/galacticstone > ------------------------------------------------------------ > ______________________________________________ > Visit the Archives at > http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html > Meteorite-list mailing list > Meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com > http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list > Received on Sun 04 Apr 2010 12:46:11 PM PDT |
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