[meteorite-list] The Moon - One Titanic Tektite?

From: Galactic Stone & Ironworks <meteoritemike_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Wed, 14 Apr 2010 10:15:39 -0400
Message-ID: <q2ue51421551004140715vce538fd4l97bc925a39d92786_at_mail.gmail.com>

Hi Sterling and List,

That is something I had not considered - the glassy nature of a tektite.

So, since the moon is not a tektite, could it be a big impactite?

Best regards,

MikeG


On 4/14/10, Sterling K. Webb <sterling_k_webb at sbcglobal.net> wrote:
> A tektite is GLASS, not rock.
>
> The Moon is ROCK, not glass.
>
> I just ruined my reputation for writing long-
> winded posts. Oh, wait, I don't want to do that.
>
> Glass is molten (or vaporized) rock that cools
> too quickly to reform in a crystal mineral
> structure. Glass has been classified as an
> amorphous liquid by most. Since a relatively
> rapid cooling is required to make a glass, there
> is an upper limit to the size of a melt. A large
> body, astronomically large, could never cool
> that quickly. You could get a very odd rock
> body with a glass crust, quite unlike the Moon.
>
> Actual tektites have extremely high silica
> (silicon dioxide) content; the Moon does not
> (by comparison to tektites). The elemental
> bulk compositions of the Moon and of
> tektites is quite different.
>
> The elemental bulk compositions of tektites
> vaguely matches a few terrestrial soils if you
> allow for a lot of differential loss by volatilization
> of some of the elements. Turning a rock or soil
> or sand into a glass effectively erases a great
> deal of information about the source material,
> which is why people have been arguing about
> tektites for 220 years and it shows little sign of
> stopping.
>
> And my last argument: if the Moon was a tektite,
> it would be for sale on eBay, probably for its
> "mystic" properties.
>
>
> Sterling K. Webb
> ------------------------------------------------
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Galactic Stone & Ironworks" <meteoritemike at gmail.com>
> To: "Meteorite List" <meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
> Sent: Tuesday, April 13, 2010 10:14 PM
> Subject: [meteorite-list] The Moon - One Titanic Tektite?
>
>
>> Hi Listees,
>>
>> I don't know if this thought has ever come up before in this way,
>> but....
>>
>> Isn't the moon, by definition, one gigantic tektite since it was
>> spalled off from the Earth during a catastrophic meteorite impact?
>>
>> If so, then every lunar meteorite is also a tektite.....of sorts.
>>
>> Best regards,
>>
>> MikeG
>>
>>
>> --
>> ------------------------------------------------------------
>> Mike Gilmer - Galactic Stone & Ironworks Meteorites
>> http://www.galactic-stone.com
>> http://www.facebook.com/galacticstone
>> ------------------------------------------------------------
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>

-- 
------------------------------------------------------------
Mike Gilmer - Galactic Stone & Ironworks Meteorites
http://www.galactic-stone.com
http://www.facebook.com/galacticstone
------------------------------------------------------------

Received on Wed 14 Apr 2010 10:15:39 AM PDT