[meteorite-list] Interesting article on Tata that gives the date of the fall as the 25th July

From: chris handler <cmhandler_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Fri, 13 Jan 2012 00:39:03 +1030
Message-ID: <CAEmy+S==LmRYFip8MdtnW+AbEpzP=n-aLLXHw1kJ=3kxCpijRA_at_mail.gmail.com>

I found this interesting article on Tata that coverers both its
discovery date, as well as some information on current study
concerning it. I've translated the page into English the best I could.
The original can be found here if you wish to see it;
http://www.cieletespace.fr/node/8328

Discovery of a Martian meteorite that fell to Earth this past summer
Like a racing car plummeting from space, a meteorite that was observed
in the middle of the day has been identified as coming from the planet
Mars. Alerted in mid December by the discovery of the meteorites
between Morocco and Algeria, Luc Labenne, a hunter of meteorites,
examined the rocks and recognized them to be a Shergottite, the most
common type of rock torn off the surface of Mars by powerful impacts.

A Martian meteorite discovery
Luc Labenne recovered the first samples of the meteorite after being
guided by local Saharans who observed the arrival of the powerful
bolide, heralding the arrival of the Martian on July 25th. He then had
two small samples of approximately two grams sent Brigitte Zanda and
Violaine Sauter, of the Museum of Natural history for analysis. "What
is obvious right now is that the crust that surrounds the meteorite is
intact, a sign that its fall was very recent. The crust on this
meteorites is very fragile and in the sand driven winds of the desert,
the crust would have deteriorated, even after only a few months."

Conformation of Martian origin
Through contact with an American specialist researcher in meteorites,
Luc Labenne has confirmed that the fragments are indeed of Martian
origin. The researcher has already obtained samples and had them
confirmed by analysis as authentic.

A unique chance for science
As the Martian origin has been confirmed, this constitutes an
exceptional opportunity for science, just as the Paris meteorite
discovered in 2010 did. Indeed, Since this meteorite has avoided the
ravages of time and contamination, it offers an opportunity to search
for the possible remnants of Martian organisms, just as the Martian
meteorite ALH 84001 did in 1996, only unlike this new meteorite, it
had sat on the surface of the Earth for 13000 years.
Received on Thu 12 Jan 2012 09:09:03 AM PST