[meteorite-list] AD: Exceptional nice 1.16 kg HENBURY IIIA Individual still 'Buy-it-now' option !
G'Day Meteorite Friends, our 1.16 kg exceptional nice, regmaglypted HENBURY IIIA Individual is still for grabs by 'Buy-it-now' option ! Don't miss this chance. Pieces like this one are very hard to get these days ! http://members.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewUserPageuserid=rocksonfire Also the 13.41 g TATAHOUINE (ADIO) has still this option . And _the prices are Aussie dollars_, still quite a bit cheaper than US dollars. Thanks for your attention, and have a nice day! Best regards from Down-Under, Norbert Kammel IMCA # 3420 www.rocksonfire.com __ Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
[meteorite-list] AD - Ebay Auctions ending
Good Morning All I have auctions ending tonight, ebay ID catchafallingstar.com. ALL started just at 99 Cents!!! http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZcatchafallingstar.com Full recap with photos on Paul and Jim's website: http://www.meteorite.com/meteorites/ebay/catch_a_falling_star_meteorites.htm We still have some Campo del Cielo and NWA 869 coins available at: http://www.meteoritecoins.com/ Thanks for looking Jim Strope 421 Fourth Street Glen Dale, WV 26038 http://www.catchafallingstar.com __ Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
[meteorite-list] Successful Dawn probe launch
Hi there space exploration and asteroid science fans, Dawn is now extraterrestrial: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7015259.stm It's got a long journey ahead, but the start looks good. There are links to background info and a launch video at NASA's main site: http://www.nasa.gov/ Best wishes to all, Piper __ Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
[meteorite-list] Dawn Spacecraft Successfully Launched
Sept. 27, 2007 Dwayne Brown Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1726 DC Agle Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. 818-393-9011 RELEASE: 07-212 DAWN SPACECRAFT SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHED CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - NASA's Dawn spacecraft began its 1.7 billion mile journey through the inner solar system to study a pair of asteroids Thursday at 7:34 a.m. EDT. The Delta 2 rocket, fitted with nine strap-on solid-fuel boosters, safely climbed away from the Florida coastline and launch complex 17B at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. We have our time machine up and flying, said Dawn Principal Investigator Christopher Russell of the University of California, Los Angeles. Dawn is scheduled to begin its exploration of Vesta in 2011 and Ceres in 2015. The two icons of the asteroid belt are located in orbit between Mars and Jupiter and have been witness to so much of our solar system's history. By using the same set of instruments at two separate destinations, scientists can more accurately formulate comparisons and contrasts. Dawn's science instrument suite will measure shape, surface topography and tectonic history, elemental and mineral composition as well as seek out water-bearing minerals. A critical milestone for the spacecraft comes in is acquiring its signal. The launch team expects that to occur in approximately 2-3 hours. For the latest information about Dawn and its mission, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/dawn -end- __ Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
[meteorite-list] Mars Exploration Rover Update - September 25, 2007
http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/status.html SPIRIT UPDATE: Spirit Makes Progress Across Home Plate - sol 1315-1320, September 25, 2007: Spirit is healthy after finishing a remote sensing campaign at Site 2 on Home Plate. The work included collecting long-baseline stereo images of Husband Hill, studying a possible fracture in the bedrock, and conducting reconnaissance looking west, southwest, and south in search of drive paths and geological information. On Sol 1315 (Sept. 14, 2007), Spirit began driving toward Site 3, about 30 to 40 meters (100 to 130 feet) away from Site 2 at the southern end of Home Plate. Scientists wanted to gain elevation for a better view of the southern part of Home Plate and Low Ridge. They planned to use instruments at the end of the rover's robotic arm to document alteration trends from northwest to southeast across Home Plate and get a better look at vesicular basalts and potential Comanche-class rocks (so named for rocks examined earlier in the mission while Spirit was crossing Husband Hill). Later the same day, after the rover completed the drive, the Odyssey orbiter went into safe mode, and Spirit stayed put to perform remote sensing. On sols 1318 and 1319 (Sept. 17-18, 2007), Spirit communicated directly with Earth via the high-gain antenna, enabling the operations team to confirm that the rover was still healthy and had successfully completed the sol 1315 drive. On Wednesday, September 19th, Odyssey resumed relaying data from Spirit via UHF radio transmissions, clearing the way for Spirit to continue driving to Site 3. Sol-by-sol summary In addition to measuring atmospheric opacity with the panoramic camera, surveying the sky and ground with the miniature thermal emission spectrometer, and checking for drift (changes with time) in the miniature thermal emission spectrometer, Spirit completed the following activities: Sol 1315 (Sept. 14, 2007): Spirit surveyed a soil target known as Broth and rock targets known as Vichyssoise and Cioppino with the miniature thermal emission spectrometer. The rover drove toward Home Plate Site 3, acquiring images along the way with the hazard avoidance cameras. After the drive, Spirit took images of the surroundings with the navigation and panoramic cameras. Sol 1316: Spirit acquired 8 minutes worth of movie frames in search of dust devils using the navigation camera. Spirit acquired a panel of navigation camera images looking to the rear and a mosaic of panoramic camera images of the fracture. The rover surveyed the external calibration target with the miniature thermal emission spectrometer. Sol 1317: Spirit monitored dust accumulation on the rover mast with the panoramic camera and acquired full-color images of the foreground using all 13 filters of the panoramic camera. The rover completed a survey of rock clasts with the panoramic camera. Spirit scanned the foreground using both the navigation camera and miniature thermal emission spectrometer. Spirit recalibrated the panoramic camera's measurements of atmospheric opacity. Sol 1318: Spirit took thumbnail images of the sky with the panoramic camera and checked the external calibration target with the miniature thermal emission spectrometer. The rover spent most of the sol taking measurements of atmospheric dust. Sol 1319: Spirit continued to check the external calibration target with the miniature thermal emission spectrometer and acquired movie frames in search of dust devils with the navigation camera. Sol 1320 (Sept. 20, 2007): Spirit took thumbnail images of the sky with the panoramic camera and monitored dust accumulation on the mast with the miniature thermal emission spectrometer. Odometry: As of sol 1315 (Sept. 14, 2007), Spirit's total odometry was 7,214 meters (4.48 miles). __ Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
[meteorite-list] Opportunity Reaches First Target Inside Crater
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2007-109 Opportunity Reaches First Target Inside Crater Jet Propulsion Laboratory September 26, 2007 PASADENA, Calif. -- NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity has reached its science team's first destination for the rover inside Victoria Crater, information received from Mars late Tuesday confirms. Opportunity has descended the inner slope of the 800-meter-wide crater (half a mile wide) to a band of relatively bright bedrock exposed partway down. The rover is in position to touch a selected slab of rock with tools at the end of its robotic arm, after safety checks being commanded because the rover is at a 25-degree tilt. Researchers intend to begin examining the rock with those tools later this week. This will be the first of several stops within this band of rock, said Steve Squyres of Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., principal investigator for the science payloads on Opportunity and its twin rover, Spirit. By sampling it at several different levels in the crater, were hoping to figure out the processes that led to its formation and its very distinctive appearance. Opportunity drove 2.25 meters (7.38 feet) on Sept. 25 to get the selected flat rock within reach. That was the 1,305th Martian day of a mission originally planned for 90 Martian days. After entering the crater on Sept. 13 for a multi-week investigation of rock exposed inside, the rover advanced toward the bright band with drives of 7.45 meters (24 feet) on Sept. 18, and 2.47 meters (8 feet) on Sept. 22. We have completed several successful drives with Opportunity inside Victoria Crater, said John Callas, Mars rover project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. The rover is experiencing slopes as high as 25 degrees at some places, but wheel slippage has only been around 10 percent. Spirit, meanwhile, is exploring the top surface of a plateau called Home Plate, where rocks hold evidence about an explosive combination of water and volcanism. JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, manages the Mars Exploration Rover project for the NASA Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Media contacts: Guy Webster 818-354-6278 Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. [EMAIL PROTECTED] Dwayne Brown 202-358-1726 NASA Headquarters, Washington [EMAIL PROTECTED] 2007-109 __ Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
[meteorite-list] More about Andi's Recrystallized NWA iron
Hello Andi, Adam, Mike F., Simon and all the others who purchased Andi's NWA iron, Hello List, I got my 14.74-gram NWA iron today. Thank you very much, Andi! It is beautiful and looks really gorgeous, an iron its respective owners will readily fall in love with! Of course I immediately had to put it under my microscope and remembered what Adam wrote: It looks pretty close to a piece I submitted some time ago that turned out to be a huge Mesosiderite marble. And, ... behold, there is not the usual crust you would expect around an iron but something that looks more like the eucritic pebbles or olivine inclusions (olivine nodules) we sometimes find in the Vaca Muerta mesosiderite! This, however, was only my second thought. My impromptu reaction was: Hey, this crust looks achondritic, maybe a bit winona-like! As the jury is still out on this NWA iron, the guessing game may continue and its outcome may be quite a surprise to all concerned and involved ;-) Bernd __ Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
Re: [meteorite-list] Ad Riker style case sale, Denver meteorites Ebay auctions ending Sale
Hi All I have three interesting sales going on today. 1) I am putting my Riker style cases on sale. I rarely do this but have an excess of stock and an shortage of cash! Sale includes all sizes except the 134's as I am nearly out of stock. So please take off 15% for whole cases only plus shipping of course. Limited to stock in hand. http://jensenmeteorites.com/supplies.htm 2) I picked up several nice meteorites from the recent Denver show. First I picked up several nice small Millbillillies most with nice flowlines. Second I purchased some very small whole and most fully crusted Bassikounous. Third I picked up some rare meteorites including a Chico, NWA CK, a couple of pieces of new Colorado chondrite New Raymer. So let me know if there is anything you just cannot live without. http://jensenmeteorites.com/Sikhote.htm 3) Ebay auctions ending today http://collectibles.search.ebay.com/_Meteorites-Tektites_W0QQcatrefZC12QQsacatZ3239QQsassZmeteorfinder or http://tinyurl.com/36lum2 Several of those soon to be classified martian shergottites; 0.453 g @ ~$25/g http://cgi.ebay.com/NWA-Martian-0-453-g-Meteorite_W0QQitemZ200154856911 0.242 g @ ~$35/g http://cgi.ebay.com/NWA-Martian-0-242-g-Meteorite_W0QQitemZ200154856901 0.041g still at $1.00 http://cgi.ebay.com/NWA-Martian-0-041-g-Meteorite_W0QQitemZ200154856882 Plus several others still at $1.25 or less! Thanks for looking! -- Mike -- Mike Jensen Jensen Meteorites 16730 E Ada PL Aurora, CO 80017-3137 303-337-4361 IMCA 4264 website: www.jensenmeteorites.com __ Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
[meteorite-list] NASA'S Dawn Spacecraft Enroute to Shed Light on Asteroid Belt
Sept. 27, 2007 Dwayne Brown Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1726 [EMAIL PROTECTED] Allard Beutel Kennedy Space Center, Fla. 321-867-2468 [EMAIL PROTECTED] DC Agle Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. 818-393-9011 [EMAIL PROTECTED] RELEASE: 07-213 NASA'S DAWN SPACECRAFT ENROUTE TO SHED LIGHT ON ASTEROID BELT CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - NASA's Dawn spacecraft is on its way to study a pair of asteroids after lifting off Thursday from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 7:34 a.m. EDT. Mission controllers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena, Calif., received telemetry on schedule at 9:44 a.m. indicating Dawn had achieved proper orientation in space and its massive solar array was generating power from the sun. Dawn has risen, and the spacecraft is healthy, said the mission's project manager Keyur Patel of JPL. About this time tomorrow [Friday morning], we will have passed the moon's orbit. During the next 80 days, spacecraft controllers will test and calibrate the myriad of spacecraft systems and subsystems, ensuring Dawn is ready for the long journey ahead. Dawn will travel back in time by probing deep into the asteroid belt, said Dawn Principal Investigator Christopher Russell, University of California, Los Angeles. This is a moment the space science community has been waiting for since interplanetary spaceflight became possible. Dawn's 3-billion-mile odyssey includes exploration of asteroid Vesta in 2011 and the dwarf planet Ceres in 2015. These two icons of the asteroid belt have been witness to much of our solar system's history. By using Dawn's instruments to study both asteroids, scientists more accurately can compare and contrast the two. Dawn's science instrument suite will measure elemental and mineral composition, shape, surface topography, tectonic history, and it will seek water-bearing minerals. In addition, the Dawn spacecraft and how it orbits Vesta and Ceres will be used to measure the celestial bodies' masses and gravity fields. The spacecraft's engines use a unique, hyper-efficient system called ion propulsion, which uses electricity to ionize xenon to generate thrust. The 12-inch-wide ion thrusters provide less power than conventional engines but can maintain thrust for months at a time. The management of the Dawn launch was the responsibility of NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla. The Delta 2 launch vehicle was provided by United Launch Alliance, Denver. The Dawn mission to Vesta and Ceres is managed by JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. The University of California, Los Angeles, is responsible for overall Dawn mission science. Other scientific partners include Los Alamos National Laboratory, N.M.; Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, Katlenburg, Germany; DLR Institute for Planetary Research, Berlin; Italian National Institute for Astrophysics, Rome; and the Italian Space Agency. Orbital Sciences Corporation of Dulles, Va., designed and built the Dawn spacecraft. To learn more about Dawn and its mission to the asteroid belt, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/dawn -end- __ Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
[meteorite-list] Only 3 days left in the CONTEST! (MW)
Hi everyone... Only 3 days left in the CONTEST! This is just a friendly reminder that the Meteorite Hunting Article CONTEST ends on Sept 30th and I will be choosing the winner within a few days of that date. Post your story entry to the forums if you haven't already done so here: http://www.meteoritewatch.com/meteorite_forum/viewtopic.php?t=15 The winner gets a brand new $50 bill or a $50 Meteorite from MeteoriteMarket.com HURRY POST YOUR METEORITE ADVENTURE HUNTING STORY NOW! Talk to you soon... Happy Hunting! Eric MeteoriteWatch.com www.meteoritewatch.com __ Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
[meteorite-list] More Meteorite Fun! How was the meteorite levitation done?
Hi all, Here is my latest video, It is Meteorite Identification part 2 These videos are meant to be very basic, so don't be surprised that they are. I am dealing with the youtube crowd, and they are eager to learn but know very little about meteorites. Thanks to everyone on this list that sent me pictures to use. I really appreciate it! Oh ya, this video also answers the question. How was the meteorite levitaion done? Meteorite I.D. How to tell if you have a Meteorite! (part 2) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NqMGzgV6dw Meteorite I.D. How to tell if you have a Meteorite! (part 1) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hEjDO3io4U Ruben Garcia Phoenix, Arizona http://www.mr-meteorite.com Building a website is a piece of cake. Yahoo! Small Business gives you all the tools to get online. http://smallbusiness.yahoo.com/webhosting __ Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
[meteorite-list] DAWN LAUNCH VIDEO
The NASA video of the Dawn launch is available at YouTube. 10 minutes in length. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncLLVj1qMC8 The video recut with inspirational music is also to be found on YouTube, of course: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtwUdKgZqXs Not bad. Sterling K. Webb __ Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
Re: [meteorite-list] New Cali piece, and updated pages. Can't get Mike, sorry!
Sorry List, I promise this is a once only, as all my e-mails seem to bounce at Mike's place. *YES, MIKE, I WANT THE CAMPO COIN; AND IT'S PAID FOR VIA PAYPAL.* Norbert Kammel IMCA # 3420 www.rocksonfire.com Michael Farmer wrote: http://www.meteoriteguy.com/califall/CALIcolombiafall.htm I have updated the Cali webpages, the first page, then new photos of Cali 001 and added Cali 008 page. Check it out, see the newest and 5th Cali Hammerstone, this is the first time this piece has been seen. Michael Farmer __ Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list __ Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
[meteorite-list] Blowing a Hole in a Comet: Take 2
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2007/26sep_next.htm Blowing a Hole in a Comet: Take 2 NASA Science News September 26, 2007 Sept. 26, 2007: The flash! The dazzle! The front page of the New York Times! Two years ago, NASA's Deep Impact spacecraft dropped an 820 lb copper projectile onto Comet Tempel 1, unleashing an explosion that made headlines around the world. Exploding comets tend to have that effect. But how many people know what happened after the blast? The surprising answer is none--not even NASA. Deep Impact's prime mission was to punch a hole in Tempel 1 and look inside, giving researchers their first glimpse of a comet's internal structure. But we were never able to see the crater because the cloud of debris was so thick, says Michael New of NASA Headquarters. Why didn't Deep Impact wait until the dust cleared? It couldn't. The mission was designed from the beginning as a high-speed flyby, giving extra velocity to the bullet. Orbiting was not an option. Carried by its own momentum, Deep Impact sailed away before the cloud had time to dissipate. Take 2: NASA is going back for a second look. We're sending another spacecraft back to Tempel 1, the Stardust probe, says New. Stardust is famous for its January 2004 flyby of Comet Wild 2. Severely buffeted by jets of gas and debris flowing from the comet, Stardust nevertheless managed to snatch thousands of samples of comet dust and return them to Earth for analysis. Stardust is one of the great successes of NASA's Discovery program, says New. (The Discovery program launches innovative, inexpensive spacecraft every 18-to-24 months on cutting edge missions. Deep Impact is also part of this program.) At first, Stardust was simply retired, sailing the void with nothing to - but now it is being recycled as Stardust-NExT, short for New Exploration of Tempel 1. Planetary science professor Joe Veverka of Cornell University is the mission's principal investigator. We're very excited to go back, says Veverka. Stardust is due to reach Comet Tempel 1 in 2011. By then the debris cloud will be long gone and we should get a clear view of the crater. Peering into the crater, however, is only half the story, says Veverka. Before the cloud spoiled the view, Deep Impact's cameras recorded some surprising things: For one, the comet is ringed by a strangely-layered sedimentary terrain. There are no rivers on comets, so what causes these features? Good question, says Veverka. One possibility: comets might be formed in layers. Imagine two small proto-comets smashing into one another, sticking together and flattening like pieces of playdough, he says. Or maybe the layers are created via some form of hot erosion when the comet swings past the sun every 6.5 years. We just don't know. Stardust will gather important clues. We're returning to the comet almost exactly one orbit--that is, one comet-year--after the first visit. This gives us a chance to see how solar heating might have altered Tempel 1's face. Another surprise was landslides. Deep Impact saw an enormous flow of smooth, powdery material completely covering about a kilometer of underlying terrain, says Veverka. This feature is as mysterious as the layers, but it could explain one thing: why Deep Impact's debris cloud was so troublesome. We might have hit a patch of deep powder, adds New. Fine particles tend to make big clouds that are hard to see through. This is why we explore, adds Veverka. Tempel 1 is an amazing comet. Veverka notes that recycling a mission like Stardust is cheaper than sending a whole new spacecraft. Stardust-NExT costs less than 15% of a full-up Discovery mission. Giving new assignments to veteran spacecraft represents not only creative thinking and planning, but also a prime example of getting more from the budget we have, agrees Alan Stern, associate administrator of NASA's Science Mission Directorate. Deep Impact is being recycled, too. We're using Deep Impact for two new projects, explains New. One is called DIXI (Deep Impact Extended Investigation): Deep Impact will fly by Comet Boethin in December 2008 for a close-up investigation of the comet's nucleus. The second is EPOCh (Extrasolar Planet Observation and Characterization): Cameras on Deep Impact will target nearby stars with known giant planets. By watching these planets transit (pass in front of) their stars, Deep Impact will be able to determine whether they possess rings and/or moons. For this work, EPOCh's sensitivity will exceed that of existing ground and space-based observatories, possibly leading to the discovery of new Earth-sized planets. No crater? No problem. Says New: You can't keep a good Discovery mission down. __ Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
[meteorite-list] SOHO Mission Discovers Rare Comet - P/2007 R5 (SOHO)
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/soho/soho_periodic_comet.html SOHO Mission Discovers Rare Comet Stuart Clark European Space Agency September 26,2007 The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) has discovered a rare periodic comet. SOHO has already discovered more than 1,350 comets during its mission, but this is the first time one of its discoveries officially has been designated periodic. Many of the comets SOHO has discovered are believed to be periodic, meaning they follow their orbits around the sun more than twice and have orbital periods of less than 200 years. Thousands of comets have been seen by astronomers, but only around 190 are classified as periodic. The most famous periodic comet is Halley's Comet, which returns every 76 years. It most recently passed close to the sun in 1986. SOHO's new find has a much smaller orbit than Halley's Comet. It takes the comet approximately four years to travel once around the sun. It was first seen in September 1999 and then again in September 2003. In 2005, German PhD student Sebastian Hoenig realized that the two comets were so similar in orbit that they might actually be the same object. To test his theory, he calculated a combined orbit for the comet and consequently predicted that it would return on Sept. 11, 2007. Hoenig's prediction proved to be extremely accurate -- the comet reappeared in SOHO's Large Angle and Spectrometric Coronagraph camera right on schedule and has now been given the official designation of P/2007 R5 (SOHO). Credit for the original discovery and recovery of the object goes to Terry Lovejoy (Australia, 1999), Kazimieras Cernis (Lithuania, 2003) and Bo Zhou (China, 2007). A puzzling aspect to P/2007 R5 (SOHO) is that it does not look exactly like a comet. It has no visible tail or coma of dust and gas, as is traditionally associated with the phenomena. Initially, this led some scientists to wonder if the object was actually an asteroid, a chunk of space-rock, rather than a chunk of space-ice. However, P/2007 R5 (SOHO) did exhibit some characteristics consistent with a comet. As scientists watched the object pass close to the sun, drawing to within 4.9 million miles, or around 5% of the distance between the Earth and the sun, they saw it brighten by a factor of around a million, which is common behavior for a comet. It is quite possibly an extinct comet nucleus of some kind, says Karl Battams of the Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, who runs SOHO's comet discovery program. Extinct comets have expelled most of their volatile ices and retain little to form a tail or coma. They are theorized to be common objects among the celestial bodies orbiting close to the sun. This comet faded as quickly as it brightened, and soon became too faint for SOHO's instruments to see. Estimates show that P/2007 R5 (SOHO) is probably only 100 to 200 yards in diameter. Given how small and faint this object is, and how close it still is to the sun, it is an extremely difficult target for observers on Earth to pick out in the sky. Now we know for certain that P/2007 R5 (SOHO) is there, astronomers will be watching closely for it during its next return in September 2011. SOHO is a cooperative project between the European Space Agency and NASA. Stuart Clark European Space Agency __ Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
[meteorite-list] Rocks From Space Picture of the Day - September 28, 2007
http://www.spacerocksinc.com/September_28_2007.html ** See what's new at http://www.aol.com __ Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
