Re: [meteorite-list] sharp protrusion from an iron meteorite
Martin, Adam, Unless you've analyzed every single fragment of NWA (4880, or whatever else) that you've sold, you or someone else is guilty of self-pairing without analytical data. Having one stone analyzed doesn't do any good. I've seen slices from the official NWA 7034 stone, and several complete pairings. If I were the dealer who had had the stone analyzed, I would be able to self-pair the fragments and no one would care. If I'd donated a few grams, you wouldn't be jumping on my back. And the other ten or so fragments would be untested and fine by your standards, regardless of what they looked like. So...this isn't about authenticity. It's about getting me to donate a few of the ten grams I had to science. Which, normally, I would say is a worthy goal. In this case, it still is. Probably more-so due to the 'special-ness' of the material. But, other dealers raised the price to the point that buying even ten grams from Morocco stretched my budget, so...I'd prefer to sell material for half of what other folks are offering it for, which in turn makes it easier for me to break even and keep some. Part of the issue I have with these threads is that you don't seem to give a darn about the science. You're just attacking *me.* Some of the folks at Berkeley wanted to run a sample for their research. A smaller fragment works for their purposes (argon dating or for atmospheric data, I'm not sure). So, you can rest assured that this material will be analytically confirmed soon enough. It doesn't take 20% to do that. -- Adam. I would point out that we purchased NWA 3200 from you as a pairing to Tafrawet [NWA 860]. The pattern looked different, so we bought all of the still-available slices on ebay and gave some to UCLA. New iron. We tried messaging the other buyers about it, but only one ever responded. Don't know if the other buyers ever figured it out. And someone else reminded me off-list of some slices of NWA 869 sold back in the day as a new meteorite. The disgruntled buyers only realized it later, having paid more for their new...apparent pairing. Not that folks aren't still analyzing pieces of NWA 869 -- not to mention selling other meteorites as paired stones. But, no seasoned dealer would make such a rookie mistake, right? It's easy to self-pair such easily recognizable stones, despite never having sent one in for analysis. Which reminds me: none of this is new. http://www.mail-archive.com/meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com/msg24653.html http://www.mail-archive.com/meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com/msg24503.html To which I'll say the following. The NWA 7034-paired material I have came from the same area and from the same source as did much of the other pairings. My source traveled directly to the find site to obtain it. That, paired with its appearance, is good enough for me. You used the same argument for your NWA 1110/1068 pairings several years ago. -- Jason On Tue, Mar 5, 2013 at 11:39 PM, Martin Altmann altm...@meteorite-martin.de wrote: Hi Jason, Uff, slowly you seem to understand, what others smarter than we both got already from the 1st posting on. I say: - Your material has a different status than NWA 2975 and NWA 7034, especially a lower collector's (and therefore monetary) value. - You present your material in a way, which makes a possible buyer believe, that they are either part of the very stone(s) to which classifiers and the Meteoritical Society designed the numbers NWA 2975 and NWA 7034, or that they were confirmed by a professional meteorite scientist to be paired to them. - As long as you don't own a degree in that field and as long they don't undergo the formal classification and acceptationprocedures of the Meteoritical Society, you're not allowed to call them formally paired to these numbers, but you have to make it unmistakably clear, that this is only your personal guess. - It is good business practice to use the same conventions, how to label and name such material, like they are established among your dealers and collectors colleagues. - The way you present and describe your material breaks the binding rules of the International Meteorite Collectors Association, to which you agreed to abide as a member. In particular those, quoty quote: If members wish to sell or trade meteoritic specimens, then those items must be 'actually and exactly what is claimed.' (Merriam-Webster-Dictionary) Our members agree to adhere to the highest standards of meteorite identification and proper labelling practices. (...) I agree that it is the sole responsibility of each member to accurately describe meteoritic material for sale, trade or other related transactions without providing any misleading or false information. and especially (...) I agree that unclassified 'meteorites' purchased on eBay or other avenues from unknown sellers might not be meteorites. I will not sell or trade any
Re: [meteorite-list] sharp protrusion from an iron meteorite
Ach Jason, you didn't get the point yet. All you need to do, in my opinion, is to mark your two Martians as unclassified, to replace NWA 7034 and NWA 2975 in your menu side bar and in the titles of your descriptions and ads by NWA , and you can call them possible Martians (or the subtype of these Martians) and likely paired with NWA 2975 and NWA 7034. (And else feel free to write what you want in your descriptions and advertising). That's already all. So they won't be mistaken anymore to be paired by a scientist or classified by a scientist or being a true part of the single NWA 2975 stone or the very lot of stones, which received the number NWA 7034. This is the standard, not I or Adam asks from you, but the IMCA. And like this such cases were handled by IMCA in past. If you don't like that or you think, that it is nonsense, then don't beat me. But then it will be better, that you quit IMCA. And to avoid, that you think, that it's a witch-hunt, I invited you, that we both ask IMCA. (Because I guess, they will tell you quite the same, as I told, if you don't know the IMCA rules yet. - and so you probably will see, that's nothing personal). But I'm asking you for that now for the 4th or 5th time. And still don't know your answer. Although I tried to lure you in, in bidding a crate of beer for the case they won't share my opinion. Best! Martin __ Visit the Archives at http://www.meteorite-list-archives.com Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
Re: [meteorite-list] sharp protrusion from an iron meteorite
Hi Jason, I don't want to get dragged into a flame war, but I need to set the record straight about lab analyses that will confirm pairing. The most reliable analysis for confirming NWA 7034-pairing is electron microprobe analysis of the major minerals. Although Ar-dating (which you mention) is nice to have (see Julia Cartwright's noble gas work in the LPSC 2013 abstracts) this is not the way to prove pairing. Also it is destructive so you lose precious sample. I assume you have an electron probe at Berkeley, so that this the way to go. The other great thing about microprobe is that it is not destructive and plus you have a thin section or probe mount that can be studied in the future or you can even sell it to a collector. NWA 7034 is fairly easy to ID macroscopically if you have a decent sized hand sample (much more challenging to ID tiny pieces), and the unique clasts are the concentric spheres that can be seen through the surface patina. These may actually be gabbroic pebbles from martian soil caught up in the volcanic/impact breccia. By the way, the black color of Black Beauty is not from shock, it is from the ubiquitous fine-grained magnetite which is the third most abundant mineral in NWA 7034, behind feldspar and pyroxene. Carl Agee -- Carl B. Agee Director and Curator, Institute of Meteoritics Professor, Earth and Planetary Sciences MSC03 2050 University of New Mexico Albuquerque NM 87131-1126 Tel: (505) 750-7172 Fax: (505) 277-3577 Email: a...@unm.edu http://meteorite.unm.edu/people/carl_agee/ On Thu, Mar 7, 2013 at 4:59 AM, Jason Utas meteorite...@gmail.com wrote: Martin, Adam, Unless you've analyzed every single fragment of NWA (4880, or whatever else) that you've sold, you or someone else is guilty of self-pairing without analytical data. Having one stone analyzed doesn't do any good. I've seen slices from the official NWA 7034 stone, and several complete pairings. If I were the dealer who had had the stone analyzed, I would be able to self-pair the fragments and no one would care. If I'd donated a few grams, you wouldn't be jumping on my back. And the other ten or so fragments would be untested and fine by your standards, regardless of what they looked like. So...this isn't about authenticity. It's about getting me to donate a few of the ten grams I had to science. Which, normally, I would say is a worthy goal. In this case, it still is. Probably more-so due to the 'special-ness' of the material. But, other dealers raised the price to the point that buying even ten grams from Morocco stretched my budget, so...I'd prefer to sell material for half of what other folks are offering it for, which in turn makes it easier for me to break even and keep some. Part of the issue I have with these threads is that you don't seem to give a darn about the science. You're just attacking *me.* Some of the folks at Berkeley wanted to run a sample for their research. A smaller fragment works for their purposes (argon dating or for atmospheric data, I'm not sure). So, you can rest assured that this material will be analytically confirmed soon enough. It doesn't take 20% to do that. -- Adam. I would point out that we purchased NWA 3200 from you as a pairing to Tafrawet [NWA 860]. The pattern looked different, so we bought all of the still-available slices on ebay and gave some to UCLA. New iron. We tried messaging the other buyers about it, but only one ever responded. Don't know if the other buyers ever figured it out. And someone else reminded me off-list of some slices of NWA 869 sold back in the day as a new meteorite. The disgruntled buyers only realized it later, having paid more for their new...apparent pairing. Not that folks aren't still analyzing pieces of NWA 869 -- not to mention selling other meteorites as paired stones. But, no seasoned dealer would make such a rookie mistake, right? It's easy to self-pair such easily recognizable stones, despite never having sent one in for analysis. Which reminds me: none of this is new. http://www.mail-archive.com/meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com/msg24653.html http://www.mail-archive.com/meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com/msg24503.html To which I'll say the following. The NWA 7034-paired material I have came from the same area and from the same source as did much of the other pairings. My source traveled directly to the find site to obtain it. That, paired with its appearance, is good enough for me. You used the same argument for your NWA 1110/1068 pairings several years ago. -- Jason On Tue, Mar 5, 2013 at 11:39 PM, Martin Altmann altm...@meteorite-martin.de wrote: Hi Jason, Uff, slowly you seem to understand, what others smarter than we both got already from the 1st posting on. I say: - Your material has a different status than NWA 2975 and NWA 7034, especially a lower collector's (and therefore monetary) value. - You
Re: [meteorite-list] sharp protrusion from an iron meteorite
Martin, This string is not worthy of your time, my time or the bandwidth. Let people who think they are above the rules hang themselves. It will happen sooner than you think. The case has been made for both sides so now it is time to let collectors decide with their wallets since this is all about saving a few bucks and has nothing to do with science. You can only burn a bridge once and then it becomes unusable unless you are a politician who can spin properly. We all know how well-respected politicians are, not!. Adam __ Visit the Archives at http://www.meteorite-list-archives.com Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
[meteorite-list] Fw: Chelyabinsk meteorie]te
I just received my first stone from the Chelyabinsk/ Cherbukal Meteorite fall from andrei barakshin andrei-baraks...@mail.ru He has 100% positive feedback with over 2500 sales. Being only an amateur collector I can't vouch absolutely for authenticity. However, you can check out his site yourself. He has a spectrolite mining business in Finland and does sell meteorites normally as well as knive with meteorite blades and spectrolite handles. The stone which he sent me is beautiful black crusted 2 gram stone. I did specify that was what I wanted in a stone. I asked if he would be willing to sell to individuals off auction site and he said that he had a number of stones between 5-10 grams still available. He is on e-bay. I'm not sure if I picked him up on the American or International site originally. He has been selling with a red pen that shows his e-mail address on it which is how I figured out how to contact him initially regarding the stones. I hope this helps. I wanted to make sure to get one early in case export was halted. I am excited and pleased. Linda Barany __ Visit the Archives at http://www.meteorite-list-archives.com Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
[meteorite-list] NASA Puts Mars Rover Curiosity on Standby After Solar Flare
http://www.space.com/20103-mars-rover-curiosity-solar-flare.html NASA Puts Mars Rover Curiosity on Standby After Solar Flare by Mike Wall space.com March 6, 2013 NASA's Curiosity rover has powered down to wait out a Mars-bound solar blast, complicating efforts to bring the 1-ton robot back from a computer glitch. Curiosity's handlers put the rover on standby after the sun unleashed a medium-strength flare the Red Planet's direction Tuesday (March 5). It's the second recent shutdown for Curiosity, which had just come out of protective safe mode Saturday (March 2) as engineers work through an issue with its primary computer system. Storm's a-comin'! There's a solar storm heading for Mars. I'm going back to sleep to weather it out, NASA officials wrote on behalf of the rover via Curiosity's Twitter feed today (March 6). The rover team views the shutdown as merely a precaution, as Curiosity was designed to withstand such solar outbursts, the Associated Press reported. But the move could delay the rover's return to science operations, which had been anticipated as early as this weekend. Curiosity landed inside Mars' huge Gale Crater last August to determine if the area has ever been capable of supporting microbial life. The robot had been operating pretty much flawlessly on the Red Planet until last Wednesday (Feb. 27), when it failed to send recorded data home to Earth and didn't shift into its daily sleep mode as planned. The mission team determined that a glitch had affected the flash memory on Curiosity's main, or A-side, computer system. So engineers swapped the rover over to its backup (B-side) computer, which spurred Curiosity to go into safe mode on Thursday (Feb. 28). Since then, the robot's handlers have been working to configure the B-side computer for surface operations and fix the problem with the A-side, which they think may have been caused by a fast-moving charged particle known as a cosmic ray. Curiosity has been on the road to recovery. The rover came out of safe mode on Saturday and began using its high-gain antenna again a day later. Mission officials have expressed confidence that engineers will fix or troubleshoot the glitch soon, saying Curiosity may resume science operations as early as this weekend if all continues to go well. The solar flare may now push that timeline back a bit, however. NASA officials do not expect Tuesday's solar flare to seriously affect any of the agency's other robotic Mars explorers, such as the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter or Opportunity rover, the Associated Press reported. Tuesday's flare was accompanied by a coronal mass ejection (CME), which blasted a huge cloud of solar plasma toward the Red Planet. CMEs that slam into Earth inject large amounts of energy into our planet's magnetic field, spawning potentially devastating geomagnetic storms that can disrupt GPS signals, radio communications and power grids for days. But CMEs don't have a similar impact on Mars, which lacks a global magnetic field, scientists say. __ Visit the Archives at http://www.meteorite-list-archives.com Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
[meteorite-list] Ad: IMILCHIL IRON
Dear List, I was from the first ones who buying IMILCHIL Iron, I was waiting for the classfication of this meteorite wich will be done on the few coming days, Now I want to sell the whole stones I have with a competitive price,Please who's interested contact me off the list at: azawad...@yahoo.fr best regards Aid __ Visit the Archives at http://www.meteorite-list-archives.com Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
[meteorite-list] NASA TV Briefing Discusses Curiosity Rover Analysis of Mars Rock
March 07, 2013 Dwayne Brown Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1726 dwayne.c.br...@nasa.gov DC Agle Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. 818-393-9011 a...@jpl.nasa.gov MEDIA ADVISORY: M13-045 NASA TV BRIEFING DISCUSSES CURIOSITY ROVER ANALYSIS OF MARS ROCK WASHINGTON -- NASA will hold a news conference at 1 p.m. EDT, Tuesday, March 12, to discuss the Curiosity rover's analysis of the first sample of rock powder ever collected on Mars. The briefing will be held in the James E. Webb Auditorium at NASA Headquarters at 300 E St. SW in Washington. It will be broadcast live on NASA Television and streamed on the agency's website. The participants will be: -- Michael Meyer, lead scientist, Mars Exploration Program, NASA Headquarters, Washington -- John Grotzinger, Curiosity project scientist, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, Calif. -- David Blake, principal investigator for Curiosity's Chemistry and Mineralogy investigation, NASA's Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif. -- Paul Mahaffy, principal investigator for Curiosity's Sample Analysis at Mars investigation, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. Media representatives may ask questions from participating NASA centers or by telephone. To participate by phone, reporters must contact Dwayne Brown at 202-358-1726 or dwayne.c.br...@nasa.gov by noon, March 12. During a two-year prime mission, researchers are using Curiosity's 10 science instruments to assess whether the Gale Crater area on Mars ever offered environmental conditions favorable for microbial life. For NASA TV streaming video, scheduling and downlink information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/ntv The event will also be streamed live on Ustream at: http://www.ustream.tv/nasajpl More information about Curiosity is online at: http://www.nasa.gov/msl and http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/ Follow Curiosity on Facebook and Twitter at: http://www.facebook.com/marscuriosity and http://www.twitter.com/marscuriosity -end- __ Visit the Archives at http://www.meteorite-list-archives.com Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
[meteorite-list] The dangers of self pairing
Hi Jason - This recent exchange reminds me of the case several years ago where a senior scientist paired iron impactites with cometary impactites, and was then surprised when the dates did not match. He managed to cause no end of confusion for some people. E.P. __ Visit the Archives at http://www.meteorite-list-archives.com Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
[meteorite-list] The physics of strewn fields
Hi Carl - There is a difference between physics and meta-physics. While the folks at Meteor Crater have been ceaselessly promoting the use of meteor for meteoroid, the earlier definitions work better for discussion. Right now, I am just wondering if anyone gathered snow samples or air samples to check for plasma condensates. E.P. __ Visit the Archives at http://www.meteorite-list-archives.com Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
[meteorite-list] which reminds me...
Hi all - Given the 10% iron content of Chelyabinsk, I wonder if any of the local people know about gutter hunting? good hunting, all Ed __ Visit the Archives at http://www.meteorite-list-archives.com Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
[meteorite-list] MRO Helps Craft 3-D Image Of Buried Mars Flood Channels
March 7, 2013 Dwayne Brown Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1726 dwayne.c.br...@nasa.gov Jia-Rui Cook/Guy Webster Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. 818-354-0850/6278 jcc...@jpl.nasa.gov / guy.webs...@jpl.nasa.gov Elizabeth Zubritsky Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. 301-614-5438 elizabeth.a.zubrit...@nasa.gov Isabel Lara Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, Washington 202-633-2374 la...@si.edu RELEASE: 13-070 NASA MISSION HELPS CRAFT 3-D IMAGE OF BURIED MARS FLOOD CHANNELS WASHINGTON -- NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) has provided images allowing scientists for the first time to create a 3-D reconstruction of ancient water channels below the Martian surface. The spacecraft took numerous images during the past few years that showed channels attributed to catastrophic flooding in the last 500 million years. Mars during this period had been considered cold and dry. These channels are essential to understanding the extent to which recent hydrologic activity prevailed during such arid conditions. They also help scientists determine whether the floods could have induced episodes of climate change. The estimated size of the flooding appears to be comparable to the ancient mega flood that created the Channeled Scablands in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States in eastern Washington. The findings are reported in the March 7 issue of Science Express by a team of scientists from NASA, the Smithsonian Institution, and the Southwest Research Institute in Houston. Our findings show the scale of erosion that created the channels previously was underestimated and the channel depth was at least twice that of previous approximations, said Gareth Morgan, a geologist at the National Air and Space Museum's Center for Earth and Planetary Studies in Washington and lead author on the paper. This work demonstrates the importance of orbital sounding radar in understanding how water has shaped the surface of Mars. The channels lie in Elysium Planitia, an expanse of plains along the Martian equator and the youngest volcanic region on the planet. Extensive volcanism throughout the last several hundred million years covered most of the surface of Elysium Planitia, and this buried evidence of Mars' older geologic history, including the source and most of the length of the 620-mile-long (1000-kilometer-long) Marte Vallis channel system. To probe the length, width and depth of these underground channels, the researchers used MRO's Shallow Radar (SHARAD). Marte Vallis' morphology is similar to more ancient channel systems on Mars, especially those of the Chryse basin. Many scientists think the Chryse channels likely were formed by the catastrophic release of ground water, although others suggest lava can produce many of the same features. In comparison, little is known about Marte Vallis. With the SHARAD radar, the team was able to map the buried channels in three dimensions with enough detail to see evidence suggesting two different phases of channel formation. One phase etched a series of smaller branching, or anastomosing, channels that are now on a raised bench next to the main channel. These smaller channels flowed around four streamlined islands. A second phase carved the deep, wide channels. In this region, the radar picked up multiple 'reflectors,' which are surfaces or boundaries that reflect radio waves, so it was possible to see multiple layers, said Lynn Carter, the paper's co-author from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. We have rarely seen that in SHARAD data outside of the polar ice regions of Mars. The mapping also provided sufficient information to establish the floods that carved the channels originated from a now-buried portion of the Cerberus Fossae fracture system. The water could have accumulated in an underground reservoir and been released by tectonic or volcanic activity. While the radar was probing thick layers of dry, solid rock, it provided us with unique information about the recent history of water in a key region of Mars, said co-author Jeffrey Plaut of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena, Calif. The Italian Space Agency provided the SHARAD instrument on MRO and Sapienza University of Rome leads its operations. JPL manages MRO for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems of Denver built the orbiter and supports its operations. The 3-D image can be viewed online at: http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA16767 For more about NASA's MRO mission, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/mro -end- __ Visit the Archives at http://www.meteorite-list-archives.com Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
[meteorite-list] Waves Generated by Russian Meteor Recorded in U.S.
http://www.rdmag.com/news/2013/03/waves-generated-russian-meteor-recorded-us Waves generated by Russian meteor recorded in U.S. National Science Foundation March 7, 2013 A network of seismographic stations recorded spectacular signals from the blast waves of the meteor that landed near Chelyabinsk, Russia, as the waves crossed the United States. The National Science Foundation- (NSF) supported stations are used to study earthquakes and the Earth's deep interior. While thousands of earthquakes around the globe are recorded by seismometers in these stations - part of the permanent Global Seismographic Network (GSN) and EarthScope's temporary Transportable Array (TA) - signals from large meteor impacts are far less common. The meteor explosion near Chelyabinsk on Feb. 15, 2013, generated ground motions and air pressure waves in the atmosphere. The stations picked up the signals with seismometers and air pressure sensors. The ground motions were recorded by the GSN and the TA. The pressure waves were detected by special sensors that are part of the TA. The NSF-supported Global Seismic Network and EarthScope Transportable Array made spectacular recordings of the Chelyabinsk meteor's impact, says Greg Anderson, program director in NSF's Division of Earth Sciences. These recordings of seismic waves through the Earth, and sound waves through the atmosphere, are good examples of how these facilities can help global organizations better monitor earthquakes, clandestine nuclear tests and other threats. Incoming! Then outgoing! The Chelyabinsk meteor exploded in the atmosphere at approximately 9.20 a.m. local time. The blast caused significant damage in the city, breaking thousands of windows and injuring more than 1,000 people. Energy from the blast created pressure waves in the atmosphere that moved rapidly outward and around the globe. The blast also spread within the Earth as a seismic wave. The two wave types - seismic wave and pressure wave - travel at very different speeds. Waves in the ground travel quickly, at about 3.4 kilometers per second. Waves in the atmosphere are much slower, moving at about 0.3 kilometers per second, and can travel great distances. GSN stations in Russia and Kazakhstan show the ground-traveling wave as a strong, abrupt pulse with a duration of about 30 seconds. The atmospheric waves--referred to as infrasound--were detected across a range of inaudible frequencies and were observed at great distances on infrasound microphones. When the infrasound waves reached the eastern United States - after traveling 8.5 hours through the atmosphere across the Arctic from the impact site in Russia - they were recorded at TA stations at the Canadian border. The infrasound waves reached Florida three hours later, nearly 12 hours after the blast. Infrasound sensors at TA stations along the Pacific coast and in Alaska also recorded the blast, but with signatures that were shorter and simpler than those recorded by stations in the mid-continent and along the southeastern seaboard. The duration of the signals, and the differences between the waveforms in the east and west, scientists believe, are related to the way in which energy travels and bounces on its long path through the atmosphere. EarthScope Transportable Array The Transportable Array is operated by the IRIS (Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology) Consortium as part of NSF's EarthScope Project. It consists of 400 stations traversing the United States, recording at each site along the way for two years. Each of the TA stations was originally equipped with sensitive broadband seismometers for measuring ground motions, but in 2010, NSF awarded the University of California, San Diego, in cooperation with IRIS, funding to add pressure and infrasound sensors. These special sensors help scientists understand how changes in pressure affect ground motions recorded by the TA's seismometers and provide a view of regional pressure changes related to weather patterns. The sensors also record events such as tornadoes, derechos, rocket launches, chemical explosions--and meteor impacts. The Chelyabinsk meteor is the largest signal recorded to date. In 2013, the Transportable Array will reach states in the Northeast, completing its traverse of the contiguous United States and southern Canada. Global Seismographic Network The GSN's primary mission is collecting data to monitor worldwide earthquakes and to study the Earth's deep interior. It's funded jointly by NSF and the U.S. Geological Survey and is managed and operated by IRIS in collaboration with the U.S. Geological Survey's Albuquerque Seismological Laboratory and the University of California, San Diego. As part of a worldwide network of seismic stations, data from the GSN have contributed over the past three decades to the monitoring of nuclear explosions at test sites in the United States, the former Soviet Union,
[meteorite-list] Comet PANSTARRS Rises to the Occasion Mid-March
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?release=2013-088 Comet PANSTARRS Rises to the Occasion Mid-March Jet Propulsion Laboratory March 7, 2013 [Graphic] For those in search of comet L4 PANSTARRS, look to the west after sunset in early and mid-March. For those in search of comet L4 PANSTARRS, look to the west after sunset in early and mid-March. This graphic shows the comet's expected positions in the sky. Image credit: NASA -Larger image http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/images/asteroid/20130307/Panstarrs-Nasagraphic-640.jpg Comets visible to the naked eye are a rare delicacy in the celestial smorgasbord of objects in the nighttime sky. Scientists estimate that the opportunity to see one of these icy dirtballs advertising their cosmic presence so brilliantly they can be seen without the aid of a telescope or binoculars happens only once every five to 10 years. That said, there may be two naked-eye comets available for your viewing pleasure this year. You might have heard of a comet ISON, which may become a spectacular naked-eye comet later this fall, said Amy Mainzer, the principal investigator of NASA's NEOWISE mission at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., and self-described cosmic icy dirtball fan. But if you have the right conditions you don't have to wait for ISON. Within a few days, comet PANSTARRS will be making its appearance in the skies of the Northern Hemisphere just after twilight. Discovered in June 2011, comet 2011 L4 (PANSTARRS) bears the name of the telescopic survey that discovered it -- the less than mellifluous sounding Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System which sits atop the Haleakala volcano in Hawaii. Since its discovery a year-and-a-half ago, observing comet PANSTARRS has been the exclusive dominion of comet aficionados in the Southern Hemisphere, but that is about to change. As the comet continues its well-understood and safe passage through the inner-solar system, its celestial splendor will be lost to those in the Southern Hemisphere, but found by those up north. There is a catch to viewing comet PANSTARRS, said Mainzer. This one is not that bright and is going to be low on the western horizon, so you'll need a relatively unobstructed view to the southwest at twilight and, of course, some good comet-watching weather. Well, there is one more issue -- the time of day, or night, to view it. Look too early and the sky will be too bright, said Rachel Stevenson, a NASA Postdoctoral Fellow at JPL. Look too late, the comet will be too low and obstructed by the horizon. This comet has a relatively small window. By March 8, comet PANSTARRS may be viewable for those with a totally unobstructed view of the western horizon for about 15 minutes after twilight. On March 10, it will make its closest approach to the sun about 28 million miles (45 million kilometers) away. As it continues its nightly trek across the sky, the comet may get lost in the sun's glare but should return and be visible to the naked eye by March 12. As time marches on in the month of March, the comet will begin to fade away slowly, becoming difficult to view (even with binoculars or small telescopes) by month's end. The comet will appear as a bright point of light with its diffuse tail pointing nearly straight up from the horizon like an exclamation point. What, if any, attraction does seeing a relatively dim naked-eye comet with the naked eye hold for someone who works with them every day, with file after file of high-resolution imagery spilling out on her computer workstation? You bet I'm going to go look at it! said Mainzer. Comet PanSTARRS may be a little bit of a challenge to find without a pair of binoculars, but there is something intimately satisfying to see it with your own two eyes. If you have a good viewing spot and good weather, it will be like the Sword of Gryffindor, it should present itself to anyone who is worthy. NASA detects, tracks and characterizes asteroids and comets passing relatively close to Earth using both ground- and space-based telescopes. The Near-Earth Object Observations Program, commonly called Spaceguard, discovers these objects, characterizes a subset of them, and predicts their paths to determine if any could be potentially hazardous to our planet. JPL manages the Near-Earth Object Program Office for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington, DC. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. More information about asteroids and near-Earth objects is at: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/asteroidwatch , and on Twitter: @asteroidwatch . DC Agle (818) 393-9011 Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. a...@jpl.nasa.gov 2013-088 __ Visit the Archives at http://www.meteorite-list-archives.com Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
[meteorite-list] one add on to mets sales
Hi again list. I am sorry for this, but I did sincerely forget to add 1 piece that I forgot I had in the 10 meteorites for sale. A 12 gram imichil with a small hole $70. The 7 gram imichil is sold, but the remaining 10 are still all up for grabs. Thanks again. No more on this. -- Steve R. Anold, chicago, ill. __ Visit the Archives at http://www.meteorite-list-archives.com Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
[meteorite-list] Russia Finds 'New Bacteria' In Antarctic Lake
http://phys.org/news/2013-03-russia-bacteria-antarctic-lake.html Russia finds 'new bacteria' in Antarctic lake AFP March 7, 2013 Russian scientists believe they have found a wholly new type of bacteria in the mysterious subglacial Lake Vostok in Antarctica, the RIA Novosti news agency reported on Thursday. The samples obtained from the underground lake in May 2012 contained a bacteria which bore no resemblance to existing types, said Sergei Bulat of the genetics laboratory at the Saint Petersburg Institute of Nuclear Physics. After putting aside all possible elements of contamination, DNA was found that did not coincide with any of the well-known types in the global database, he said. We are calling this life form unclassified and unidentified, he added. The discovery comes from samples collected in an expedition in 2012 where a Russian team drilled down to the surface of Lake Vostok, which is believed to have been covered by ice for more than a million years but has kept its liquid state. Lake Vostok is the largest subglacial lake in Antarctica and scientists have long wanted to study its eco-system. The Russian team last year drilled almost four kilometres (2.34 miles) to reach the lake and take the samples. Bulat said that the interest surrounded one particular form of bacteria whose DNA was less than 86 percent similar to previously existing forms. In terms of work with DNA this is basically zero. A level of 90 percent usually means that the organism is unknown. He said it was not even possible to find the genetic descendants of the bacteria. If this had been found on Mars everyone would have undoubtedly said there is life on Mars. But this is bacteria from Earth. Bulat said that new samples of water would be taken from Lake Vostok during a new expedition in May. If we manage to find the same group of organisms in this water we can say for sure that we have found new life on Earth that exists in no database, Bulat said. Exploring environments such as Lake Vostok allows scientists to discover what life forms can exist in the most extreme conditions and thus whether life could exist on some other bodies in the solar system. There has long been excitement among some scientists that life theoretically could exist on Saturn's moon Enceladus and the Jupiter moon Europa as they are believed to have oceans, or large lakes, beneath their icy shells. The possibility that the lake existed had first been suggested by a Soviet scientist in 1957. Scientific research drilling in the area started in 1989 and the lake's existence was confirmed only in 1996. The drilling project is of major importance for the prestige of science in Russia and Russian leader Vladimir Putin was given a sample of water from Lake Vostok last year when the expedition began. __ Visit the Archives at http://www.meteorite-list-archives.com Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
[meteorite-list] Meteorite Picture of the Day
Today's Meteorite Picture of the Day: Homestead Contributed by: Rob Wesel http://www.tucsonmeteorites.com/mpod.asp __ Visit the Archives at http://www.meteorite-list-archives.com Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
