[meteorite-list] AD-Auctions ending today and tomorrow-D'Orbigny, Norton Co., Mreira, Lunars, Martians, Fallsmore!
Please visit my store at http://stores.ebay.com/Mile-High-Meteorites for the entire listing. Here are a few... D'Orbigny Angrite http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItemitem=251398484477ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT Mreira witnessed fall http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItemitem=221332844134ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItemitem=221334297634ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT NWA 6355 Lunars http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItemitem=221334316329ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItemitem=221334320476ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT Patrimonio http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItemitem=22133451ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT Norton County http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItemitem=251399187787ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT Homestead http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItemitem=22190410ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT Abbott http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItemitem=221334791234ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT __ 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] Rare space rock goes unnoticed for 140 years - space - 13 December 2013 - New Scientist
Hi listoids, No Diepenveen, as the meteorite is now officially called, in the Met Bull, sorry. Best regards. Michel Franco IMCA 3869 That's because the meteorite still has to be submitted. It's not an official name yet. It will probably be submitted in the next few weeks after some additional microprobe work to complement earlier preliminary work. I am one of the PI's on this meteorite. The meteorite is officially the 5th meteorite of the Netherlands in the sense that we have established it is a meteorite indeed, a CM Carbonaceous meteorite more exactly, and not paired to a known meteorite. Last Thursday, the former owner of the meteorite in a ceremony handed over the stone to the Dutch National Museum of Natural History in Leiden, with press present, hence why it is in the news now. For some pictures of the stone, see here: http://home.online.nl/marco.langbroek/diepnl.html (apologies that there is only a Dutch text for the moment) More news on this meteorite somewhere next year when we have completed several analysis. Besides our VU University Amsterdam, several international institutions are involved (Oxygen isotopes were done at UNM for example and CRE at UC Berkeley) and research is still ongoing. This is the 5th surviving meteorite of the Netherlands but the third chronologically if we look at the fall date, 27 October 1873. Chronologically it is the 2nd witnessed CM fall, after Cold Bokkeveld. For those of you who master Dutch, there is a TV news item in Dutch about the handover ceremony here, including some short snippets of interview with me, the former owner, and the amateur astronomer who basically 'rediscovered' it in the former owner's rock collection 139 years after it fell: http://youtu.be/8IPR9vrQoR4 There is only one stone (a half stone actually: 50-65% fusion crust), originally weighing 68 grams before sampling. It came in a wooden box with a beautiful hand-written label with details including location, date, time, phenomena, name of the person who picked it up etcetera. With some additional archive research, we can pinpoint the fall location to a few hundred yards. Cheers, - Marco - Dr Marco Langbroek Faculty of Earth and Life Sciences VU University Amsterdam - __ 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] Rare space rock goes unnoticed for 140 years - space - 13 December 2013 - New Scientist
Marco, Gefeliciteerd! -Carl * 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 Sat, Dec 14, 2013 at 11:27 AM, Marco Langbroek marco.langbr...@online.nl wrote: Hi listoids, No Diepenveen, as the meteorite is now officially called, in the Met Bull, sorry. Best regards. Michel Franco IMCA 3869 That's because the meteorite still has to be submitted. It's not an official name yet. It will probably be submitted in the next few weeks after some additional microprobe work to complement earlier preliminary work. I am one of the PI's on this meteorite. The meteorite is officially the 5th meteorite of the Netherlands in the sense that we have established it is a meteorite indeed, a CM Carbonaceous meteorite more exactly, and not paired to a known meteorite. Last Thursday, the former owner of the meteorite in a ceremony handed over the stone to the Dutch National Museum of Natural History in Leiden, with press present, hence why it is in the news now. For some pictures of the stone, see here: http://home.online.nl/marco.langbroek/diepnl.html (apologies that there is only a Dutch text for the moment) More news on this meteorite somewhere next year when we have completed several analysis. Besides our VU University Amsterdam, several international institutions are involved (Oxygen isotopes were done at UNM for example and CRE at UC Berkeley) and research is still ongoing. This is the 5th surviving meteorite of the Netherlands but the third chronologically if we look at the fall date, 27 October 1873. Chronologically it is the 2nd witnessed CM fall, after Cold Bokkeveld. For those of you who master Dutch, there is a TV news item in Dutch about the handover ceremony here, including some short snippets of interview with me, the former owner, and the amateur astronomer who basically 'rediscovered' it in the former owner's rock collection 139 years after it fell: http://youtu.be/8IPR9vrQoR4 There is only one stone (a half stone actually: 50-65% fusion crust), originally weighing 68 grams before sampling. It came in a wooden box with a beautiful hand-written label with details including location, date, time, phenomena, name of the person who picked it up etcetera. With some additional archive research, we can pinpoint the fall location to a few hundred yards. Cheers, - Marco - Dr Marco Langbroek Faculty of Earth and Life Sciences VU University Amsterdam - __ 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 __ 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] Rare space rock goes unnoticed for 140 years - space - 13 December 2013 - New Scientist
Thank you Marco, but one question. I notice on the old label the word Orgeuil. Could this mean that whoever wrote that label suspeected the stone to be a meteorite, and compared it to the Orgueil meteorite? (sorry I cannot read your explanation in Dutch). Anne M. Black www.IMPACTIKA.com impact...@aol.com -Original Message- From: Marco Langbroek marco.langbr...@online.nl To: meteorite-list meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com Sent: Sat, Dec 14, 2013 11:33 am Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Rare space rock goes unnoticed for 140 years - space - 13 December 2013 - New Scientist Hi listoids, No Diepenveen, as the meteorite is now officially called, in the Met Bull, sorry. Best regards. Michel Franco IMCA 3869 That's because the meteorite still has to be submitted. It's not an official name yet. It will probably be submitted in the next few weeks after some additional microprobe work to complement earlier preliminary work. I am one of the PI's on this meteorite. The meteorite is officially the 5th meteorite of the Netherlands in the sense that we have established it is a meteorite indeed, a CM Carbonaceous meteorite more exactly, and not paired to a known meteorite. Last Thursday, the former owner of the meteorite in a ceremony handed over the stone to the Dutch National Museum of Natural History in Leiden, with press present, hence why it is in the news now. For some pictures of the stone, see here: http://home.online.nl/marco.langbroek/diepnl.html (apologies that there is only a Dutch text for the moment) More news on this meteorite somewhere next year when we have completed several analysis. Besides our VU University Amsterdam, several international institutions are involved (Oxygen isotopes were done at UNM for example and CRE at UC Berkeley) and research is still ongoing. This is the 5th surviving meteorite of the Netherlands but the third chronologically if we look at the fall date, 27 October 1873. Chronologically it is the 2nd witnessed CM fall, after Cold Bokkeveld. For those of you who master Dutch, there is a TV news item in Dutch about the handover ceremony here, including some short snippets of interview with me, the former owner, and the amateur astronomer who basically 'rediscovered' it in the former owner's rock collection 139 years after it fell: http://youtu.be/8IPR9vrQoR4 There is only one stone (a half stone actually: 50-65% fusion crust), originally weighing 68 grams before sampling. It came in a wooden box with a beautiful hand-written label with details including location, date, time, phenomena, name of the person who picked it up etcetera. With some additional archive research, we can pinpoint the fall location to a few hundred yards. Cheers, - Marco - Dr Marco Langbroek Faculty of Earth and Life Sciences VU University Amsterdam - __ 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 __ 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] Rare space rock goes unnoticed for 140 years - space - 13 December 2013 - New Scientist
Anne Black schreef op 14-12-2013 20:40: Thank you Marco, but one question. I notice on the old label the word Orgeuil. Could this mean that whoever wrote that label suspeected the stone to be a meteorite, and compared it to the Orgueil meteorite? (sorry I cannot read your explanation in Dutch). Hi Anne, Yes, that is exactly what the label implies. It refers to a page with a picture and description of Orgeuil, in a 1883 publication on meteorites in a Dutch popular scientific periodical that was widely read by Dutch physics teachers. The other, loose card with all the details that is in the box too (the half circular card) also is titled Meteoorsteen, which means meteor stone. So during the decade after the fall someone (and we think we know which two persons wrote the card respectively the separate label) did think it was probably a meteorite and that it looked a bit like Orgeuil (which is however a CI, not a CM). What puzzles us is that the stone was apparently never analyzed even though these two people realized it could be a meteorite. Instead, it has been gathering dust in its little box for a century, before passing into private hands (when the school was closed down) and after a while finally came to our attention last year. cheers, - Marco - Dr Marco Langbroek Faculty of Earth and Life Sciences VU University Amsterdam - __ 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] Rare space rock goes unnoticed for 140 years - space - 13 December 2013 - New Scientist
Anne Black schreef op 14-12-2013 20:40: Thank you Marco, but one question. I notice on the old label the word Orgeuil. Could this mean that whoever wrote that label suspeected the stone to be a meteorite, and compared it to the Orgueil meteorite? (sorry I cannot read your explanation in Dutch). Hi Anne, Yes, that is exactly what the label implies. It refers to a page with a picture and description of Orgeuil, in a 1883 publication on meteorites in a Dutch popular scientific periodical that was widely read by Dutch physics teachers. The other, loose card with all the details that is in the box too (the half circular card) also is titled Meteoorsteen, which means meteor stone. So during the decade after the fall someone (and we think we know which two persons wrote the card respectively the separate label) did think it was probably a meteorite and that it looked a bit like Orgeuil (which is however a CI, not a CM). What puzzles us is that the stone was apparently never analyzed even though these two people realized it could be a meteorite. Instead, it has been gathering dust in its little box as part of a forgotten school curiosa collection for a century, before passing into private hands (when the school was closed down and part of the inventory was taken home by a teacher) and after a while finally came to our attention last year. cheers, - Marco - Dr Marco Langbroek Faculty of Earth and Life Sciences VU University Amsterdam - __ 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] Rare space rock goes unnoticed for 140 years - space - 13 December 2013 - New Scientist
For those of you who don't understand Dutch, the lady in the YouTube clip is the owner of Diepenveen and she donated it to museum Naturalis (which is the merger of the Royal Museums at Leiden). Neat story, and clearly great publicity for meteoritics! Now just waiting on Karen Ziegler to tell everyone what the oxygen isotopes are :) Carl * 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 Sat, Dec 14, 2013 at 11:27 AM, Marco Langbroek marco.langbr...@online.nl wrote: Hi listoids, No Diepenveen, as the meteorite is now officially called, in the Met Bull, sorry. Best regards. Michel Franco IMCA 3869 That's because the meteorite still has to be submitted. It's not an official name yet. It will probably be submitted in the next few weeks after some additional microprobe work to complement earlier preliminary work. I am one of the PI's on this meteorite. The meteorite is officially the 5th meteorite of the Netherlands in the sense that we have established it is a meteorite indeed, a CM Carbonaceous meteorite more exactly, and not paired to a known meteorite. Last Thursday, the former owner of the meteorite in a ceremony handed over the stone to the Dutch National Museum of Natural History in Leiden, with press present, hence why it is in the news now. For some pictures of the stone, see here: http://home.online.nl/marco.langbroek/diepnl.html (apologies that there is only a Dutch text for the moment) More news on this meteorite somewhere next year when we have completed several analysis. Besides our VU University Amsterdam, several international institutions are involved (Oxygen isotopes were done at UNM for example and CRE at UC Berkeley) and research is still ongoing. This is the 5th surviving meteorite of the Netherlands but the third chronologically if we look at the fall date, 27 October 1873. Chronologically it is the 2nd witnessed CM fall, after Cold Bokkeveld. For those of you who master Dutch, there is a TV news item in Dutch about the handover ceremony here, including some short snippets of interview with me, the former owner, and the amateur astronomer who basically 'rediscovered' it in the former owner's rock collection 139 years after it fell: http://youtu.be/8IPR9vrQoR4 There is only one stone (a half stone actually: 50-65% fusion crust), originally weighing 68 grams before sampling. It came in a wooden box with a beautiful hand-written label with details including location, date, time, phenomena, name of the person who picked it up etcetera. With some additional archive research, we can pinpoint the fall location to a few hundred yards. Cheers, - Marco - Dr Marco Langbroek Faculty of Earth and Life Sciences VU University Amsterdam - __ 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 __ 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] Rare space rock goes unnoticed for 140 years - space - 13 December 2013 - New Scientist
Large spread of d18O values (2.5 to 7.7‰). D17O values between -5.6 and -3.9‰. 4 out of the analyzed 5 aliquots plot in the CM oxygen isotope field. These data have to be coupled with Rhian Jones' abundant mineralogy and petrography data ! Karen On 12/14/13 2:00 PM, Carl Agee a...@unm.edu wrote: For those of you who don't understand Dutch, the lady in the YouTube clip is the owner of Diepenveen and she donated it to museum Naturalis (which is the merger of the Royal Museums at Leiden). Neat story, and clearly great publicity for meteoritics! Now just waiting on Karen Ziegler to tell everyone what the oxygen isotopes are :) Carl * 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 Sat, Dec 14, 2013 at 11:27 AM, Marco Langbroek marco.langbr...@online.nl wrote: Hi listoids, No Diepenveen, as the meteorite is now officially called, in the Met Bull, sorry. Best regards. Michel Franco IMCA 3869 That's because the meteorite still has to be submitted. It's not an official name yet. It will probably be submitted in the next few weeks after some additional microprobe work to complement earlier preliminary work. I am one of the PI's on this meteorite. The meteorite is officially the 5th meteorite of the Netherlands in the sense that we have established it is a meteorite indeed, a CM Carbonaceous meteorite more exactly, and not paired to a known meteorite. Last Thursday, the former owner of the meteorite in a ceremony handed over the stone to the Dutch National Museum of Natural History in Leiden, with press present, hence why it is in the news now. For some pictures of the stone, see here: http://home.online.nl/marco.langbroek/diepnl.html (apologies that there is only a Dutch text for the moment) More news on this meteorite somewhere next year when we have completed several analysis. Besides our VU University Amsterdam, several international institutions are involved (Oxygen isotopes were done at UNM for example and CRE at UC Berkeley) and research is still ongoing. This is the 5th surviving meteorite of the Netherlands but the third chronologically if we look at the fall date, 27 October 1873. Chronologically it is the 2nd witnessed CM fall, after Cold Bokkeveld. For those of you who master Dutch, there is a TV news item in Dutch about the handover ceremony here, including some short snippets of interview with me, the former owner, and the amateur astronomer who basically 'rediscovered' it in the former owner's rock collection 139 years after it fell: http://youtu.be/8IPR9vrQoR4 There is only one stone (a half stone actually: 50-65% fusion crust), originally weighing 68 grams before sampling. It came in a wooden box with a beautiful hand-written label with details including location, date, time, phenomena, name of the person who picked it up etcetera. With some additional archive research, we can pinpoint the fall location to a few hundred yards. Cheers, - Marco - Dr Marco Langbroek Faculty of Earth and Life Sciences VU University Amsterdam - __ 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 __ 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 __ 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] Rare space rock goes unnoticed for 140 years - space - 13 December 2013 - New Scientist
Carl Agee schreef op 14-12-2013 22:00: For those of you who don't understand Dutch, the lady in the YouTube clip is the owner of Diepenveen and she donated it to museum Naturalis (which is the merger of the Royal Museums at Leiden). Neat story, and clearly great publicity for meteoritics! Now just waiting on Karen Ziegler to tell everyone what the oxygen isotopes are :) I prefer she does not untill our publication has appeared ;-) 'Naturalis' is the Dutch National Museum of Natural History, which is a merger between the former National museum of Geology, the National Museum of Natural History, and the State Herbarium. The former owner indeed donated the stone to the Museum, which is an extremely kind act! - Marco - Dr Marco Langbroek Faculty of Earth and Life Sciences VU University Amsterdam - __ 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: rare and perfect etched Iron Meteorites - 24 hours sale only !
Dear List Members, I have listed on ebay some rare and perfect etched Iron Meteorites. 24 hours sale only! Auctions start today and ending tomorrow. All pieces starts by $1.99 without reserve price. All auctions you can find here: http://stores.ebay.com/Mirko-Graul-Meteorite/_i.html?rt=ncLH_Auction=1_sc=1_sid=18192829_sop=1_trksid=p4634.c0.m309 and all my other interesting offers you can find here: http://stores.ebay.com/Mirko-Graul-Meteorite/_i.html?rt=nc_sc=1_sid=18192829_sop=12_trksid=p4634.c0.m309 Best regards and good luck, Mirko Mirko Graul Meteorite Quittenring.4 16321 Bernau GERMANY Phone: 0049-1724105015 E-Mail: m_gr...@yahoo.de WEB: www.meteorite-mirko.de Member of The Meteoritical Society (International Society for Meteoritics and Planetery Science) IMCA-Member: 2113 (International Meteorite Collectors Association) __ 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] Limitations Of Fossil Hunting In A Space Suit
The Tough Task of Finding Fossils While Wearing a Spacesuit by Adam Hadhazy, Astrobiology Magazine, December 12, 2013 http://www.astrobio.net/exclusive/5861/the-tough-task-of-finding-fossils-while-wearing-a-spacesuit Yours, Paul H. __ 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] Saturday Sale - D'Orbigny Angrite, Bilanga DIO, Martian SNC, 3rd Century Roman coin, Books and more...
Hi List, Thanks to all that buy during these sales. http://www.meteoriteusa.com/saturdaysale.htm Small D'Orbigny Angrite part slices Small Bilanga Diogenite pieces that fell in 1999 Small Mars part slices A Roman sacred stone meteorite coin AD 218-222 Libyan Desert Glass Wabar Pearls and A Meteorite book deal Free shipping to the USA and Canada $5.00 International / Overseas I've added a good layaway option for purchases $100 or more with 20% down payment on anything on my website. Check it out here http://www.meteoriteusa.com/about.htm Have a great weekend and thanks for visiting. John __ 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] China Successfully Lands Robotic Rover on the Moon
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/china/change3/131214landing/ China successfully lands robotic rover on the moon BY STEPHEN CLARK SPACEFLIGHT NOW December 14, 2013 A Chinese robotic rover landed on the moon Saturday, becoming China's first outpost on another world after a rocket-powered descent to an unexplored barren volcanic plain. [Image] Chang'e 3 returned real-time imagery of the moon from an on-board descent camera. Credit: CCTV The ambitious Chang'e 3 mission also achieved the first soft landing on the moon in 37 years, and it made China the third country to pull off the feat after the United States and Russia. Touchdown occurred at about 1311 GMT (8:11 a.m. EST; 9:11 p.m. Beijing time). China said the lander was aiming for a landing in the Bay of Rainbows, a dark basin on the moon's near side filled with lava that congealed billions of years ago. The Chang'e 3 lander dropped from a low-altitude orbit, using its variable-thrust main engine to reduce its velocity from orbital speeds of 1.7 kilometers per second, or about 3,800 mph, to nearly zero. Chinese media reports said the lander was designed to halt its descent about 300 feet above the lunar surface to ensure the landing zone was clear of hazards such as boulders or steep slopes. Once the probe's autonomous hazard detection system was satisfied the landing site was safe, Chang'e 3 resumed its descent before shutting off its engine about 10 or 15 feet above the moon. Chinese officials said they designed the craft's landing sets with impact suppressors similar to shock absorbers. Laser and radar ranging sensors supplied altitude and terrain data to Chang'e 3's computer, giving the lander navigation cues during the final descent. Such on-board smarts have never been used on an unmanned lander before. Chinese state television broadcast the landing live, showing animation and real-time imagery from Chang'e 3's camera. Engineers at the Beijing Aerospace Command and Control Center, who appeared stoic and reserved before landing, erupted in applause and flashed smiles when the touchdown was announced. A few minutes later, officials confirmed the 12-foot-diameter lander's solar panels deployed. A six-wheeled mobile rover was expected to detach from the lander later this weekend, perhaps as soon as a few hours after touchdown. Officials said the lander would first vent leftover propellant. The rover will drive several miles around the landing site, surveying the dusty charcoal-colored landscape for several months. China named the rover Yutu after soliciting suggestions from the public. Yutu translates as Jade Rabbit in English. In Chinese mythology, Yutu is a rabbit who accompanies the goddess Chang'e to the moon. Yutu will beam 3D imagery of the moon back to Earth and measure the composition of lunar soils and rocks. The rover is also equipped with a ground-penetrating radar to survey the structures below the moon's surface. As the rover drives along the lunar surface, it will be as if it can cut and see 100 meters [328 feet] below, said Ouyang Ziyuan, a researcher at the China Academy of Sciences and senior advisor to China's lunar exploration program, in an interview with Chinese state television. Ouyang said the rover will use nuclear batteries to keep warm during lunar nights. Temperatures dip as minus 292 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 180 degrees Celsius) during nights on the moon, exposing delicate electronics to cold conditions for two weeks. Yutu is smaller than NASA's Curiosity rover currently exploring Mars. The Chinese lunar rover stands about 4.9 feet tall and has a mass of about 140 kilograms, or 308 pounds. The lander and Yutu rover will snap photos of each other, and the mission's stationary lander will operate for up to a year doing its own investigations. The lander's instruments include an ultraviolet telescope to observe the Earth and other scientific targets. It could take several days to pinpoint the probe's exact location on the moon. An initial position estimate put the landing site at 44.12 degrees north latitude and 19.51 degrees west longitude. The estimate will be refined over the coming days. Two European Space Agency tracking antennas were called up to receive signals from Chang'e 3 on Saturday. One of the European-owned ground stations in Australia tracked the lander throughout its descent, and another near Madrid was on standby to pick up a signal from Chang'e 3 a few hours after landing. The New Norcia station near Perth received a strong signal from Chang'e 3 throughout its descent, according to an ESA official at the European Space Operations Center in Darmstadt, Germany. Chang'e 3's ground team at the Beijing Aerospace Command and Control Center monitored the landing through China's own communications antennas, but ESA's ground stations were configured to provide navigation support. Using quasars, bright beacons at the hearts of distant
[meteorite-list] Meteorite Picture of the Day
Today's Meteorite Picture of the Day: Unclassified Contributed by: Jan Woreczko http://www.tucsonmeteorites.com/mpodmain.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
