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In Nov 2004 the news of potential new Colorado
lunar was published to the List. Checking the chemical analysis from
the abstract (http://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2004AM/finalprogram/abstract_76183.htm)
Allan Treiman quickly alerted the List that there was a problem. (see
email below) Allan was right. Randy Korotev added that not only was it
not a lunar meteorite, "I suspect that this object is a piece of
industrial slag." (http://epsc.wustl.edu/admin/resources/meteorites/granada.htm)
On one of his websites, Neil Ray apologized for "for any
misunderstanding or confusion that my published abstract has brought
about." You would think this would be the end of the matter, but it is
not. Perhaps you have seen the eBay auctions "Chicxulub meteorite (0.xxx g) comes with COA/ guarantee very rare, meteorite that wiped out the dinosaurs, NR!" (ex. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=6601599997) Well guess what? It is the same 'lunar' material (Granada) resurrected by Mr. Ray to a new and more prosperous life. Initially I wrote Mr. Ray about his use of the the term 'meteorite' in his eBay auction title. (http://home.earthlink.net/~ebaywrong/auction/Chicxulub.html ) He refuses to change "Chicxulub meteorite" while at the same time admitting it is not a meteorite? (more 'misunderstanding or confusion') I thought he was legit, and then I looked at his research conclusions. (http://www.chicxulubmeteorite.com/) Making this short, I disagree with his conclusions. And what would Allan Treiman have to say about the new theory? Well, I asked him. He said, "The simplest explanation, with the data I have, is that Mr. Ray's rock is a piece of EAF slag." (EAF stands for Electric Arc Furnace). best, Ken Newton IMCA #9632 Treiman, Allan wrote: Hi, Meteorite list -- From the data in that abstract, I'd be very cautious this rock.First, the data in the abstract are not consistent with themselves. For isntance the rock is cited as 45% anorthite, but only 3.7% Al2O3. Anorthite contains ~36% Al2O3, so a rock that is 45% anorthite must contain at least 45% of 36% Al2O3, or 16% Al2O3. Only a factor of four off!!! Second, the chemical analysis is far off any known a moon rock. It shows 26.15% SiO2, which is not even enough if the rock were all olivine. The rock has 5.38% MnO, which is way more than any lunar rock. An earth rock with that much MnO would be mined as ore! The analysis has CaO of 39.6%, which is way higher than any moon rock -- lunar anorthosite has ~19% CaO, and mare basalts have ~8-12% CaO. If it is lunar, its like nothing else. Allan Allan H. Treiman Senior Staff Scientist Lunar and Planetary Institute 3600 Bay Area Boulevard Houston, TX 77058-1113 281-486-2117 281-486-2162 (FAX) -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On Behalf Of [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Thursday, November 04, 2004 2:16 PM To: [email protected]; [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [meteorite-list] Re: New Lunar? New Continent Hi All Just wanted to let the word out about the new possible Lunar meteorite. It is a 3200 gram beauty from.........and no it is not the dry deserts of Africa or Antarctica..... a little hint it's the first North American Lunar.....drum roll please....Colorado. How exciting is that. I guess it is good/lucky to be in Colorado (two achondrites in one year). It is from Granada near Lamar for all of you Coloradans. That would be the south eastern side of the state near Kansas for everybody else or about 200 miles SE of Denver. Again it is only a possible Lunar.....but I'll keep you posted. I have included an abstract to the upcoming Geological Society of America meeting in Denver about the meteorite. PRELIMINARY ANALYSIS OF A NEW ACHONDRITE (MARE BASALT?) OF POSSIBLE LUNAR ORIGIN FROM NEAR GRANADA, COLORADO, USA http://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2004AM/finalprogram/abstract_76183.htm Time to go hunt......anyone want to go. Oops I'm half way there. :) Mike Mike Jensen IMCA 4264 Bill Jensen IMCA 2359 Jensen Meteorites 16730 E Ada PL Aurora, CO 80017-3137 303-337-4361 ______________________________________________ Meteorite-list mailing list [email protected] http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list ______________________________________________ Meteorite-list mailing list [email protected] http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list |
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