Marc and List, Good analysis Marc. I am waiting until Firestone et al get a hold on this and make it a real muck luck (a newer version of the Mucks, Rascal Bays and the YD)! Have a great day. Dirk...Tokyo
--- On Sun, 3/6/11, Marc Fries <[email protected]> wrote: > From: Marc Fries <[email protected]> > Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] CI1 meteorites and cyanobacteria > To: "Meteorite-list List" <[email protected]> > Date: Sunday, March 6, 2011, 8:19 AM > Howdy all > > Here's my two cents, pure and simple - > this paper is 110% bullshit. The filaments the paper > addresses are nothing new. They are apparently > amorphous sulfates formed from aqueous alteration of fine > sulfides in the CI's. You can see that in the EDS > spectra published in the paper - the predominant elements > are sulfur, oxygen and magnesium. I.e., they are > sulfates (e.g. Mg2SO4 + hydration water). Some silicon > "leaks" into the measurement from materials behind one of > the filaments. > I happen to have two CIs on loan to me > right now - Orgueil and Tonk. I have Raman spectra of > the filaments found in both meteorites. They are > sulfates. My personal Surprise Meter registers a > whopping Zero. > The argument is made that the lack of > nitrogen in these "fossils" implies that they pre-date their > residence on Earth. This argument starts with the > assumption that the filaments are fossils, and then uses the > non-detection of nitrogen to "prove" that they are > fossils. This is a circular argument. Here's a > more supportable hypothesis: no nitrogen was detected > because they are not fossils, but rather exactly what has > been known for decades - they are amorphous sulfate > filaments caused by hydration of fine sulfides in the rock. > > This paper is a result of something I > like to call the Lowell Effect. Basically, it is what > happens when someone stares into an instrument expecting (or > hoping) to see proof of life in the target. Percival > Lowell did it through a telescope with Mars, drawing > elaborate "canals" in his mind which indicated (to him) an > advanced martian civilization. Certain other scientists do > it with the Apex chert while peering through microscopes, > and with hydrothermal graphite found in rocks from Isua, > Greenland through all manner of instruments. The > author of this paper pulled a Lowell Effect result out of > his posterior after looking at CIs with an electron > microscope. Where I come from, we also call that > "letting your hopes make a fool of your reason". > > Cheers, > Marc Fries > > > On Mar 5, 2011, at 6:56 AM, drtanuki wrote: > > > Dear List, > > There is a very interesting newly published paper > about cyanobacteria found inside CI1 meteorites: > > > > Journal of Cosmology, 2011, Vol 13, xxx. > > JournalofCosmology.com, March, 2011 > > Fossils of Cyanobacteria in CI1 Carbonaceous > Meteorites: > > Implications to Life on Comets, Europa, and Enceladus > > Richard B. Hoover, Ph.D. > > NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL > > > > The abstract can be read here: > > > > http://lunarmeteoritehunters.blogspot.com/2011/03/fossils-of-cyanobacteria-in-ci1.html > > > > Best Always, Dirk Ross...Tokyo > > ______________________________________________ > > Visit the Archives at > > http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html > > Meteorite-list mailing list > > [email protected] > > http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list > > ______________________________________________ > Visit the Archives at > http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html > Meteorite-list mailing list > [email protected] > http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list > ______________________________________________ Visit the Archives at http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html Meteorite-list mailing list [email protected] http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
