[meteorite-list] Comet: Talking Points, #1
Hi, List, Yeah, here we go again... - Original Message - From: Marco Langbroek [EMAIL PROTECTED] Where? Where are the dust layers in peat deposits, lake deposits, deep sea cores, ice cores from Greenland and Antarctica for example? All there is, is a set of narrow tree rings. No more. It is necessary to examine the question quantitatively. Example: Earth encounters a very small globule of interstellar dust. It takes 36 days to traverse the globule. The dust that impinges on the Earth's atmosphere is accumulated in 36 days, during which solar flux to the ground is diminished by an arbitrary percentage, say 5%. Such varieties of dust are very fine, of small particle size. Most take years to fall out of the atmosphere. The original strong signal of the dust, with a 36 day duration, has now been smeared out to 6000 to 8000 days. Because the particles are very fine, they tend to incorporate themselves in surface layers, and erode away at the rate of general local erosion. Those particles that land on rock, sand, ice, move to soil or sea more quickly. The 6000 day smeared signal is smeared out to 50,000 days or more before that portion that reaches the sea or lakes is deposited there. Because the particles are fines, they settle to the ocean bottom very slowly, 100,000 days or more. The mass signal is now down to about 10^-4 of its original strength. How much material is required to intercept 5% of the solar radiation and reflect or re-radiate it to space in the first place? The answer is a mere 1/2 gram per square meter if ice, more if it's silicate dust, less if the dust is fluffy. Deposited at the sea bottom in a only 100,000 days, that's 5 MICROGRAMS per square meter per day, during which time it is being mixed with the much greater amount of normal terrestrial sediment being deposited. How detectable is that? If the material is particles from a comet that are mostly ICE, they degrade to WATER. Just how do you detect water? If the material is silicate dust, most of it is indistinguishable from any terrestrial silicate except for isotopic imbalances from the terrestrial ratios. When it's all settled we may be talking about detectable isotopes as low as one millionth of one millionth of a gram, or one femtogram! Maybe even 10 femtograms... Have you any concept of how difficult such a detection is? The German researcher who found the evidence of supernovae in sediments 2.2-2.3 million years old, namely Fe60, went through pounds of muck. He spent many years doing it. Know how much Fe60 he found? SIX ATOMS! Then, everybody went out for a beer! [For those who wonder why this is definitive, there is no other place in the universe where Fe60 can be formed except in a supernovae. They can't be contamination from the lab, etc., because there ain't any. Other supernovae-only isotopes are Be10 , Iodine 129 and Sm146. Find'em and you can go out for a beer, too! I'm buying.] You were expecting a Dust Bowl? Drifts accumulating in the streets? Having to wear a dust mask? Not really... The Earth already picks up some dust. There's argument about how much. Tens of thousands of tons per year? Hundreds of thousands of tons per year? So, how much do these tiny quantities of dust I've been talking about amount to? Only 2,500,000,000 tons!!! Yes, 2-1/2 BILLION tons. But it's only 1/2 gram per square meter. Imagine the tiniest pinch of talcum powder thrown up into the air and dispersed over more than a square yard! What would you see? Nothing much, if anything... So, you would never see the dust, only the suddenly and dramatically dimmed sunlight, the rapidly increasing cold, and all the rest of the litany -- only the disastrous effects would be perceptible. The Earth's area is a half billion square kilometers, so we're talking about 1/2 ton per square kilometer, the rate of mild organic fertilizer usage, or less lime than my yard needs to grow good grass again, or... you pick an example. It's not very much, but it's 'way too much, both at the same time. Some of the knowledgeable will jump in there and point out that the eruption of Tambora that produced the 1816 year without summer involved the injection of about 200 billion tons into the atmosphere! Well, two things count in causing climatic disaster: small particle size and high altitude, just what cosmic events provide and volcanoes do not. Tambora injected a coarse mixture of particles into the lower atmosphere of the northern hemisphere. Only the finest, highest particles persisted very long, perhaps 10 to 100 million tons, but it was they that dropped the temperature of the US briefly by 20 to 25 degrees C., to freezing in July and August. After a few weeks, temperatures rebounded to the 90's (F.). They were low and fell out quickly. A 5% reduction in solar flux would be much worse, probably worse than the 534 AD event hypothesized. So, that answers the Where are
AW: [meteorite-list] Norway here we come!
Hi Dean, Matt et al. and all, We don't have to forget, that if a special law explicitly mentioning meteorites does exist in a country, then it is a great exception. Most countries don't have productive areas, wherefrom meteorites occur, and politicians and the judiciary aren't different from other people too: They simply don't know, what a meteorite is and never would get the idea to enact an extra law for meteorites, when there every 30 years or so a little stone is found. Norway is not a desert state, it has 11 meteorites since Chladni found out, what a meteorite is. So I doubt that it has any law concerning the removal or export of meteorites and a way to subsume such a stone from space to existing laws would first have to be found. Very sure I am, that no embassy there would be able to give you a correct answer. I remember well the difficulties to determine the legal status of the Neuschwanstein meteorite, which fell a few years ago here in Germany. Germany is the country of Chladni, has very old institutional collections, has 4 times more findsfalls than Norway and is known to be a silly sick overregulated country with a Kafkaesque jungle of laws, regulations and precedents (which sometimes even overrule physical laws of nature). Hence, if such a country, where people e.g. have a legal right for a temperature of 20°C on the toilets at their place of employment and where on the countryside the roosters are sentenced to crow on weekdays only from 7 a.m. on, but on weekend and on holydays not before 8 a.m., hence if even there doesn't exist a law for meteorites, why should be then there a law in Norway? For the Neuschwanstein stones they found out, that they are no exploitable treasures of the soil, nor archaeological cultural items, nor mushrooms and berries to be picked, and finally found a law handling with natural monuments of the soil. Well, so one part belonged to the finders, the other half to the land owner. A few km away, as those laws are federal laws, one would have had to prove other laws. Meteorites are so extremely rare (and have no economical relevance), that I guess, that in the very most countries do not only exist no laws concerning them, but also, that never someone had the idea to concern oneself with the question under which laws a meteorite could fall. And of course at an embassy they won't be able to give you a binding disclosure :-) Anyway, I suppose that only by great chance there will be found more stones of that fall, our expedition team is on the way home again, so that those questions won't have to be answered. Buckleboo! Martin -Ursprüngliche Nachricht- Von: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Im Auftrag von dean bessey Gesendet: Sonntag, 23. Juli 2006 23:29 An: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com; [EMAIL PROTECTED] Betreff: Re: [meteorite-list] Norway here we come! --- Matt Morgan [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I cannot, but I've spoken with 2 Norwegian's who hunt artifacts there and they assure me you cannot legally remove items of natural history without permit. This is hearsay, but I trust their word. Matt I dont know Norway's meteorite laws but I suspect that the only law that would cause farmer any problems is UNESCO which norway is a part of. Pretty much every country has laws preventing certain items considered Cultural property from being exported nowadays. UNESCO is is a wishy washy accord where countries can pretty much interpret as they please and can make anything they want to be cultural property - used chewing gum if they wanted to could be made illegal to export under UNESCO laws. Some countries (Like Canada, India and asutralia) has meteorites listed as cultural property and require export permits under UNESCO and other signatory countries to UNESCO is in theory supposed to return the items if asked, others (Like Oman, Morocco and the USA) do not and dont require export permits under UNESCO. I am sure that what Matt said above is true. In fact it would be extremly unusual if it wasnt true. However, wither it is illegal to export meteorites from Norway depends on if Norway has meteorite laws. And if it wasnt considered Cultural property or otherwise fall under UNESCO rules even if there were export laws they probably couldent be enforced once they were actually removed from the country. Of course, international laws concerning this is complicated (And often convuleted), there could be bilateral agreements in place ect, and also different countries will treat the import differently (And often how differently will depend on how well they get on with the other government and the governments desire to promote special interests and have nothing to do with actual laws). So while Matt is surely right in his statement above that dont necessarily mean that meteorites can or cannot be legally exported from Norway. But if somebody really wants to know Norways stance on this there is an easy way for you to find
[meteorite-list] Re: Comet: Talking Points, #1
Sterling, did you ever see a cosmic dust particle under the microscope, let alone have you searched for them? I did. I searched for and found cosmic spherules in sediment samples from an archaeological excavation. (you see: I like experimentation too. When the results of the SEM investigation on one of the particles done by a friend of mine who studies cosmic dust as a profession came in, I did not open a beer as I don't like beer, but a good bottle of wine) What we are talking about here is a significant flux of large meteoroids entering our atmosphere and creating airbursts (given the lack of impact craters), if this theory is correct. As they disintegrate in the atmosphere they enrich it with dust. Not just fine dust. Dust in the range of a few micron to up to half a millimeter. The fine dust capable of blocking sunlight by being airborn for a long time, is only part of the equation. And such events leave their detectable mark in lake deposits, dune deposits, deep sea deposits, ice deposits, peat deposits. Here is such a case of a detectable dust layer in Antarctic ice (camouflaged by abundant tephra layers in the same ice deposit, and still then it has been found). And this one the researchers believe was due to one, only one, big meteor event over the area: - Harvey, R. P. et al., 1995: A Meteoritic Event Layer in Antarctic Ice. Meteoritics 30:5, p. 517 If the skies of AD 540 dayly resounded with thunder from meteoric airbursts, the enhanced dust influx due to it should be visible. And cosmic origin dust, due to not only its isotopic but also its petrological signatures, is recognizable as such, nothwithstanding all your blah blah. One of my friends made a career out of it. - Marco - Dr Marco Langbroek Dutch Meteor Society (DMS) e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] private website http://home.wanadoo.nl/marco.langbroek DMS website http://www.dmsweb.org - __ Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
Re: [meteorite-list] Comet: Talking Points, #1
Hi all - A superb analysis, but... In the case of Rio Cuarto impacts, I have been informed by a tree ring specialist that tree rings show the climatic collapse dead on at 2360 BCE. (It would thus appear that the correlation problem for the Mayan calendar has been solved.) This dust load should have shown up in the ice cores. Where is that data? According to the traditions, the fragments also set a large part of South America on fire, which should have produced soot as well. Sterling, do you have any ideas? Anyone? good hunting, EP --- Sterling K. Webb [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Hi, List, Yeah, here we go again... - Original Message - From: Marco Langbroek [EMAIL PROTECTED] Where? Where are the dust layers in peat deposits, lake deposits, deep sea cores, ice cores from Greenland and Antarctica for example? All there is, is a set of narrow tree rings. No more. It is necessary to examine the question quantitatively. Example: Earth encounters a very small globule of interstellar dust. It takes 36 days to traverse the globule. The dust that impinges on the Earth's atmosphere is accumulated in 36 days, during which solar flux to the ground is diminished by an arbitrary percentage, say 5%. Such varieties of dust are very fine, of small particle size. Most take years to fall out of the atmosphere. The original strong signal of the dust, with a 36 day duration, has now been smeared out to 6000 to 8000 days. Because the particles are very fine, they tend to incorporate themselves in surface layers, and erode away at the rate of general local erosion. Those particles that land on rock, sand, ice, move to soil or sea more quickly. The 6000 day smeared signal is smeared out to 50,000 days or more before that portion that reaches the sea or lakes is deposited there. Because the particles are fines, they settle to the ocean bottom very slowly, 100,000 days or more. The mass signal is now down to about 10^-4 of its original strength. How much material is required to intercept 5% of the solar radiation and reflect or re-radiate it to space in the first place? The answer is a mere 1/2 gram per square meter if ice, more if it's silicate dust, less if the dust is fluffy. Deposited at the sea bottom in a only 100,000 days, that's 5 MICROGRAMS per square meter per day, during which time it is being mixed with the much greater amount of normal terrestrial sediment being deposited. How detectable is that? If the material is particles from a comet that are mostly ICE, they degrade to WATER. Just how do you detect water? If the material is silicate dust, most of it is indistinguishable from any terrestrial silicate except for isotopic imbalances from the terrestrial ratios. When it's all settled we may be talking about detectable isotopes as low as one millionth of one millionth of a gram, or one femtogram! Maybe even 10 femtograms... Have you any concept of how difficult such a detection is? The German researcher who found the evidence of supernovae in sediments 2.2-2.3 million years old, namely Fe60, went through pounds of muck. He spent many years doing it. Know how much Fe60 he found? SIX ATOMS! Then, everybody went out for a beer! [For those who wonder why this is definitive, there is no other place in the universe where Fe60 can be formed except in a supernovae. They can't be contamination from the lab, etc., because there ain't any. Other supernovae-only isotopes are Be10 , Iodine 129 and Sm146. Find'em and you can go out for a beer, too! I'm buying.] You were expecting a Dust Bowl? Drifts accumulating in the streets? Having to wear a dust mask? Not really... The Earth already picks up some dust. There's argument about how much. Tens of thousands of tons per year? Hundreds of thousands of tons per year? So, how much do these tiny quantities of dust I've been talking about amount to? Only 2,500,000,000 tons!!! Yes, 2-1/2 BILLION tons. But it's only 1/2 gram per square meter. Imagine the tiniest pinch of talcum powder thrown up into the air and dispersed over more than a square yard! What would you see? Nothing much, if anything... So, you would never see the dust, only the suddenly and dramatically dimmed sunlight, the rapidly increasing cold, and all the rest of the litany -- only the disastrous effects would be perceptible. The Earth's area is a half billion square kilometers, so we're talking about 1/2 ton per square kilometer, the rate of mild organic fertilizer usage, or less lime than my yard needs to grow good grass again, or... you pick an example. It's not very much, but it's 'way too much, both at the same time. Some of the knowledgeable will jump in there and point out that the eruption of Tambora that produced the 1816 year without summer involved the injection of
[meteorite-list] Black inclusions in NWA R-Chondrites?
G'day, I'm hoping someone may know of an abstract/personal/web info on the black (xenolithic?) inclusions found in some of the NWA R-Chondrites? Here is an example: http://www.meteorites.com.au/features/nwa2921.html Any info would be appreciated either on or off-list. Thanks, Jeff __ Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
Re: [meteorite-list] Black inclusions in NWA R-Chondrites?
On Mon, 24 Jul 2006 23:38:33 +1000, you wrote: G'day, I'm hoping someone may know of an abstract/personal/web info on the black (xenolithic?) inclusions found in some of the NWA R-Chondrites? Here is an example: http://www.meteorites.com.au/features/nwa2921.html I don't have an answer, but here's another example, a 3.7 gram slice of NWA 2943: http://webpages.charter.net/garrison6328/nwa2943_black.jpg http://webpages.charter.net/garrison6328/nwa2943_black_detail.jpg __ Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
[meteorite-list] European and Worldwide Radio Telescopes Listen to SMART-1
http://www.esa.int/esaSC/SEMW58BUQPE_index_0.html European and worldwide radio telescopes listen to SMART-1 European Space Agency 21 July 2006 In Spring this year European radio astronomers started a test observation campaign to track from Earth the trajectory of the SMART-1 spacecraft around the Moon. While other worldwide radio telescopes are now joining the campaign, the experts have started analysing the first results, precious for tracking SMART-1 up to its lunar impact and future lunar missions as well. The campaign started on 25 May 2006, when European radio astronomers led by Dr Leonid Gurvits, from the Joint Institute for VLBI (Very Long Baseline Interferometry) in Europe (JIVE) in the Netherlands, started the spacecraft observation campaign in coordination with the ESA SMART-1 team. The 8-hour long observing session involved three European radio telescopes - the Medicina station close to Bologna, Italy, the Metsähovi station in Kylmälä, Finland, and the Westerbork Radio Observatory at Hooghalen in The Netherlands. In particular, the Medicina station detected SMART-1 in real time, as the telescope is equipped with a real-time spectrum analyser. Further tests were also performed at Westerbork on 17 July 2006. The test campaign proved to be very successful, and it confirmed that radio observations prior and during the SMART-1 impact are technically feasible and now fully tested with the VLBI setup. In the meantime, a group of Chinese radio telescopes, under coordination of the Shangaii Astronomical Observatory and in collaboration with the ESA SMART-1 and the JIVE VLBI teams, have also detected and tracked the SMART-1 spacecraft. This will help the Chinese group to validate the ground stations to be used for the Chinese Chang'E1 lunar orbiter, due for launch in 2007. Two radio telescopes in South America - TIGO station in Chile and the Fortaleza station in Brazil have also agreed to join the club of Smart-1 radio observers. Their participation is extremely valuable as they are located most favourably to conduct the observation just before and during the impact. Under the coordination of JIVE , also the SMART-1 observing test using TIGO and Fortaleza on 15 and 16 June 2006 was successful, with the spacecraft radio signal clearly detected at both stations. The data arrived to JIVE for further analysis. This test proves that the setup and scheduling procedure for telescopes never before involved in this kind of observations and based on our earlier test run with the European antennas is correct says Leonid Gurvits, leader of the JIVE team. Indeed for both TIGO and Fortaleza this was the first experience in tracking a spacecraft. In particular, the two stations will take advantage of their favourable location to observe the SMART-1 impact, due to take place on 3 September 2006 between 02:00 and 08:00 (CEST). It is exciting that worldwide radio telescopes can listen to SMART-1 until impact, says Bernard Foing, SMART-1 Project Scientist. The impact is due to take place on 3 September 2006 at 07:41 CEST (05:41 UT), with an uncertainty of plus or minus 7 hours. This also proves that SMART-1 is helping to prepare ground stations, radio telescopes and VLBI experiments for future international lunar and planetary missions. Note to editors The Chinese radio telescopes team (coordinated by the Shangaii Astronomical Observatory) and the JIVE teams closely collaborate on the Lunar VLBI project, in particular under the joint programme supported by the Royal Dutch Academy of Science (KNAW) and the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). For more information Bernard H. Foing, ESA SMART-1 Project Scientist Email: bernard.foing @ esa.int Leonid Gurvits, Joint Institute for VLBI in Europe (JIVE), Dwingeloo, The Netherlands Email: lgurvits @ jive.nl __ Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
Re: [meteorite-list] Black inclusions in NWA R-Chondrites?
Hi, all, Interesting inclusions - they sure do look carbonaceous, eh? I recall coming across a photo of a NWA 869 with a similar inclusion (quite a while ago now, sorry - no link!), and the accompanying suggestion was that it was either carbon or graphite based. I'm sure this has already crossed your mind... Cheers, Pete From: Darren Garrison [EMAIL PROTECTED] Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Jeff Kuyken [EMAIL PROTECTED] CC: Meteorite List meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Black inclusions in NWA R-Chondrites? Date: Mon, 24 Jul 2006 11:10:50 -0400 On Mon, 24 Jul 2006 23:38:33 +1000, you wrote: G'day, I'm hoping someone may know of an abstract/personal/web info on the black (xenolithic?) inclusions found in some of the NWA R-Chondrites? Here is an example: http://www.meteorites.com.au/features/nwa2921.html I don't have an answer, but here's another example, a 3.7 gram slice of NWA 2943: http://webpages.charter.net/garrison6328/nwa2943_black.jpg http://webpages.charter.net/garrison6328/nwa2943_black_detail.jpg __ Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list _ Play Q6 for your chance to WIN great prizes. http://q6trivia.imagine-live.com/enca/landing __ Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
Re: [meteorite-list] Black inclusions in NWA R-Chondrites?
On Mon, 24 Jul 2006 12:55:32 -0400, you wrote: Hi, all, Interesting inclusions - they sure do look carbonaceous, eh? I recall coming across a photo of a NWA 869 with a similar inclusion (quite a while ago now, sorry - no link!), and the accompanying suggestion was that it was either carbon or graphite based. Here's a couple of examples of the black areas in NWA 869 from my collection: http://webpages.charter.net/garrison6328/nwa_869_micromount.jpg http://webpages.charter.net/garrison6328/nwa869clast_03.jpg Note that the black areas in 869 are pretty much flat and featuress, but the black areas in the R chondrites are filled with chondrules. http://webpages.charter.net/garrison6328/nwa2943_black_detail.jpg The significance of that, I could only guess at. __ Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
[meteorite-list] Black inclusions in NWA R-Chondrites?
Hi Jeff and List, I'm hoping someone may know of an abstract/personal/web info on the black (xenolithic?) inclusions found in some of the NWA R-Chondrites? Any info would be appreciated either on or off-list. Here is an example: http://www.meteorites.com.au/features/nwa2921.html Beautiful specimen with a very conspicuous, large, dark clast and another equally large but light greyish-brown clast set in a medium-gray matrix (this light-dark structure is typical of regolith breccias). As for the black inclusion, I don't think it is xenolithic. It represents unequilibrated material of low(er) petrologic type. Hence all those tiny chondrules set in a dark matrix that resembles that of carbonaceous chon- drites. The light- to medium-colored matrix areas show only few chondrules and/or chondrule relics and thus correspond to petrologic types 5 or 6. The dark, chondrule-rich clasts are unequilibrated and correspond to type 3.x (about 3.8 some sources say). But: the dark clasts are NOT carbonaceous but are due to the dispersion of tiny grains of sulfides and Cr-spinels, which causes silicate darkening. My beautiful NWA 3098 (R5) and my latest addition, NWA 2943 (R3-6), which is still in San Diego with Cap'n Blood, also show these dark, unequilibrated clasts. But, whereas my NWA 3098 from Stefan clearly shows chondrule-poor, light clasts and a few small but chondrule-rich dark clasts (see JPEGs in my private mail to you), the NWA 2943 from Michael Blood has an overall higher abundance of chondrules - the chondrules are more evenly distributed. throughout the busy matrix. Best wishes, Bernd Here are some useful references: BLAND P. et al. (1992a) A unique type 4 chondrite from the Sahara - Acfer 217 (abs. Meteoritics 27, 1992, 204-205). BISCHOFF A. et al. (1994a) Acfer 217 - a new member of the Rumuruti chondrite group (Meteoritics 29, 264-274). DIXON E.T. et al. (2003) 39Ar-40Ar chronology of R chondrites (MAPS 38-3, 2003, pp. 341-355). JACKEL A. et al. (1996) DaG 013 - A new Saharan Rumuruti- chondrite (R3-6) with highly unequilibrated (Type 3) fragments (abs. Lun.Plan. Sci. 27, 595-596). BISCHOFF A. (2000) Mineralogical characterization of primitive, type-3 lithologies in Rumuruti chondrites (MAPS 35-4, 200, pp. 699-706). BISCHOFF A. et al. (2001) Mineralogy, Chemistry, and noble gases of the unpaired Rumuruti chondrites NWA 753 and NWA 755 (MAPS 36-9, 2001, A021). LINGEMANN C.M. et al. (2000) Rumuruti chondrites: Origin and evolution of primitive components (MAPS 35-5, 2000, A098). __ Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
[meteorite-list] Electromagnetic Space Travel For Bugs?
http://www.newscientistspace.com/article/dn9601-electromagnetic-space-travel-for-bugs.html Electromagnetic space travel for bugs? David L Chandler New Scientist July 21, 2006 Life on planets such as Earth or Mars could have been seeded by electrically charged microbes from space, suggests a new study. Since the discovery of meteorites from Mars on Earth in the 1990s, people have speculated that living microbes could have travelled back and forth between the two planets, perhaps allowing one planet to seed the other with life. The problem with this idea is that such a trip could only happen after a huge asteroid collided with one of the planets, with an impact large enough to blast rocks off the planet's surface, and such strikes are extremely rare: just a handful are thought to have occurred since the solar system formed. However, a new study suggests there may be a much gentler and steadier way for microbial life to leave a planet and travel to other worlds - and even from one solar system to another, something even the biggest impacts could not do. The startling conclusion grew out of work by Tom Dehel, an electrical engineer at the US Federal Aviation Administration, who was investigating how electromagnetic fields in the Earth's atmosphere can affect GPS satellites and disrupt their use for aircraft navigation. He presented his findings at the biennial meeting of the international Committee on Space Research (COSPAR), in Beijing, China, this week. Dehel calculated the effect of electric fields at various levels in the atmosphere on a bacterium that was carrying an electric charge. He showed that such bacteria could easily be ejected from the Earth's gravitational field by the same kind of electromagnetic fields that generate auroras. And these fields occur every day, unlike the extraordinarily large surface impacts needed to eject interplanetary meteorites. Near-vacuum The measurements of field strength vary greatly at different levels of the atmosphere - the strongest ones are near the surface, generated by thunderstorms. There are large gaps where the fields have not been measured directly, but assuming the fields extend through the whole air column, there could be an ongoing, sustained process of lofting bacteria high into the atmosphere. Since the upward forces of the magnetic field would balance the force of gravity for tiny organisms, they could float in the upper atmosphere for years and reproduce there, giving them a chance to evolve capabilities to endure the hardships of that environment, including coping with strong UV and a near-vacuum. Such organisms would thus be well equipped to endure the rigours of a journey through space, Dehel told New Scientist. The idea that microbes could be electrically levitated into the upper atmosphere was first suggested in 1908 by chemist Svante Arrhenius, but until recently there had been no direct measurements of the strength of electric fields high in the atmosphere to show whether the mechanism would work to propel microbes away from the planet. Other researchers have already demonstrated that some bacterial spores can survive in conditions thought to exist in interplanetary space, and then be revived. So the possibility of interplanetary spread of life is plausible and deserves further investigation, Dehel believes. Charged microbes could also be propelled outwards from a planet at high speed by magnetospheric plasmoids - independent structures of plasma and magnetic fields that can be swept away from the Earth's magnetosphere. Hitching rides on these structures could accelerate microbes to speeds capable of taking them out of the solar system and on to the planets of other stars. And because of the potential for a steady outflow of the particles pushed by the electric fields, a single life-bearing world might seed an entire galaxy with life, claims Dehel. __ Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
[meteorite-list] Chladni's Heirs NORWAY field report
Collectors, enthusiasts, list! The searching delegation of Chladni's Heirs* just returned from a 6-days-trip in Norway on the hunt for the new fall. We set up a little website with an illustrated report: http://www.meteoriten.com/norway.html *Chladni's Heirs was planned to be officially launched after a summer break, now with this actual event you will already got to know our brand's name. Chladni's Heirs is an amalgamation of your (hopefully soon) preferred meteorite dealers: Stefan Ralew Andreas Gren Martin Altmann founded for the purpose to bundle their strengths to serve the collectors even better than before, to assist them in all concerns more accurate and faster and to offer them the enlarged and full palette of meteorites: irons, rare and aesthetic common desert types, historic finds and falls at best quality and competitive prices. Although the official launch will be dated later, we already accept congratulations :-) Stefan Ralew Andi Gren Martin Altmann Chladni's Heirs will take part in the Tucson show 2007 And now we sing: There's a mineral shop down our street, It's run by a German, And they sells good things to collect, But you should hear him speak, When you ask him anything, Never answers No, He just yesses you to death, And as he takes your dough he tells you: Refrain: Yes! We have no martians, We have no martians today. We've chondrites, and onions, rumurutis and eucrites And all kind of stones, and say, We have an old fashioned Gibeon Moroccan potato, But yes! We have no martians, We have no martians today! Things were going well with him, He wrote home to say, Send me Patrick and Peter and Jim, I need them right away, When he got them in the shop, There was fun, you bet, 'Cause when you asked them anything, They answered in quartet: Oh, And now all together: Yes! We have no martians, We have no martians today. We've chondrites, and onions, rumurutis and eucrites And all kind of stones, and say, We have an old fashioned Gibeon Moroccan potato, But yes! We have no martians, We have no martians today! __ Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
RE: [meteorite-list] Chladni's Heirs NORWAY field report
Hi list members, Stefan Ralew Andi Gren Martin Altmann and Morten Bilet, Thank you for this report!!! Its so wonderful to find out more of this fall without having to spend all this money to get there, unless of course one finds a piece! Well, let's see how our American friends will do! ;-) With best regards, Moni PS. Martin, what is the melody for this song? __ Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
RE: [meteorite-list] Chladni's Heirs NORWAY field report
Moni: http://www.authentichistory.com/audio/1920s/Billy_Jones- Yes_We_Have_No_Bananas.html Note: the link is longer than one line, so be careful with the wrapping. Larry Quoting moni Waiblinger-Seabridge [EMAIL PROTECTED]: Hi list members, Stefan Ralew Andi Gren Martin Altmann and Morten Bilet, Thank you for this report!!! Its so wonderful to find out more of this fall without having to spend all this money to get there, unless of course one finds a piece! Well, let's see how our American friends will do! ;-) With best regards, Moni PS. Martin, what is the melody for this song? __ Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list -- Dr. Larry A. Lebofsky Senior Research Scientist Co-editor, Meteorite If you give a man a fish, Lunar and Planetary Laboratory you feed him for a day. 1541 East University If you teach a man to fish, University of Arizonayou feed him for a lifetime. Tucson, AZ 85721-0063 ~Chinese Proverb Phone: 520-621-6947 FAX:520-621-8364 e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] __ Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
AW: [meteorite-list] Chladni's Heirs NORWAY field report
Hi Moni, if they won't behave, like that European team from a country starting with P trampling through the gardens ploughing up the flowerbeds under the eyes of the dumbfounded house owners, I wish all success to the American party. Hmm, the song will work with the melody of CohnSilver: Yes, we have no bananas today, 1923 But later I guess, we will compose a new one :-) Buckl...oops, no, better now: Kindest Regards Chladni's Heirs Stefan Ralew Andi Gren Martin Altmann -Ursprüngliche Nachricht- Von: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Im Auftrag von moni Waiblinger-Seabridge Gesendet: Dienstag, 25. Juli 2006 00:29 An: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com Betreff: RE: [meteorite-list] Chladni's Heirs NORWAY field report Hi list members, Stefan Ralew Andi Gren Martin Altmann and Morten Bilet, Thank you for this report!!! Its so wonderful to find out more of this fall without having to spend all this money to get there, unless of course one finds a piece! Well, let's see how our American friends will do! ;-) With best regards, Moni PS. Martin, what is the melody for this song? __ 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
Re: [meteorite-list] Chladni's Heirs NORWAY field report
Yes, Martin... But. if the Meteorite Cartel had returned with fists full of lovely black stones, Larry would have had to find an audio of the British Music Hall classic: I'ave Got A Loverly Bunch of CoCo Nuts! http://www.nearlygood.com/audio/bunchofcoconuts.html sung by the Monty Python guys, by the way... Sterling K. Webb - Original Message - From: Martin Altmann [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com; 'moni Waiblinger-Seabridge' [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Monday, July 24, 2006 5:44 PM Subject: AW: [meteorite-list] Chladni's Heirs NORWAY field report Hi Moni, if they won't behave, like that European team from a country starting with P trampling through the gardens ploughing up the flowerbeds under the eyes of the dumbfounded house owners, I wish all success to the American party. Hmm, the song will work with the melody of CohnSilver: Yes, we have no bananas today, 1923 But later I guess, we will compose a new one :-) Buckl...oops, no, better now: Kindest Regards Chladni's Heirs Stefan Ralew Andi Gren Martin Altmann -Ursprüngliche Nachricht- Von: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Im Auftrag von moni Waiblinger-Seabridge Gesendet: Dienstag, 25. Juli 2006 00:29 An: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com Betreff: RE: [meteorite-list] Chladni's Heirs NORWAY field report Hi list members, Stefan Ralew Andi Gren Martin Altmann and Morten Bilet, Thank you for this report!!! Its so wonderful to find out more of this fall without having to spend all this money to get there, unless of course one finds a piece! Well, let's see how our American friends will do! ;-) With best regards, Moni PS. Martin, what is the melody for this song? __ 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 mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
Re: [meteorite-list] Chladni's Heirs NORWAY field report
In a message dated 7/24/2006 3:45:21 P.M. Mountain Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Collectors, enthusiasts, list! The searching delegation of Chladni's Heirs* just returned from a 6-days-trip in Norway on the hunt for the new fall. We set up a little website with an illustrated report: http://www.meteoriten.com/norway.html -- Very nice report Martin. Very interesting. The Heirs did well, and behaved like gentlemen!:-) Now that we know more about the fall I think we should stop trying to guess the total weight, it would not be fair anymore. As a reminder, here are the guesses so far: Alex Seidel 4242.42g $142.42/g Andi Gren $199.95/g Anne Black 1950.50g Bill 2345.68g Darren Garrison 12345g Fred Beroud 2006.07g Jim Strope 3169g Marcin Cimala .99g $200/g Martin Altmann 11430g $200/g Martin Horejsi 2345.67g $100-$500/g Mike Farmer 12500g Robert Matson 1600g Roman Jirasek 22kg $10-25/g Sterling Webb 3000g Susan Patton1789.50g Tracy Latimer 2300g Anne M. Black www.IMPACTIKA.com [EMAIL PROTECTED] President, I.M.C.A. Inc. www.IMCA.cc __ Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
Re: [meteorite-list] Chladni's Heirs NORWAY field report
Last one, I promise: If you are one of those people who they warned about who go on private property, then there is always the song redone by Tiny Tim (see song 1). Written in 1929: http://www.counterpoint-music.com/specialties/tinytim.html Larry __ 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 - July 25, 2006
http://www.spacerocksinc.com/July_25.html __ Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
Re: [meteorite-list] Rocks From Space Picture of the Day - July 25, 2006
Now that's AWESOME!! A great picture of an outstanding specimen. Dave - Original Message - From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com Sent: Monday, July 24, 2006 9:52 PM Subject: [meteorite-list] Rocks From Space Picture of the Day - July 25, 2006 http://www.spacerocksinc.com/July_25.html __ 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] FW: LAHOMA, OKLAHOMA, BEAUTIFUL L5, Never Been Available Before!
From: michael cottingham [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Monday, July 24, 2006 8:53 PM To: 'michael cottingham' Subject: AD: LAHOMA, OKLAHOMA, BEAUTIFUL L5, Never Been Available Before! Hello, I am pleased to offer one very pretty meteorite. I have finally cut and polished the Lahoma Meteorite! I owned the whole mass of 20+kg and for awhile considered keeping it whole. However, I dont need 20 kilos and will be happy to keep back the Main Mass (3400 grams) for awhile longer. I am offering superb slices, fragments and endcuts of this L5 beauty. It has a jade-green matrix with loads of metal and dark inclusions. This meteorite has never been available to the collecting community and at the least, you might just want to go and look at the numerous photographs of this very sweet meteorite Go to: http://stores.ebay.com/Voyage-Botanica-Natural-History Type in Lahoma in the search box of my ebay store otherwise you will have to wade through nearly 800 meteorites for sale Thanks Best Wishes Michael Cottingham __ Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
