Paper: The Odessa American City: Odessa, Texas Date: Thursday, June 19, 1969 Page: 27
At Odessa Meteor Crater --- 'Star' Really Fell On Texas
Thousands of years ago, a "star" fell on West Texas and produced what has been described as one of the rarest and most interesting phenomenons in the world.
Odessa Meteor Crater located 10 miles southwest of the city on Highway 80, is a nearly circular depression 550 feet in diameter.
Every year the crater and adjacent museum attract hundreds of visitors, many of whom are scientists wanting to further explore the site.
In fact, the crater here possesses such special characteristics that it was designated in 1965 as a National Historical Landmark, the first such site in Texas to be so named by the National Parks Service fo the U.S. Department of the Interior.
Legislation last year passed and created Odessa Meteor Crater State Park. Rep. Ace Pickens of Odessa introduced the bill.
Besides being among the less than 30 such depressions in existence, the Odessa crater is one of ten in which associated meteoric material survived the impact with earth and the earth's erosion processes.
It was probed last year by a five-man team from NASA because it resembled what they would expect some moon craters to be like.
But to the layman, the crater more nearly resembles a caliche pit than anything else. To the meteorist or geologist, however, it is a scientific wonder.
Most meteorites, as they hurtle through space and enter the earth's atmosphere, burn up before even touching the ground.
But the nickel-iron meteorite which streaked into West Texas more than 20,000 years ago left solid evidence of its existence.
It shattered on impact and blew out more than 100,000 cubic yards of rock to produce a hole 100 feet deep.
According to astrophysicists, the meteorite was part of a great shower from within our solar system - probably from the asteroidal belt located between planets Jupiter and Saturn.
It was first thought there was one large piece of the "star" buried 170 feet beneath the surface. But scientists now have determinated it exploded and vaporized on contact and that scores of fragments are all that remain of the meteor itself.
Five small craters in the vicinity of the main one range from 15 feet to 70 feet in diameter and from 7 to 18 feet in depth.
Through the year, the crater has filled up with sediments to within six feet of the level of the surrounding plan, and within 18 feet of its rim.
It appears now as a shallow, almost circular depression surrounded by a low rock-buttressed rim.
A rancher first discovered the phenomenon in 1892, but attempts to develop the site didn't start till the late 1930's.
Attempts to preserve the site for scientific study and tourist attraction were made after the war, but it was not till the 1960's that the Odessa Chamber of Commerce and later Odessa Meteoritical Society, Inc., a non-profit organization became interested.
The society, formed in 1962, immediately began to develop the site as a tourist attraction and outdoor lab for scientists. The group still maintains the crater. Tom Rodman is president.
Odessa Meteor Crater museum, located near the site, is a one-room structure built in 1962 from donations from Odessa and area residents.
It houses fragments from three other iron meteorites besides the Odessa Meteorite, 10 specimens of stony meteorite, a rare stony-iron meteorite fragment and some tektites, glassy meteorite fragments thought to be pieces of the moon.
In addition, there are photos taken on recent space flights.
Admission fees are 25 cents for adults and 10 cents each for children.
Museum hours are 10 a.m. - 6 p.m., Thursday through Monday June through August; and 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Saturday and Sunday, September through May.
(end)
Clear Skies, Mark Bostick Wichita, Kansas http://www.meteoritearticles.com http://www.kansasmeteoritesociety.com http://www.imca.cc
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