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Chapter Notes

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CHAPTER 1

  • [1] In the world of science, before you can publish anything about a meteorite it must have an official name. This process is overseen by a single committee of the Meteoritical Society, known as the Nomenclature Committee. It is the sole global organisation that has the authority to authenticate an individual meteorite and all scientists and reputable dealers take its deliberations very seriously. Once the NomCom, as it is generally referred to, gives a new sample an official name an entry is created in the Meteoritical Bulletin. It still comes out on a regular basis as a printed journal, but all official entries also appear pretty much instantaneously on the NomCom’s official database, which is generally referred to as the Met Bull Database. The whole operation was created by Dr Jeff Grossman of NASA, and is a major tool for meteorite researchers everywhere. Check out the Met Bull entry for Valera to get a feel for how it works.
  • [2] Fall and Finds. These may sound like trivial terms, but they are not. A meteorite “fall” is a witnessed event following which a meteorite sample is collected. There must be a reasonable level of certainty that the samples of the meteorite collected on the ground were linked to the events that have been witnessed. As discussed in later parts of the book, there may be a series of phenomenon associated with a fall event, such as a bright fireball, explosions, infrasound etc. In contrast, a “find” is just that, a meteorite that is located and authenticated but was not observed arriving on Earth.
  • [3] Ordinary chondrites are the most common type of meteorites arriving on Earth. There is more detail about them in Appendix 2. They are subdivided into three groups: L, LL, and H. The number 5 tells you how much the meteorite was heated within its parent asteroid. A type 5 was heated quite a lot. An L5 is a very common type of meteorite.
  • [4] M. Horejsi (2006) The Accretion Desk, Valera Revisited. Meteorite Times.
  • [5] Sale Details for Valera Meteorite (2016) Christie’s Auction House, London, UK.
  • [6] Details for Valera Meteorite (2021) Christie’s Auction House, New York, USA, Sale. NOTE: Unfortunately, details of these auctions don’t stay on the web for long. The link here is a summary of this particular sale.
  • [7] D. Steele (2002) Rocks on Your Head. The Guardian Newspaper, 17th January 2002.
  • [8] A. A. Childs (2011) One Hundred Years Ago Today, a Mars Meteorite Fell in a Blaze. Smithsonian Magazine.
  • [9] Nakhla 1, Collection Martian Meteorites, The Virtual Microscope.
  • [10] M. Horejsi (2011) New Concord Meteorite – Let’s Stop Kicking a Dead Horse. Meteorite Times Magazine.
  • [11] Met Bull Database Entry for Vaca Muerta meteorite.
  • [12] At a simple level, meteorites can be divided into three types: stones, irons, and stony‑irons. Vaca Muerta is a stony‑iron type in which there is roughly a 50:50 mixture of metal and rocky materials. The metal is mainly composed of iron, but also contains a lot of nickel. In contrast, Valera is a stone and contains much less metal than Vaca Muerta.
  • [13] The total weight of Valera is 50 kg, and although it broke into three pieces on impact, the object that hit the cow would likely have been a single mass as it descended earthwards. Or would it? Meteorites often fragment during atmospheric entry and arrive at the Earth’s surface as a “shower” of stones. There could have been other pieces of the Valera meteorite that were never recovered, but that is just speculation. Ordinary chondrites have a density of about 3 grams per cubic centimeter. Assuming a spherical geometry for Valera that density indicates that the mass of rock that hit the cow was a boulder‑sized object with a diameter of about 32 cm.
  • [14] Fireball FAQs. The American Meteor Society.
  • [15] The celebrated Myth Busters cannonball incident took place in 2011 and received wide media coverage at the time. Here are some links to various online resources which give further details. Associated Press Video (2011) “Mythbusters” Cannonball Hits Family Home, Van. Linda Holmes (2011) So the Mythbusters Punched a Hole in a House with a Cannonball. Now What? National Public Radio (npr).
  • [16] Cannonballs of old, as fired from classic, heavy cannons are more technically a type of “round shot” e.g., Thomas Flynn (2011) Shot (including musket balls, cannon balls and bullet moulds).
  • [17] E. Pierazzo and H. J. Melosh (2000) Understanding oblique impacts from experiments, observations, and modeling. Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences, 28, 141– 167.
  • [18] E. Wright et al. (2020) Ricochets on asteroids: experimental study of low velocity grazing impacts into granular media. Icarus, 351, 113963. https://arxiv.org/pdf/2002.01468.pdf
  • [19] Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations ‑ Livestock System – Cattle (2024).
  • [20] Sarah Catherine Walpole et al. (2012) The weight of nations: an estimation of adult human biomass. BMC Public Health, 12, 439.
  • [21] The most common type of cattle reared in Venezuela are Criollos, otherwise known as Spanish Longhorns: Venezuelan Criollo, Wikipedia.
  • [22] United States  Department of Agriculture ‑ Foreign Agricultural Service ‑ Global Agricultural Information Service (GAIN) (2019) Livestock and Products Annual, Venezuela ‑ Report No. VE2019‑0001.

CHAPTER 2

  • [1] R. Hutchison, J. C. Barton and C. T. Pillinger (1991) The L6 chondrite fall at Glatton, England, 1991 May 5. Meteoritics, 26, 349. https://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu/ pdf/1991Metic..26S.349H
  • [2] Jonathan Morris (2012) Devon ‘meteorite’ brings memories of close encounter. BBC New website https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk‑england‑20002161. NOTE: As Glatton fell a little before the internet era had really kicked off, there are only a few bits of information about its arrival on the web. The article above by BBC Plymouth News in 2012 features the reflections of their reporter who was based in Cambridgeshire at the time that the Glatton meteorite landed in Mr Pettifor’s garden. It is a generally accurate account of what took place. However, the suggestion is made that Mr Pettifor kept the meteorite at his home wrapped in cling film for several months. But this is incorrect. The meteorite was passed to the Natural History Museum shortly after the fall for safe keeping. The meteorite did go back to the village for the local fete a little after its arrival on Earth. But only for a couple of days. That could have been when it got wrapped in cling film.
  • [3] Jerome Real (2014) Parts Departing from Aircraft (PDA), Safety First #18. https:// mms‑safetyfirst.s3.eu‑west‑3.amazonaws.com/pdf/safety+first/parts‑departing‑from‑ aircraft‑pda.pdf (accessed 27 December 2023).
  • [4] Airportwatch website (2015) 2 ft Diameter Metal Diffuser Fell from Plane Near Chicago onto a Water Park (Nobody Hurt). https://www.airportwatch.org.uk/2015/11/2‑ft‑diameter‑ metal‑diffuser‑fell‑from‑plane‑near‑chicago‑onto‑a‑water‑park‑nobody‑hurt/ (accessed 27 December 2023).
  • [5] BBC News website (2018) “Airline Poo” Falls on India Village Causing Confusion. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world‑asia‑india‑42772918 (accessed 27 December 2023).
  • [6] Glatton, Virtual Microscope, Collection: British & Irish Meteorites. https://www. virtualmicroscope.org/content/glatton. You can also view the Glatton meteorite in all its glory by visiting the Virtual Microscope website and trying out for yourself an “object rotation” of the specimen. https://www.virtualmicroscope.org/sites/default/files/ html5Assets/glatton_o/index2.html?specimen=/node/307. The Glatton sample is covered in a very thin dark rind of fusion crust. This forms due to frictional heating with the atmosphere. The temperatures reached at the surface of the descending meteorite are high enough to melt and vaporise the outer layers of the stone. But only the very outer part. As the rock turns to liquid and vapour, it is swept off the back of the hurtling stone. This produces a glowing dust and vapour trail. This process of heating and removal of the hot products is known as ablation and has the huge advantage that only the outer part of the stone is heated significantly. The ablation process acts like the heat shield on a returning spacecraft. Finally, as the flying stone slows down, the ablation process comes to an end and any remaining liquid on the outside cools to form a thin glassy, black layer, generally no more than 1 mm thick. The Glatton specimen has been sampled and pieces removed for scientific analysis. This is why some parts are light in colour as they represent in the interior of the meteorite. When it first landed the Glatton stone was totally enclosed in black fusion crust.
  • [7] As it penetrates deeper into the atmosphere, the forces on a meteorite build up very rapidly, particularly at the front end. When these forces exceed the internal strength of the space rock, it often breaks up catastrophically into a mass of smaller fragments. These then land close to each other and the whole group of stones is called a meteorite shower.
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  • [10] Jay Sullivan 14 highlights from the spirit collection The Natural History Museum. https:// http://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/14‑must‑see‑spirit‑collection.html (accessed 27 December 2023).
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  • [12] Iconic British 1960s Science Fiction Film: Quatermass and the Pit. https://en.wikipedia. org/wiki/Quatermass_and_the_Pit_(film) (accessed 27 December 2023).
  • [13] The authoritative record of the Glatton meteorite is given on the Met. Bull Database. https:// http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meteor/metbull.php?code=10930 (accessed 27 December 2023).
  • [14] An excellent review of what chondrules are and how they might have formed: Harold C. Connolly Jr. and Rhian H. Jones (2016) Chondrules: The canonical and noncanonical views. Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, 121, 1885–1899. https://agupubs. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/2016JE005113
  • [15] Rhian H. Jones (2017) New Group Paper about the Origin of Chondrules. Earth and Solar System. https://earthandsolarsystem.wordpress.com/2017/05/03/new‑group‑paper‑ about‑the‑origin‑of‑chondrules/ (accessed 27 December 2023).
  • [16] Martin Bizzarro, James N. Connelly and Alexander N. Krot (2017) Chondrules: Ubiquitous Chondritic Solids Tracking the Evolution of the Solar Protoplanetary Disk. In: Pessah, M., Gressel, O. (eds) Formation, Evolution, and Dynamics of Young Solar Systems. Astrophysics and Space Science Library, 445, Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978‑3‑319‑60609‑5_6
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  • [18] Noel Chaumard, Munir Humayun, Brigette Zanda and Roger H. Hewins (2018) Cooling rates of type I chondrules from Renazzo: implications for chondrule formation. Meteoritics and Planetary Science, 53, 984–1005. https://doi.org/10.1111/maps.13040
  • [19] H. Kaneko, K. Sato, C. Ikeda and T. Nakamoto (2023) Cooling rates of chondrules after lightning discharge in solid‑rich environments. The Astrophysical Journal, 947,15. https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538‑4357/acb20e

CHAPTER 3

  • [1] J. Pelley (2017) Dust unsettled. ACS Central Science, 3(1), 5–9. https://pubs.acs.org/ doi/10.1021/acscentsci.7b00006
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  • [3] Annual extraterrestrial flux rates are subject to significant errors. The numbers quoted in the text (20,000 to 60,000 metric tons per year) are based on estimates from Esser and Turekian (1988) and Love and Brownlee (1993). It is also important to note that these values represent the amount of material that arrives at the top of the atmosphere. A large amount of this material will not reach the Earth’s surface as distinct grains, but instead is ablated away on entry. These lost particles will still add material to the Earth, but not as recoverable grains. The amount of material that survives down to the surface is significantly less than the flux rates given by Esser and Turekian (1988) and Love and Brownlee (1993). Based on their study of cosmic dust from the Transantarctic Mountains, and estimates from other studies, Suttle and Folco (2020) suggest that the annual surface deposition rate for cosmic dust is between 1,500 and 6,500 metric tons per year. Using Suttle and Folco’s upper value, we can estimate the maximum number of particles that are likely to fall each year per square metre of the Earth’s surface. Love and Brownlee (1993) indicate that the largest size fraction of dust has a diameter of 0.2 mm and an estimated mass of 0.000015 g. If we assume for the purposes of calculation that all particles have this size and mass, then 6,500 metric tons (6.5 × 109 g) represent 4.3 × 1014 particles. The surface area of the Earth is approximately 5.1 × 1014 m2. That gives a value of 0.8 particles per square metre. In view of the uncertainties, let’s call that 1 particle per square metre per year. B. K. Esser and K. K. Turekian (1988) Accretion rate of extraterrestrial particles determined from osmium isotope systematics of Pacific pelagic clay and manganese nodules. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 52, 1383–1388. https:// http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/0016703788902098; S. G. Love and D. E. Brownlee (1993) A direct measurement of the terrestrial mass accretion rate of cosmic dust. Science, 262, 550–553. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.262.5133.550; M. D. Suttle and L. Folco (2020) The extraterrestrial dust flux: size distribution and mass contribution estimates inferred from the transantarctic mountains (TAM) micrometeorite collection. Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, 125, e2019JE006241. https:// doi.org/10.1029/2019JE006241
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  • [13] M. J. Genge, J. Larsen, M. Van Ginneken and M. D. Suttle (2017) An urban collection of modern‑day large micrometeorites: evidence for variations in the extraterrestrial dust flux through the quaternary. Geology, 45, 119–122. https://inspectapedia.com/ Microscopy/Micrometeorites‑Genge.pdf.
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CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 6

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CHAPTER 7

CHAPTER 8

  • [1] U. B. Marvin (2007) Théodore Andre Monod and the lost Fer de Dieu meteorite of Chinguetti, Mauritania. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 287, 191–205. https://www.lyellcollection.org/doi/abs/10.1144/SP287.16
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  • [3] Taken from U. B. Marvin (2007) Original source: T. Monod and B. Zanda (1992) Le Fer de Dieu: Histoire de la Meteorite de Chinguetti, Terres D’Aventure, Actes Sud, Arles. https://www.actes‑sud.fr/node/15859
  • [4] K. C. Welten, P. A. Bland, S. S. Russell, M. M. Grady, M. W. Caffee, J. Masarik, A. J. T. Jull, H. W. Weber and L. Schultz (2001) Exposure age, terrestrial age and pre‑atmospheric radius of the Chinguetti mesosiderite: not part of a much larger mass. Meteoritics and Planetary Science, 36, 939–946. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/ abs/10.1111/j.1945‑5100.2001.tb01931.x
  • [5] O. Eugster, G. F. Herzog, K. Marti and M. W. Caffee (2006) Irradiation Records, Cosmic‑Ray Exposure Ages, and Transfer Times of Meteorites. In: Lauretta, D. S., McSween Jr., H. Y. (eds) Meteorites and the Early Solar System II. University of Arizona Press, Tucson, 943 pp., pp. 829–851. https://www.lpi.usra.edu/books/MESSII/9004.pdf
  • [6] N. Artemieva and E. Pierazzo (2009) The Canyon Diablo impact event: projectile motion through the atmosphere. Meteoritics and Planetary Science, 44, 25–42. https:// onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1945‑5100.2009.tb00715.x
  • [7] We can estimate the mass  of the Fe de Dieu based on its dimensions. 40 m × 40 m × 100 m gives a volume of 160,000 m3 or 1.6  × 1011 cubic centimetres. The bulk density of mesosiderites is 4.25 g/cm3 as given by D. T. Britt and G. J. Consolmagno (2003) Stony meteorite porosities and densities: A review of the data through 2001. Meteoritics and Planetary Science, 38, 1161–1180. That gives the Feu de Dieu a mass of 1.6 × 1011 × 4.25 = 6.8 × 1011 or 6.8 × 108 kg or 680,000 metric tons.
  • [8] P. A. Bland and N. A. Artemieva (2006) The rate of small impacts on Earth. Meteoritics and Planetary Science, 41, 607–631. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/ doi/10.1111/j.1945‑5100.2006.tb00485.x
  • [9] The lost Feu de Dieu meteorite remains a subject of popular interest. A documentary made with the participation of Professors Philip Bland and Sara Russell takes a look at the controversy surrounding this mysterious meteorite. The 100 Meter Meteorite That Just Disappeared | Fer de Dieu of Chinguetti | Spark. https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=YNDOAd0KBCU (accessed 02/01/2024).
  • [10] Meteoritical Bulletin Database, Official Classification of Chinguetti meteorite. https:// http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meteor/metbull.php?code=5354 (accessed 02/01/2024).
  • [11] To understand what is going on here we need a little bit of background information. Atoms consist of a nucleus comprising protons and neutrons. They also have electrons, but we won’t worry about that here. An element is defined by the number of protons its atoms contain. Change the number of protons and it becomes a new element. But the same element can have a variable number of neutrons. The different varieties of an element with different numbers of neutrons are called isotopes. As an example, stable oxygen atoms must always have 8 protons, but can have either 8, 9 or 10 neutrons. The number of protons and neutrons is added together so we say oxygen has three stable isotopes oxygen‑16, oxygen‑17 and oxygen‑18. Now here is the important bit for our current discussion. Not all isotopes of an element are stable and some may undergo radioactive decay. This is the case for one isotope of aluminium known as aluminium‑26 which decays to stable magnesium‑26. Unstable aluminium‑26 doesn’t hang around for long and is an example of a short‑lived radioactive isotope. It was present in the very early Solar System but most of it had decayed away within a few million years. The decay process liberates a lot of energy and if an asteroid formed early enough it would have become totally molten as a result of this decay process. For a more detailed treatment of short‑lived isotopes see: Andrew M. Davis (2022) Short‑lived nuclides in the early solar system: Abundances, origins, and applications. Annual Review of Nuclear Particle Science, 72, 339–363. https://www.annualreviews. org/doi/full/10.1146/annurev‑nucl‑010722‑074615
  • [12] P. J. Hevey and I. S. Sanders (2006) A model for planetesimal meltdown by 26Al and its implications for meteorite parent bodies. Meteoritics and Planetary Science, 41, 95–106. https://journals.uair.arizona.edu/index.php/maps/article/view File/15227/15215
  • [13] The mineral olivine has the chemical composition (Mg,Fe)2SiO4 when of gem quality, it is known as peridot. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peridot. As a molten asteroid starts to solidify, it is one of the first minerals to form and because it is dense it sinks downwards whereas, plagioclase feldspar [14], which starts to crystalise later and is less dense, is more abundant at higher levels in the asteroid (Figure 8.5). Thus, a magma ocean will crystallise to form a lower olivine‑rich zone and an upper plagioclase‑rich zone. In the case of Vesta, the mineral orthopyroxene (Mg,Fe)2Si2O6 takes the place of olivine but the same principals apply.
  • [14] Feldspars have a relatively complex chemical composition and vary between three endmembers: Orthoclase KAlSi3O8; Albite NaAlSi3O8; and Anorthite CaAl2Si2O8 compared to olivine, feldspar has a lower density and so is much more abundant in the outer part of an asteroid that went through a molten phase. Feldspar. Imerys Group website https://www.imerys.com/minerals/feldspar#:~:text= Feldspar%20is%20the%20name%20given,about%2050%25%20of%20all%20rocks (accessed 02/01/2024).
  • [15] E. Asphaug (2017) Signatures of Hit and Run Collisions. In: Elkins‑Tanton, L. T., Weiss, B. P. (eds) Planetesimals: Early Differentiation and Consequences for Planets. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978‑1‑107‑11848‑5. https://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/ papers/1810/1810.05797.pdf
  • [16] M. K. Haba, Jorn‑Frederik Wotzlaw, Yi‑Jen Lai, Akira Yamaguchi and Maria Schonbachler (2019) Mesosiderite formation on asteroid (4) Vesta by a hit‑and‑run collision. Nature Geoscience, 12, 510–515. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41561‑019‑ 0377‑8#:~:text=Mesosiderites%20are%20stony%2Diron%20meteorites,break%2 Dup%20of%20differentiated%20asteroids
  • [17] R. C. Greenwood, T. H. Burbine, M. F. Miller and I. A. Franchi (2017) Melting and differentiation of early‑formed asteroids: the perspective from high precision oxygen isotope studies. Chemie der Erde – Geochemistry, 77(1), 1–43. https://www.sciencedirect. com/science/article/pii/S0009281916301994?via%3Dihub
  • [18] K. Sugiura, Makiko K. Haba and Hidenori Genda (2022) Giant impact onto a Vesta‑like asteroid and formation of mesosiderites through mixing of metallic core and surface crust. Icarus, 379, 114949. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2022.114949
  • [19] E. Palomba et al. (2013) Mesosiderites on Vesta: A Hyper‑Spectral VIS‑NIR Investigation. 44th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference. Abstract # 2245. https:// http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2013/pdf/2245.pdf
  • [20] S. Iannini LeLarge et al. (2022) Asteroids, accretion, differentiation and break‑up in the Vesta source region. Evidence from cosmochemistry of mesosiderites. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 329, 135–151. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/ S0016703722002186

CHAPTER 9

  • [1] Meteorites enter the upper atmosphere at speeds from about 11 km per second (25,000 mph) up to about 72 km/second (160,000 mph). Smaller meteorites will be slowed by the Earth’s atmosphere and reach “terminal velocity”, which for most meteorites will be about 200 to 400 mph. On impact with the Earth’s surface, all they will do is put a small dent in the ground. But the “Big Ones” will retain a significant component of their initial velocity and hence slam into the surface of the Earth creating an impact crater. So, what sort of size are the “Big Ones”? Well, meteorites above 9,000 kg (9 metric tons) retain about 6% of their cosmic velocity. Assuming it is a stony type (bulk density about 3 grams per cubic centimetre) with a spherical geometry, a 9,000 kg meteorite has a diameter of about 2 m. A stony meteorite weighing 900,000 kg (900 metric tons, 8.5 m diameter), retains about 70% of its cosmic velocity. And finally, a 90,000,000 kg stony meteorite (90,000 metric tons, about 40 m diameter) will lose almost none of its cosmic velocity. (Source: American Meteor Society. Fireball FAQs) https://www.amsmeteors.org/fireballs/faqf/#8; Artemieva and Pierazzo (2009) estimate that the Canyon Diablo meteorite which formed Meteor Crater had a mass prior to entering the Earth’s atmosphere of between 400,000,000 kg (400,000 metric tons) and 1,200,000,000 kg (1.2 million metric tons). That represents a lump of metal (Canyon Diablo is an iron meteorite) between 46 and 66 m* in diameter, which is more or less the height of a 15 storey office building! But the Canyon Diablo meteorite didn’t make it through the atmosphere unscathed. Artemieva and Pierazzo (2009) estimate that it lost between 30% and 70% of its original mass during atmospheric entry and also underwent some fragmentation. Based on their lower mass estimate and higher rate of atmospheric attrition, that would still make the impacting mass about 120,000 metric tons. In terms of its speed, they suggest that it may have entered the atmosphere travelling at about 18 km/s and that it hit the ground at no less than 15 km/s, which is 33,554 mph, or New York to London in 6.2 minutes! So, slightly faster than Concorde used to do it in! Well, a lot faster actually! And you can see why it might have made a bit of a dent in the Arizona landscape on arrival. The result of the impact would have been that it was brought to an instantaneous halt resulting in a huge amount of kinetic energy being deposited into the rocks of the Arizona desert, with cataclysmic results (see main text for further details). NataliaArtemieva and Elisabetta Pierazzo (2009) The Canyon Diablo impact event: projectile motion through the atmosphere. Meteoritics and Planetary Science, 44, 25–42. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1945‑5100.2009.tb00715.x. * It is important to remember that iron meteorites are much denser than stony types having a density of approximately 7.5 g/cm3 compared to about 3 g/cm3 in the case of stones. G. J. Consolmagno and D. T. Britt (1998) The density and porosity of meteorites from the Vatican collection. Meteoritics and Planetary Science, 33, 1231–1241. https://doi. org/10.1111/j.1945‑5100.1998.tb01308.x.
  • [2] Meteor Crater has been known by other names in the past including: Coon Mountain, Coon Butte, Crater Mountain, and Meteor Mountain. In the scientific literature, it is often known as Barringer Crater after Daniel Moreau Barringer (1860–1929), who championed the proposition that it was formed by a meteorite impact.
  • [3] Winslow, Arizona is also famous for being the town sung about in the Eargles’ song Take It Easy. https://www.songfacts.com/lyrics/eagles/take‑it‑easy (accessed 02/01/ 2024).
  • [4] Kathryn Hansen (2021) Arizona’s Meteor Crater. NASA’s Earth Observatory. https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/148384/arizonas‑meteor‑crater#:~:text=Meteor%20 Crater%20measures%200.75%20miles,million%20metric%20tons%20of%20rock (accessed 02/01/2024).
  • [5] D. A. Kring (1997) Air blast produced by the Meteor Crater impact event and a reconstruction of the affected environment. Meteoritics and Planetary Science, 32, 517–530. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/j.1945‑5100.1997.tb01297.x.
  • [6] The Mineralogical Record. Albert Edward Foote (1846–1995) https://mineralogicalrecord.com/new_biobibliography/foote‑albert‑edward/ (accessed 02/01/2024).
  • [7] Wikipedia entry for Albert E. Foote. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_E._Foote (accessed 02/01/2024).
  • [8] H. H. Nininger (1951) A résumé of researches at the Arizona Meteorite Crater. The Scientific Monthly, 72(2), 75–86. American Association for the Advancement of Science. https://www.jstor.org/stable/20303.
  • [9] D. A. Kring (2017) Guidebook to the Geology of Barringer Meteorite Crater (Arizona a.k.a. Meteor Crater) 2nd Edition. Lunar and Planetary Institute, Contribution Number 2040. https://www.lpi.usra.edu/publications/books/barringer_crater_guidebook/.
  • [10] A. E. Foote (1891) A new locality for meteoric iron with a preliminary notice of the discovery of diamond in the iron. American Journal of Science, s3‑42(251), 413–417. https://doi.org/10.2475/ajs.s3‑42.251.413.
  • [11] Widmanstätten pattern is an intergrowth of Ni‑rich and Ni‑poor mineral phases found in iron meteorites and some stony‑iron meteorites. It forms in the solid state during very slow cooling. Two iron‑rich phases commonly found in iron meteorites are nickel‑rich taenite, and nickel‑poor kamacite. These essentially unmix from a high‑temperature homogeneous state along distinct orientations. The result is a distinctive crosshatch pattern. A nice example of Widmanstätten pattern in the Canyon Diablo meteorite can be seen on the Natural History Museum blog: Kerry Lotzof. Types of meteorites, The Natural History Museum. https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/types‑of‑meteorites.html (accessed 02/01/2024).
  • [12] Official Meteoritical Bulletin Entry for Canyon Diablo. https://www.lpi.usra.edu/ meteor/metbull.php?sea=canyon+diablo&sfor=names&ants=&nwas=&falls=& valids=&stype=contains&lrec=50&map=ge&browse=&country=All&srt=nam e&categ=All&mblist=All&rect=&phot=&strewn=&snew=0&pnt=Normal%20 table&code=5257 (accessed 02/01/2024).
  • [13] Canyon Diablo is an iron meteorite of the IAB group. The IABs are an interesting group because they do not appear to have formed in the core of an asteroid in the way that many iron meteorites are likely to have done. These are the so‑called “magmatic irons” because they probably crystallised from a totally molten state. The idea is that when as asteroid melts liquid iron, due to its high density, ponds in the centre of the asteroid forming a dense core. In contrast, groups like the IABs are known as “non‑magmatic irons”. IAB irons like Canyon Diablo show chemical and isotopic similarities to a group of stony meteorites known as the winonaites. Both groups are thought to have come from a single asteroid that was catastrophically destroyed before it could fully separate into a core, mantle, and crust. G. K. Benedix, T.J. McCoy, K. Keil and S.G. Love (2000) A petrologic study of the IAB iron meteorites: constraints on the formation of the IAB‑Winonaite parent body. Meteoritics and Planetary Science, 35, 1127–1141. https://onlinelibrary. wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1945‑5100.2000.tb01502.x
  • [14] G. K. Gilbert (1896) The origin of hypotheses, illustrated by the discussion of a topographic problem. Science, 3(53), 1–13. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/ science.3.53.1
  • [15] G. K. Gilbert (1893) The moon’s face, a study of the origin of its features. Address as retiring president delivered December 10, 1892. Philosophical Society of Washington Bulletin, 12, 241–292. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.32044080587637&vie w=1up&seq=5
  • [16] B. Barringer (1964) Daniel Moreau Barringer (1860–1929) and his Crater (the beginning of the Crater Branch of Meteoritics). Meteoritics, 2, 183–200. https://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/1964Metic…2..183B.
  • [17] The Barringer Crater Company. The Crater ‑ Fascinating Science and Unique History. https://barringercrater.com/the‑crater (accessed 02/01/2024)
  • [18] D. M. Barringer (1905) Coon Mountain and its crater. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, 57, 861–886. https://www.lpi.usra.edu/ publications/books/barringer_crater_guidebook/BarringerReports/Barringer_ CoonMountainAndItsCrater_1905.pdf
  • [19] Shaping the Planets: Impact Cratering. LPI Learning. https://www.lpi.usra.edu/education/ explore/shaping_the_planets/impact‑cratering/ (accessed 02/01/2024).
  • [20] H. Plotkin and R. S. Clarke Jr. (2008) Harvey Nininger’s 1948 attempt to nationalize meteor crater. Meteoritics and Planetary Science, 43, 1741–1756. https://doi. org/10.1111/j.1945‑5100.2008.tb00640.x.
  • [21] Some sources suggest that the American Meteorite Museum opened in 1942 rather than 1946 e.g. Mary‑Elizabeth Zucolotto and Amanda Tosi (2020) Seeking the Nininger’s Museums Meteorite Times Magazine. https://www.meteorite‑times.com/seeking‑the‑niningers‑ museums‑from‑the‑ruins‑near‑the‑arizona‑crater‑to‑the‑unknown‑building‑that‑now‑ belongs‑to‑a‑hotel/ (accessed 02/01/2024).
  • [22] E. C. T. Chao, E. M. Shoemaker and B. M. Madsen (1960) First natural occurrence of coesite. Science, 132, 220–222. https://www.jstor.org/stable/1705158?origin=ads.
  • [23] Coesite is a variety of SiO2 that is formed at ultra‑high pressures. Until its discovery at Meteor Crater in 1960, it had only been known from synthetic examples. Minerals.net. The Mineral & Gemstone Kingdom. https://www.minerals.net/mineral/coesite.aspx (accessed 02/01/2024).
  • [24] E. M. Shoemaker (1963) Impact Mechanics at Meteor Crater, Arizona. In: Kuiper, G. P., Middlehurts, B. (eds) The Moon Meteorites and Comets. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, p. 301. https://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu/pdf/1963mmc..book..301S.
  • [25] The Teapot Ess test took place in March 1955 and involved an underground explosion equivalent to 1.2 kilotons of TNT. The footage of the explosion provides a visual impression of what the aftermath of the Meteor Crater impact event might have looked like. It also shows how few precautions were taken to protect the spectators from the effects of the nuclear fallout.US Nuclear Tests, Info Gallery, Radiochemical Society. https://www.radiochemistry. org/history/nuke_tests/teapot/index.html Footage of Teapot Ess Nuclear Detonation: Atom Central, YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9ahoAMAGL8 (accessed 02/01/2024).
  • [26] There is a significant level of uncertainty concerning the amount of energy released during the impact event that formed meteor crater. However, as discussed by David Kring in his authoritative Meteor Crater guidebook (pp. 119–1120), a value close to 10 million tons of TNT appears to be a reasonable estimate. D. A. Kring (2017) Guidebook to the Geology of Barringer Meteorite Crater (Arizona a.k.a. Meteor Crater) 2nd Edition. Lunar and Planetary Institute, Contribution Number 2040. https://www.lpi.usra.edu/ publications/books/barringer_crater_guidebook/
  • [27] Sedan Crater. USGS Earth Resources Observation and Science Center (EROS). https:// eros.usgs.gov/media‑gallery/earthshot/sedan‑crater (accessed 02/01/2024).
  • [28] W. S. Kiefer (2003) Impact Craters in the Solar System Space Science Reference Guide, 2nd Edition. Lunar and Planetary Institute. https://www.lpi.usra.edu/science/kiefer/ Education/SSRG2‑Craters/craterstructure.html.
  • [29] With increasing size, impact craters throughout the Solar System show a change in morphology, from “simple” craters such as Meteor Crater to “complex” craters such as Tycho on the Moon (Figure 9.9). The transition diameter from simple to complex craters varies from one Solar System body to another and depends on the gravity of the body and the strength of the rocks in which the crater is formed. On Earth the transition diameter is about 3 km, it is about 20 km on the Moon and 7 km on Mars. Further information on crater morphology can be found here: Center for lunar science and exploration, Impact Cratering Lab, Lunar and Planetary Institute. https://www.lpi.usra.edu/exploration/education/hsResearch/crateringLab/lab/part1/background/#:~:text=IMPACT%20 CRATERING%20MORPHOLOGY,material%20ejected%20from%20the%20crater(accessed 02/01/2024).
  • [30] Tycho Crater’s Central Peak on the Moon. NASA Solar System Exploration. https:// solarsystem.nasa.gov/resources/2265/tycho‑craters‑central‑peak‑on‑the‑moon/ (accessed 02/01/2024).
  • [31] S. Schwenzer (2016) Study Sheds Light on Violent Asteroid Crash That Caused Mysterious ‘Crater Rings’ on the Moon. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/study‑sheds‑light‑on‑violent‑asteroid‑crash‑that‑caused‑mysterious‑ crater‑rings‑on‑the‑moon‑68093 (accessed 02/01/2024).
  • [32] Apollo Field Operations Test III, Meteor Crater, AZ, May 18–20, 1965. Astropedia, USGS Astrogeology Science Center. https://astrogeology.usgs.gov/search/map/RPIF/ Videos/apollofieldoperationsmeteorcrater?p=6&pb=1 (accessed 02/01/2024).

CHAPTER 10

  • [1] E. Osterloff, Wold Cottage: The Stone That Proved Meteorites Come from Space. Natural History Museum, London. https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/the‑wold‑ cottage‑meteorite.html (accessed 02/01/2024).
  • [2] C. T. Pillinger and J. M. Pillinger (1996) The World Cottage meteorite: not just any ordinary chondrite. Meteoritics and Planetary Science, 31, 589–605. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1945‑5100.1996.tb02032.x
  • [3] Eric Hutton (2007) Stretchleigh Meteorite, UK and Ireland meteorite page. https:// http://www.meteoritehistory.info/UKIRELAND/C17.HTM (accessed 02/01/2024).
  • [4] A. J. King et al. (2022) The Winchcombe Meteorite, a unique and pristine witness from the outer solar system. Sciences Advances, 8. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/ sciadv.abq3925
  • [5] S. S. Russell et al. (2023) Recovery and Curation of the Winchcombe (CM2) meteorite. Meteoritics and Planetary Science. https://doi.org/10.1111/maps.13956
  • [6] Sarah McCullen et al. (2023) The Winchcombe fireball ‑ that lucky survivor. Meteoritics and Planetary Science. https://doi.org/10.1111/maps.13977
  • [7] Queenie H. S. Chan et al. (2023) The amino acid and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon compositions of the promptly recovered CM2 Winchcombe carbonaceous chondrite organic material in the Winchcombe meteorite. Meteoritics and Planetary Science. https://doi.org/10.1111/maps.13936
  • [8] C. M. O’D. Alexander et al. (2017) The nature, origin and modification of insoluble organic matter in chondrites, the possibly interstellar source of Earth’s C and N. Chemie der Erde – Geochemistry, 77, 227–256. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/ pii/S0009281916301350?via%3Dihub
  • [9] D. P. Glavin et al. (2018) The Origin and Evolution of Organic Matter in Carbonaceous Chondrites and Links to Their Parent Bodies. In: Abreu, N. M. (ed) Primitive Meteorites and Asteroids. Physical, Chemical and Spectroscopic Observations Paving the Way to Exploration 2018, pp. 205–271. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978‑0‑12‑813325‑5.00003‑3. https://science.gsfc.nasa.gov/sed/content/uploadFiles/publication_files/Chapter‑3‑‑‑The‑Origin‑and‑Evolution‑of‑Organic‑Matter_2018_Primitive‑Meteor.pdf
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  • [11] Martin D. Suttle et al. (2022) The Winchcombe meteorite ‑ a regolith breccia from a rubble‑pile CM chondrite asteroid. Meteoritics and Planetary Science. https://doi. org/10.1111/maps.13938
  • [12] Richard C. Greenwood et al. (2023) The formation and aqueous alteration of CM2 chondrites and their relationship to CO3 chondrites: a fresh isotopic (O, Cd, Cr, Si, Te, Ti and Zn) perspective from the Winchcombe CM2 fall. Meteoritics and Planetary Science. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/maps.13968
  • [13] Y. Amelin et al. (2002) Lead isotopic ages of chondrules and calcium‑aluminum‑rich inclusions. Science, 297, 1678–1683. https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/science.1073950.
  • [14] The element oxygen actually comes in three distinct flavours. The more scientific word is isotopes. Isotopes are different varieties of an element all of which have the same number of protons, but have a different number of neutrons. The three isotopes of oxygen are oxygen‑ 16, oxygen‑17, and oxygen‑18. All have eight protons, but oxygen‑16 has eight neutrons, oxygen‑17 has nine neutrons, and oxygen‑18 has ten neutrons. The abundance of these isotopes is measured using an instrument called a mass spectrometer. It turns out that oxygen isotopes can be used to help figure out what individual groups a meteorite might belong to.

CHAPTER 11

CHAPTER 12

CHAPTER 13

CHAPTER 14

CHAPTER 15

  • [1] H. Y. McSween Jr. (1994) What we have learned about Mars from the SNC meteorites. Meteoritics, 29, 757–779. https://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu/pdf/ 1994Metic..29..757M
  • [2] Z. Váci and C. Agee (2020) Constraints on Martian chronology from meteorites. Geosciences, 10, 455. https://www.mdpi.com/2076‑3263/10/11/455
  • [3] In recent years, a number of achondrites (meteorites that lack chondrules) have been identified with very old ages. Like the meteorites from Mars, they formed from molten rock that was produced on their source bodies by melting of precursor material. But unlike Mars, this melting event took place very shortly after the formation of the Solar System. Their source bodies would have been asteroids, which are much smaller than Mars, and so not capable of sustaining long‑term volcanic activity. A good example of one of these old achondrites is Erg Chech 002 which was found in the Sahara Desert in 2020. It has been dated as having formed less than two million years after the formation of the Solar System, which as we saw in Chapter 11, is dated at 4,567 million years ago; L. Crane (2021) 4.6‑Billion‑Year‑Old Meteorite Is the Oldest Volcanic Rock Ever Found. New Scientist. https://www.newscientist.com/article/2270314‑4‑6‑ billion‑year‑old‑meteorite‑is‑the‑oldest‑volcanic‑rock‑ever‑found/ (accessed 02/01/ 2024); Meteoritical Bulletin Database Entry for Erg Chech 002. https://www.lpi.usra. edu/meteor/metbull.php?sea=Erg+Chech+002&sfor=names&ants=&nwas=&falls =&valids=&stype=contains&lrec=50&map=ge&browse=&country=All&srt=na me&categ=All&mblist=All&rect=&phot=&strewn=&snew=0&pnt=Normal%20 table&code=72475 (accessed 02/01/2024).
  • [4] D. D. Bogard and P. Johnson (1983) Martian gases in an Antarctic meteorite. Science, 221, 651–654. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.221.4611.651
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CHAPTER 16

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