[meteorite-list] Meteor(ite) crater discovered

[mmorgan at mhmeteorites.com]

Really interesting. Are there better, bigger pics of the crater??
Matt
----------------------
Matt Morgan
Mile High Meteorites
http://www.mhmeteorites.com
P.O. Box 151293
Lakewood, CO 80215 USA

-----Original Message-----
From: "Mike Jensen" <meteoriteplaya at gmail.com>

Date: Wed, 5 Nov 2008 16:02:36 
To: <cynapse at charter.net>
Cc: Meteorite Mailing List<meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Meteor(ite) crater discovered


Hi All

This article has a picture of a meteorite IIIAB, Om;

http://tinyurl.com/5t4r4u

Couple of more articles about the site
http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/metsoc2008/pdf/5109.pdf
http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/metsoc2008/pdf/5108.pdf


Mike


Mike Jensen Meteorites
16730 E Ada PL
Aurora, CO 80017-3137
USA
720-949-6220
IMCA 4264
website: www.jensenmeteorites.com


On Wed, Nov 5, 2008 at 3:17 PM, Darren Garrison <cynapse at charter.net> wrote:

> http://www.whitecourtstar.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1282298

>

> Meteor crater identified

> Posted By Alexandra Pope

> Posted 4 hours ago

>

> What local hunters in Whitecourt thought for years was a sinkhole is actually

> the crater left behind by a meteor that fell to earth 1,000 years ago and is now

> attracting international attention from researchers.

>

> George VanderBurg, MLA for Whitecourt-Ste. Anne, said he was very surprised to

> learn about the crater. He recalled going hunting with his father and using the

> site as a meeting point. Deer could often be found drinking rainwater that

> collected in the bottom of the crater, he said.

>

> "All of us that have grown up here have known about it, but we didn't know it

> was the big scientific thing that it is," he said.

>

> Chris Herd, a professor with the University of Alberta's department of earth and

> atmospheric sciences who is leading the research on the meteor crater, said he

> couldn't believe his ears when someone from the area told him about the crater

> last year.

>

> "We still joke about how skeptical I was on the phone, because we literally get

> hundreds of these calls every year," Herd said in an interview at the crater

> site last Monday. "This is very exciting."

>

> The crater is 36 metres wide and six metres deep, which is small as far as most

> craters go, Herd said. At an estimated 1,000 years old, it is also one of the

> youngest craters in the world. The second-youngest crater in Canada, located in

> Quebec, is 1.2 million years old.

>

> Herd said the meteor, which was made primarily of iron, was probably formed very

> early in the life of the solar system by the same process that formed the

> earth's core. Herd thinks the meteor came from the asteroid belt and measured

> one metre across. However, researchers have so far found 74 different pieces of

> the original meteor — which is called a meteorite once it hits the ground —

> scattered around the crater, some up to 70 metres away.

>

> "The big mystery is the relationship between the meteorites and the event," Herd

> said.

>

> Herd explained that most meteors travel so fast, they are completely vaporized

> when they hit the earth. In some cases the pressure of earth's atmosphere slows

> a meteor down enough to leave a portion of it relatively intact when it lands.

>

> But something happened to the Whitecourt meteor on its way to earth, Herd said.

> The meteorites found around the crater have sharp edges, which tell researchers

> a story about what might have happened to the meteor before it hit the ground.

>

> "The rock was ripped apart on impact or at a low altitude," Herd said.

> "Otherwise the atmospheric pressure would have rounded (the edges of the

> meteorites)."

>

> The site is one of only 12 of its kind in the world and has been very well

> preserved, Herd said.

>

> "It's a phenomenal opportunity for the research that I do," he said.

>

> Lindsay Blackett, Alberta minister of culture and community spirit, said the big

> concern for local authorities is how to prevent meteorite hunters from coming to

> the site and digging up meteorite fragments.

>

> The province will designate the site as a historic resource and post signs

> asking visitors to do their part in preserving it, but researchers fear that

> won't stop some meteorite collectors from stealing rocks.

>

> "You really just have to count on the local community to keep an eye on it,"

> Blackett said. "I think people having a vested interest in this site will

> (encourage them) to keep an eye on it."

>

> VanderBurg said once the researchers have finished their work, the site could be

> a great educational opportunity for the public and local students.

>

> "This is the kind of place that inspires kids to go out and seek careers in

> science," he said.

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