Posted on 04/06/2011 1:46:21 PM PDT by decimon
A meteorite discovered in Antarctica in 1969 has just divulged a modern secret: a new mineral, now called Wassonite.
The new mineral found in the 4.5-billion-year-old meteorite was tiny — less than one-hundredth as wide as a human hair. Still, that was enough to excite the researchers who announced the discovery Tuesday (April 5). [Image of new mineral]
"Wassonite is a mineral formed from only two elements, sulfur and titanium, yet it possesses a unique crystal structure that has not been previously observed in nature," NASA space scientist Keiko Nakamura-Messenger said in a statement.
The mineral's name, approved by the International Mineralogical Association, honors John T. Wasson, a UCLA professor known for his achievements across a broad swath of meteorite and impact research.
Grains of Wassonite were analyzed from the meteorite that has been officially designated Yamato 691 enstatite chondrite. Chondrites are primitive meteorites that scientists think were remnants shed from the original building blocks of planets. Most meteorites found on Earth fit into this group.
Yamato 691 likely originated from an asteroid orbiting between Mars and Jupiter. It was discovered along with eight other meteorites by members of the Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition on the blue ice field of the Yamato Mountains. They constituted the first significant recovery of Antarctic meteorites. Follow-up searches by scientists from Japan and the United States have recovered more than 40,000 specimens, including rare Martian and lunar meteorites.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Not soon enough. Asteroids have plentiful minerals that are rarely seen on earth - particularly platinum group metals necessary for sophisticated electronics.
We have the technology, and should go for it.
Hmmmmmmmm.
Interesting.
Life gets curiouser and curiouser!
That would have been very disruptive
to an afternoon nap!
Hmmmmmmm
I’d prefer a concrete dome home.
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What’s the story behind that big rock in the living room?
It *looks* like a Lazyboy recliner, but I’d never take that for granite.
This looks like a case of CYA to me.
People say the earth is billions of years old.
Others say it is 6,000 years old.
Who’s to say creation isn’t still going on?
Looks like it will remain a mystery...if it fell through his roof, there should be a huge hole there...and lots of debris from the smashed ceiling. Hoax?
It’s part of a rock slide and the entry point through the wall is deliberately off-camera.(?)
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