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Green Meteorite May Be from Mercury, a First
space.com ^ | 28 March 2013 Time: 03:19 PM ET | Miriam Kramer

Posted on 03/29/2013 8:27:19 PM PDT by BenLurkin

The green rock found in Morocco last year may be the first known visitor from the solar system's innermost planet, according to meteorite scientist Anthony Irving, who unveiled the new findings this month at the 44th annual Lunar and Planetary Science Conference in The Woodlands, Texas. The study suggests that a space rock called NWA 7325 came from Mercury, and not an asteroid or Mars.

NWA 7325 is actually a group of 35 meteorite samples discovered in 2012 in Morocco. They are ancient, with Irving and his team dating the rocks to an age of about 4.56 billion years.

Irving thinks that the meteoritewas created and eventually ejected from a planet or other body that had flowing magma on its surface at some point in its history. Evidence suggests that the rock could have been formed as "scum" on the top of the magma, Irving said.

NWA 7325 has a lower magnetic intensity — the magnetism passed from a cosmic body's magnetic field into a rock — than any other rock yet found, Irving said. Data sent back from NASA's Messenger spacecraft currently in orbit around Mercury shows that the planet's low magnetism closely resembles that found in NWA 7325, Irving said.

(Excerpt) Read more at space.com ...


TOPICS: Science
KEYWORDS: catastrophism; greenmeteorite; mercury; meteorite

1 posted on 03/29/2013 8:27:20 PM PDT by BenLurkin
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To: BenLurkin

It’s Kryptonite!


2 posted on 03/29/2013 8:35:32 PM PDT by yarddog (Truth, Justice, and what was once the American Way.)
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To: BenLurkin

For the rock to survive entry through Earth’s atmosphere, it would have to have started as a very big rock.

How would a very big rock escape the gravity of Mercury?


3 posted on 03/29/2013 8:46:03 PM PDT by UnwashedPeasant
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To: UnwashedPeasant

Blown off in an asteroid strike.


4 posted on 03/29/2013 8:51:50 PM PDT by stormer
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To: BenLurkin

5 posted on 03/29/2013 8:53:17 PM PDT by stormer
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To: BenLurkin

Any news on the green mineral?


6 posted on 03/29/2013 9:02:47 PM PDT by Graewoulf (Traitor John Roberts' Commune-Style Obama'care' violates U.S. Constitution AND Anti-Trust Law.)
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To: yarddog
It’s Kryptonite!
A publicity stunt?


7 posted on 03/29/2013 9:11:00 PM PDT by Bratch
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To: BenLurkin; SunkenCiv

NWA 7325 is actually a group of 35 meteorite samples discovered in 2012 in Morocco. They are ancient, with Irving and his team dating the rocks to an age of about 4.56 billion years.

8 posted on 03/30/2013 3:41:17 AM PDT by NYer (Beware the man of a single book - St. Thomas Aquinas)
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To: NYer

Looks like somebody spilt some ethylene glycol in the rock garden.


9 posted on 03/30/2013 3:47:24 AM PDT by Cvengr (Adversity in life and death is inevitable. Thru faith in Christ, stress is optional.)
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To: BenLurkin

So the planet Mercury is Green? Who da thunk it??


10 posted on 03/30/2013 6:58:18 AM PDT by PUGACHEV
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To: BenLurkin

Where did the black rock in Mecca come from?


11 posted on 03/30/2013 8:23:29 AM PDT by abclily
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To: abclily

Satan’s outhouse.


12 posted on 03/30/2013 8:26:21 AM PDT by BenLurkin (This is not a statement of fact. It is either opinion or satire; or both)
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To: NYer; 75thOVI; agrace; aimhigh; Alice in Wonderland; AndrewC; aragorn; aristotleman; ...

Thanks NYer.


13 posted on 03/31/2013 6:05:56 AM PDT by SunkenCiv (Romney would have been worse, if you're a dumb ass.)
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