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Tag Archives: meteorites
“Black Beauty” Mars meteorite unique
It’s young, it has been shattered and naturally recemented, and it’s about ten times richer in water than any other Mars meteorite. And if the scientists who studied it are right, it’s the also first meteorite to come from the … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged Black Beauty, breccia, Chassigny, Mars meteorites, meteorites, Nakhla, Northwest Africa 7034, NWA 7034, Shergotty, SNC meteorites
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UV light makes methane from meteorites
Methane gas, which can arise from both biological and geological sources, was detected in the Martian atmosphere by observations from Earth-based telescopes in 2003 and from the Mars Express orbiter (2004). As methane breaks down relatively quickly under Martian conditions, … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged atmosphere, Mars Express, meteorites, methane, Murchison, ultraviolet light, UV light
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Airblast avalanches
The aerial blast wave from a meteorite impact can trigger dust avalanches in the vicinity, says a new paper published in Icarus. A group of scientists led by Kaylan Burleigh (University of Arizona) reached this conclusion after studying a cluster … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged airblast, craters, dust, dust avalanches, HiRISE, impacts, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, Medusae Fossae formation, meteorites, slope streaks
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Meteorites: Keys to bygone Mars climates
The sky falls on Mars, too, just as it does sometimes on Earth. In its long crosscountry drive over the pool table expanse of Meridiani Planum, Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity has encountered more than a dozen meteorites, all of them … Continue reading
How often does Mars get whacked?
Or — to pose this question more usefully — what’s the rate of crater-making impacts on Mars as compared to, say, the Moon? Why the Moon? Because it’s the one extraterrestrial body for which scientists have both a long visible … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged asteroid belt, asteroids, cratering rate, craters, dating, impacts, meteorites, Moon, Moon-Mars cratering scaling factor
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Big bangs
Really large meteorites produce impact scars big enough to be called basins. Although not defined by a particular size, basins differ from smaller craters in that the floor of a basin follows the planet’s curvature. New calculations published in the … Continue reading