Part 9

If you are especially interested in meteoritics, you already may have read some good books on general astronomy. There are many and most of them are not too advanced for the beginner. Unfortunately, these books devote but little space to meteoritics, the “Johnny-come-lately” of astronomy. Almost all of the writings on meteors and meteorites you will find largely profitable to read are in professional meteoritical publications. A selected list of such publications, containing much or at least a worthwhile amount of material you will now be able to understand, is given below. Your chief difficulty in using this list will be in finding some of the more important items in the holdings of your public library, unless it is a large and well-stocked one. Your librarian, however, may be able to help you get the item from some other library—perhaps from that of a nearby university or college.

METEORIC ASTRONOMY

MEBANE, A. D. “The Canadian Fireball Procession of 1913, February 9,” _Meteoritics_, Vol. 1, No. 4 (1956), pp. 405-421. Eyewitness accounts of the most famous fireball procession on record.

OLIVIER, C. P. _Meteors_, Williams and Wilkins, Baltimore, 1925. An exhaustive survey of work done by visual meteor-observers.

SCHIAPARELLI, G. V. _Shooting Stars_, a translation by C. C. Wylie and J. R. Naiden, published in the _Proceedings, Iowa Academy of Science_, Vol. 50 (1943), pp. 48-153. A pioneer treatise, dated 1867, which is basic to later work in this field.

WHIPPLE, F. L. “Photographic Meteor Studies, I,” _Proceedings, American Philosophical Society_, Vol. 79, No. 4 (1938), pp. 499-548. Fundamental paper on the subject. Of the six meteors analyzed, five followed elliptical orbits and one, a strongly hyperbolic orbit.

METEORITES

FARRINGTON, O. C. “A Catalogue of the Meteorites of North America to January 1, 1909,” _Memoirs, National Academy of Sciences_, Vol. 13 (1915). Contains fascinating accounts of the phenomena connected with meteorite falls, interspersed with lengthy technical chemical and microscopic studies of meteorites.

FARRINGTON, O. C. _Meteorites_ [published by the author], Chicago, 1915. The classic American work on meteorites. The first half of the book is popular; the last half is technical.

HEY, M. H. and PRIOR, G. T. _Catalogue of Meteorites_, William Clowes & Sons, London, 1953. An exhaustive catalog of all recognized and also, unfortunately, of many doubtful meteorite falls and finds, from the beginning of the historical record up to December 1952.

LAPAZ, LINCOLN. “The Achondritic Shower of February 18, 1948,” _Publications, Astronomical Society of the Pacific_, Vol. 61 (1949), pp. 63-73.

LAPAZ, LINCOLN. “The Effects of Meteorites upon the Earth,” _Advances in Geophysics_, Vol. 4, edited by H. E. Landsberg, Academic Press, New York, 1958, pp. 217-350. A monograph covering such topics as meteorite hits upon buildings and people, meteorite detectors, and the nature and age of meteorite craters.

LEONARD, F. C. “The Furnas County, Kansas, Achondritic Fall (1000,400),” _Contributions, Meteoritical Society_, Vol. 4 (1948), pp. 138-141. This paper and the eighth item, above, discuss the phenomena of the fall of the largest aerolite so far recovered anywhere in the world.

MERRILL, G. P. “The Story of Meteorites,” _Minerals from Earth and Sky_, Vol. 3, Part I, Smithsonian Scientific Series, 1929, pp. 1-163. A chiefly popular survey of the subject by a master meteoriticist.

PERRY, S. H. _The Metallography of Meteoric_ [meteoritic] _Iron_, U. S. National Museum Bulletin No. 184 (1944). A summary of knowledge on the subject, supplemented by exceptionally fine photographs of etched meteorite sections.

SWINDEL, G. W., JR., and JONES, WALTER B. “The Sylacauga, Talladega County, Alabama, Aerolite: A Recent Meteoritic Fall that Injured a Human Being,” _Meteoritics_, Vol. 1, No. 2 (1954), pp. 125-132.

WHITE, C. S. and BENSON, OTIS O. (editors) _Physics and Medicine of the Upper Atmosphere_, University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque, 1952. See Chapter X, “Meteoritic Phenomena and Meteorites,” by F. L. Whipple, pp. 137-170; and Chapter XIX, “Meteoroids, Meteorites, and Hyperbolic Meteoritic Velocities,” by Lincoln LaPaz, pp. 352-393. Modern views on the meteorite velocity controversy.

METEORITE CRATERS

LAPAZ, LINCOLN. “The Craters on the Moon,” _Scientific American_, Vol. 181, No. 4 (1949), pp. 2-3. A popular exposition of the Bénard-Wasiutynski theory of the origin of the ordinary (nonrayed) craters on the moon.

SPENCER, L. J. “Meteorite Craters as Topographical Features on the Earth’s Surface,” _Geographical Journal_, Vol. 81 (1933), pp. 227-248. The classic paper on terrestrial meteorite craters.

METEORITIC DUST

BUDDHUE, J. D. _Meteoritic Dust_, The University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque, 1950. An account of the various techniques used in collecting and studying meteoritic dust; and also of the conclusions drawn from the study of such dust.

INDEX

A achondrites, 126, 163, 178 Adelie Land stone, 78 Adrar iron, 38, 40 aerolites, 178, 179 _see also_, stones, meteoritic age of meteorites and/or craters, 50, 52 Aggie Creek iron, 76 Ahnighito iron, 36, 128 Algoma meteorite, 75 “Alley Oop’s shillelagh,” 126 altitude, 88, 90, 105, 106 American Meteor Society, 116 American Museum of Natural History, 37 Anderson Township meteorites, 76 Andhâra stone, 147-8 Andromeda, Great Spiral Nebula in, 2 Andromedid shower, 153 anthills, meteorites in, 128 anti-matter, 58-60 Aouelloul crater, 65 appearance and disappearance of meteors, 86, 94, 106 applied science, 166 archeologists, 76, 150 areas of fall, 13-4, 24, 26, 32, 89, 94, 159 armor plate, 167 asteroid belt and orbits, 160-1 astronautics, 110, 168, 170-6 ataxites, 120 Athens, multiple fireball over, 149 australites, 134, 140 azimuth, astronomical, 88

B Bacubirito iron, 128 Bald Eagle iron, 76 ballistic potential, 171 Baxter stone, 73 Bear Lodge iron, 76 Beddgelert stone, 69-70, 73, 168 bediasites, 136, 137 Belly River stone, 131 Benares meteorite, 156 Bendego iron, 128 Benld stone, 73 Benson, O. O., 179 Bethlehem stone, 73 betyls, 148, 150 Bible, meteorite mentioned in, 147 Bielid shower, 116 “blackfellows’ buttons,” 134 Black Stone of the Kaaba, 147 Boisse, A., 160, 163 bolides, 102, 151 Braunau iron, 73 Brenham craters and meteorites, 52, 65, 66, 78 Box Hole Station crater, 65 Bridgewater meteorite, 75 British Museum, 136, 158 Buddhue, J. D., 179

C Campo del Cielo craters, 50, 65 Canyon Diablo crater, 44-52, 65, 66, 75, 96, 161, 162, 165, 174 Cape of Good Hope iron, 150 Cape York iron, 36, 37 Carlton meteorite, 75 Casas Grandes iron, 76 charms, meteorites used as, 134, 136 _see also_ sacred meteorites; superstitions Chesterfield meteorite, 75 Chladni, E. F. F., 155-7 chondrules and chondrites, 124-6, 163 Chubb crater, 52-4 coins depicting meteorites, 148, 150 collection of meteorites in institutions, 20, 32, 34, 37, 38, 40-1, 90, 136, 158 comets, 114, 140, 164 composition of meteor-forming particles, 160-7 composition of meteorites, 118-26, 163, 179 composition of tektites, 136-8 Constantia stone, 74 contraterrene matter, 56, 58-60 convection-current hypothesis, 63-4 cosmic metal mine, 162, 174-6 cosmic rays, 168-71 craters, 17, 18, 20, 42-65, 66, 96, 143, 178, 179

D Dalgaranga crater, 65 daubreelite, 124 destruction by meteorites, 11, 15, 16-19, 54-7, 68-70, 73-4, 178 diamond-bearing meteorite, 82 direction measures, 23, 24, 86-9, 110 distribution of meteorites, 66-68, 72, 140-3, 159 dog and meteorite, 73 doubters of meteorites, 154-7 “dumbbells,” 135, 136 “dust balls,” 106 dust, meteoritic, 102, 116-7, 179

E “earth-rings,” 142 earth-trace, 92 eating a meteorite, 82 Einstein, A., 166 elements in meteorites, 118-24 elements in meteor-forming particles, 107 elevation, apparent, 88, 90 _see also_ altitude “end-point,” 16, 86-91 Enrico Fermi Institute, 168 Ensisheim stone, 152, 154 Eta-Aquarid shower, 114 etching meteorites, 119-123 evaporation, _see_ vaporization “explosions” of meteors and/or meteorites, 18, 23, 25, 55, 56-60, 63, 86, 92

F fall, determining area of, 13-14, 24, 26 _see also_ oval-shaped areas of fall falls, witnessed, 11-22, 23-34, 67, 68-72, 82, 84-95 Farrington, O. C., 178 farmers as meteorite finders, 28, 30, 75-6 Fermi (Enrico) Institute, 168 fireballs, 2, 10, 11-13, 23-5, 54, 69, 84-92, 102, 106, 149, 151 fishermen net meteorite, 78 fixes, 84-90 “flanged buttons,” 135, 136 flight-path, _see_ trajectory Flows meteorite, 82 footwarmer, meteorite used as, 78 “fossil” meteorites, 144-6 funnels, impact and penetration, 20, 29, 32, 33, 42, 44 Furnas County stone, 29, 31, 32-4, 128, 178 _see also_ Norton County fall fusion crust, 20, 21, 130, 132, 140, 148, 172

G Galle, J. G., 92 gamma-ray spectroscopy, 171 Geminid shower, 114 Giacobinid shower, 103, 114, 115 Giacobini-Zinner comet, 114 glass, 138, 145 _see also_ silica-glass; tektites Glorieta iron, 126 great-circle distributions, 140-3

H Harvard meteor-photographs, 110-1 Haviland craters, 50, 52, 65, 66 Hayden Planetarium, 129 height, 88, 90, 105, 106 Henbury craters, 50, 65 Hey, M. H., 178 hexahedrites, 119, 120 Holbrook stone shower, 128 Howard, E., 155-7 hunting meteorites, methods of, 84-100

I “ices,” 106 Illinois Gulch iron, 76 impactites, 143-5 India, Museum of the Geological Survey of, 41 Indians, 41, 76, 150 Institute for Nuclear Studies, 168 Institute of Meteoritics, 5, 24, 26-32, 80, 84, 96, 168, 169, 171 intersecting lines of sight, 84-90 interstellar space, 92, 171 irons, 19, 36, 37, 39, 40, 41, 48, 73, 75, 76, 78, 82, 99, 116, 118, 120, 121, 128, 129, 133, 143, 150, 155, 163, 167, 174-5, 179

J Jones, W. B., 179 Jupiter, 102, 142, 160, 161, 164

K Kaalijarv crater, 65 kamacite, 124 Kasamatsu stone, 74 Kayser, E., 92 Kenton iron, 75 Kilbourn stone, 74 Klepesta, J., 2 Krasnoyarsk iron, 155

L laboratory procedures, 5, 81, 83, 118, 120, 128, 167-71 La Caille meteorite, 78 L’Aigle stone shower, 157, 158 Lake Murray iron, 77, 79, 80-3 Lake Okeechobee stone, 78 LaPaz, L., 178, 179 largest meteorites, _see_ weights and weighing of meteorites Leningrad (St. Petersburg), Academy of Science of, 158 Leonard, F. C., 178 Leonid shower, 114, 115 Lick Creek iron, 76 Londonderry Laboratory for Radiochemistry, 168 Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, 171 “lost” meteorites, 38, 40, 41, 80, 82, 95 lunar craters, 60-4, 179 _see also_ moon, craters on Lyrid shower, 112, 114

M magic attributed to meteorites, _see_ superstitions Mars, 160, 161 “Martian spaceship,” 60 Maximilian I, 152-4 Mazapil iron, 116 Mebane, A. D., 177 Medvedev, P. I., 10 Merrill, G. P., 178 Mesaverde iron, 76 metals, meteorites as sources of, 174-5 meteorite detectors, 48, 52, 96-100, 178 meteoriteless meteorite crater, 56 meteorite-planet hypothesis, 140, 160, 163, 174 meteorite showers, 73-4, 128, 157, 158, 159 meteorites, true or false, 130-3 meteoritics, 5, 104, 166-7 meteors, 101-17 meteor showers, 103, 111, 112-116, 117, 152, 153 meteor steel, 167 micro-meteorites, _see_ dust, meteoritic minerals in meteorites, 120-6, 156, 163 miners as meteorite finders, 70, 76, 144 mining in space, 162, 174-6 Montezuma temple iron, 76 moon, 60-4, 140, 170 moon, craters on, 60-4, 179 Morito iron, 128 Moscow, Academy of Sciences at, 20 Mount Darwin, Tasmania, crater, 65; silica-glass, 143 Mount Joy iron, 75-6 Murfreesboro iron, 76

N “natural nuclear explosion,” 60 Neumann, J., 158 nickel-iron, 19, 32, 96, 98, 118, 120, 122, 123, 124, 126, 132, 143, 150, 161, 163, 170, 174 Norton County fall, 23-34, 90, 93, 94, 96, 126, 128, 130, 168 Novo-Urei stone, 82

O obsidian mistaken for tektite, 138-9 octahedrites, 120, 121 Odessa crater, 43, 44, 52, 65, 66, 75 oldest collection of meteorites, 76 oldest crater, 52 Olivier, C. P., 116, 177 Opava irons, 76 orbits, 108-112, 160, 161 origin of meteorites, 160, 163, 164, 174 Orionid shower, 112, 114 oval-shaped areas of fall, 32, 89, 94, 159 ownership of meteorites, 36, 38

P Pallas, P. S., 155 pallasites, 122, 155 Pantar stone shower, 74 parallax and parallactic displacement, 105, 106 Paris, Museum of Natural History at, 38, 158 paths of meteors, 84-94, 116 _see also_ earth-trace; orbits; speeds; trajectory; velocity patterns, structural, 120, 121, 172 Pawnee Indians, 41 Peary, R. E., 36, 37, 128 Perry, S. H., 179 Perseid shower, 114, 115 person struck by meteorite, 70-2, 178, 179 piezoglyphs, 131, 132 Pittsburgh iron, 78, 80 plessite, 124 plotting meteor paths, 116 Plymouth meteorite, 75 Podkamennaya Tunguska fall, 50, 54-60, 65, 102 polishing meteorites, 5, 118, 120, 123 Port Orford stony-iron, 40 Prague Observatory, 2 Prior, G. T., 178 Proctor, R. A., 164 Pultusk fireball, 92 Purdue University, 170 pure science, 166 “purloined” meteorite, 36, 39

Q Quadrantid shower, 114

R radiant of meteor shower, 112, 113 radioactivities, 5, 60, 133, 138, 168, 170-1 Rafrüti iron, 78 rainfall, connected with meteor showers, 117 random distribution, 62 ray-craters, 60-4 recoveries of meteorites, 14-22, 24, 26-8, 31, 33, 35, 75-82, 84-100 Red River iron, 41 re-entry, 172, 173 reports, eyewitness, 23, 24, 84, 86, 90, 92, 94-5 reversed matter, 56, 58-60 Richland iron, 75 Rigel, 92 rocketry, 110, 174-6 Rojansky, V., 58

S sacred meteorites, 147-50 _see also_ superstitions San Emigdio stone, 80 satellites, man-made, 172 Saturn’s rings, 142 sawing meteorites, 81, 167-9 Schiaparelli, G. V., 177 Schmidt, J. F. J., 149 schreibersite, 124 Scottsville iron, 76 Seeläsgen iron, 75 Shakespeare, meteors mentioned by, 152 shale balls, 48, 133 shapes of meteorites, 18, 32, 126-8, 134-7, 140, 172 Shirihagi iron, 150 “shooting stars,” 104 showers, meteor, 103, 111, 112-116, 117, 152, 153 showers, meteorite, 73, 74, 128, 157, 158, 159 Siena fall, 156 Sikhote-Alin fall, see Ussuri silica-glass, 50, 54, 143 _see also_ glass; tektites silicate-siderites, 122, 123 Sirius, 92 “skymarks,” 92 smallest meteorites, 48, 128 _see also_ dust, meteoritic Solar System, 5, 111, 164, 175-6 sounds made by falling meteorites, 11, 12, 24, 25,26, 94-5, 148, 159 space exploration and ships, 5, 168, 170-6 space-probes, 170-1 space mining, 162, 174-6 spectra and spectrograms, meteor, 107 spectroscopy, gamma-ray, 171 speeds, 21, 32, 107, 108, 109, 110-12, 126, 172 Spencer, L. J., 179 stainless steel, 120, 122, 167 stones, meteoritic, 28-34, 35, 70, 71-2, 73-4, 78, 80, 82, 118, 120-4, 128, 130, 131, 132, 133, 148, 156-7, 163 stony-irons, 40-1, 118, 122, 124, 163 strata, effect of impact on, 43, 44-5, 48-51 superstitions about meteors and meteorites, 25, 56, 82, 134, 136, 147-52, 154 swarms, meteorite, 50 swarms, meteor-particle, 111, 112, 114 Swindel, G. W., Jr., 179 “swords from heaven,” 150 Sylacauga stone, 71-2, 74, 179

T taenite, 124 tektite-obsidian test, 138-9 tektites, 134-146, 160 tests for true meteorites, 130-3 “thumb-prints,” 131, 132 trajectory, 90, 92, 173 tritium, 170 Tucson iron, 128 Tungus, _see_ Podkamennaya Tunguska twice-found meteorites, 76 Tycho, lunar ray-crater, 61

U University of California Radiation Laboratory, 58 University of Chicago, 168 University of New Mexico, 24, 30 _see also_ Institute of Meteoritics University of Nebraska, 30, 80 U. S. National Museum, 40, 158 Ussuri fall, 10, 11-34, 42, 50, 54, 65, 130

V vaporization, 102, 107, 116, 126, 128, 143, 145, 162, 172, 174 velocity, 107, 108, 109, 171, 179 Venus, 102, 162 Verbeek, R. D. M., 140 Vienna, National History Museum of, 41, 158 volcanic theories, 138, 155, 156, 164

W Wabar craters, 50, 65, 143, 162 Wasiutynski, J., 63-4, 179 water, meteorites under, 78 waves, air and water, 12, 54-5 weather, effect of meteoritic dust on, 117 weathering of meteorites, 38, 48, 52, 53, 54, 66, 133, 144 weights and weighing of meteorites, 35, 36, 128, 130 White, C. S., 179 Widmanstätten pattern, 120, 121, 122, 158 Whipple, F. L., 177, 179 Willamette iron, 36, 128, 129 Wold Cottage meteorite, 156 Wolf Creek crater, 52, 53, 65, 75, 133

Y Yale University, 41 young people and meteoritics, 23, 24, 28, 34, 39, 90, 98, 99, 116 _see also_ reports, eyewitness

Z Zhovtnevy Hutor fall, 82

FOOTNOTES

[1]Also called _aerolites_.

[2]The meteorites from this crater-producing fall have been found in both Haviland and Brenham Townships, Kiowa County, Kansas. Either of these names may therefore appear in the literature.

[3]The meteorites from this crater-producing fall have been found in both Haviland and Brenham Townships, Kiowa County, Kansas. Either of these names may therefore appear in the literature.

[4]453.59 grams = 1 pound.

[5]A questionnaire for making an adequate report is obtainable by request from the Institute of Meteoritics, The University of New Mexico, Albuquerque.

[6]Readers who are advanced enough in astronomy to attempt plotting the meteor paths can get the proper star-maps and record sheets for this purpose by joining the American Meteor Society. Members must be at least 18 years old, but applicants between 14 and 18 can become probational members. For details write to Dr. C. P. Olivier, President, American Meteor Society, 521 North Wynnewood Avenue, Narberth, Pennsylvania.

[7]Quite recently, a fourth division, the _tektites_ (discussed in the next chapter), has been recognized by some authorities.

[8]Discussed in Chapter 12.

[9]The Acts of the Apostles, 19:35.

[10]Also _baetyl_ and _baetulus_, from the Greek word _baitylos_, a term used for sacred meteorites and stones.

[11]This metallic mass was the first stony-iron meteorite to be identified as such. The _pallasites_, which make up an important subdivision of the stony-iron meteorites, were named in honor of Pallas.

[12]Very recently, some authorities have concluded that there must have been not one but several meteorite-planets.

Space Nomads Meteorites in Sky, Field, and Laboratory By Lincoln LaPaz and Jean LaPaz

Meteorites are the real tokens of space! They are samples of cosmic matter we can actually take in our hands. Science values them greatly as specimens of _the only tangible_ substances we have from remote and inaccessible regions of the universe.

These mysterious “space nomads” are revealing to today’s scientists many amazing and usable facts about conditions in outer space, about the age of our Solar System, and even about the probable constitution of our own home planet.

This is an essential book for everybody who is keeping up with space science and wishes to be well posted on these interesting but potentially dangerous co-voyagers that the astronauts may encounter.

You will also see in SPACE NOMADS:

The awesome event a meteorite-fall can be, with its violent sound and light effects, and its terrific impact.

The excitement and the know-how of the hunt for these cosmic missiles.

How to tell the difference between a true meteorite and a mistaken one. Ditto, meteorite craters.

How to make your own contribution to science by knowing the right way to observe and report meteors and meteorites.

What is inside them, and how they vary in content and structure.

The moon as a meteorite target.

The strange history of the subject—the amusing superstitions and fantastic notions believed until recently about “shooting stars” and “stones falling from the sky.”

And more.

Here is an easy but sound introduction to the rapidly developing science of meteoritics. All of the information is up-to-date, much of it firsthand, for the authors are themselves professional meteoriticists. Daily they are engaged in fieldwork, laboratory analysis, and advanced research at one of the world’s chief centers for this study. (See back of jacket.)

A HOLIDAY HOUSE BOOK 12 UP $3.95

_Jacket by Leo Manso_

On the moon is a ray-crater named LaPaz in honor of the man who has had a major part in establishing the highly significant theory that the lunar ray-craters were made by the impact of meteorites. Lincoln LaPaz is a leading pioneer as well as a widely recognized authority in meteoritics, an important branch of astronomy. He was born on Lincoln’s birthday, in Wichita, Kansas, where he grew up. Although both his master’s degree, at Harvard, and his doctorate, at Chicago, were in mathematics, his chief interest since boyhood has been in meteorites and meteors. Today he is Director of the Institute of Meteoritics at the University of New Mexico, where he also heads the Division of Astronomy.

Jean LaPaz was born in Hanover, New Hampshire. Since girlhood she has been close to her father in his fascinating work. When she was a high-school student in Ohio, she did some serious fieldwork as a member of the Ohio State University Meteorite Expeditions. Later, she received both a Bachelor of Science degree in geology and a Master of Arts in English from the University of New Mexico. Science and Literature continue to be her mutually favoring interests.

Transcriber’s Notes

—Retained publication information from the printed edition: this eBook is public-domain in the country of publication.

—Silently corrected a few palpable typos.

—In the text versions only, text in italics is delimited by _underscores_.

End of Project Gutenberg's Space Nomads, by Lincoln LaPaz and Leota Jean LaPaz