meteor.html

VISITORS FROM OUTER SPACE

by

JAMES A. PETRAIT



Because of my interest in astronomy and the origins of the abiotic and abiotic universe, I have collected some small samples of meteorites during the past few years. Recently, I hooked up a close-up lens to a color Quick-Cam on my MAC Powerbook and took some close-up photos of the meteorites in my collection. My favorite meteorite is the Murchison since I am especially interested in the origins of the biotic Earth. You can learn more about the Murchison at the Access Excellence site.


Two photos of the small piece of the Murchison meteorite in my collection are shown below. The Murchison meteorite is a carbonaceous chondrite which fell in Australia around 30 years ago. It contains amino acids and is over 4 billion years old!

For a microscopic view of the Murchison meteorite, check out the Microscopic Murchison Photo, and also learn how I took the photo using a Color Quickcam.



A photo of the small piece of the meteorite from Odessa, Texas is shown below. It is a nickel-iron type of meteorite and this sample appears to have a coating of iron oxide on the outside.


A photo of a small piece of the meteorite that made the Canyon Diabalo crater in Arizona appears below. It is a nickel-iron meteorite. I purchased the sample at the giftshop after taking a tour of the Arizona crater several years ago.


The last photo shows the surface of a small, polished, and etched piece of the Gibeon meteorite from Africa. It is a nickel-iron meteorite and the line patterns after etching are typical of this type of meteorite.



From here you can go back to the main Cybergalaxy Page


© 1997, James A. Petrait jpetrait@earthling.net


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