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(meteorobs) Re: Excerpts from "CCNet 97/2000 - 28 September 2000"



--- Phil Plait <badastro@badastronomy.com> wrote:
> 
> Hello--
> 
> My comment on CCNet about compressional heating is
> what I determined after a lengthy talk with John 
> Lewis as well as reading Opik and a few other texts.

> Oberg's comments are basically correct; also,  
> meteorites tend to have ablated material cooled and 
> hardened on their 'back' side, indicating a
> relatively low amount of friction with oncoming air.

> 
> If anyone has more, I'd love to hear it.  Dispensing

> astronomy myths is literally my business! ;-)
> 
> - -Phil Plait

Good information, Phil.

You could have a long & busy career "Dispensing [with]
astronomy myths", particularly when it is related to
meteorites.  

The fusion crust on the "back" side of meteorites,
that you spoke of, is particularly well-developed on
'oriented' stones.  Here, the fusion crust tends to
accumulate and may even boil, until the dark-phase
portion of the stones fight is achieved, at which time
the crust will start to cool and become hardened, many
times still retaining the bubbles that formed a frothy
mass.  It's not all that uncommon.  I've even found
evidence for this in two of the meteorites that I have
found.  There are some images that attempt to show
this on the following URLs: 

http://bolidechaser.tripod.com/lucerne/lv015-p1.htm

http://marzmeteorite.tripod.com/la/la-002/la002img.htm

Which is the only image of the "backside" of LA 002 on
this web page:
http://marzmeteorite.tripod.com/la/la-002/la002img.htm


I have other examples, but I don't have images readily
available for them.

-- Bob V.

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