[meteorite-list] Newspaper Article, 06-2001 Omen Mars Meteorite Found
From: MARK BOSTICK <thebigcollector_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 09:53:38 2004 Message-ID: <OE92fY3xDMrEUwXyvWq0001429c_at_hotmail.com> ------=_NextPart_001_0004_01C2B0A9.AAFC0580 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Paper: Scottsbluff Star Herald City: Scottsbluff, NE Date: Sunday June 17, 2001 Page: 3B (First row, top of page) Newly discovered Mars meteorite could be window into Red Planet GENEVA (AP) - A fist-sized meteorite, one of only 18 rocks on Earth known= to have come from Mars, has been found by Swiss scientists in the Oman d= esert - a prize discovery that could help determine if the planet ever su= stained life. Scientists at the University of Bern annouced the find Friday and said th= ey are just beginning to examine the meteorite. Most of the other 17 Mart= ian rocks have been snapped up by collectors, they said, so few are fully= available for study. =20 "I suspected from the beginning that it was from Mars," said Marc Hauser,= a geologist who found the gray, ridged specimen during a collection excu= rsion in January. "The color was different and, above all, it wasn't magn= etic." Initial conclusions could take several months. Unusually large pockets inside the half-pound rock could provide evidence= about life that is far more conclusion than American suggestions about p= ossible fossils on an earlier meteorite found in Antarctica, Hauser told = the Associated Press. The new meteorite was named Sayh al Uhaymir 094 after the region of deser= t where the team found it and more than 180 other meteorites. The team, i= n a statement, said they were certain it, would contribute to rapidly gro= wing knowledge of the planet. Interest increased in 1996 after a Martian meteorite found near the South= Pole, known as Allan Hills 84001, showed possible remnants of life. But = such arguments "are hardly taken as solid evidence today." the research t= eam said. Most earlier meteorites from Mars were found in the Antarctic before scie= ntists turned the attention to deserts in recent years. Hauser said X-rays of the new rock has shown a surprising number of hollo= w pockets inside that might contain gases or atmosphere. That could offer= clues about both the meteorite's history and Mars itself. The pockets have "a much greater potential" than the rest of the rock for= containing evidence of life on Mars, Hauser said. Most of the 180 meteorites found by the team were magnetic and looked dis= tintive, but the Martian rock looked more like rocks from Earth and was d= ifficult for the team to recognize as a meteorite. The other meteorites a= lso contained no minerals. Hauser said the team believes the Martian meteorite is part of another on= e found earlier in the same area. That first rock is in unknown private hands, as are most Martian meteorit= e because collectors are willing to pay $1,000 a gram for such treasures,= But the team was able to obtain a small fragment of it for testing, Haus= er said, and its makeup is practically identical. (Article also has a photo showing two men holding the meteorite with the = following caption: Swiss geologists Marc Hauser, left, and Lorenz Moser p= resent Mars meteorite Sayh al Uhaymir 094. Friday June 15, 2001 in Bern, = Switzerland.) (Article also has a map of the Omen with parts of the surrounding countri= es a the following caption: Swiss scientists recently discovered a fist-s= ized meteorite from mars in the Oman desert.) ------=_NextPart_001_0004_01C2B0A9.AAFC0580 Content-Type: text/html; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable <HTML><BODY STYLE=3D"font:10pt verdana; border:none;"><DIV><FONT size=3D2= > <P>Paper: Scottsbluff Star Herald</P> <P>City: Scottsbluff, NE</P> <P>D= ate: Sunday June 17, 2001</P> <P>Page: 3B</P> <P>(First row, top of page)= </P> <P> </P> <P>Newly discovered Mars meteorite could be window int= o Red Planet</P> <P>GENEVA (AP) - A fist-sized meteorite, one of only 18 = rocks on Earth known to have come from Mars, has been found by Swiss scie= ntists in the Oman desert - a prize discovery that could help determine i= f the planet ever sustained life.</P> <P>Scientists at the University of = Bern annouced the find Friday and said they are just beginning to examine= the meteorite. Most of the other 17 Martian rocks have been snapped up b= y collectors, they said, so few are fully available for study. </P> <P>"I= suspected from the beginning that it was from Mars," said Marc Hauser, a= geologist who found the gray, ridged specimen during a collection excurs= ion in January. "The color was different and, above all, it wasn't magnet= ic."</P> <P>Initial conclusions could take several months.</P> <P>Unusual= ly large pockets inside the half-pound rock could provide evidence about = life that is far more conclusion than American suggestions about possible= fossils on an earlier meteorite found in Antarctica, Hauser told the Ass= ociated Press.</P> <P>The new meteorite was named Sayh al Uhaymir 094 aft= er the region of desert where the team found it and more than 180 other m= eteorites. The team, in a statement, said they were certain it, would con= tribute to rapidly growing knowledge of the planet.</P> <P>Interest incre= ased in 1996 after a Martian meteorite found near the South Pole, known a= s Allan Hills 84001, showed possible remnants of life. But such arguments= "are hardly taken as solid evidence today." the research team said.</P> = <P>Most earlier meteorites from Mars were found in the Antarctic before s= cientists turned the attention to deserts in recent years.</P> <P>Hauser = said X-rays of the new rock has shown a surprising number of hollow pocke= ts inside that might contain gases or atmosphere. That could offer clues = about both the meteorite's history and Mars itself.</P> <P>The pockets ha= ve "a much greater potential" than the rest of the rock for containing ev= idence of life on Mars, Hauser said.</P> <P>Most of the 180 meteorites fo= und by the team were magnetic and looked distintive, but the Martian rock= looked more like rocks from Earth and was difficult for the team to reco= gnize as a meteorite. The other meteorites also contained no minerals.</P= > <P>Hauser said the team believes the Martian meteorite is part of anoth= er one found earlier in the same area.</P> <P>That first rock is in unkno= wn private hands, as are most Martian meteorite because collectors are wi= lling to pay $1,000 a gram for such treasures, But the team was able to o= btain a small fragment of it for testing, Hauser said, and its makeup is = practically identical.</P> <P>(Article also has a photo showing two men h= olding the meteorite with the following caption: Swiss geologists Marc Ha= user, left, and Lorenz Moser present Mars meteorite Sayh al Uhaymir 094. = Friday June 15, 2001 in Bern, Switzerland.)</P> <P>(Article also has a ma= p of the Omen with parts of the surrounding countries a the following cap= tion: Swiss scientists recently discovered a fist-sized meteorite from ma= rs in the Oman desert.)</P></FONT><BR><BR></DIV></BODY></HTML> ------=_NextPart_001_0004_01C2B0A9.AAFC0580-- Received on Tue 31 Dec 2002 09:50:28 AM PST |
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