[meteorite-list] NP Article, 10-1897 Cape York Meteorite, Meteorites in General
From: MARK BOSTICK <thebigcollector_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 10:28:19 2004 Message-ID: <BAY4-DAV44quZlHsc7Q0000159a_at_hotmail.com> ------=_NextPart_001_0003_01C38844.FAB81EB0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Title: Weekly Gazette Stockman =20 City: Reno, Nevada =20 Date: Thursday, October 14, 1897 Page: 4 LIENT. PEARY is bringing back from the northwest coast of Greenland a met= eorite that for size reduces all other objects of the kind to insignifica= nce. The Cape York meteorite, as it is called, is 12 feet long and 8 feet= wide, and weighs about 100 tons, or about thirty three times more than t= he largest in the United States. Meteorites are of three classes, those c= omposed wholly of iron, these in which iron and earthy matters are mixed = and those entirely of stone, the last being by far the most common. In th= e Cape York meteorite iron is the chief ingredient, with some nickel and = traces of copper and tin. Its texture resembles the tough nickelferous ir= on used for armor in warships, and is believed to be throughout a perfect= specimen of crystalline structure. There are legends of larger meteorite= s but they have never been found. The depression in Canyon Diablo, Arizon= a, nearly a mile in diameter and 100 feet deep, is attributed to an enorm= ous meteor, but the largest fragment picked up in the vicinity weighs but= half a ton. When the great Greenland specimen reaches its future resting= place in the American Museum of Natural History, New York, it will be a = steady attraction for visitors. It is asserted that 10,000,000 meteors reach the atmosphere of the earth = every day, coming from inter stellar space, where the temperature is 400 = degrees below zero. On striking the outer air of the planet the friction = causes a heat of 3,000,000 degrees, and the missile, flying 2500 miles a = minute, is instantly converted into gas. But occasionly the mass of the m= eteor is so great that some of it reaches the earth, becoming visible at = a distance of 100 miles. No substance unknown on earth has been found in = meteorites. Iron is their predominant metal. They have shown imbedded dia= monds, but no gold. The fragments are occasionally scattered over an area= of miles, a fact proved by their fitting into each other. Greenland's me= teorites were first heard of through the natives, who tipped their weapon= s with the tough iron sent down from the skies. A swarm of meteorites is supposed to travel around the sun as small bodie= s, and their journey is uninterrupted until they get too near a larger bo= dy, which usually results in their passing into the gaseous state. Many a= stronomers hold that meteors are fragments of comets, and that a comet is= but a large meteor, with a tail of reflected light. One of the most rema= rkable meteors of modern times burst over the city of Madrid, February 10= , 1896. The glare was blinding, though the sun was high, and the noise wa= s deafening. Several buildings fell, and the city was violently shaken. T= he phenomenon was visible throughout more than half of Spain, and meteori= c fragments were picked up in several places. Eminent geologist contend t= hat the structure of the earth is similiar in materials to that of meteor= ites, and that the central mass is iron and heavy metals, in a molten con= dition at present. Please visit, www.MeteoriteArticles.com, a free on-line archive of meteor= and meteorite articles. ------=_NextPart_001_0003_01C38844.FAB81EB0 Content-Type: text/html; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable <HTML><BODY STYLE=3D"font:10pt verdana; border:none;"><DIV><B><FONT size=3D= 2> <P>Title: Weekly Gazette Stockman </P> <P>City: Reno, Nevada </P> <P>D= ate: Thursday, October 14, 1897</P> <P>Page: 4</P></B> <P> </P> <P>L= IENT. PEARY is bringing back from the northwest coast of Greenland a mete= orite that for size reduces all other objects of the kind to insignifican= ce. The Cape York meteorite, as it is called, is 12 feet long and 8 feet = wide, and weighs about 100 tons, or about thirty three times more than th= e largest in the United States. Meteorites are of three classes, those co= mposed wholly of iron, these in which iron and earthy matters are mixed a= nd those entirely of stone, the last being by far the most common. In the= Cape York meteorite iron is the chief ingredient, with some nickel and t= races of copper and tin. Its texture resembles the tough nickelferous iro= n used for armor in warships, and is believed to be throughout a perfect = specimen of crystalline structure. There are legends of larger meteorites= but they have never been found. The depression in Canyon Diablo, Arizona= , nearly a mile in diameter and 100 feet deep, is attributed to an enormo= us meteor, but the largest fragment picked up in the vicinity weighs but = half a ton. When the great Greenland specimen reaches its future resting = place in the American Museum of Natural History, New York, it will be a s= teady attraction for visitors.</P> <P>It is asserted that 10,000,000 mete= ors reach the atmosphere of the earth every day, coming from inter stella= r space, where the temperature is 400 degrees below zero. On striking the= outer air of the planet the friction causes a heat of 3,000,000 degrees,= and the missile, flying 2500 miles a minute, is instantly converted into= gas. But occasionly the mass of the meteor is so great that some of it r= eaches the earth, becoming visible at a distance of 100 miles. No substan= ce unknown on earth has been found in meteorites. Iron is their predomina= nt metal. They have shown imbedded diamonds, but no gold. The fragments a= re occasionally scattered over an area of miles, a fact proved by their f= itting into each other. Greenland's meteorites were first heard of throug= h the natives, who tipped their weapons with the tough iron sent down fro= m the skies.</P> <P>A swarm of meteorites is supposed to travel around th= e sun as small bodies, and their journey is uninterrupted until they get = too near a larger body, which usually results in their passing into the g= aseous state. Many astronomers hold that meteors are fragments of comets,= and that a comet is but a large meteor, with a tail of reflected light. = One of the most remarkable meteors of modern times burst over the city of= Madrid, February 10, 1896. The glare was blinding, though the sun was hi= gh, and the noise was deafening. Several buildings fell, and the city was= violently shaken. The phenomenon was visible throughout more than half o= f Spain, and meteoric fragments were picked up in several places. Eminent= geologist contend that the structure of the earth is similiar in materia= ls to that of meteorites, and that the central mass is iron and heavy met= als, in a molten condition at present.</P></FONT><BR><BR>Please visit, ww= w.MeteoriteArticles.com, a free on-line archive of meteor and meteorite a= rticles.</DIV></BODY></HTML> ------=_NextPart_001_0003_01C38844.FAB81EB0-- Received on Wed 01 Oct 2003 06:53:54 PM PDT |
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