[meteorite-list] Meteorite Museum in Canada Puts Birth of Solar System on Display

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Dec 1 12:41:12 2005
Message-ID: <200512011739.jB1HdeK15929_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

http://www.gateway.ualberta.ca/view.php?aid=5329

Meteorite museum puts birth of solar system on display

New permanent display in U of A's Mineralogy and Petrology museum has 14
specimens, including some older than the Earth

Scott Lilwall
The Gateway (Canada)
December 1, 2005

While some museums can boast collections that document thousands, even
millions, of years of history, a new exhibit at the U of A's Mineralogy
and Petrology Museum features specimens billions of years old, some of
which even pre-date the formation of the Earth.

The display showcases 14 meteorites from the University's collection,
some of which formed during the birth of our solar system. While some of
the meteorites have been collected from as far as Australia, most of
those on display were discovered by Albertans who brought the rocks in
to the University.

"You know, somebody found a strange rock on their property and brought
it in for identification," said Chris Herd, professor of Earth and
Atmospheric Sciences and the curator of the meteorite exhibit. "In other
cases, there was a major fireball that people saw in the sky, associated
noises, then they were able to find a number of these meteorites that
fell to the ground shortly after that."

The University has been collecting meteorites for research purposes for
90 years, beginning with the 1915 purchase of a chunk of the Brenham
meteorite. The 240-gram sample of the meteorite, which was discovered in
Kansas in 1886, cost the University $20. Since that time, the
department's collection has grown significantly; it now has over 1100
individual pieces of 130 different meteorites. For much of the
collection's history, the rocks were not open for public viewing, but
when Herd was put in charge of the collection, he felt that a showcase
was in order.

"I thought that we've got the second largest meteorite collection in all
of Canada, and we've got some great meteorites that we could put on
display. So, I strongly suggested that we do this," Herd explained.

The majority of the 14 meteorites on display were selected not only with
a focus on those found within Alberta, but to represent the diversity of
the University's collection. For example, the Edmonton and Mayerthorpe
meteorites, chunks of rich iron, are most likely sections of an
asteroid's core. The uneven surface of the Australian Millbillillie
meteorite, on the other hand, suggest that it was formed by the lava
flow on an asteroid's surface. Many of the rocks have been sliced,
allowing visitors a look in to the interior of the meteorites.

Behind the display case, a vivid artist's interpretation gives a glimpse
in to the processes that researchers believe led to the formation of
these asteroids, as well as the other bodies in the solar system.
Additional panels and displays describe the type of research done on the
various meteorites, and how they have furthered science's understanding
of how celestial bodies form.

"Some of them look like planets in the sense that they've formed a core,
a mantle and a crust," Herd said. "Other asteroids didn't get to that
point, and they actually preserve some of that dust from which the solar
system formed. By studying those more primitive meteorites, we get this
picture here of the solar system forming."

After over a year of planning and construction, Herd is pleased with how
the exhibit turned out.

"It has an aesthetic appeal to it, but if you spend time looking at it,
you can really learn quite a bit about meteorites and what they tell
us," he said. "It's rare that you get to see 14 meteorites displayed
like this anywhere. I'm really thrilled about this. It's great."

The meteorite exhibit is on permanent display at the Museum of
Mineralogy and Petrology, located in the basement of the Earth Sciences
Building in room B-08. The museum is open to the public every weekday
from 8am-4pm.
Received on Thu 01 Dec 2005 12:39:39 PM PST