AW: [meteorite-list] Re: 13.5 kg lunar

From: Norbert Classen <trifid_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Sat May 14 09:31:53 2005
Message-ID: <200505141531476.SM01052_at_lunatic>

Hi Jeff, Darren, and All,

Ceratinly a most interesting find, and great news. I've been aware of this
one since some months now, and all I can say that Darren's conclusions are
way to the spot. The absence of solar noble gases indicates a VERY short
transition time, and from what I've heard the researchers first doubted that
it might be a meteorite at all. I'm sure that there will be a lot of most
interesting publications coming up, pretty soon, that will answer all these
question in great detail.

For now, all I can say is that I'm a bit sad that it will virtually be
impossible to get a specimen of this whopper, and its smaller anorthositic
sister. The finder is obviously intending to keep the entire masses, and to
stay anonymous... Maybe there's a good part to that sad news, too, and that
is that this whopper probably won't ruin the lunar market - for what it's
worth...

All the best,
Norbert (still lunatic after all those years...)

-----Urspr?ngliche Nachricht-----

On Fri, 13 May 2005 19:14:24 -0400, "Jeff Pringle"
<jpringle_at_mail.stuartdean.com> wrote:

>List -
>Did anyone notice in the provisional Met Bull 89 that someone found a 13.5
KILO lunar in the Kalahari back in '99? Is that old news?
>

I certainly didn't know that such a large lunar had ever been found. Even
more interesting than the
size (to me) is that "the sample does not contain solar wind implanted rare
gases". Does that not
mean that it had to spend a very short time "in transit" and would have to
be from a recent impact?
And have to be from a bit of a distance below the lunar surface, because any
surface rocks would be
exposed to cosmic rays? How short a period would the meteorite need to be
exposed to space to not
build up solar wind gases?
Received on Sat 14 May 2005 09:31:31 AM PDT