[meteorite-list] Oriented meteorites and their flow lines

From: Bob Loeffler <bobl_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Tue, 4 Mar 2008 19:50:30 -0700
Message-ID: <20080305024915.45D0E10589_at_mailwash5.pair.com>

Hi all,

I know what orientation is and can spot it when it's obvious, but sometimes
I just don't see it like some of you. I'm still a newbie, so I don't have
the experience yet, but when I look at some pictures on the web, I see some
signs of it but they don't truly tell me that this meteorite is definitely
oriented.

I don't want this to sound like I'm going after Dave G., because I'm not. I
think it's great what he is doing for educating the public and especially
the kids. But I saw one of his pictures on his website and I'm trying to
figure out how the meteorite was oriented in flight. The picture is of a
Millbillillie (who the heck named that place, anyway!) and you can see it in
his wonderful collection at:

 http://www.fallingrocks.com/Collections/Millbillillie.htm

The flow lines on the side facing us look good, so I can see the
orientation, but if you look just above that on the ridge and then down the
other side of the ridge, the flow lines are going in all directions.
Shouldn't they mostly be "moving away" from the point or area that was
leading in flight? Could this meteorite have been oriented for a while and
then moved one way or another so it has a new orientation (and therefore the
flow lines would also go in a different direction)? Or am I not "reading"
it correctly? :-)

Thanks and regards,

Bob
Received on Tue 04 Mar 2008 09:50:30 PM PST