[meteorite-list] Fred Whipple, World-Renowned Harvard and Smithsonian Astronomer, Dies

[martinh at isu.edu]

Hi Ron and all,

I remember Dr. Whipple from the Stardust launch as well. I remember thinking my gosh he's old when I first saw him. And he looked quite frail then. I really hoped that he would make it long enough for the 2006 January return of the comet sample. Darn it!

For those who might not remember, Fred Whipple wrote the introduction to H. H. Nininger's autobiography Find a Falling Star. 

Also, I made reference to Whipple Shields in my article about the New Orleans meteorite fall in a recent issue of Meteorite Magazine. To me, the stone's fall was slowed by a series of low-energy impacts, rather than one giant crash. This, in my opinion, likely preserved large fragments of a rather friable meteorite.

It is a sad loss to our world.

Martin