[meteorite-list] 08-21-1978 Brian Mason on "new" Antarctica achondrite meteorite

[MARK BOSTICK]

Paper: Syracuse Post-Standard
City: Syracuse, New York
Date: Monday, August 21, 1978
Page: 5

Meteorite a 'First'

     WASHINGTON (AP) - A meteorite found in Antarctica last winter has been 
identified as the first of an entirely new class of space rock, the National 
Science Foundation announced Sunday.
     The rare meteorite, one of hundreds of well-preserved samples recovered 
by a U.S.-Japanese expedition, is a type called achondrite.  Samples of this 
general type comprise only about 7 percent of all known meteorites.
     Dr. Brian Mason, a curator in the Smithsonian Institution's mineral 
sciences department, said the new meteorite has features in common with two 
classes of achondrites called chassignite and diagenite.
     "In its mineralogy, the specimen I examined shows resemblances to these 
two classes, but its overall composition is significantly different," said 
Mason.
     Meteorites are chunks of stony or metallic material from space that 
survive the scaring trip through earth's atmosphere to strike the surface.  
Scientists believe they are remnants of the solar system's formation 4.5 
billion years ago and may provide valuable clues to the origin of the 
planets.

(end)


Clear Skies,
Mark Bostick
Wichita, Kansas
http://www.meteoritearticles.com
http://www.kansasmeteoritesociety.com
http://www.imca.cc

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PDF copy of this article, and most I post (and about 1/2 of those on my 
website), is available upon e-mail request.

The NPA in the subject line, stands for Newspaper Article. The old list 
server allowed us a search feature the current does not, so I guess this is 
more for quick reference and shortening the subject line now.