[meteorite-list] Meteor(ite) crater discovered

[MeteorHntr at aol.com]

So, are they afraid someone will come along and  steal the crater?

Or are they afraid someone will come along and find a  meteorite, "steal" it, 
and ruin all their science?

I don't get  it?

Steve  #1




http://www.whitecourtstar.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1282298

Meteor  crater identified
Posted By Alexandra Pope
Posted 4 hours ago

What  local hunters in Whitecourt thought for years was a sinkhole is actually
the  crater left behind by a meteor that fell to earth 1,000 years ago and is 
 now
attracting international attention from researchers.

George  VanderBurg, MLA for Whitecourt-Ste. Anne, said he was very surprised 
to
learn  about the crater. He recalled going hunting with his father and using  
the
site as a meeting point. Deer could often be found drinking rainwater  that
collected in the bottom of the crater, he said.

"All of us that  have grown up here have known about it, but we didn’t know it
was the big  scientific thing that it is," he said.

Chris Herd, a professor with the  University of Alberta’s department of earth 
and
atmospheric sciences who is  leading the research on the meteor crater, said 
he
couldn’t believe his ears  when someone from the area told him about the 
crater
last year.

"We  still joke about how skeptical I was on the phone, because we literally  
get
hundreds of these calls every year," Herd said in an interview at the  crater
site last Monday. "This is very exciting."

The crater is 36  metres wide and six metres deep, which is small as far as 
most
craters go,  Herd said. At an estimated 1,000 years old, it is also one of the
youngest  craters in the world. The second-youngest crater in Canada, located 
 in
Quebec, is 1.2 million years old.

Herd said the meteor, which was  made primarily of iron, was probably formed 
very
early in the life of the  solar system by the same process that formed the
earth’s core. Herd thinks  the meteor came from the asteroid belt and measured
one metre across.  However, researchers have so far found 74 different pieces 
of
the original  meteor — which is called a meteorite once it hits the ground —
scattered  around the crater, some up to 70 metres away.

"The big mystery is the  relationship between the meteorites and the event," 
Herd
said.

Herd  explained that most meteors travel so fast, they are completely  
vaporized
when they hit the earth. In some cases the pressure of earth’s  atmosphere 
slows
a meteor down enough to leave a portion of it relatively  intact when it 
lands.

But something happened to the Whitecourt meteor on  its way to earth, Herd 
said.
The meteorites found around the crater have  sharp edges, which tell 
researchers
a story about what might have happened to  the meteor before it hit the 
ground.

"The rock was ripped apart on impact  or at a low altitude," Herd said.
"Otherwise the atmospheric pressure would  have rounded (the edges of the
meteorites)."

The site is one of only  12 of its kind in the world and has been very well
preserved, Herd  said.

"It’s a phenomenal opportunity for the research that I do," he  said.

Lindsay Blackett, Alberta minister of culture and community spirit,  said the 
big
concern for local authorities is how to prevent meteorite  hunters from 
coming to
the site and digging up meteorite  fragments.

The province will designate the site as a historic resource  and post signs
asking visitors to do their part in preserving it, but  researchers fear that
won’t stop some meteorite collectors from stealing  rocks.

"You really just have to count on the local community to keep an  eye on it,"
Blackett said. "I think people having a vested interest in this  site will
(encourage them) to keep an eye on it."

VanderBurg said once  the researchers have finished their work, the site 
could be
a great  educational opportunity for the public and local students.

"This is the  kind of place that inspires kids to go out and seek careers in
science," he  said.
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