[meteorite-list] Block Island

[E.P. Grondine]

Hi all - 

Some background on NASA and Block Island - 

In their discussions of Mars "geology" NASA follows its usual pattern and faces up to asteroid and comet impact only when they are absolutely forced to. At the time of Pathfinder, NASA had a tough time talking about craters on Mars at all. It's gotten better since then, but a most of their work still stinks. One major example: NASA has a rough time figuring out where all that fine iron on Mars came from. 

Given the lack of other processes, what the hell do the NASA folk think they're looking at, anyway?

If you take a look at most of the Mars images, you'll see rocks pelted by pellets from hypervelocity impacts. For that matter, the "blueberry" spherical accretions are most likely condensed impact vaporized material.
And most of the isolated stuff on the surface is impact ejecta, anyway.

NASA's accretion rates and absolute surface date estimates are a load of cr*p as well. If you look at the images of canyon walls on Mars, you'll see banding done by volatiles released by comet impact roughly every 26 million years. Of course, according to NASA comets don't hit, and Clube and Napier's comet injection mechanism is nonsense.

Now what does this have to do with Block Island? Mars is not Earth-like, damn it. Essentially, given NASA's demonstrated lack of skill, you here on the meteorite list will do a better job in analyzing this rock than NASA ever will be able to do.

Oh, and before I go I'd like to remind everyone that yours truly was the first to spot a meteorite on Mars, in the Pathfinder images, though I identified it as a tektite at the time.  I think I might be able to find that 39k image, if someone wants to post it somewhere.

End of today's rant. My blood pressure is lower now. Carry on...

E.P. Grondine
Man and Impact in the Americas