[meteorite-list] A few odd questions on The Meteorite Men

[Notkin]

> The commentator made it sound like there were two separate falls of  
> the Brenham pallasite in the same strewnfield. How can one area be  
> more recent than another of the same fall?

Dear Carl:

Good morning from Tucson. Thank you for watching the show and for the  
feedback. I really enjoyed the segment with Meenakshi as well. The  
reference collection at ASU is outstanding and it is a treat just to  
get to visit.

Carl, I just want to be sure you are clear that we filmed at two  
separate strewnfields. Brenham and Alpha are entirely different  
pallasites. Alpha is just a code name we used because we were still at  
the second site at the time of filming, and wanted to complete our  
work there before announcing any details.

There is a very brief comment about the Alpha crystals. The narrator  
states, if I recall correctly: "the Alpha stones made the tumultuous  
journey to Earth without shattering." In another segment that  
unfortunately did not make the final cut, Meenakshi talks about how  
the olivine crystals in the Brenham pallasites are believed to have  
been shocked and shattered in space (possibly by asteroidal  
collisions) rather than as a result of impact on the Earth and/or  
subsequent weathering. With only 43 minutes of actual air time, once  
you discount the commercials, there is a lot of information we want to  
include, but there were some other informative segments that also had  
to be left out. It is very useful to hear feedback regarding parts of  
the show that were not clear to you, and I'll forward your comments to  
our director and producer.

So, the conclusion is: Brenham crystals were shattered at some point  
in the distant past (in space) as a result of impact(s); the Alpha  
crystals were not. That is why the Alpha crystals lend themselves to  
being faceted into gemstones. We therefore infer that the Brenham  
pallasites' parent body experienced some form of significant impact;  
the Alpha pallasites' parent body did not.

Please let me know if you have any other questions. It's really  
helpful to receive some constructive criticism. Oh, and you were  
right, the bottom of the big Brenhams were about 4 to 5 feet deep. I  
always tease Steve because I think it's a more exciting experience to  
dig them out by hand, but he's busy and wants to bring in the  
backhoe  : )


Respectfully,

Geoff N.

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