[meteorite-list] Micro Planet - APOD

Meteorites USA eric at meteoritesusa.com
Sun Jan 10 04:36:23 EST 2010


Soooo Cool!

Looks like a tiny planet...

A Spherule from the Earth's Moon
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap100110.html

"...Explanation: How did this spherule come to be on the Moon? When a 
meteorite strikes the Moon, the energy of the impact melts some of the 
splattering rock, a fraction of which might cool into tiny glass beads. 
Many of these glass beads were present in lunar soil samples returned to 
Earth by the Apollo missions. Pictured above is one such glass spherule 
that measures only a quarter of a millimeter across. This spherule is 
particularly interesting because it has been victim to an even smaller 
impact. A miniature crater is visible on the upper left, surrounded by a 
fragmented area caused by the shockwaves of the small impact. By dating 
many of these impacts, astronomers can estimate the history of cratering 
on our Moon..."

Enjoy...

Regards,
Eric Wichman
Meteorites USA







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