[meteorite-list] Nwa 7034

[Jeff Grossman]

Meteorite group names are not invented by NomCom, and certainly not by 
NASA.  The come from usage in the scientific literature.

I think we have to remember why names like shergottite and nakhlite came 
into being.  Scientists like to group similar things to help bring order 
to chaos.  When you know next to nothing, you start by putting similar 
things together that you can study as a group.  Once you learn more, 
relationships may be found among them.  In this case, several groups 
plus a few oddballs seem to share a common origin: Mars.  At this point, 
it doesn't really help anything to continue to generate trivial names 
for new groupings.  The big advance has been made, and we can call them 
Martian meteorites.  That means it is time to start treating all of 
these meteorites like we do geological specimens on Earth, using 
standard kinds of lithologic names.  I know the old trivial names will 
die hard, and a term like shergottite will be with us for a long time.  
But there is no good reason to continue creating new trivial names.  ALH 
84001 need only be called a Martian pyroxenite (assuming this is the 
best rock name for it).  If 10 more of these are found, they only need 
to be called Martian pyroxenites; there is no need to define a useless 
new term like "allanhillsites."  The same goes for NWA 7034, which we 
can call a Martian alkali-rich basalt, or whatever Carl says it is.

Note that nomenclature for lunar meteorites was never burdened with 
trivial names, as there were no famous historical falls or finds.  After 
30 years, lunar anorthosite meteorites are still just called lunar 
anorthosites.  Scientists don't need to put them in a trival category 
like "calcalongites" to distinguish them from the basaltic 
"kalahariites"... this would only obscure what we know about all of 
these, and nobody will ever do it.

So let's forget about inventing terms like saharanite or morrocanite or 
allanhillsite or whatever.  (And while we're at it, let's consider 
forgetting about shergottite, chassignite and nakhlite.)  They're 
unnecessary and useless to science.

Jeff

On 1/26/2013 11:22 AM, Aziz Habibilp wrote:
> Hello Martian guys
> Nwa 7034 is a new type of Martian
> It doesn't fit into snc groups
> So it make sens to name it as a new group a
> As I said morroconaite is a good one
> Thus what I suggest in
> Honor of nwa hunters
> S schergotite
> N nakhla
> C chassiny
> M morroconaite /Saharanite
>
> This is not something we should argue about a new groups
> need a new names SNCM
>
> So who is giving names now !!!!
> NASA or nomcom or who
>
> I would realy that this be considered
> Anne
> BB was a nickname for black beauty
> It was called so before dr carl agee analyse it
> Than it become basaltic breccia what a coincidence
>
> All the best
> Aziz
>
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