Unbroken Meteorite Rough Draft
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Space Visitors in Kentucky: Meteorites and Asteroid “Ida.” Most meteorites originate from asteroids. Meteorite Impact Sites in Kentucky Meteorite from Clark County, Ky. Mercury Earth Saturn Venus Mars Neptune Jupiter William D. Ehmann Asteroid Belt with contributions by Warren H. Anderson Uranus Pluto www.uky.edu/KGS Special thanks to Collie Rulo for cover design. Earth image was compiled from satellite images from NOAA and NASA. Kentucky Geological Survey James C. Cobb, State Geologist and Director University of Kentucky, Lexington Space Visitors in Kentucky: Meteorites and Meteorite Impact Sites in Kentucky William D. Ehmann Special Publication 1 Series XII, 2000 i UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY Collie Rulo, Graphic Design Technician Charles T. Wethington Jr., President Luanne Davis, Staff Support Associate II Fitzgerald Bramwell, Vice President for Theola L. Evans, Staff Support Associate I Research and Graduate Studies William A. Briscoe III, Publication Sales Jack Supplee, Director, Administrative Supervisor Affairs, Research and Graduate Studies Roger S. Banks, Account Clerk I KENTUCKY GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Energy and Minerals Section: James A. Drahovzal, Head ADVISORY BOARD Garland R. Dever Jr., Geologist V Henry M. Morgan, Chair, Utica Cortland F. Eble, Geologist V Ron D. Gilkerson, Vice Chair, Lexington Stephen F. Greb, Geologist V William W. Bowdy, Fort Thomas David A. Williams, Geologist V, Manager, Steven Cawood, Frankfort Henderson office Hugh B. Gabbard, Winchester David C. Harris, Geologist IV Kenneth Gibson, Madisonville Brandon C. Nuttall, Geologist IV Mark E. Gormley, Versailles William M. Andrews Jr., Geologist II Rosanne Kruzich, Louisville John B. Hickman, Geologist II William A. Mossbarger, Lexington Ernest E. Thacker, Geologist I Jacqueline Swigart, Louisville Anna E. Watson, Geologist I John F. Tate, Bonnyman Geospatial Analysis Section: David A. Zegeer, Lexington Gerald A. Weisenfluh, Head Ralph N. Thomas, Emeritus Member, Warren H. Anderson, Geologist V Owensboro Daniel I. Carey, Hydrologist V George H. Warren Jr., Emeritus Member, Richard E. Sergeant, Geologist IV Owensboro Thomas N. Sparks, Geologist III KENTUCKY GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Douglas C. Curl, Geologist II James C. Cobb, State Geologist and Director Steven L. Martin, Geologist II John D. Kiefer, Assistant State Geologist Mark F. Thompson, Geologist I Donald C. Haney, State Geologist Emeritus Michael P. Solis, Geological Technician Administrative Section: Water Resources Section: Jackie Silvers, Head James S. Dinger, Head James L. Hamilton, Administrative Staff R. Stephen Fisher, Hydrogeologist V Officer II David R. Wunsch, Hydrogeologist V Amanda Long, Staff Support Associate II James C. Currens, Hydrogeologist IV Jennifer Talley, Staff Support Associate I Alex W. Fogle, Hydrologist III Juanita G. Smith, Office Assistant, Robert E. Andrews, Hydrogeologist II Henderson office E. Glynn Beck, Hydrogeologist II, Geoscience Information Section: Henderson office Steven Cordiviola, Head Dennis H. Cumbie, Hydrogeologist II Donald R. Chesnut Jr., Geologist V Carlos M. Galcerán Jr., Hydrogeologist II Carol L. Ruthven, Manager, Communica- C. Douglas R. Graham, Hydrogeologist II tions and Technology Transfer Randall L. Paylor, Hydrogeologist II Bart Davidson, Manager, Office of Geologic Ron Counts, Geological Technician, Information Henderson office Margaret Luther Smath, Editor Leslie K. Russo, Geological Technician Douglas W. Reynolds Jr., Geologist II, Gregory L. Secrist, Geological Technician Communications Coordinator, Ky. Board Geologic Hazards Section: of Registration for Professional Geologists Edward W. Woolery, Geologist IV Richard A. Smath, Geologist II, Earth Laboratory Services: Science Information Center Coordinator Henry E. Francis, Scientist II Joseph B. Dixon, Information Technology Karen Cisler, Scientist I Manager I Jason S. Backus, Research Analyst James M. McElhone, Information Systems Steven R. Mock, Research Analyst Technical Support Specialist IV Tracy Sizemore, Research Analyst Terry D. Hounshell, Chief Cartographic Well Sample and Core Library: Illustrator Patrick J. Gooding, Manager Michael L. Murphy, Graphic Design Robert R. Daniel, Senior Laboratory Technician Technician ii CONTENTS Foreword vi Acknowledgments vii What Are Meteorites? 1 How Are Meteorites Classified? 2 Stones 3 Chondrites 3 Achondrites 5 Stony-Irons 7 Pallasites 7 Siderophyres 8 Lodranites 8 Mesosiderites 8 Irons (Siderites) 8 Hexahedrites 8 Octahedrites 8 Nickel-Rich Ataxites 9 How Do I Identify a Meteorite? 9 Have Meteorites Been Collected in Kentucky? 12 Bath Furnace 12 Burnwell 13 Campbellsville 14 Casey County 14 Clark County 15 Cumberland Falls 16 Cynthiana 17 Eagle Station 17 Edmonton, Kentucky 17 Frankfort 18 Franklin 18 Glasgow 18 Hustonville 19 Kenton County 20 La Grange 21 Louisville 21 Marshall County 21 Monticello 22 Mount Vernon 22 Murray 22 Nelson County 23 iii CONTENTS (Continued) Providence 24 Salt River 24 Scottsville 24 Smithland 24 Walltown 25 Williamstown 26 Are There Meteorite Craters in Kentucky? 26 Middlesboro Structure 29 Jeptha Knob 30 Versailles Structure 30 What Are Tektites? 32 North America 33 Australasia 34 Central Europe 34 West Africa 35 Libyan Desert 36 Collecting Meteorites and Tektites 37 References and Selected Annotations 38 iv MISSION STATEMENT The Kentucky Geological Survey at the University of Kentucky is a State-mandated organization whose mission is the collection, preservation, and dissemination of information about mineral and water resources and the geology of the Commonwealth. KGS has conducted research on the geology and mineral resources of Kentucky for more than 150 years, and has developed extensive public databases for oil and natural gas, coal, water, and industrial minerals that are used by thousands of citizens each year. The Surveys efforts have resulted in topographic and geologic map coverage for Kentucky that has not been matched by any other state in the Nation. One of the major goals of the Kentucky Geological Survey is to make the results of basic and applied research easily accessible to the public. This is accomplished through the publication of both technical and nontechnical reports and maps, as well as providing information through open-file reports and public databases. Earth ResourcesOur Common Wealth © 2000 University of Kentucky For further information contact: Manager, Communications and Technology Transfer Kentucky Geological Survey 228 Mining and Mineral Resources Building University of Kentucky Lexington, KY 40506-0107 ISSN 0075-5613 v FOREWORD In 1999, Dr. William Ehmann donated part of his meteorite col- lection to the Kentucky Geological Survey (KGS). The meteorites are housed in the foyer of the Mining and Mineral Resources Build- ing on the University of Kentucky campus. The Kentucky Geologi- cal Survey then asked him to write a popular publication on meteor- ites, and we are grateful for his willingness to write this book and for his contribution to our meteorite display. His generosity will benefit the public for years to come. Dr. Ehmann, Professor Emeritus in the Department of Chemis- try at the University of Kentucky, is highly qualified to write about meteorites, as evidenced by his many publications on the chemical composition of meteorites. His research included studies of the chemi- cal composition of the Apollo Mission lunar samples for NASA. Twenty-seven documented meteorites have been found in Ken- tucky, and this book provides photographs and technical descriptions of them. This book, together with the KGS meteorite display, gives the citizens of the Commonwealth a tremendous opportunity to un- derstand these fascinating rocks from space. Warren H. Anderson Mineral Curator, Kentucky Geological Survey vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The author wishes to acknowledge the assistance of Warren H. Anderson, Kentucky Geological Survey, for his efforts in helping to establish the display of meteorites in the Mining and Mineral Re- sources Building at the University of Kentucky and for his help with this manuscript. The assistance of Maggie Johnson in literature searches and Carleton B. Moore, Center for Meteorite Studies, Ari- zona State University, in providing photographs is also appreciated. The cover illustrations are a NASA artists conception of our solar system (NASA Johnson Space Center, S79-29468); a photo- graph of asteroid Ida taken by the Galileo spacecraft (NASA Jet Pro- pulsion Laboratory); and a NASA artists conception of a meteor streaking through space (NASA Johnson Space Center, S79-29471). vii viii 1 Space Visitors in Kentucky: Meteorites and Meteorite Impact Sites in Kentucky William D. Ehmann1 WHAT ARE METEORITES? Meteorites are natural objects from space that survive their passage through the atmosphere to land on the Earth. The term meteor, often confused with meteorite, refers only to the visual phenomena in the sky when showers of small particles, principally from comets, intersect the atmosphere. An object becomes a mete- orite when at least part of it reaches the Earths surface, where it can be collected. Most meteorites are solid rock material and are be- lieved to originate from collisions between objects in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter in our solar system. Recently, a few meteorites have been identified that appear to have originated from the Moon and Mars. Comets are composed of solid particles and frozen gases such as water, ammonia, and methane. They are common in the outer solar system and periodically orbit the Sun, meaning that they have semi-regular