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Identification of Meteorites, or What on Earth is a Meteorite?
Author(s) -
NININGER H. H.
Publication year - 1967
Publication title -
meteoritics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1945-5100
pISSN - 0026-1114
DOI - 10.1111/j.1945-5100.1967.tb00295.x
Subject(s) - meteorite , astrobiology , earth (classical element) , identification (biology) , crust , geology , earth science , physics , geochemistry , astronomy , biology , botany
. Examples of the problems encountered in the tracing, recovery and identification of meteorites from witnessed fireballs, indicate the failure of museum collections to be truly representative of the known increment from space and of our lack of knowledge of the varieties of material coming to earth from space. The history of the development of criteria for the recognition of meteorites is traced and some of the witnessed but rejected falls of history are listed. Objection is raised to the almost total dependence upon chemistry—particularly upon the presence of nickel—in meteoritic identification. Stress is laid upon the importance of fusion crust as an identifying characteristic of meteorites.