meteorites – News Stories About meteorites - Page 3

Jun 27, 2012 4:00 AM CDT

Meteorite Yields New Ancient Mineral

Panguite found inside 1969 fireball

(Newser) - A mineral new to science but older than our planet has been found in fragments of a meteorite that smashed into northern Mexico in 1969. Panguite was found in bits of the Allende meteorite by Caltech researchers who used an electron-scanning microscope to study minerals that were trapped inside the...

Why Are Tomatoes Red?
Blame Meteor

Why Are Tomatoes Red? Blame Meteor

Dinosaur-killing impact forced the tomato into big changes, say scientists

(Newser) - Why are tomatoes red? The same reason dinosaurs were killed off, say scientists. The massive meteorite that struck Earth 60 to 70 million years ago created extremely harsh conditions that forced the evolution of the tomato into its current red and edible form, reports Phys.org . Researchers discovered this connection...

New California Gold Rush:
Searching for Meteorite Bits

Apr 30, 2012 7:18 AM CDT

New California Gold Rush: Searching for Meteorite Bits

Ancient space rock can fetch $1K a gram

(Newser) - The fireball that exploded over California last week did more than just produce a window-shaking sonic boom—it also scattered pieces of meteorite over, fittingly enough, a 30-square-mile portion of the state's Gold Country region. News of the extremely rare type of space rock sent scientists and treasure hunters...

Mars Rocks Fell
to Earth in July:
Scientists

Jan 17, 2012 10:52 AM CST

Mars Rocks Fell to Earth in July: Scientists

Meteorites were collected in Africa

(Newser) - We may not be able to get people to Mars yet, but Mars can get to us. Fifteen pounds of meteorite that fell to Earth over Morocco last July came from the red planet, scientists confirm. The largest chunk is more than two pounds, the AP reports. Astronomers believe something...

Meteorite Mistaken
for Crashing Plane

Oct 24, 2011 5:43 AM CDT

Meteorite Mistaken for Crashing Plane

Two reports lead to search and rescue mission off England's coast

(Newser) - A meteorite that fell into the sea off the coast of England Friday was mistaken for a crashing plane by several people, including a fisherman and a pilot, reports the Telegraph . Their reports resulted in emergency services being sent to investigate, but when no wreckage could be found and there...

Meteorite Hits Paris Home

Oct 11, 2011 12:59 AM CDT

Meteorite Hits Paris Home

Space rock found in the Comette family's roof

(Newser) - The Comettes were on vacation when their home was hit by a meteorite. The egg-sized space rock stayed buried in the insulation of the French family's home in suburban Paris until they called somebody in to fix their leaking roof, the Telegraph reports. "We got the roof tiler...

Meteorites Hold Elements of DNA; May Be Key to Origins of Life on Earth

Thank Meteorites
for Life on Earth?

Aug 9, 2011 3:27 PM CDT

Thank Meteorites for Life on Earth?

Space rocks hold elements of DNA

(Newser) - The ingredients for DNA aren’t just here on Earth—they can develop in space, too, a study suggests. Scientists with NASA and the Carnegie Institution analyzed 12 meteorites and found that 11 of them contained nucleobases, the rings in the middle of DNA molecules. That means the space rocks...

Meteorite
Just Misses
Cricket Fans

Jul 26, 2010 6:00 AM CDT

Meteorite Just Misses Cricket Fans

Strike believed to be UK's first since 1992

(Newser) - Two British cricket fans nearly dropped their pints in shock when what's believed to be a space rock billions of years old hit the ground in front of them. The black, 5-inch rock split into two pieces as it hit the cricket pitch. Experts believe it is the first meteorite...

What Was That
Giant Fireball
Over Midwest?

Apr 16, 2010 2:08 AM CDT

What Was That Giant Fireball Over Midwest?

Blast lights up sky in several states

(Newser) - Scientists are scratching their heads after a giant fireball lit up the midwestern sky, then vanished. The fireball rattled homes and shook the earth as it streaked across the sky and apparently triggered a sonic boom. Scientists speculate the phenomenon, that also lit up police station phone lines, was a...

Museum Puts
'Martian Colony'
on Display

Dec 3, 2009 8:03 AM CST

Museum Puts 'Martian Colony' on Display

Alien microbacteria found on meteorite

(Newser) - A London museum that unwittingly hosted a fossilized colony of Martians for decades has put the alien life on display. NASA scientists who recently examined the Natural History Museum's fragment of the Nakhla meteorite believe bumps on its surface are fossilized Martian microbacteria, the Telegraph reports. The meteorite crashed into...

In Meteor, NASA Sees Best Evidence Yet of Life on Mars

Nov 26, 2009 6:17 PM CST

In Meteor, NASA Sees Best Evidence Yet of Life on Mars

Martian meteorite shows fossilized bacteria

(Newser) - A Martian meteorite that hit Antarctica 13,000 years ago offers “very strong evidence of life on Mars,” say NASA scientists after concluding that microscopic worm-like structures in the rock are almost certainly fossilized bacteria. The meteorite, which broke off the Red Planet millions of years ago, also...

Mobile Firm's
Meteor Stunt
Backfires

Oct 28, 2009 4:42 AM CDT

Mobile Firm's Meteor Stunt Backfires

Hoaxed Latvians plan to cancel Swedish company's contracts

(Newser) - A Swedish mobile phone company has dug itself into a crater with a marketing stunt involving a fake meteorite. Tele2 dug a hole in a meadow in Latvia and placed burning chemicals in the bottom to simulate a meteor strike, making headlines worldwide and fooling emergency services into cordoning off...

Schoolboy Survives
Meteor Strike

Jun 13, 2009 3:11 AM CDT

Schoolboy Survives Meteor Strike

Red-hot chunk of rock traveling 30,000 miles an hour bounced off boy's hand

(Newser) - A 14-year-old German schoolboy survived with just a scar on his hand after being hit by a meteorite traveling 30,000 miles an hour, the Daily Telegraph reports. The red-hot pebble buried itself in the road after bouncing off Gerrit Blank, who doused it with a drink, dug it out...

Scientists Track Meteor
to Earth for First Time

Mar 25, 2009 5:56 PM CDT

Scientists Track Meteor to Earth for First Time

Discovery is like first clue to asteroid 'Rosetta Stone'

(Newser) - Scientists have accomplished a first by tracking an asteroid from space into Earth's atmosphere and down to a Sudanese desert, Wired reports. A team of searchers found about 280 small chunks of the meteor, all of a type never before collected. "This is like the first step toward a...

Did Volcanoes
Drive Dinos to
Extinction?

Dec 17, 2008 2:51 PM CST

Did Volcanoes Drive Dinos to Extinction?

Scientists question 30-year-old crater theory

(Newser) - Colossal, repeated volcanic eruptions in India 65 million years ago released sulfuric gases that sent the dinosaurs, well, the way of the dinosaurs, reports the San Francisco Chronicle. A group of scientists at a Bay Area conference this week is questioning the decades-held theory that a meteor killed off dinosaurs....

Asteroids Could Reseed
a Devastated Earth

May 18, 2008 3:13 PM CDT

Asteroids Could Reseed a Devastated Earth

Rock-dwelling microorganisms would make it back from space

(Newser) - If a comet ever obliterates life on Earth, don't worry—space rocks could later fall in and reseed a few basic life forms. A new study shows that organisms can survive being hit by a meteor, ejected into space, and hurtled back to Earth on the face of a rock—...

Meteorite Hunter Gets His Due

Oct 27, 2007 1:17 PM CDT

Meteorite Hunter Gets His Due

He finds fame, maybe fortune, by digging through dust

(Newser) - He’s not exactly Indiana Jones, but Steve Arnold does have fame, wild adventures, and an 18-foot-wide metal detector. Arnold, a meteorite hunter, has combed the deserts of Chile, the tundras of Siberia, and the streets of Chicago looking for the extraterrestrial lumps of metal, the LA Times reports. His...