Tag Archives: meteorite

Missed Me By That Much!

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Ok, after watching this video, this has to be the luckiest guy in the world for two reasons.

1.  He’s the first person to catch a flamed out meteorite in mid-air barely missing him; and

2. he’s the first person to catch a flamed out meteorite in mid-air barely missing him.

Anders Helstrup - Anders Helstrup in his wing suit. - Foto: Roger Myren / NRK

The lucky Norwegian skydiver is Anders Helstrup.  He was just out for typical jump in his wing-suit in 2012 when the meteorite went by him.  He and many other people have spent the last couple of years of hunting in the woods, marshes and muck to find the meteorite.  Alas, it still remains at large.

Geologists believe that the meteorite had been part of a larger meteor that exploded about 20 kilometres above Helstrup during his jump (see number 1 above).  They also believe that it is a fairly ordinary Breccia meteorite.  However, due to the filming during flight, the meteorite has increased in value greatly.  I’m not sure what Mr. Helstrup plans to do with the meteorite if he finds it, but all indications are that he would give it to the Natural History Museum in Oslo.

 

– Ex astris, scientia –

I am and avid amateur astronomer and intellectual property attorney in Pasadena, California and I am a Rising Star as rated by Super Lawyers Magazine.  As a former Chief Petty Officer in the U.S. Navy, I am a proud member of the Armed Service Committee of the Los Angeles County Bar Association working to aid all active duty and veterans in our communities. Connect with me on Google +

Norman

Holey Mars, Batman!

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One of Mars’ long time residents, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, took some high resolution images of a recent impact on the planet’s surface.

 

Mars, like Earth and all the other planets, receives its fair share of meteorites.  Like Earth, only a few of them survive to actually hit the ground with any remarkable results.

Recently, however, the orbiter got this image of an impact that shows a crater about 100 feet (30 meters) in diameter at the center.  The impact threw debris up to 9.3 miles (15 kilometers) from the center.

Scientists are currently studying the data for a variety of information, both about Mars and what lies beneath and the meteorite and how it could affect future missions to the red planet.

So I am sure you are wondering why the image is blue and not red like the rest of the planet.  It turns out that the terrain where the crater formed is dusty, the fresh crater appears blue in the enhanced color due to the lack of reddish dust.  At first glance I thought it might be frozen water or CO2, but its just dust.

– Ex astris, scientia –

I am and avid amateur astronomer and intellectual property attorney in Pasadena, California and I am a Rising Star as rated by Super Lawyers Magazine.  As a former Chief Petty Officer in the U.S. Navy, I am a proud member of the Armed Service Committee of the Los Angeles County Bar Association working to aid all active duty and veterans in our communities. Connect with me on Google +

Norman