Hello everyone -
The news about the space weathering studies is good news indeed. It means that
the ESA is finally beginning to take the impact hazard seriously, as they are
using their most powerful telescopes to work on the problem. One result of this
most recent research will be that the weathering information will give better
knowledge of the parent body formation process, and one can imagine what this
will mean in terms of our understanding of meteorites.
A second and probably the most important result of these studies is that the
reflectivity of asteroids approaching Earth will be known, so the requirements
of necessary detection systems may be more properly estimated.
Of course, for comets and dead comet fragments, those reflectivities are pretty
well known, and as these appear to comprise the bulk of the impact hazard, they
set the constraints for the necessary detection system: CAPS.
In light of the recent NOVA special on the comet impacts which killed the
mammoth and ended clovi, if any of you want copies of "Man and Impact in the
Americas", they are available from me for $20 plus $5 for shipping CONUS, or
plus $15 shipping overseas.
If any of you dealers want to carry my book in your stores, please contact me
off list.
I am sorry that my book is not a meteorite hunting guide, but the impacts were
cometary. If they had of been asteroidal, then I wouldn't be here now, would I?
I'd have long since been out in the field hunting myself.
good hunting,
E.P. Grondine
Man and Impact in the Americas
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