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From: galyen@scicom.UUCP (Robert Galyen)
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Martian meteors on earth
Message-ID: <686@scicom.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 11-Oct-86 23:52:04 EDT
Article-I.D.: scicom.686
Posted: Sat Oct 11 23:52:04 1986
Date-Received: Mon, 13-Oct-86 05:42:28 EDT
Organization: Electrum Resources, Denver, Co.
Lines: 32
Keywords: martian, meteors



In the Saturday (Oct. 11) Rocky Mountain News there is a article about 8
meteors found in India, Egypt, France, Anarctica, Nigeria, Brazil, and
United States that are suppose to have originated from Mars, based on
similar geologic characteristic and chemical composition.  Speculation is
the meteors were blasted into space when a large asteriod or comet impacted
the martian surface resulting in generation of jets of hot gases which could
have propeled meter sized objects into space, exceeding the martian escape
velocity of 11,300 mph.  

The article doesn't mention a size for the impacting object other than
asteriod or comet, is there a size definition for these planetary inter-
lopers?  Is there any way of determining the minimum size required of an
impacting object?  Also, it seems that the proximity of the moon, the low 
lunar gravity, and some of the larger impact events would have combined to
send lunar 'litho' grams to earth.

Comments, speculations?

--robert--

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cold hearted orb that rules the night, 
That steals the color from our sight,
Red is gray and yellow is white, 
But we decide which is right,
And which is an illusion.

The Moody Blues
Knights in White Satin