| November 3, 2005 |
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A Photo Gallery of Meteorwrongs
Apparently  too many well-meaning astronomy fans are mistaking rocks that look like upside-down mushrooms or charred tofu for meteorites, and sending them off to the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Washington University. Now it seems this amateur dabbling has lost its charm, and the boys and girls over at the lab want any would-be space archaeologists to think-damn-you before you send them photos of your discovery. So here's a checklist of features found in both meteorites and "meteorwrongs," the latter category including those would-be space rocks that are too spherical or pockmarked with holes, have a goofy shape, contain "layer, lamination, or other planar features," or display writing or pictures. And remember to follow the department's "rude admonishments," including: "We don't want to hear, 'Maybe this is a kind of meteorite nobody's ever seen before.' Get real." Flash forward to June 22, 2007: Yahoo! Picks interviews Dr. Randy Korotev about his experiences running A Photogallery of Meteorwrongs. (in Geology and Geophysics) |
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