Re: Fossil meteors embedded in sandstone?

From: Carsten Troelsgaard (carsten.troelsgaard_at_mail.dk)
Date: 08/30/04 

Date: Mon, 30 Aug 2004 09:57:45 +0200

"Ookie Wonderslug" <ookie@my-deja.com> skrev i en meddelelse
news:o4m3j0h8ove75i6euqr6ka37kdbr7fjo1j@4ax.com...
> On 27 Aug 2004 09:17:13 -0700, ishky@earthlink.net (amh) wrote:
>
> >Ookie Wonderslug <ookie@my-deja.com> wrote in message
news:<vn4ti01q80jf5uiq2pmknit8curof4l3lj@4ax.com>...

snip

> Lately it got in my head that a likely place to look would be between
> layers of rocks. In places where tall cliffs and such are exposed
> there is basically a record of what has happened for millions of years
> in that one spot.

That wouldn't be very exact. The sedimentary processes are rapid in a geological timeframe. The body
of layer, where separated by other layers may be put geologically instantly and with a small hiatus
(laps of time) in between. So, much of the 'time' you look at is hiati.

snip

> Now, just about all evidence of craters would be eroded
> away right fast, but a iron meteor might last long after any crater
> has eroded away.

Why is that? Why doesn't an iron-meteor rust away long before a hole that it made 'vanishes'?

> Or there may have never even been a crater. So one
> would think that if there is a record of say, 50,000,000 years of
> geologic history exposed and hundreds of layers then if a meteor ever
> fell there one would see it. At least it seems more likely than
> looking on the surface for fresh ones.

Not in my opinnion, but a cliff is the perfect spot to look at a particular 'time' in the past.

> That's what I was going on and finally I saw a rock that looked really
> out of place so I asked about it. If I ever get a chance to go back to
> West Virginia I will take some pictures. I don't think the park
> rangers would be too happy about me taking a rock hammer to their
> cliffs though so I guess it will have to be just for looks.

A picture would make it a lot less abstract.

Carsten

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