The Latest News
Tree Flattening Impactor Smaller Than Previously Thought
January 29, 2008
Recent modeling by a scientist at Sandia National Laboratory suggests that the impactor responsible for the 1908 Tunguska event in Siberia, Russia was smaller than previously thought. His findings have implications for the true destructive capabilities of Earth-impacting bodies. Details of his findings can be found here.
Look Out! Earth Gets a Flyby
January 28, 2008
In the early hours of January 29, Earth will get a close (~344,000 miles) flyby by Near-Earth Asteroid 2007 TU24. 2007 TU24, discovered only in October 2007, will not affect Earth but it will provide observers with moderately-sized telescopes a great view. Sky location and viewing information can be found here.
Carleton Moore Featured as an ASU Science Pioneer
November 14, 2007
CMS Founding Director Carleton Moore is among a handful of scientists featured in the ASU Archives exhibit "ASU Science Pioneers 1955-1970". The exhibit also features Harvey H. Nininger, the meteorite scientist and hunter from whom ASU purchased the foundation of its meteorite collection. The Archives recently began curating Nininger's papers. In conjunction with the exhibit, the Archives created a video podcast discussing these science pioneers.
New Exhibit in the Center for Meteorite Studies Museum
September 12, 2007
Visitors to the Center for Meteorite Studies museum can now enjoy the new exhibit "Graphite Nodules from the Canyon Diablo Meteorite", which focuses on these unique components of the meteorite that formed Meteor Crater in Arizona. This new exhibit reflects the Center's committment to consistently providing new content to museum visitors.
Scientists Find the Dinosaur Killer!
September 5, 2007
Scientists at the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado believe they have located the family of asteroids linked to the meteorites responsible for the dinosaur-dooming Chicxulub impact crater and the lunar crater Tycho. Read more about the discovery here.
Center for Meteorite Studies Featured in the Arizona Republic
August 12, 2007
To coincide with the Perseid meteor shower, Arizona Republic Senior Reporter Anne Ryman visited the Center to explore its research and education efforts. The article can be found here.
2007 Robert S. Dietz Memorial Public Lecture
March 8, 2007 12:00 PM
The School of Earth and Space Exploration invites you to the 2007 Robert S. Dietz Memorial Public Lecture, featuring NASA Astronaut John M. Grunsfeld, a veteran of multiple space missions and a crew member on the next Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission. Dr. Grunsfeld will speak on "Exploring the Universe: From Low Earth Orbit to the Edge of the Cosmos". The lecture will be held at 5:00 PM on Tuesday, March 20, 2007 in the Bateman Physical Sciences Building, F-wing, room 166 and there is a reception to follow.
The School of Earth and Space Exploration Celebrates its Launch!
March 7, 2007 03:14 PM
From April 2-10, 2007, the School of Earth and Space Exploration (SESE), the home of the Center for Meteorite Studies, will celebrate its founding with a series of special events, including a lecture by Harrison Schmitt. The Apollo 17 astronaut and former United States Senator will speak about the future of lunar exploration.
Meteorite Hits New Jersey Home!
January 5, 2007 01:47 PM
An iron-nickel meteorite crashed through the roof of a home in New Jersey and embedded itself in a bathroom wall! The meteorite is temporarily named after the site of its landing, Freehold Township. Read a local paper's write-up on the event here.
A Russian "Meteorite" Shower
January 4, 2007 01:26 PM
Streaking fireballs seen across parts of Colorado and Wyoming were not parts of a meteorite, but parts of a Russian rocket reentering the Earth's atmosphere. Read a Denver area news station's report here.
Fireball observed over AZ last night!!
October 2, 2006 01:05 PM
A fireball was observed over AZ and parts of NM and CO late last night. Read the AZ Republic article by clicking here. For more information on fireballs, or to report a meteor sighting of your own, visit the American Meteor Society's Web site.
Postdoctoral Fellowships available at the Center for Meteorite Studies!
September 5, 2006 02:17 PM
The Center for Meteorite Studies at the Arizona State University School of Earth and Space Exploration has openings for two Postdoctoral Fellows. The successful candidates will be expected to participate in research in the area of cosmochemistry. Ongoing research projects include the investigation of a variety of meteoritic and planetary materials towards the development of fine-scale chronometers based on short-lived radionuclides, as well as characterization of mass dependent fractionation of the stable isotopes of a variety of elements (to constrain nebular and asteroidal processing) and non-mass dependent isotopic anomalies (to identify possible nucleosynthetic sources). Core facilities will include a state of the art multicollector ICPMS, associated clean chemistry laboratory for ultra low-blank sample preparation and an Excimer laser ablation system for in situ isotopic analyses. Access is also available to other analytical facilities at Arizona State University including Cameca ims-3f and -6f ion microprobes, quadrupole ICPMS, electron microprobe and SEM.
Ph.D. in the physical sciences and experience with mass spectrometry is required. Please send a curriculum vitae, a 1-page statement of research interests and relevant experience, and names of three references (with telephone numbers and e-mail addresses) to: Prof. Meenakshi Wadhwa, School of Earth and Space Exploration, PO Box 871404, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-1404; Email: wadhwa@asu.edu. Applications must be received by December 1, 2006; applications received after this date may be considered if positions are not filled. Arizona State University is an equal opportunity affirmative action employer.
Large asteorid to fly past Earth on July 3, 2006!!
June 28, 2006 11:01 AM
A large asteroid, approximately a half-mile in diameter, will pass just outside the Moon's distance from Earth on July 3! Scientists and astronomers say the asteroid poses no threat to our planet. Read the full story on Space.com
Spirit Rover Discovers Another Possible Meteorite on the Surface of Mars!
June 13, 2006 12:50 PM
The Mars Exploration Rover Spirit recently photographed two possible iron meteorites, tentatively named "Allan Hills" and "Zhong Shan", in the Columbia Hills region of Mars. Measurements taken with Spirit's miniature thermal emission spectrometer, which was designed by scientists at ASU, indicate that "Allan Hills" and "Zhong Shan" are very reflective compared to the surrounding rocks. The rocks looks similar to the suspected iron meteorite named "Heat Shield Rock" that was found by Spirit's twin rover, Opportunity, last year. To learn more about the possible meteorites, as well as other recent news regarding the Mars Exploration Rovers, visit this website.
NASA reinstates previously cancelled Dawn mission to asteroids Ceres and Vesta!
March 28, 2006 10:19 AM
NASA stated yesterday that it will reinstate the Dawn mission to study asteroids Ceres and Vesta, two of the largest asteroids in the asteroid belt. Ceres is believed to be primitive, meaning it probably has not changed much since it formed, while Vesta is thought to be more evolved. Vesta is also believed to be the source of the HED meteorites (howardites, eucrites, and diogenites). Scientists hope the Dawn mission will provide insight into the formation and evolution of solid bodies in the early solar system. The mission will lauch in 2007. To learn more about the Dawn mission, click here.
You can also sign up on the Dawn website to have your name recorded on a microchip that will be sent on the spacecraft!!
Genesis mission to be featured on upcoming National Geographic Channel special!
March 9, 2006 11:00 AM
The National Geographic Channel will air the program "Death of the Sun" on Monday, March 20 at 9 PM EST. The program contains information on and interviews about the Genesis mission, which the Center for Meteorite Studies's own Amy Jurewicz is actively working on here at ASU. Hope you'll tune in!
Center for Meteorite Studies receives Conservation Assessment Program Grant!
March 1, 2006 04:48 PM
The Center for Meteorite Studies is pleased to announce that it has received a 2006 Conservation Assessment Program grant from Heritage Preservation and the Institute of Museum and Library Services. The grant will help us work with a professional conservator to assess the current state of our collections and to review and revise where necessary our long-term plan for conservation. This is one of many steps the Center is undertaking to ensure that the ASU collections will be available for research and education for perpetuity.
CMS Meteorite Museum Re-opens Today!
February 17, 2006 10:24 AM
The Center for Meteorite Studies Museum is re-opening today after renovations that include new display content and layout, new lighting in display cabinets, and new paint and carpet. Please visit us when you have a chance!
Congratulations to Lan-Anh Nguyen, winner of the 2005 Nininger Meteorite Award!
January 30, 2006 09:56 AM
The Center for Meteorite Studies is pleased to announce that the recipient of the 2005 Nininger Meteorite Award is Lan-Anh Nguyen, a graduate student working with Ernst Zinner and Frank Podosek at Washington University in St. Louis. A panel of experts from a broad array of fields in meteoritical science consistently cited Lan-Anh's paper, entitled “Characterization of presolar silicate grains in the Acfer 094 and ALHA77307 carbonaceous chondrites by multi-detection raster ion imaging in the NanoSIMS”, for the importance of the research topic and the high quality of her research and writing.
Stardust mission successfully returns comet dust to Earth!
January 30, 2006 09:49 AM
The Stardust capsule successfully landed in the Utah desert on January 15, 2006! On January 17, the capsule was transferred to Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston, where the samples of Comet Wild 2 will be removed and curated. Click here to see a live webcam of the cleanroom at JSC. For more information about the Stardust mission, please click here.
Stardust capsule set to return to Earth on January 15!
January 5, 2006 01:01 PM
The Stardust mission, which collected dust from comet Wild 2 in 2004, is set to return to Earth on January 15, 2006. The capsule full of dust will glide to a stop in the Utah desert via a parachute. The samples will then be picked up by helicopter and will eventually end up at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. Click here to learn more about the Stardust mission.
Hayabusa spaceprobe successfully acquired samples from asteroid Itokawa on Nov. 25th!
November 28, 2005 08:28 AM
According to JAXA, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, the Hayabusa probe successfully sampled the surface of asteroid Itokawa on Friday despite earlier problems. This is the first time that a sample of an asteroid's surface has been acquired in situ. If all goes well, the sample will be returned to Earth in June 2007. To learn more about the mission, read this article.
Update on Japan's Hayabusa mision to sample asteroid Itokawa
November 4, 2005 10:44 AM
Hayabusa arrived at asteroid Itokawa on September 12th and has been busy surverying the asteroid in preparation for its scheduled samplings later this month. The touch-down dress rehearsal that was scheduled for today has been cancelled. It is unclear at this time how the cancellation will impact the estimated dates for the actual touch-downs: Nov. 12th and Nov. 25th. See the following link for more information about the mission. Click here for images of asteroid Itokawa.
CMS to participate in Earth Science Day festivities at ASU - Sat. Oct. 22!
October 5, 2005 05:38 PM
Mark your calendar for Earth Science Day - Saturday, October 22, 2005! The Center for Meteorite Studies will host an exhibit at the ASU Department of Geological Sciences annual Earth Science Day celebration. See the Department's website for more information and a map. We hope to see you there!
CMS announces 40th anniversary of Nininger Meteorite Award!
August 26, 2005 04:30 PM
In 1965, Dr. H.H. Nininger and Mrs. Addie D. Nininger endowed the Nininger Science of Meteoritics Fund to the Center for Meteorite Studies at Arizona State University in order to promote interest in meteorite-related topics among young scientists. The Fund supports the Nininger Meteorite Award, which recognizes outstanding student achievement in the “Science of Meteoritics” as embodied by an original research paper. See the Center's homepage for a link to a PDF with more information about the award.
Deep Impact was a "smashing" success!
July 5, 2005 11:49 AM
NASA's Deep Impact spacecraft successfully collided with Comet Tempel 1 yesterday on July 4, 2005! Scientists will carefully study images of the resulting ejecta and crater to learn more about the nature of comets and the role they may have played in delivering to Earth the materials necessary for life. See the Deep Impact website for the latest news and pictures.
Center for Meteorite Studies participated in China's annual Science and Technology Week!
June 8, 2005 11:32 AM
The Center for Meteorite Studies and scientists from the ASU Mars Space Flight Facility presented an exhibit called "Welcome to Mars!" during China's annual Science and Technology Week in Beijing May 14-20. On display with the exhibit were several meteorites from the Center for Meteorite Studies. As part of the festivities, Yang Liwei, China's first astronaut and a national hero, was presented with a meteorite prepared by the Center for Meteorite Studies as a gift from ASU.
Japan's Muses-C/Hayabusa mission to return soil from an asteroid!
June 8, 2005 11:15 AM
Japan's Muses-C/Hayabusa mission is slated to collect and return soil from S-type Asteroid (25143) Itokawa in late 2005. To read more click here.
NASA's Deep Impact spacecraft set to impact Comet Tempel 1 on July 4, 2005!
June 7, 2005 04:22 PM
NASA's Deep Impact spacecraft will come face to face with Comet Tempel 1 on July 4, 2005. The spacecraft will deploy an impactor, which will intercept the comet, while the flyby portion of the spacecraft will record the impact. See the Deep Impact website for more information.
ASU CMS helps to identify meteorite on Mars!
January 18, 2005 11:22 AM
The Opportunity Mars Rover has identified an iron meteorite while inspecting its heat shield. The ASU Center for Meteorite Studies has loaned specimens of various iron meteorites to the Mini-TES team for help in identifying the type of iron meteorite. Read more about it on Space.com.
