The Geological Society

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The History of Meteoritics and Key Meteorite Collections: Fireballs, Falls and Finds

Product Code:	SP256
Series:	GSL Special Publications - print copy
Author/Editor:	Edited by G J H McCall, A J Bowden and R J Howarth
Publication Date:	03 July 2006
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Description

Special Publication 256

This Special Publication has 24 papers with an international authorship, and is prefaced by an introductory overview which presents highlights in the field. The first section covers the acceptance by science of the reality of the falls of rock and metal from the sky, an account that takes the reader from BCE (before common era) to the nineteenth century. The second section details some of the world's most important collections in museums - their origins and development. The Smithsonian chapter also covers the astonishingly numerous finds in the cold desert of Antarctica by American search parties. There are also contributions covering the finds by Japanese parties in the Yamato mountains and the equally remarkable discoveries in the hot deserts of Australia, North Africa, Oman and the USA. The other seven chapters take the reader through the revolution in scientific research on meteoritics in the later part of the twentieth century, including terrestrial impact cratering and extraordinary showers of glass from the sky; tektites, now known to be Earth-impact-sourced. Finally, the short epilogue looks to the future.

The History of Meteoritics and Key Meteorite Collections should appeal to historians of science, meteoriticists, geologists, astronomers, curators and the general reader with an interest in science.

Type:	Book
Ten Digit ISBN:	1-86239-194-7
Thirteen Digit ISBN:	978-1-86239-194-9
Publisher:	GSL
Binding:
Pages:	520
Weight:	1.30 kg

Contents

The history of meteoritics - overview, G J H McCall, A J Bowden and R J Howarth
Meteorites in history: an overview from the Renaissance to the 20 century, U B Marvin
The meteorite fall at l'Aigle and the Biot report: exploring the cradle of meteoritics, M Gounelle
The end of classical meteorology, c. 1800, V Jankovic
Understanding the nature of meteorites: the experimental work of Gabriel-Auguste Daubrée, R J Howarth
History of the meteorite collection of the Natural History Museum of Vienna, F Brandstätter
History of the meteorite collection at the Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin, A Greshake
A history of the meteorite collection at the Natural History Museum, London, S Russell and M M Grady
The meteorite collection of the National Museum of Natural History in Paris, France, C L V Caillet Komorowski
A brief history of the Vatican meteorite collection, G Consolmagno
History of the meteorite collection of the Russian Academy of Sciences, M A Ivanova and M A Nazarov
Meteorites and the Smithsonian Institution, R S Clarke, H Plotkin and T J McCoy
History of the American Museum of Natural History meteorite collection, D S Ebel
The history of Japanese Antarctic meteorites, H Kojima
The Western Australian Museum meteorite collection, A W R Bevan
Desert meteorites: a history, A W R Bevan
Chondrules and calcium-aluminium-rich inclusions (CAIs), G J H McCall
The history of meteorite age determinations, J R de Laeter
Meteorite provenance and the asteroid connection, A J Bowden
The history of research on meteorites from Mars, M M Grady
Metorites and the origin of the solar system, S G Brush
Meteorite cratering: Hooke, Gilbert, Barringer and beyond, G J H McCall
The history of tektites, G J H McCall
Epilogue, G J H McCall, A J Bowden, J A Wood and U B Marvin