Mystery Meteorite May Not Be From Mercury After All

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Mystery Meteorite May Not Be From Mercury After All

Posted by Soulskill on Friday April 12, 2013 @04:22AM from the hailing-from-parts-unknown dept.

gbrumfiel writes "A strange green meteorite found in Morocco caused a stir in the press earlier this month, when scientists reported that it might be the first chunk of Mercury ever found here on earth. But scientists who've been puzzling over the stone since then say the accumulating evidence may point in a different direction. The 4.56-billion-year-old rock might have come from the asteroid belt located between Mars and Jupiter. If true, then it would provide clues about the origin of the solar system as a whole instead of the origin of the innermost planet."

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does it matter? by slashmydots · 2013-04-12 04:25 · Score: 4, Funny

I'm sure if the ebay description just says "it's a green rock and it's from space," that'll be sufficient. Knowing specifically its potential history probably would only drive up the price from approximately 1 metric ass-ton of money to 1.1 metric ass-tons of money.
1. Re:does it matter? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-04-12 04:39 · Score: 2, Interesting
  
  If I had enough money I would make a sword from it. http://xkcd.com/1114/
2. Re:does it matter? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-04-12 04:42 · Score: 0
  
  Ditto!
3. Re:does it matter? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-04-12 04:51 · Score: 1
  
  does it matter?
  Of course it matters. We need to know where it came from so the US Congress can pass a law against any of them landing in the US. Most of these Congressional "geniuses" don't believe that the Earth, Solar System, Universe, etc are billions of years old. They'll want to ban any physical evidence that can be used to challenge their ignorance.
4. Re:does it matter? by cyberchondriac · 2013-04-12 05:20 · Score: 1
  
  does it matter?
  Of course it matters. We need to know where it came from so the US Congress can pass a law against any of them landing in the US. Most of these Congressional "geniuses" don't believe that the Earth, Solar System, Universe, etc are billions of years old. They'll want to ban any physical evidence that can be used to challenge their ignorance.
  This is a bizarre argument.
  First, assuming that all liberals=enlightened and all conservatives=ignorant and superstitious, this would mean that:
  1) The vast majority (thus able to ram their legislation through) of Congress is conservative. While it's true that currently Reps outnumber Dems overall, 289 vs 241,it's not all that wide a gap. Dems control the Senate.
  2) All conservatives/ republicans are christian fundies and believe in the young earth theory. In fact it's only a very small fringe group of xtians that believe in that ridiculousness. Hell, not even Pat Robertson believes it.
  
  --
  
  Look back up at my post, now look back down, you're on the Internet. Now look back up. I'm a signature.
5. Re: does it matter? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-04-12 05:57 · Score: 0
  
  AC's hyperbole aside, he's not far off. More Americans now support Gay Marriage than believe in Evolution.
6. Re:does it matter? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-04-12 16:02 · Score: 0
  
  by slashmydots (2189826) on Wednesday April 10, @12:50PM (#43413349)
  This has got to be the 5th story in a row where I will attempt to convince incredibly stupid people that quantum entangled particles have a practical use EXACTLY LIKE THIS. I believe we last left off at people screaming that entangled photons can't transmit data between "them" (it's really sort of not 2 particles). Also that data can't travel faster than the speed of light, which is doesn't and yet does. You're all 1.5 years worth of wrong so far.
  Let's see, how many times do you think I have to copy and paste "entanglement really is instantaneous over long distances" because some slashdotters believe that professional physicists believe it's true. This is a real
  by femtobyte (710429) on Wednesday April 10, @01:04PM (#43413543)
  I am a professional physicist. Entanglement does indeed appear to be "instantaneous over long distances". However, no data is transmitted through this process. You're half-right, half-wrong: right on the part most people don't argue against, and entirely wrong on the important question of data transmission. And you're all wrong on thinking you're in any way qualified to comment on this question, because you're obviously not.
  by slashmydots (2189826) on Thursday April 11, @05:04PM (#43426923)
  Here you go, you stupid, ignorant troll hiding behind anonymity: science.slashdot.org/story/12/04/24/2031211/quantum-experiment-shows-effect-before-cause
  science.slashdot.org/story/12/10/04/010223/quantum-measurements-leave-schrdingers-cat-alive "Physicists have managed to probe a delicate quantum state without destroying it – the equivalent of taking a peek at Schrodinger's metaphorical cat without killing it. The result should make it easier to handle systems such as quantum computers that exploit the exotic properties of the quantum world."
  So don't forget to shut the fuck up.
  by MyLongNickName (822545) on Friday April 12, @09:21AM (#43431469) Journal
  Oh, and in case you still think your article proves you right, you might want to read ALL of the article. The last paragraph states
  "As always with entanglement, it's important to note that no information is passing between Alice, Bob, and Victor: the settings on the detectors and the BiSA are set independently, and there's no way to communicate faster than the speed of light. Nevertheless, this experiment provides a realization of one of the fundamental paradoxes of quantum mechanics: that measurements taken at different points in space and time appear to affect each other, even though there is no mechanism that allows information to travel between them."
  So. while you may thing we are all "stupid" "ignorant" and "idiots", you cannot be arsed to read the entire article before forming an opinion based on nothing.
I - Lex Luther - by Anonymous Coward · 2013-04-12 04:35 · Score: 0

I, Lex Luther, vow to acquire this meteorite.
He VOWS to acquire this meteor!
Otis, Shutup!
1. Re:I - Lex Luther - by Anonymous Coward · 2013-04-12 04:40 · Score: 0
  
  Your sense of humor must be affected by the Kryptonite, Lex.
Did the solar system originate as a hole? by fredrated · 2013-04-12 04:45 · Score: 1

Need more information!
1. Re:Did the solar system originate as a hole? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-04-12 05:07 · Score: 0
  
  Give me some hydrogen and I'll run a test.
2. Re:Did the solar system originate as a hole? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-04-12 06:29 · Score: 0
  
  Johnny five? Is that you?
Easy to determine by bobdehnhardt · 2013-04-12 04:55 · Score: 3, Funny

Green rock, from outer space, found in northern Africa?
Miss Tessmacher! Cancel the tickets to Addis Ababa! We're going to Morroco!
Brainstorming here by Anonymous Coward · 2013-04-12 04:57 · Score: 1

Maybe they discovered a discarded prototype of Dell's $50 handheld computer?
1. Re:Brainstorming here by Anonymous Coward · 2013-04-12 04:59 · Score: 0
  
  Maybe they discovered a discarded prototype of Dell's $50 handheld computer?
  They said it was a rock, not a brick.
Headline: by Anonymous Coward · 2013-04-12 05:02 · Score: 1

Mysterious Moroccan Meteorite Maybe Mercurian
1. Re:Headline: by Anonymous Coward · 2013-04-12 05:08 · Score: 0
  
  Meh
2. Re:Headline: by ArsonSmith · 2013-04-12 06:14 · Score: 1
  
  More Meaningful Measurements Mean Maybe Misrepresented.
  
  --
  Paying taxes to buy civilization is like paying a hooker to buy love.
Yes, an asteroid should be more likely by G3ckoG33k · 2013-04-12 05:25 · Score: 1

Good to see some sense.
I'm also happy that that Russian metor didn't land in North or South Korea.
Maybe it is from ... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-04-12 05:27 · Score: 1

Uranus
How did they come to that anyhow? by pablo_max · 2013-04-12 05:28 · Score: 1, Insightful

Seriously, why would they think they have any idea at all where it came from? Space is massive. There are chucks of rocks flying all over the place left over from the formation of our solar system. Not to mention other systems. We are blasted every single day with tons of space rocks. I am sure that there is a pretty high chance that none of it is coming from a planet but is rather coming from the millions of asteroids flying about.
What, do they say, hey! this planet is also kinda that color, it must be from there since nothing else could possibly be that color also?
1. Re:How did they come to that anyhow? by olsmeister · 2013-04-12 05:38 · Score: 2
  
  I think they check the composition and based on the types and quantities of minerals that are present, they can get an idea of what temperature environment the parent asteroid was formed in and hence its approximate distance from the sun. I'm sure they're not guessing based on color.
2. Re:How did they come to that anyhow? by stevesliva · 2013-04-12 05:43 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  Maybe go read about it
  Your post reads like "How do they know some stars are planets anyways? What makes one sparkly thing in the sky different from all the rest? Unpossible to differentiate."
  
  --
  Who do you get to be an expert to tell you something's not obvious? The least insightful person you can find? -J Roberts
3. Re:How did they come to that anyhow? by vikingpower · 2013-04-12 07:11 · Score: 1
  
  I did read the article behind your link. Pretty astronomer :-))))
  
  --
  Religous speak to God. Insane are spoken to by God. When all shut up, one can finally hear Shostakovich in peace
4. Re:How did they come to that anyhow? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-04-12 08:34 · Score: 0
  
  Space is massive.
  No it isn't, there's little mass at all in space. All the mass is in stars, planets, moons, dust, and the like. Space is HUGE, however.
  You must be from Missouri, where they call a four foot tall 300 pound woman "big." She's not big, she's fat. Massive. A seven foot three hundred pounder is BIG.
5. Re:How did they come to that anyhow? by Synerg1y · 2013-04-12 09:20 · Score: 1
  
  Reading that...
  
  That's important because it means it is a piece of a world that was large enough to have differentiated into a rocky mantle and a metal core.
  Could be us one day :)
  I can't seem to find anything on why it's green? I'm kinda curious...
6. Re:How did they come to that anyhow? by femtobyte · 2013-04-12 09:58 · Score: 1
  
  Considering that current cosmological theories indicate that the mass-energy in the universe is ~5% ordinary matter, ~25% dark matter, and the other ~70% is Dark Energy, in one sense space is quite massive (about fourteen times more massive than all the "stars, planets, moons, dust, and the like" combined).
i live in morocco by Anonymous Coward · 2013-04-12 05:45 · Score: 0

Hey i live in morocco, how come i never heard of this? Where did it land?
Disingenuous or just dumb? by Squidlips · 2013-04-12 06:29 · Score: 1

The vast majority of meteorites come from "the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter"....eeesh. And how can they tell; from the spectroscopic studies of asteroid...
Don't touch it by Anonymous Coward · 2013-04-12 07:08 · Score: 0

Just don't touch it Jordy Verrill, you lunkhead!
chromian diopside by Anonymous Coward · 2013-04-13 07:10 · Score: 0

"chromian diopside"
Wat.
I'm chromium dioxide, and what is this?