| The
Meteorite Collection |
| Meteorites
are extraterrestial rocks and the only geological samples
that preserve records of the earliest events in the history
of our solar system. Their study (meteoritics) is an active
and very interdisciplinary field. |
|
|
|
| The
Museum holds a large and broadly representative collection
of meteorites. About 1,500 specimens ranging from <0.1
g to ~180 kg represent about 550 distinct meteorites. It includes
the collections of J. Lawrence Smith, a famous 19th century
American chemist, and Q. David Bowers, a contemporary collector,
who was particularly enthusiastic about pallasites. |
|
The
largest irons and a rich selection from the Bowers collection
are on display in the Harvard Museum of Natural History.
|
| Large
meteorite impacts produce shock effects - metamorphism and
even melting of target rocks. The Museum holds a small ancillary
collection of impactites and tektites, which are curious blebs
of glass that are understood to be melted silicate rock that
were blown out and then rained back down to earth thus acquiring
aerodynamic shapes. |
|
