Tim GregoryMETEORITE: THE STONES FROM OUTER SPACE THAT MADE OUR WORLD

Dr. Tim Gregory, British Geologist and Cosmochemist is a Scientist who studies Meteorites (space rocks).His book Meteorites is a treat for those who love Geology and Astronomy (or Astrophysics), an excellent book which talks about bit of Astronomy (or Astrophysics) and mainly focuses on Geology.

Well worth adding to your library if you are an enthusiast.

In this book, the author, a cosmochemistry research scientist, discusses the nature, origin and composition of meteorites. He also explains in reasonable detail what meteorites can tell us about the origin of our solar system and indeed about the creation of the elements.I had read a number of books on this fascinating topic a number of years ago, so I was surprised to read about all the advances that have been made in this field in recent years, as well as the wealth of information gleaned from the continuing study of meteorites.Written in a clear, authoritative and captivating prose, this most interesting book is, I believe, a valuable addition to the library of books on this topic aimed at a more general readership.

This book is full of interesting facts not just about meteors and meteorites also deaths history and the solar system irself

Tim Gregory bringt es fertig, trotz vielen Büchern über Meteoriten, neue Aspekte der komplexen Materie auch für nicht Spezialisten verständlich darzustellen. Auch ohne Fotos ist das Buch spannend erzählt und gibt Einblicle über die aktuelle Forschung in der Meteoritenkunde .Das Buch in englischer Sprache ist auch für interessierte Laien eine Fundgrube über geschichtliche Entwicklungender Wissenschaft in Zusammenhang mit den Meteoriten und der Entstehung unseres Sonnensystems

Meteorite by Tim Gregory is one of the best books I have ever read. It describes in sculpted prose how scientists have explored the mysteries of our solar system’s formation and dated the age of the Earth using the ancient time capsules that routinely rain on Earth — meteorites.“Billowing through the protoplanetary disc as a mass of brightly glowing droplets of lava, clouds of freshly sintered chondrule grains swarmed for five million years. Trillions upon trillions of chondrules, in numbers that far exceed the number of stars in the observable Universe, spiraled as gravitational vortices, and coalesced to build the asteroids and the planets. What a sight it must have been.” (p.140)The CAIs and chondrules (the circular grains) beautifully preserve pieces of cosmic sediment that formed in the collapsing nebula of our Solar System. The white CAIs are crystals formed directly from the nebular gas; they would resemble snowflakes growing out of thin air. They hold an exotic blend of oxygen isotopes unknown on Earth. Our sun has the exact same blend of oxygen isotopes. The CAIs formed next to the sun at 1,400°F like primordial white Sun snow. Stellar gusts from the surface of the sun blew the CAIs far outward to the colder distal regions of the protoplanetary disc. Scientist Sorby deduced their origin and called them “drops of fiery rain” in 1877. These small spheres formed separately over 5 million years, and they agglomerated over time.Some of the grains come from other solar systems that popped like supernova firecrackers in our midst. The diamond and silicon carbide grains “crystallized around other stars. They are pieces of bona fide stardust. Some pre-date the solar system by over three billion years! Tiny pieces of rock that are seven billion years old! The mind boggles. We call these most remarkable motes of cosmic sediment ‘pre-solar’ grains.” (p.179)