File:The American Museum journal (c1900-(1918)) (17539533573).jpg

Title: The American Museum journal
Identifier: americanmuseumjo17amer (find matches)
Year: c1900-(1918) (c190s)
Authors: American Museum of Natural History
Subjects: Natural history
Publisher: New York : American Museum of Natural History
Contributing Library: American Museum of Natural History Library
Digitizing Sponsor: Biodiversity Heritage Library

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COLLECTIOXS OF METEORITES L\ AMERICAN MUSEUM 29 are unevenly mixed, that the oxygen is neg- ligible or absent in places, and that there are "holes" in the upper atmosphere such as the aviators have experienced in the lower atmosphere ? Perhaps there are a series of "crushing" stages throughout the flight of the meteor, which develop a larger number of smaller fragments and greatly increased rate of wastage by combustion (see Dr. Thomson's article, page 27). This would explain the enlargements in the meteor trail, but it does not meet the objection raised by the total disappearance of the light streak and its renewal subsequently as seen in one of the photographs. The Museum collection contains a large number of stone meteorites (aerolites), as well as of iron meteorites (siderites), and a representative lot of the intermediate group of siderolites, which, speaking broadly, are part stone and part iron. The large stone and iron meteorites in the Museum col- lection are in Memorial Hall at the entrance to the Museum. The smaller stone, iron, and siderolite specimens are in alcove cases on the east side of the hall of geology and in- vertebrate pala?ontology, fourth floor, central wing. The exterior of a stone meteorite is cov- ered with a black crust about one thirty-sec- ond of an inch thick or less. The interior of such a specimen is unaltered, and on re- cently broken surfaces is usually of a light gray color. Where the aerolite has lain on or just beneath the earth's surface for a long time, both the exterior crust and chipped surfaces may be dulled by weather- ing, for even stone meteorites oftentimes contain considerable iron-bearing minerals which oxidize, thus discoloring the surface. The Selma aerolite, from Selma, Alabama, in Memorial Hall, is the largest stone me- teorite ever found in this country and one of the largest in the world. Several cracks are in evidence in this meteorite, but owing to the absence of a crust within the cracks, it is supposed that they developed after it reached the earth by alternate ex-
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The stone meteorite has a black crust one thirty second of an inch thick or less, and on freshly broken surfaces is light gray in color. Stone meteors, of course, break and scatter during flight much more readily than iron meteors

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