The Coolidge examiner., 1934-04-27

they LETT behind them have been obllierated by
wind and rain. II has been discovered very re-
Gently. however that traces of these craters may
| sometimes be seen when viewed from aloft in an
airpiane Several groups OF them have been
found Ia America during the past ,wo years
Where % mcieorites come froml II Is sup
posed that they are fragments Of comets which
have been torn apart BY the powerful graylta-
ton of the sun aud the larger planets OF the
solar system. The Leonlds are believed 10 De
fragments % Temples comet which has disap-
pcared like the meteor showers. Another comet
known Bleas was actually seen 10 break up
and lnaliy 90 vanish entirely but are
showercd with unusually large number Of
msteors whenever II should be In the neghbor-
hood of our earth according TO the computations
of astronomers
How many moteorltcs have really hit the
earth5 Professor NiningcF estimates that more
than sToo0 Of them have fallen on every square
mile of the carth's surface since the mammoth
rosmed the sieamlng forests of prehistoric tines
That means that the very ground which we
walk Il made NJ largely ~ the dust into which
they have fallen.
Confirmation of that belief Is seen In the the
ory advanced recently by Ralph W. Stone. as
slstani state geoiogis, 81 Pennsylvania. that a
coating of meteorite dust 10 inches thick lies on
the surface Of the earth. This coating Is an
accumulation OF e0ooa.coC years or more. he
says. and Is constantly being Increased although
Al such Slow rate tina, I, is no, noticeable
Out OF 40 meteorite falls since meteori,es be-
came known and accredited. I25 years ago. $780,
90 Individual meieorltcs have been recovered.
or an average OF 25T fall. This hgure supplies
one meteoric stone for each 800 square miles OF
land surface of the globe In a century and
quarter.
Most OF the falls were observed In areas OF
comparatively dense population and where sur
face conditions were favorable for observation
OF the landing and for recovery.
If we consider the 2S7 Witnessed falls In Eu-
ropean countries. Russia. india Japan and the
United States. amounting 90 l29.349 individual
meteorites or $50 stones a fall. In a combined
area OF 10000 square niles we have one me
ieorlte for every 55is miles, Mr.. Stone says.
During the 125 years only two falls from
which stones were recovered were observed In
the whole western third OF the United States.
apparently due to spare population and the
nature OF the terrain. Although practically all
observed falls from which stones are recovered
occurred In daytime. there is no reason for as
sumlng that falls are not just as frequent at
night
ION these assumptions II is conservative 10
estimate that in these twelve countries AT least
ten times as many meteorites fell as were recov-
tftu, OE one 10 taNu I'VE anu II hdlA SQUARE
miles"
II the rate OF fall OF the last century has
been constant. according TO the assistant state
geologist each square mile OF surface has re-
ceIved T27 meteoric units In the G0O00.OOO years
since the beginning OF tertiary times on this
basis OF computation. the earth received S7.2+0
meteorites a square mile.
The weight OF the 1888 stones recovered"
he continued. was 1904 pounds This Is a very
low average since the larger stones usually bury
themselves. but this figure gives about two
ounces q stone
This would mean a hye-ton-a-square mile
average for the entire earth. In the last 125
years.
should we continue the computation for long
er periods get into ponderable figures Then,
/ II we figure not from the beginning OF the ter
tiary time but from early Paleozic time co.,
100000 rather than G0OOOOOO years ago. we get
weight Of material which certainly would make
/ the earth wabble on its axis II concentrated in
one spot on the surface"
/ BESIDES the meteortes which land about
million an hour daily are consumed in our at
mosphere before striking the earth. Mr.. Stone
/ estimates.
considering FIVE pounds the average weight
of these that would mean $4,000 tons OF mete-
orc dust sitting down daily. Distributed over
| the globe however the result would be a layer
one millimeter thick In 10000 years O blanket
10 feet deep in 100000 years"
| @ BY wsstsrn Nswspspsr Union