Beardsley meteorite

Beardsley meteorite
TypeChondrite
ClassOrdinary chondrite
GroupH5
CountryUnited States
RegionKansas
Coordinates39°48′N 101°12′W / 39.800°N 101.200°W / 39.800; -101.200
Fall date1929-10-15
TKW16 kilograms (35 lb)

The Beardsley meteorite is a meteorite that fell in Beardsley, Kansas, on October 15, 1929.[1][2] Three samples were preserved, one collected the following day, at Michigan State University, and two collected two years later, at the Smithsonian Institution and Arizona State University.[3]

It is a chondritic type,[4] but the samples showed unusual radionuclide profiles when analyzed in 1962: the Michigan State University sample was unusually high in potassium (higher than any other chondrite), rubidium (higher than any other meteorite), and caesium, while the Smithsonian Institution sample uniquely contained measurable amounts of Radium-226 and its decay products, suggesting contamination.[3] Its age has been estimated at 4.64 billion years.[5]

  1. ^ Harvey Harlow Nininger (1971). The Published Papers of Harvey Harlow Nininger: Biology and Meteoritics. Publications of the Center for Meteorite Studies, Arizona State University, Tempe. pp. 168, 354. OCLC 281191.
  2. ^ "The Beardsley, Kansas Chondrite". Meteorite Times Online. The Meteorite Exchange. Retrieved February 2, 2018.
  3. ^ a b Marvin W. Rowe (January 31, 1963). Quantitative Measurement of Gamma-ray-emitting Radionuclides in Meteorites. Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory. pp. 50–55.
  4. ^ "Beardsley". Meteorical Bulletin Database. Retrieved December 3, 2020.
  5. ^ Geological Survey Research 1973. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper. Vol. 850. U.S. Geological Survey. 1973. p. 153.