Electron microscopy study of the iron meteorite Santa Catharina

Abstract— Characterization of the microstructural features of the metal of the Santa Catharina meteorite was performed using a variety of electron optical techniques. Sample USNM#6293 is chemically homogeneous on the micron scale and has a Ni content of 28.2 wt.%. Its microstructure is similar to that of the Twin City ataxite and contains clear taenite II, i.e., fcc taenite with domains of tetrataenite, < 10 nm in size. Sample USNM#3043 is a more typical Santa Catharina specimen with dark and light regions as observed with the light optical microscope. The dark regions are inhomogeneous and contain 45–50 wt.% Ni and 7–12 wt.% O. The light regions are homogeneous and contain 35 wt.% Ni and no detectable oxygen. The microstructure is that of cloudy zone, i.e., islands of tetrataenite, ～20 nm in size, in a honeycomb matrix. The honeycomb phase contains Ni rich oxide in the dark regions and contains metal, fcc taenite, in the light regions. The original metal structure of USNM#3043 is cloudy zone which formed during cooling into the low temperature miscibility gap of the Fe-Ni phase diagram. The dark regions were developed from the metal by selective corrosion of the honeycomb structure, transforming it into Ni containing oxides, possibly non-stoichiometric Fe₂NiO₄ while retaining the tetrataenite islands. Using the results of this study, many of the existing discrepancies concerning the microstructure of Santa Catharina can be explained.     

THE BLOOMINGTON (LL6) CHONDRITE AND ITS SHOCK MELT GLASSES

The Bloomington meteorite, a 67.8 gram veined, brecciated chondrite, fell during the summer of 1938 in Bloomington, Illinois. Its olivine, orthopyroxene and metal compositions (fo₆₉, en₇₄ and Fe₅₂ Ni₄₈ respectively) and its texture identify it as a brecciated LL6 chondrite of shock facies d. Shock melt glasses occur in Bloomington as sparse melt pockets and veins in clasts and as isolated masses in the black, clast-rich matrix. The vein glasses chemically resemble bulk LL-group chondrites and thus appear to reflect total melting of the host meteorite. The melt pocket and matrix glasses, like those described previously in L-group chondrites, have more varied compositions and are typically enriched in normative plagioclase. All glasses that we analyzed in Bloomington have FeO/MgO and Na/Al ratios similar to those of LL-group chondrites, indicating that melting of this meteorite involved neither a significant change in the oxidation state of iron nor loss of sodium to a vapor phase. Bloomington is a monomict breccia whose components formed in place as a result of a single episode of shock and attendant melting.     

Spectra of simulated lightning on Venus,Jupiter, and Titan

Laser-induced plasmas in various gas mixtures were used to simulate lightning in other planetary atmospheres. This method of simulation has the advantage of producing short-duration, high-temperature plasmas free from electrode contamination. The laser-induced plasma discharges in air are shown to accurately simulate terrestrial lightning and can be expected to simulate lightning spectra in other planetary atmospheres. Spectra from 240 to 880 nm are presented for simulated lightning in the atmospheres of Venus, Earth, Jupiter, and Titan. The spectra of lightning on the other giant planets are expected to be similar to that of Jupiter because the atmospheres of these planets are composed mainly of hydrogen and helium. The spectra of Venus and Titan show substantial amounts of radiation due to the presence of carbon atoms and ions and show CN Violet radiation. Although small amounts of CH₄ and NH₃ are present in the Jovian atmosphere, only emission from hydrogen and helium is observed. Most differences in the spectra can be understood in terms of the elemental ratios of the gas mixtures. Consequently, observations of the spectra of lightning on other planets should provide in situ estimates of the atmospheric and aerosol composition in the cloud layers in which lightning is occuring. In particular, the detection of inert gases such as helium should be possible and the relative abundance of these gases compared to major constituents might be determined.     

Results of Photometric and Polarimetric Observations of the Fuor V1057 Cyg from the Time of an Outburst to the Present

Observations of the brightness, color, and polarization of the fuor V1057 Cyg over more than 30 years are presented and briefly discussed. Variability of the linear polarization was found.     

A critical state model for sands dependent on stress and density

An elastoplastic model for sands is presented in this paper, which can describe stress–strain behaviour dependent on mean effective stress level and void ratio. The main features of the proposed model are: (a) a new state parameter, which is dependent on the initial void ratio and initial mean stress, is proposed and applied to the yield function in order to predict the plastic deformation for very loose sands; and (b) another new state parameter, which is used to determine the peak strength and describe the critical state behaviour of sands during shearing, is proposed in order to predict simply negative/positive dilatancy and the hardening/softening behaviour of medium or dense sands. In addition, the proposed model can also predict the stress–strain behaviour of sands under three-dimensional stress conditions by using a transformed stress tensor instead of ordinary stress tensor. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Relaxation of the Vela pulsar’s angular velocity following its jumps

The dynamics of the vortex lattice in the inner crust of a neutron star is considered. A general equation of motion is obtained and solved under the assumption that there are regions of pinned and of free vortices. By comparing these solutions with observational data for the Vela pulsar, the relative moments of inertia of regions of relaxation with the corresponding characteristic times are calculated for two model stars with different equations of state. It is shown that the theory can be reconciled with observations of the relaxation of pulsar angular velocity only for model stars with extremely stiff equations of state. Translated from Astrofizika, Vol. 40, No. 1, pp. 67–76, January–March, 1997.     

Modelling Gas And Dust Release From Comet Hale–Bopp

Numerical simulations of the evolving activity of comet Hale-Bopp are presented, assuming a porous, spherical nucleus, 20 km in radius, made of dust and gas-laden amorphous ice. The main effects included are: crystallization of amorphous ice and release of occluded gas, condensation, sublimation and flow of gases through the pores, changing pore sizes, and flow of dust grains. The model parameters, such as initial pore size and porosity, emissivity, dust grain size, are varied in order to match the observed activity. In all cases, a sharp rise in the activity of the nucleus occurs at a large heliocentric distance pre-perihelion, marked by a few orders of magnitude increase in the CO and the CO₂ fluxes and in the rate of dust emission. This is due to the onset of crystallization, advancing down to a few meters below the surface, accompanied by release of the trapped gases. A period of sustained, but variable, activity ensues. The emission of water molecules is found to surpass that of CO at a heliocentric distance of 3 AU. Thereafter the activity is largely determined by the behaviour of the dust. If a dust mantle is allowed to build up, the water production rate does not increase dramatically towards perihelion; if most of the dust is ejected, the surface activity increases rapidly, producing a very bright comet. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.