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Mud Ball

21 May 2019
Catastrophism

At https://phys.org/news/2019-05-extraterrestrial-mud-ball-years.html … which is actually a meteor the size of a washing machine that broke apart over a small town in Costa Rica a few weeks ago. It fragmented into a lot of small pieces. One of these, apparently a rock, crashed through the roof of a house and broke the dining room  table – although we aren't told how severe the damage might have been. The meteor has been classified as a 'carbonaceous chondrite' which are rich in organic compounds and water. The water element tends to create clays which is why it is being called a mud ball. Clays are strongly associated with wetness and this one is defined as 80% to 90% made of clays. Obviously, the piece that crashed through the roof was harder than clay which is why it is called a rock – but more information is pending. Some 55 pounds of the meteorite have already been scooped up by souvenir hunters and scientists and these will be studied in order to understood the makeup of the meteor.

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