Ordinary chondrites, the most abundant meteorites, constitute about 80% of meteorite falls and are essential to our understanding of cosmochemistry. They provide important information about planetary accretion, the early Solar System, and the geological history of asteroids, including such processes as thermal metamorphism, shock metamorphism, and aqueous alteration. This comprehensive guide begins with meteorite classifications and useful definitions, followed by a discussion of fall phen...

This book explains that diffusion, osmosis, dissolution, evaporation, and heat loss all preferentially affect small bodies due to their high surface/volume ratios. Because surface area increases as the square of length, but volume (and mass) increase as the cube, large objects have low surface/volume ratios and small objects have high surface/volume ratios. This simple physical constraint governs much of the physical world. It accounts for why the Earth has active volcanoes, but the Moon d...

The solar system has always been a messy place in which gravity wreaks havoc. Moons form, asteroids and comets crash into planets, ice ages commence, and dinosaurs disappear. By describing the dramatic consequences of such disturbances, this authoritative and entertaining book reveals the fundamental interconnectedness of the solar system--and what it means for life on Earth.After relating a brief history of the solar system, Alan Rubin describes how astronomers determined our loca...