Abstract
Murray's and Renard's interpretation of the “cosmic spherules” found in deep-sea deposits1 that they are of cosmic origin, and were probably derived from iron meteors heated to superficial melting during flight through the atmosphere, seems to be generally accepted at present. Having myself studied hundreds of such spherules, extracted from deep-sea cores taken by the Swedish Albatross Expedition (1947–48), I have found Murray's description of their external structure confirmed. In addition, analyses of the composition of individual spherules by the Castaign microanalyser2 has confirmed that they contain, besides iron, also nickel and cobalt, which supports their extra-terrestrial origin as well as Murray's hypothesis that they are derived from meteors of the nickel-iron type.
Similar content being viewed by others
Article PDF
References
Proc. Roy. Soc. Edin., 9, 258 (1876–77). Challenger Rep., 4, Deep Sea Deposits, 327.
Castaign, R., and Fredriksson, K., Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta, 4, 114 (1958).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
PETTERSSON, H. The Frequency of Meteorite Falls throughout the Ages. Nature 191, 482 (1961). https://doi.org/10.1038/191482b0
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/191482b0
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.