* Astronomy

Blobrana · L

RE: Polonnaruwa meteorite

Blobrana · L

The Polonnaruwa meteorite is an alleged meteorite that fell in 29 December 2012 close to the city of Polonnaruwa in Sri Lanka, and recovered soon after by Chandra Wickramasinghe's team
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Blobrana · L

Title: The Polonnaruwa meteorite: oxygen isotope, crystalline and biological composition
Authors: Jamie Wallis, Nori Miyake, Richard B. Hoover, Andrew Oldroyd, Daryl H. Wallis, Anil Samaranayake, K. Wickramarathne, M.K. Wallis, Carl H. Gibson, N. C. Wickramasinghe

Results of X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) analysis, Triple Oxygen Isotope analysis and Scanning Electron Microscopic (SEM) studies are presented for stone fragments recovered from the North Central Province of Sri Lanka following a witnessed fireball event on 29 December 2012. The existence of numerous nitrogen depleted highly carbonaceous fossilized biological structures fused into the rock matrix is inconsistent with recent terrestrial contamination. Oxygen isotope results compare well with those of CI and CI-like chondrites but are inconsistent with the fulgurite hypothesis.

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Blobrana · L

Astrobiologists Find Ancient Fossils in Fireball Fragments

On 29 December 2012, a fireball lit up the early evening skies over the Sri Lankan province of Polonnaruwa. Hot, sparkling fragments of the fireball rained down across the countryside and witnesses reported the strong odour of tar or asphalt.
Over the next few days, the local police gathered numerous examples of these stones and sent them to the Sri Lankan Medical Research Institute of the Ministry of Health in Colombo. After noticing curious features inside these stones, officials forwarded the samples to a team of astrobiologists at Cardiff University in the UK for further analysis.
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Blobrana · L

Indian scientist hails the Polonnaruwa meteorite as a major development in the search for extraterrestrial life

Professor Godfrey Louis Pro Vice Chancellor of the Cochin University of Science and Technology of Kerala, India hailed the discovery of life in the Polonnaruwa meteorite as a major development in the search for extraterrestrial life.
Professor Louis is the pioneer scientist who drew the attention of the whole world to the strange phenomenon of the Kerala red rain and in the following email interview with this correspondent flatly rejected the opinion expressed in the state owned press in Sri Lanka that the coloured rain experienced in the island was the result of the spores of some lichens getting mixed in the rain water.
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Blobrana · L

Diatoms Have Not Been Found in a Meteorite

The paper was published online on a site called The Journal of Cosmology. Ill get back to that august publication in just a moment. The lead author is N. C. Wickramasinghe, and as soon as I saw his name alarm bells exploded in my head. Wickramasinghe is a proponent of the idea of panspermia: the notion that life originated in space and was brought to Earth via meteorites. Its an interesting idea and not without some merits.
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Ed ~ It should be also noted that it is possible that meteorites may have their origin from ancient earth impacts

Blobrana · L

Polonnaruwa meteorite with evidence of life from outer space described as the most important find in 500 years.

A meteorite that Landed recently, close to the ancient city of Polonnaruwa in Sri Lanka has been described as the most important scientific discovery in the last 500 years as it carried "compelling evidence of life" from outer space.
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Ed ~ Meteor fall on the 29 December 2012. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence"