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Thermoluminescence and terrestrial age of the Estacado meteorite

Abstract

THE terrestrial age of a meteorite is the number of years which has elapsed since the meteorite fell to Earth. The terrestrial ages of most meteorites are not known directly, as most are ‘finds’ rather than observed ‘falls’. Here we discuss the various methods which have been suggested to determine the terrestrial age of the ‘finds’, and these may be conveniently divided into two categories: (1) those which use the decay of spallation-produced radioactive isotopes1–4; (2) those which use the thermal drainage of thermoluminescence (TL) from the material5,6.

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MCKEEVER, S., SEARS, D. Thermoluminescence and terrestrial age of the Estacado meteorite. Nature 275, 629–630 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1038/275629a0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/275629a0

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