Abstract
THE study of meteorites is naturally divisible into several very distinct branches of inquiry. Thus in the first place we may regard them as shooting stars, and observe and discuss their radiant points and their relation to the solar system. This may be called the astronomical aspect of the question. Then, when solid masses fall to the ground, we may study their chemical composition as a whole, or that of the separate mineral constituents; and lastly, we may study their mechanical structure, and apply to this investigation the same methods which have yielded such important results in the case of terrestrial rocks. So much has been written on the astronomical, chemical, and mineralogical aspect of my subject by those far more competent than myself to deal with such questions, that I shall confine my remarks almost entirely to the mechanical structure of meteorites and meteoric irons, and more especially to my own observations, since they will, at all events, have the merit of greater originality and novelty. Time will, however, not permit me to enter into the detail even of this single department of my subject.
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On the Structure and Origin of Meteorites 2 . Nature 15, 495–498 (1877). https://doi.org/10.1038/015495a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/015495a0
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