Midwest Micrometeorites

Have mirror micrometeorites been detected ?

Slow-moving (v ∼ 15 km/s) ‘dark matter particles’ have allegedly been discovered in a recent experiment. We explore the possibility that these slow moving dark matter particles are small mirror matter dust particles originating from our solar system. Ways of further testing our hypothesis, including the possibility of observing these dust particles in cryogenic detectors such as NAUTILUS, are a...

Search for Superconductivity in Micrometeorites

We have developed a very sensitive, highly selective, non-destructive technique for screening inhomogeneous materials for the presence of superconductivity. This technique, based on phase sensitive detection of microwave absorption is capable of detecting 10(-12) cc of a superconductor embedded in a non-superconducting, non-magnetic matrix. For the first time, we apply this technique to the sea...

Comprehensive Organic Analysis of Antarctic Micrometeorites

Chondrules in the Parent Asteroids of Micrometeorites

Introduction: Two main types of unmelted mi-crometeorite are recognised: (1) fine-grained micro-meteorites (fgMMs), dominated by phyllosilicates, and (2) coarse-grained micrometeorites (cgMMs), dominated by anhydrous silicates and glass with magmatic textures [1]. Fine-grained MMs have close affinities to the matrices of CI, CM2 and CR2 chondrites, however, the other major components of these m...

Ordinary Chondrite Micrometeorites from the Koronis Asteroids

Introduction: Micrometeorites (MMs) are large (>25 µm) interplanetary dust particles that survive atmospheric entry to be recovered from the Earth's surface. Amongst those particles that escaped significant heating during atmospheric entry two groups have been identified [1]: (i) fine-grained MMs (fgMMs), which are similar to the fine-grained matrices of hy-drated carbonaceous chondrites (CCs),...