Gustavus Detlef Hinrichs

“ Accordingly, we must look for the origin of our meteorites up away from the sun. We believe that they are fragments of some of the more minute asteroids of which hundreds yet continue to move between Mars and Jupiter. The frequent stony meteorites now falling, therefore, probably are the forerunners of a period of frequent iron meteorites, corresponding to the deeper portions of the same minute planet, the exterior layers of which have been reaching us quite frequently of late. ”

“ But three days after the great phenomenon, a meteoric stone, weighing seven pounds,—was found by Miss Sarah Sherlock, while on her way from school—precisely where observers had seen a "glowing coal" descend to the earth. In April and May, while the farmers were cultivating the land, about 400 pounds of meteoric stones were gathered on the meteorite-field of Iowa County. Quite recently two large meteorites have been found, aggregating 120 pounds. ”

“ I am unwilling to sacrifice any of the fine specimens above enumerated for this purpose.
III. The Origin of Meteorites.—The researches of Daubrée and Meunier, of Paris, have demonstrated that meteorites are fragments of one or more planetary bodies, which, by some great convulsion, has been broken to pieces. Furthermore, we possess abundant evidence that the earth, in its structure, corresponds, at different depths, to the different varieties of meteorites: from those without iron (Asydères) , through the Oligosidères to those consisting exclusively of nickeliferous iron (Syssydères) . ”

“ The Amana Society has confided these two remarkable specimens to me for study. They appear to have formed but one stone when the meteor first struck our atmosphere.
The number of meteorites thus far found in Iowa County is about one hundred; the total weight is over 500 lbs., or 225 kilogrammes.
The Iowa County meteorites are all alike, bounded by irregular plane surfaces, indicating the usual fragmentary nature of meteorites. They are all covered with a black crust, formed during the cosmical part of their motion through the earth's atmosphere. ”

“ Still, the nickeliferous iron is present in detached masses, or occurs sporadically in the stone. Hence these meteorites belong to the great class of Sporadosidères of Daubrée. In this class Daubrée distinguishes three species: those containing much, little, or but very little iron, so that it can only be recognized by a magnifier or a microscope; these species he designates as Poly-, Oligo-, and Krypto-Sporadosidères. Accordingly, the Iowa County meteorites are Oligo-Sporadosidères, that is, meteoric stones containing but little plainly visible metallic iron, in detached grains. ”

“ These would also be associated with small meteorites of denser materials, thus foreshadowing the third meteorite era, in which the dense masses of the interior metallic core of our earth would have sunk far enough toward the sun to reach the orbit of Venus. The mechanical problem herein involved I pretty completely solved about ten years ago. [6]
Now, it is furthermore well understood that it will be a long time before the earth is so broken up; for celestial bodies pass through their cosmical cycles in times somewhat proportional to their magnitude. ”

“ The largest of all is the Cranbourne iron, Australia, of 4,000 kilogrammes, at the British Museum. Next in weight is the Charcas iron, weighing 780 kilogrammes, at the Museum of the Jardin des Plantes in Paris. The largest iron in the K. K. Hof-Mineralienkabinet at Vienna is from Elbogen, Bohemia, and weighs 78 kilogrammes. ↑ "On the Density, Rotation, and Relative Age of the Planets," American Journal of Sciences, 1864, vol. ”

“ John P. Irish, of Iowa City, brought together three collections, the first two of which have been photographed. The subjoined cut is a copy of the photograph of the first collection. It shows the general form of each of the specimens, numbered in the order of their weight. ”