Me (the old white chick 3rd from left) with my beautiful coworkers who are now family at the American Museum of Natural History holiday staff party.
“weighs 15.5 tons. This iron meteorite, which was found in Oregon, is the largest ever found in the United States and the sixth-largest in the world. The smooth surface melted during its blazing entry into the atmosphere, while the pits formed on the Earth's surface.
Iron meteorites form when large enough asteroids have had molten interiors catastrophically collide with other asteroids. These huge collisions blast out material from the molten iron core of the asteroid on orbits that reach Earth after millions of years.
The internal structure of the 15.5-ton Willamette meteorite, made of metallic iron, suggests that a complicated chain of events led to its formation:
Billions of years ago, an early planet orbiting the Sun was shattered, perhaps in a collision with another protoplanet. The fragment now known as the Willamette meteorite was probably part of the planet’s iron-nickel core.
While planets including Earth gradually formed and matured, the fragment orbited the Sun. It was hit at least twice by other planetary fragments, knocking it into a collision course with Earth.
Thousands of years ago, this meteorite, traveling some 64,000 kilometers per hour, crashed into Earth’s surface.
Over many centuries, rainwater interacting with its iron sulfide deposits produced sulfuric acid, which slowly etched and carved large cavities…”
https://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/permanent/the-universe/planets/planetary-impacts/willamette-meteorite-t%C9%99man%C9%99was
t'amanawas
ONE STORY passed down in our community, from Chief Wacheno, tells of a powerful medicine that came from the sky. The old people said t’emanewas came from the moon—a teaching that reminds us of the spiritual relationships we hold with the land, the sky and all that connects them.
OUR ANCESTORS of the Clackamas
Chinook, who found the meteorite, gave it the name " t’emanewas," meaning "spirit power." t’emanewas serves as the center of many ceremonies since time immemorial and is a continued source of connection for the community.
THE CONFEDERATED TRIBES OF THE GRAND RONDE are made up of over 30 tribes and bands whose homelands span western Oregon. Our ancestors, who include the Clackamas people, were removed by military force from their lands and brought to the Grand Ronde Reservation.
Through immense resilience, we endured.
TODAY, our people continue to live on our ancestral lands, carrying forward traditions of gathering, hunting, fishing, carving, weaving, singing, dancing and speaking our languages. We are a living, thriving community with deep ties to our history, our culture and this place.
Today’s #BlueSkyArtShow is #FavoriteThings
-my work family & that our holiday staff party pic is in front of t’əmanəwas, the Willamette Meteorite
(info in Alt text)
#ArtAdventCalendar #OnlyBeautifulThings
#XforXmas #AlphabetChallenge #ColorADay #GreenSat
#EastCoastKin #MobilePhotography #AMNH