Trees once grew on the Moon

[okiscopey]

"A treasured piece at the Dutch national museum - a supposed moon rock from the first manned lunar landing - is nothing more than petrified wood, curators say."

Full and amazing story at:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8226075.stm

[Robh]

I smell a conspiracy!
Has anyone checked the other so-called moon rocks? ;)

Regards, Rob

[stephenb]

You mean the 380-odd kilos of moon rock bought back? I agree. That Dutch sample was probably replaced when the original was stolen/lost etc...

I've seen a lot of moon rock in photos over the years, but nothing like that one. I too, smell a rat.

[OneOfOne]

My Lunar meteorite is a dark grey colour. I would have to say that this sample looks more like something you would dig up in Morwell.

[AdrianF]

They didnt find any Buffalo bones to go with the tree?

Adrian

[pgc hunter]

And I thought Global Warming was a ridiculous con....

looks like we have a new weiner.

[Kindred Spirit]

I have lots of petrified wood...I could make a fortune!!

[pgc hunter]

go for it. It worked for the global warming mob.

[Baron von Richthofen]

I put to you a possibility how the petrified wood got to the moon
There have been very large meteor impact in the past on earth which could have ejected mater into space from the impact, it is possible that is how it got to the moon or then again ,they didn't land on the moon

[Kindred Spirit]

A few years ago we had a shower of "falling stars". It was a very special but fleeting event and seemed to be very close to the house. The next morning I was tending to animals in the paddock and came across a stange rock. it is dark grey and has masses of tiny holes, like an "Aero Bar". I still have it, no expert has looked at it to tell me what it is. I'd like it to be a rock from the heavens but until it's confirmed, well, it's just another curious rock. What puzzels me is if the Dutch thought the Americans gave them a moon rock, surely there would be documentation with it. Was it switched? Was it always a fake? There's more to this story, I'm sure!!

[DavidU]

Can we please have a photo of your rock ! If it is rock rather than metal it is quite rare, perhaps a Carbonaceous chondrite

[Kindred Spirit]

I've just taken a pic, not sure how to add it here as I've saved it in "My Documents" will keep trying... copy/paste doesn't work here...have sent an email to the helpdesk...

[Kindred Spirit]

Mmmm..:whistle: well I hope that works.. Yipppeeee! For DavidU...I doubt these are anything special, they're just special to me!

[Inmykombi]

Those rocks look like they are right out of an old Sci-fi movie.

Just dont poke the jelly stuff inside those rocks with a stick.;)

Geoffro.

[DavidU]

Thanks, thats odd looking rock, it looks like gas expanded magma, you should show them to a Uni geology department.
I can't see any ablation of the surfaces. Is that red/orange tint in the photo's acurate?

[leon]

Hummmm, straight of the beach i reckon, never mind though, nice looking rocks.

Leon

[AstralTraveller]

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that they aren't rocks. They are pieces of laterite.

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laterite and http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/331578/laterite

Don't worry about the stipulation that they only form under hot, wet conditions. That is a common misconception which I'm sorry persists even in 'respectable' sources. They form quicker under these conditions but will form almost anywhere given enough time. There is certainly heaps of it around here.

They commonly form under sand dunes as the B horizon of a dune podzol (excuse me using old soil terminology but I've forgotten the new term). There were sand dunes across northern Tas during the last glacial maximum. The A horizon, being unconsolidated, has likely eroded away leaving bit of laterite near the surface.

[TrevorW]

Petrified Cow dung

from that Cow you know the one

[Kindred Spirit]

Hehe... I like the cow theory! though I don't have cows, horses maybe... I think they are called "road apples"!:lol:
Thankyou to all for the interest, I will show them to someone at the Uni, or a local geo-nut. The colour is distorted in the pic, I would describe them as gun grey with a hint of purple, in daylight. Though we have red, basalt soil, it may have stained them a little and it's more noticable in a photo. I am about 12 km or so as the crow flies, from the nearest beach, so the beach theory is plausible. As for "laterite", well the scoria link is also likely, though my specimens are harder than scoria and local scoria is a bright orange.
Thanks again for the interest, I'll post a verdict when I get one! :hi:

[DavidU]

Great, let us know.

[AstralTraveller]

That colour tends to suggest it isn't laterite. Laterite is typically reddish because of the iron oxide.