{"product_id":"thunderstones-and-shooting-stars-the-meaning-of-meteorites-9780674891371","title":"Thunderstones and Shooting Stars : The Meaning of Meteorites","description":"\u003cp\u003eA streak of light crosses the night sky as a bit of extraterrestrial material falls to Earth. Meteorites  which range from particles of dust to massive chunks of metal and rock  bombard the Earth constantly  adding hundreds of tons of new material to our planet each day. What are these objects? How do we recover and study them? Where do they come from  and what do they tell us about the birth and infancy of the solar system? Why do many scientists now believe that meteorites have played a dramatic  albeit occasional  role in the evolution of life on Earth? In Thunderstones and Shooting Stars  Robert T. Dodd gives us an up-to-date report on these questions. He summarizes the evidence that leads scientists to believe that most meteorites come from asteroids  although a few come from the moon and a few more from a planet  probably Mars. He explains how chondrites--the most numerous and primitive of meteorites--contribute to our evolving picture of the early solar system  and how some of them may tell us of events that took place beyond the sun and before its birth. Finally  he examines the controversial hypothesis that impacts by asteroids or comets have interrupted the evolution of life on Earth  accounting for such geological puzzles as the rapid demise of the dinosaurs.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45647978594357,"sku":"ByrdShop_0674891376","price":29.75,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780674891371.jpg?v=1781700615","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/thunderstones-and-shooting-stars-the-meaning-of-meteorites-9780674891371","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}