As if true asteroid impact shatter cones aren't weird enough -- we discovered this strange cone-shaped rock at a VERIFIED meteorite impact crater site, yet it is NOT a true impact shatter cone. Made of dolomite; cone-shaped; and sporting a very odd flower-like design imprinted into the apex -- this critter baffled impact scientists, geologists, and mining engineers all around the world. Finally, a paper published in 1968 by Robert Deitz, the grandfather of impact science, solved the mystery. This is an example of a TNT CONE -- a pseudo shatter cone -- formed during quarry operations several decades ago. The round apex was actually the bottom of a drill hole -- (the dynamite sticks would have been dropped down the hole, coming to rest on this surface at the bottom), and the flower design on top is actually the imprint of the final few strokes made by the reciprocating, star-shaped drill bit. This full-size TNT CONE cast reproduction, hand painted by an artist in identical color patterns to the original, is probably the only way you will get to see one of these rarities, since modern blasting techniques apparently do not produce this sort of fracture pattern. |
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