The Meteorite Hunters

by Joshua Howgego

Genres: Non-fiction, Science
Pages: 272
Rating:

Synopsis:

Want to join the ultimate cosmic treasure hunt?

Meteors, with their ethereal, glowing trails slashing through the atmosphere, have entranced us for centuries. But these extraterrestrial visitors are also inestimably valuable. Not just for collectors, who can make their fortunes tracking them down, but for scientists too. Meteorites are the most ancient objects we know, unblemished time capsules from the birth of the solar system.

Following in the footsteps of passionate hobbyists, ground-breaking scientists and intrepid adventurers, Joshua Howgego takes a rollicking ride through the world of meteorite hunting. Join the seasoned practitioners braving the elements as they scour the Sahara and ice sheets of Antarctica. Discover how, closer to home, one unlikely hero – a self-taught jazz guitarist – is uncovering the countless micrometeorites scattered across the rooftops of our cities. And meet the professor searching for the rarest of the rare: fossil meteorites, entombed in rock since the days of the dinosaurs.

Finding these stones from space is just the beginning. As scientists tease out their secrets, they piece together an unexpected new history of the solar system, with implications that extend to one of the most fundamental questions we can ask: how did life on earth begin?

I liked Joseph Howgego’s The Meteorite Hunters a lot more than I liked the other book I read about meteorites recently (Helen Gordon’s The Meteorites), and I think it’s largely because it stayed more focused on the popular science side of things: the chemical composition of meteorites, and what that can tell us about our own origins, the formation of the universe, etc.

Howgego’s pretty good at explaining things — I will never properly retain the differences between types of meteorites from one book to another, it’s just not something I’ve ever needed to properly log in my brain, but Howgego made it clear enough without repeating himself too much. He does lean a little sometimes on telling us about people he’s going to speak to (I do not need so much detail about someone’s band), which sometimes caused it to drag for me at times, because I’m not that interested in The Big Personalities (TM) Of Meteorite Hunting.

I think he also does a good job at indicating what’s contested, what’s speculative, where we’re going next in studying meteorites, and what certain discoveries might mean. The sources for each chapter are discussed in a “notes from sources” chapter which isn’t numbered, but does make it clear where each bit of info comes from.

Overall, I quite enjoyed it!

Rating: 4/5 (“really liked it”)