earth science

Park Forest (meteorite)

Park Forest (meteorite) is a earth science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Park Forest (meteorite) rather than just read about it. In short: Park Forest is an L5 chondrite meteorite that fell on 26 March 2003 in Illinois, United States. History Around midnight on March 26, 2003, a bright orange fireball was spotted in the sky which was visible across Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Michigan, Missouri, and Ohio.

Key takeaways

Park Forest (meteorite) belongs to earth science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Park Forest (meteorite) to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Park Forest (meteorite) from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Park Forest is an L5 chondrite meteorite that fell on 26 March 2003 in Illinois, United States.

History Around midnight on March 26, 2003, a bright orange fireball was spotted in the sky which was visible across Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Michigan, Missouri, and Ohio. Soon after, reports of falling debris were recorded near the village of Park Forest, Illinois. At least two houses in Park Forest were struck, as well as the fire station. In the following days, this event was officially named the Park Forest meteorite, as numerous stones or fragments were recovered in the area. The total mass recovered is above 18 kilograms (40 lb) and the single largest stone is about 3 kilograms (6.6 lb). Steven Simon (University of Chicago) and seven colleagues from the University of Chicago, the Planetary Studies Foundation, Harper College, Pacific Northwest National Lab, and the Field Museum of Natural History have classified the meteorite fragments that fell on Chicago's southern suburbs on the night of March 26, 2003. That area is described as "the most densely populated region to be hit by a meteorite shower in modern times". The meteoroid is estimated as weighing at least 900 kilograms, and as much as 7000 kilograms upon entering the atmosphere.

Composition and classification From page A207 of Meteoritics & Planetary Science 38, Nr 7, Supplement, A189–A248 (2003) Most stones are partly to fully fusion-crusted. Some broken faces show brecciated texture, angular clasts. Cross-cutting dark veins and dark pockets may be of impact melt origin. No visible chondrules in hand sample. Abundant troilite and metal visible in some broken faces. Chondrules and maskelynite are visible in thin section. Mean olivine composition Fa24.7, mean low-Ca pyroxene Fs20.7Wo1.6. Shock stage S5. Specimens: type specimen 515 g (hit fire station), FMNH. Other stones at FMNH: 1200 g, 529 g, 183 g, 159 g, 125 g.

Specimens At least twelve samples of this meteorite are conserved within the Robert A. Pritzker Center for Meteoritics and Polar Studies Archived 2020-11-24 at the Wayback Machine at the Field Museum of Natural History of Chicago. While these specimens are not currently on display, they are available for research purposes through the museum. It is claimed that a large piece which fell through the kitchen ceiling of one Park Forest couple is periodically displayed at the Adler Planetarium.

See also Glossary of meteoritics Meteorite

Notes

External links Meteoritical Bulletin Database

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Park Forest (meteorite)

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Park Forest (meteorite) claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In earth science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Park Forest (meteorite) before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Park Forest (meteorite) ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Park Forest (meteorite)

In research: Park Forest (meteorite) appears in earth science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Park Forest (meteorite) in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Park Forest (meteorite) is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 2003 in Illinois, 2003 in science, 2003 in the United States, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Park Forest (meteorite) outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Park Forest (meteorite) in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Park Forest (meteorite) means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Park Forest (meteorite) out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Park Forest (meteorite) in simple terms?

Park Forest is an L5 chondrite meteorite that fell on 26 March 2003 in Illinois, United States. History Around midnight on March 26, 2003, a bright orange fireball was spotted in the sky which was visible across Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Michigan, Missouri, and Ohio.

Why does Park Forest (meteorite) matter?

Because it connects several earth science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Park Forest (meteorite)?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Park Forest (meteorite).