The Laos Impact Expedition: Australasian Tektites and the Hunt for their Lost Source
Tektites, glass blobs formed from melting terrestrial material from a high-energy meteor impact, are found all over the world. More often than not, tektites seen in the gem and mineral market come from Southeast Asia and are a part of the larger Australasian tektite strewn field, an area covering around ten percent of Earth’s surface. Despite their prominence and over a century of research done on these glasses, their source crater has remained elusive until 2019, where researchers proposed the site of a 790,000-year-old meteor impact buried under ancient lava flows and jungles of southwestern Laos. Here, PLS member Paolo Sanchez delves into a recent expedition that he and other geoscientists took to examine the geology of the potential crater, and what they found (including a lot of tektites, of course).
In the ongoing observance of our 75th anniversary as Pasadena Lapidary Society, member Nancy Robb will provide a presentation on the history of Junior Members of PLS over the years.
This program meeting takes place at 7:00 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall of The Santa Anita Church, 226 W. Colorado Blvd., Arcadia, CA 91007.
Come join us! Admission is free; open to the public. Enjoy refreshments while checking out the display table; bring a rock specimen you’d like identified. See you there!