Template:Did you know nominations/Northwest Africa 7034

The following discussion is an archived discussion of the DYK nomination of the article below. Please do not modify this page. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as this nomination's talk page, the article's talk page or Wikipedia talk:Did you know), unless there is consensus to re-open the discussion at this page. No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was: promoted by BlueMoonset (talk) 04:35, 11 January 2013 (UTC)

Northwest Africa 7034 edit

Northwest Africa 7034, nicknamed "Black Beauty"

  • Reviewed: Exempt; nominating another editor's article.

Created by Jokestress (talk), Tobias1984 (talk). Nominated by Arb (talk) at 23:22, 4 January 2013 (UTC)

  • Hi, I'll be picking up the review of this DYK; be back shortly.Sarnold17 (talk) 02:02, 5 January 2013 (UTC)
  • I'm back briefly; nice and very interesting article. I don't have time to finish this review this evening, but have a few comments on the article that should be addressed:
  • The lead says this is the oldest Martian meteorite, but more than one source states it is among the oldest. I thought I read somewhere that there is an older Martian metoerite.
  • Under description it reads "5mm diameter plagioclase..." This really doesn't make sense. It should read something like: "...consisting of beads of plagioclase and pyrowhatever up to 5 mm in diameter."
  • same section: what is groundmass? it isn't linked or explained
  • Under classification, I recommend spelling out "iron to manganese ratio" unless there is a good reason to use chemical symbols
  • same section: what is aqueous alteration? It isn't linked or explained.

I'll finish review in the morning.Sarnold17 (talk) 03:13, 5 January 2013 (UTC)

  • The fixes look good; nice job. The article is quite technical, but I, as someone with little familiarity with geology and Earth science, was able to navigate through the links and learn a lot. My only other recommendation is that the hook is not very exciting. As I see it, there are two exceptional aspects of this meteorite: one is that it is unusually old, and the other is that it contains an exceptional amount of water. I'm not sure the water business would impress the average person, but the age might. Therefore, might I recommend:
  • ALT1: ... that meteorite Northwest Africa 7034 (pictured), called "Black Beauty," originated on Mars about two billion years ago?

However, if the water bit is of more importance to the scientific community, you could try something like:

Other than the hook, all else looks good.Sarnold17 (talk) 12:05, 5 January 2013 (UTC)

Nominator here. First, thanks to User:Sarnold17 for putting so much effort into this DYK and the article itself; above and beyond... Second, I'd be happy with either of the alternative hooks but if pushed would go for ALT2; the water is somehow more interesting than the age, extraordinary though that is. -Arb. (talk) 12:48, 5 January 2013 (UTC)
Actually, my understanding from reading the article itself and this BBC piece[1] is that the most interesting thing about NW 7034 is not just that it contains a lot of water but that, in terms of its chemical composition, it represents a new type of a Martian meteorite, different from the main three SNC types. Maybe this could be worked into the hook.... Nsk92 (talk) 14:02, 5 January 2013 (UTC)



*A couple possibilities:

I've already approved Alt 2, but if there is some consensus we can change the hook.Sarnold17 (talk) 14:27, 5 January 2013 (UTC)

I think the hook is good. The water part is in my opinion more interesting to the average reader than a change in classification. --Tobias1984 (talk) 14:31, 5 January 2013 (UTC)
Ok let's go with number three. Then everybody here will be happy :). --Tobias1984 (talk) 14:53, 5 January 2013 (UTC)
  • One last very minor issue: I don't see that the location of the meteorite at the University of New Mexico has been referenced. I didn't come across this while scanning the sources, but I'd recommend giving that fact a citation.Sarnold17 (talk) 14:07, 5 January 2013 (UTC)

Article is new enough, long enough, and meets policy guidelines. I recommend to go with hook Alt 3, which is short enough, interesting, sourced, and neutral. Image is not copyrighted, and well suited for a DYK. This DYK is good to go.Sarnold17 (talk) 14:07, 5 January 2013 (UTC)

  • Tobias, you seem to be the most active contributor to the article; if you think Alt 3 is best, then I will ask you to edit my above approval, changing Alt 2 to Alt 3.Sarnold17 (talk) 17:41, 5 January 2013 (UTC)


  • Hope I changed it at the right place. Alt 3 it is. Thank you again for your quick and outstanding review. --Tobias1984 (talk) 17:46, 5 January 2013 (UTC)


  • Looks good. I'm enjoying watching the development of the article. Very interesting material!Sarnold17 (talk) 18:17, 5 January 2013 (UTC)