02 September 2012
NASA recently announced the discovery of a dinosaur footprint at its Goddard Spaceflight Center (GSFC). The elephant-foot-sized footprint was discovered by Ray Stanford, an amateur paleontologist. It is estimated to be 112 million years old.
“This was a large, armored dinosaur,” Stanford said. “Think of it as a four-footed tank. It was quite heavy, there’s a quite a ridge or push-up here. … Subsequently the sand was bound together by iron-oxide or hematite, so it gave us a nice preservation, almost like concrete.”
Stanford, a “proud amateur dinosaur tracker” has published several research articles, including the discovery of a new dinosaur species. He previously confirmed the authenticity of this track with David Weishampel of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.
Goddard Facilities Manager Alan Binstock said the agency considers the footprint and its location “sensitive but unclassified.” NASA officials will next consult with the State of Maryland and paleontologists to form a plan for documenting and preserving the find, Binstock said.
Stanford also identified and presented several smaller footprints to Goddard officials, from the same site. “Space scientists may walk along here, and they’re walking exactly where this big, bungling heavy armored dinosaur walked, maybe 110 to 112-million years ago,” Stanford said.
References
NASA
www.nasa.gov/
Aymen Mohamed Ibrahem
Senior Astronomy Specialist