meteorite times magazine
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2010 May IssueTRANSCRIPT
Meteorite-Times MagazineContentsby Editor
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Featured Monthly Articles
Accretion Desk by Martin Horejsi
Jim’s Fragments by Jim Tobin
Meteorite Market Trends by Michael Blood
Bob’s Findings by Robert Verish
IMCA Insights by The IMCA Team
Micro Visions by John Kashuba
Galactic Lore by Mike Gilmer
Meteorite Calendar by Anne Black
Meteorite of the Month by Michael Johnson
Tektite of the Month by Editor
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Meteorite-Times MagazineWitnessed Fall: Castalia, North Carolina, USAby Mart in Horejsi
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A May 1874 Witnessed Fall: Castalia, North Carolina, USA
Geologic Poetry from Space:Drink from the fountain of Castilia and
be inspired to write meteorite verse.
Castalia fell to earth on May 14, 1874. Three pieces were collectedtotaling about 7.3kg with a majorit y of the material in one 5.5 kgindividual.
Being a xenolithic and brecciated H5 chondrite simply means Castaliais beaut iful. But more specif ically, it means that the mix of brokenf ragments cemented together (brecciated) contains material notf rom the original mass (xenolithic).
But even more specif ically, Castalia, in Greek mythology, was,
according to Wikipedia: “a nymph whom Apollo t ransformed into afountain at Delphi, at the base of Mount Parnassos.
Castalia could inspire the genius of poetry to those who drank herwaters or listened to their quiet sound.”
So drink the beaut iful waters of Castalia, and enjoy some meteoritepoet ry.
A Meteorite Speaks- likely by H. H. Nininger
A hieroglyphic message is writ ten on my faceRecording ancient happenings far in the depths of space.It tells of my beginnings where f iercest f ires held sway,My leap into ethereal space and how I sped away.
A diary of my wanderings, lonely ‘mongst the stars,A thousand of such incidents as Jupiter and Mars.I’ve watched a host of planets grow f rom out the spat ial voids;Witnessed lunar pelt ings and played tag with asteroids.
I held my course through solar heat , likewise through f rigid space.I wooed the lovely Pleiades and gave Orion chase.I know severest loneliness f rom all celest ial forms;Likewise the social gaiety of cometary swarms.
Freely through ethereal space I loved my course to steer,But t rapped at last fell vict im to earth’s dread atmosphere.In arid wastes I landed, then, smote by desert sandMy skin deep brown was varnished by oxygenic hand.
The Meteoriteby C. S. Lewis
Among the hills a meteoriteLies huge; and moss has overgrown,And wind and rain with touches lightMade sof t , the contours of the stone.
Thus easily can Earth digestA cinder of sidereal f ire,And make her t ranslunary guestThe nat ive of an English shire.
Nor is it st range these wanderersFind in her lap their f it t ing place,For every part icle that ’s hersCame at the f irst f rom outer space.
All that is Earth has once been sky;Down f rom the sun of old she came,Or f rom some star that t raveled byToo close to his entangling f lame.
Hence, if belated drops yet fallFrom heaven, on these her plast ic powerSt ill works as once it worked on allThe glad rush of the golden shower.
This wonderful slice of North Carolina history spent t ime up north inthe famous collect ion of Phil Scalisi.
Nothing but good comes f rom the Scalisi collect ion, and I view thespecimen labels and cards that accompany our precious meteorites
through t ime as simply nouns leading to more verbs and adject ives towork with.
Meteorite DealersAmy Trussell
2007
ht tp://www.lulu.com/product /paperback/meteorite-dealers/2067816
Page 42 of the document linked to below holds the poem “Meteorite Dealers.”ht tp://www.moriapoet ry.com/t russellebook.pdf
a brief excerpt :
“Here the meteorite dealers scavengeand close in on rocks re-warmed by sun,squat t ing with f ig leaf bandannas.
You can examine one with a magnifying glass:it looks like a piece of placentaunearthed in a storm, pet rif ied.”
For me, meteorites are an expression of art as well as science.
It is not unusual in science to st ruggle over the hard t ruths of a specimen, but I would argue that itis just as important to challenge our grammar and vocabulary skills in the quest to understand thelanguage of meteorites.
And what bet ter place to start then with the experts. The Poets.
Unt il next t ime….
The Accretion Desk welcomes all comments and feedback. [email protected]
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Meteorite-Times MagazineWild Geese and a Buzzardby Jim Tobin
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Over the years my wild goose chases for meteorites can be counted on one hand. I just don’tseem to get a lot of the calls about grandpa’s meteorite that fell on the hill just over there. But , Igot home f rom an early morning meet ing one Saturday recent ly as the phone rang. It was aprofessor in the Physics and Ast ronomy department at the universit y who my wife worked with.Over the years we have been to dinners and ret irement part ies and of ten talked of meteorites. Heand his wife have a wonderful ant ique store in the quaint old town area of Monrovia in SouthernCalifornia. A man had come into their store with “meteorites” he wanted to sell.
My wife took the call and was surprised to hear Dr. Taylor’s voice. And even more surprised whenhe asked if I would be interested in buying meteorites f rom a man who was in the store. She gavethe phone to me and I asked for a descript ion of the rocks. And they did not sound like meteorites.They were black but not at t racted to a magnet at all. My mind jumped to the ferro-manganesestuf f that our desert is full of now. We talked a minute and I gave the basic simple tests for him tot ry and he said “I don’t think they could be meteorites.” Dr. Taylor said the man had some biggerones in the car and went to look at those also. He returned to the phone and said that the magnetst ruck to those and they looked dif ferent f rom the others. I asked if the man would wait because itwould take us a while to get there. The man said he would wait .
In a few minutes Sara and I were of f on our meteorite adventure. It was about 40 miles to theant ique store f rom our home. We had been there before to shop and I knew the way well. Actually,Sara loves the store very much and enjoys going when ever we can.
I had gabbed my diamond f ile, magnet , loupe and 500 gram elect ronic scale and put them into aplast ic bag. I was ready to make my on the spot analysis. We arrived and af ter a shortint roductory moment headed to a table in the back of the store to examine the “meteorites”.There were three large rocks on the table and a cardboard box lid covered with smaller dif ferentstones. Well, the three rocks on the table were each a dif ferent t ype of meteor-wrong. One was abig piece of furnace slag that was rusted brown and the magnet slammed on to it st rongly. One ofthe other two was also slag but black and was bubbly on the one broken surface. The outside of itwas actually quite reminiscent of a meteorite. Unfortunately, it was also furnace slag and not verymagnet ically act ive. The last of the three large stones was a basalt cobble of considerable size.My rare earth magnet barely pulled to it . I have dug up plenty as hot rocks at st rewn f ields whosenames are know by most of the reader of this art icle.
I told the man what they were and that none of the three large ones were meteorites. I moved myat tent ion to the rocks in the box lid. These were all small. They were a dense black the perfectcolor of f resh fusion crust f rom a fall that happened yesterday. They were the correct size andshaped similar to many meteorites in my collect ion. But , there is no Eureka moment in this story.They were pieces of the ferro-manganese slag that has been scat tered over our desert . Exact lyhow it has got ten to all the places it is found is kind of a mystery. It seems likely that it is materialproduced in vast amounts during the t ime the iron works of Kaiser Steel were in operat ion atFontana, California. I remember as a kid seeing those enormous slag heaps. But , this stuf f is foundspread widely across the Southern California area. I told him once again that he had no meteoritesand he took it pret t y well. Since we were there we looked around the store and of course found acouple things we could not live without .
I have been presented with a piece of that slag every t ime I have spoken to a group on meteoritesfor the last ten years. Everyone has one and believes it s a meteorite. But , if you remove thesurface black you will see a shiny metallic material that is just a lit t le too silvery looking to be iron.But , it is not ef fected by a magnet very much. It ’s t ricky stuf f . It also seems to tarnish back to
black over t ime.
Well, I guess the real news this month has been the spectacular f ireball and meteorite fall inWisconsin. The pieces are being found but it seems that they are being recovered at a slower ratethen some other recent falls. I expect that meteorites will be found in the area for a long t ime. Ilooked at the various videos and I think there are some big pieces out there wait ing to berecovered. But , it is a vast st rewn f ield. It would take a diligent hunter a lif et ime by himself to huntit all. Guess it is good that there’s a small army of eager meteorite hunters. Just a few more yearswill f ind me ret ired and maybe I will join them at future falls.
I have had a box of nice chunks of Alamo Breccia sit t ing around for several years. I started cut t ingmore of it up this month. I love the stuf f . Was inspired to work with it again since seeing Geof f andSteve back at the locat ion on Meteorite Men. It was Geof f ’s enthusiasm for the impact site thatled Paul and I to take vacat ion there years ago. The material cuts easy and polishes up beaut iful.Makes me wish my saws and laps were a lot bigger. I have some big pieces and have never f iguredout how to make use of them whole.
They would f it in the big vibrat ing lap but I would need to make a cut through the middle of them. Iwill give it more t ime and thought , but soon I think I will make some really st riking display pieces ofAlamo Breccia. Might just have to get a bigger saw.
Like so many other collectors my collect ion now has a Buzzard Coulee individual. I received ittoday, but I picked it out in Tucson. It came with it s export permit and I am just as happy as can be.
I selected a small completely crusted stone that was oriented. It has one side that is shieldshaped, there is a lit t le build up with f low lines around the circumference. It is quite a cute lit t lestone well worth the wait .
I suppose at some point I will get one of the stones f rom the Wisconsin fall. But , I think I will let it allset t le out a bit before I buy. It does look to be an interest ing meteorite. I am enjoying reading allthe stories coming out of the st rewn f ield. Well, it s t ime to sign of f and get the Buzzard Couleeunder the microscope for more examinat ion. Have a great month.
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Meteorite-Times MagazineMeteorite Market Trendsby Michael Blood
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This Month’sMeteorite Market Trends
by Michael Blood
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Meteorite-Times MagazineRecovery of Meteorites from the 4/14/2010 Fall in Wisconsinby Robert Verish
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What Made the Recovery of Meteorites f rom the 4 /14/2010 Fall in Wisconsin such a Rapidand T imely Success?
The quality of Doppler-radar weather images f rom NOAA is the main reason.
There has been much writ ten about the April 14th f ireball and fall of meteorites in Grant and IowaCounty in Wisconsin. [As of the publishing of this art icle, there st ill has not been a formally-approved name assigned to this meteorite] And there is lit t le that I can add to this subject , atleast , unt il I pay a visit to this st rewn f ield. But the subject is st ill very t imely, and if a cont ribut ioncould be made that would assist in the recovery of meteorites f rom that fall, then “now” would bean appropriate t ime to publish that kind of informat ion.
So, that is why in lieu of my regular art icle in this month’s edit ion of Bob’s Findings, I’ve dedicatedthis space to Rob Matson and his images of doppler-radar f rom the NOAA Nat ional WeatherService (NWS). Rob had posted a message to the Meteorite-List , seeking a photo repository inwhich his images could be archived and so that his data could be shared. Although Rob receivedmany immediate replies, it was my of fer of this month’s edit ion of Bob’s Findings (with the portalthrough Meteorite-Times. Com) that made it a sensible choice .
The data in the images could use a lit t le explanat ion in order for them to be ut ilized properly, butlet ’s take a look at them, now:
May 2010 – Here are links to Rob Matson’s images of the NOAA-NWS NEXRADDoppler-radar reflections of the Wisconsin meteorite fall of April 14th, 2010:
Rob Matson’s NEXRAD Doppler images of 4/15/2010 03:06:22 UT f rom LaCrosse
Rob Matson’s NEXRAD Doppler images of 4/15/2010 03:08:29 UT f rom Davenport
Rob Matson’s NEXRAD Doppler images of 4/15/2010 03:08:37 UT f rom LaCrosse
Rob Matson’s NEXRAD Doppler images of 4/15/2010 03:08:52 UT f rom LaCrosse
Rob Matson’s NEXRAD Doppler images of 4/15/2010 03:09:07 UT f rom LaCrosse
Rob Matson’s NEXRAD Doppler images of 4/15/2010 03:09:22 UT f rom LaCrosse
Rob Matson’s NEXRAD Doppler images of 4/15/2010 03:10:36 UT f rom Milwaukee
Rob Matson’s NEXRAD Doppler images of 4/15/2010 03:11:06 UT f rom LaCrosse
Rob Matson’s NEXRAD Doppler images of 4/15/2010 03:11:21 UT f rom LaCrosse
Rob Matson’s NEXRAD Doppler images of 4/15/2010 03:11:26 UT f rom LaCrosse
Rob Matson’s NEXRAD Doppler images of 4/15/2010 03:11:51 UT f rom LaCrosse
Rob Matson’s NEXRAD Doppler images of 4/15/2010 03:11:59 UT f rom Milwaukee
Rob Matson’s NEXRAD Doppler images of 4/15/2010 03:12:06 UT f rom LaCrosse
Rob Matson’s NEXRAD Doppler images of 4/15/2010 03:12:21 UT f rom LaCrosse
Rob Matson’s NEXRAD Doppler images of 4/15/2010 03:12:38 UT f rom Davenport
Here are some comments f rom Rob Matson regarding his images:
"These files will require some explanation for people unfamiliarwith Doppler radar to interpret correctly. The fast scan directionfor Doppler is in azimuth (clockwise). The slow scan direction isin elevation, from lowest elevation angle to highest. So each fullvolume scan consists of 5 or more full sweeps in azimuth, withone (and sometimes two) sweeps at each elevation angle.
"There were three radars that "detected" the Wisconsin fall: LaCrosse, WI; Milwaukee, WI; and Davenport, IA. The Milwaukee andDavenport radars each detected the dust/smoke trail in two scans.However, the La Crosse radar was operating in an unusual mode atthe time of the fall, generating a full volume scan in about4 minutes 15 seconds, consisting of 17 (!) individual elevationangle slices, one every 15 seconds. As a result of this fastscan rate, La Crosse captured 11 separate images of the fall:completely unprecedented in all of the US and southern Canadianfalls detected by NEXRAD in the last 15 years.
"Listed above are fifteen images in time sequence, where thefilename indicates both the radar that generated the image, andthe time (GMT) of the particular elevation angle scan when itpassed over the bolide cloud location. Note that there is atime recorded in the third line of the column of data to theright of the radar image, but that this time corresponds to the*start* of a full volume scan -- not the time of the particularelevation angle slice displayed."
And Rob Matson adds, “Enjoy the images! I hope you f ind them useful.”
So, in answer to this art icle’s subject t it le quest ion, “How were they able to f ind the meteorites so
soon af ter the fall?”
I feel that it was the high-qualit y of the NWS Doppler-radar with it s very dist inct ive t race of thef ireball (which was readily available to the general public) that was the impetus to get t ing themeteorite hunters so quickly into the [st rewn] f ield.
References:
Discover Magazine:
Huge f ireball over Wisconsin! | Bad Ast ronomy | – Apr 14, 2010 … Rob Matson Says: April 16th,2010 at 12:25 am … The story doesn’t say where the f ind was made, but my educated guess(based on Doppler radar imagery) is that it was recovered …
Shawn Alan:
Meteorite Fall Wisconsin – in MeteoritesRock.com -The interest ing facts, video news reports, newspaper etc.
Bob’s Findings:
February 2009 Art icle – in Meteorite-Times.Com -
“What Made the Recovery of Meteorites at West , TX such a Success?” – Comparison of somerecent bolide events.
NEXRAD:
Next -Generat ion Radar – in Wikipedia -
is a network of 159 high-resolut ion Doppler weather radars operated by the Nat ional WeatherService, an agency of the Nat ional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administ rat ion (NOAA) within theUnited States Department of Commerce.
FBWG:
Fireball Working Group – The purpose of this group is to exchange data regarding f ireball eventsand to provide a venue for experts and novices to assist f ield invest igators in collect ing andanalyzing reports f rom whatever t radit ional or non-t radit ional sources there maybe.
My previous art icles can be found *HERE*
For for more informat ion, please contact me by email:
Bolide*chaser
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Meteorite-Times MagazineIMCA Insights – May 2010by IMCA TEAM
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The Cartersville Meteoriteby Dave Gheesling
At about 11:00 p.m local t ime on March 1, 2009, a meteorite was heard when crashing through theroof of a house in Bartow County, Georgia. An extensive search of the surrounding area has beenconducted by the author and several others, but no addit ional stones have been found, most likelybecause the terrain does not present favorable recovery condit ions.
The 294 gram Cartersville meteorite (Photo courtesy ofDave Gheesling)
Impact art ifacts remain on the meteorite’s surface, including roof ing material, wood f ibers f romimpact with the raf ter, gypsum f rom passage through the ceiling and paint f rom a glancing blowwith an interior door. Arrangements are current ly being made to classif y the stone, which is anordinary chondrite originat ing f rom either the L or LL parent body.
Reverse angle image of the Cartersville meteorite (Picturecourtesy of Dave Gheesling)
The author in the at t ic of the impacted home, with hole inthe roof underlayment visible in the background (Picturecourtesy of Dave Gheesling)
A met iculous search for the missing f ragment was also conducted inside the at t ic and house, butnothing was found as it was almost certainly an air break.
Tellus Museum curator Julian Gray on the roof , indicat ingthe posit ion of the meteorite's ent ry into the house. Atemporary patch had been applied beneath the hole bythe landowner at the t ime the photo was taken. (Photocourtesy of Dave Gheesling)
Robert Ward, who part icipated in the extensive groundsearch, at the scene of terrest rial impact . (Photo courtesyof Dave Gheesling)
Julian Gray, working in the at t ic with the author todetermine the ent ry angle and f light azimuth of themeteorite. (Photo courtesy of Dave Gheesling)
Julian Gray, the author and Tellus Museum execut ivedirector Jose Santamaria with the Cartersville meteoriteand impact art ifacts at the public announcement pressconference. (Photo courtesy of Dave Gheesling)
The Cartersville meteorite on display at Tellus Museum, aspectacular, 120,000 square foot science museum that is
also in Bartow County, Georgia. (Photo courtesy of DaveGheesling)
The author with the Cartersville meteorite, moments af terhaving conf irmed it s meteoric origin for Tellus Museum --making it Georgia's 25th recognized meteorite. (Photocourtesy of Dave Gheesling)
© 2010 Dave Gheesling/FALLINGROCKS.com
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Meteorite-Times MagazineSaratov L4by John Kashuba
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Chuck,
While you’re saving up money for that d’Orbigny angrite thin sect ion you’ve been want ing Isuggest you buy a chondrite TS or two, just to stay on your game. They don’t have to break thebank. One I’d suggest is Saratov if you can f ind one. The cost is usually reasonable and it alwaysseems to have a good variety of features. It ’s an L4 so the chondrules are large and there’s apayof f even with lower magnif icat ion.
I picked this one up for less than $50. The sample doesn’t have the high polish that I like – themineral grains show a bit of a ground glass texture – but there’s st ill plenty to see.
Two large blue euhedral olivine crystals in a one millimeter chondrule.The upper one appears hollow.
A one and a half millimeter porphyrit ic olivine chondrule with a dust rim.Here, also, many of the phenocrysts present well formed crystal faces.
Large, most ly pyroxene chondrule.
Cont rast . A PO chondrule and a radial pyroxene chondrule – somet imescalled an exocent ric chondrule.
A variety of features hint at processes at work over t ime. By the way,we can’t tell t he full size of chondrules f rom just his one slide. These AREjust sect ions. If you have a two inch egg (or chondrule) and take a slicethrough the very end you will have just a t iny circle.
Part of a large complex chondrule at the edge of the sample shown withthe polarizing f ilt ers in dif ferent posit ions. It highlights the fact that theorange features in the f irst picture are one related st ructure, a barredolivine chondrule, because they all go to ext inct ion together.
In the center is a granular olivine chondrule with characterist ic blebs ofopaque material.
Up close it looks like it might have been hit f rom the lower lef t andshat tered in place.
Closer yet . A cool view, I think.
- John
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Meteorite-Times MagazineMeteorite Calendar – May 2010by Anne Black
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Meteorite-Times MagazineGreg Hupe Finds Second Wisconsin Meteoriteby Michael Johnson
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Hour af ter hour, mile af ter mile, af ter nine days of hunt ing in between f inds…
Greg Hupe f inds his second Wisconsin meteorite on May 4, 2010. This one weighs 30.3 grams.
The Michael Johnson Collect ion of Aesthet ic Rocks f rom Outer SpaceImages, text are Copyright © 2010 ROCKSFROMSPACE.org
No reproduct ion without writ ten permission.
Web design by Michael Johnson of rocksf romspace.org
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Meteorite-Times MagazineBediasite Tektiteby Editor
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9.9 gram specimen f rom The Darryl Fut rell Collect ion of Tekt ites
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Once a few decades ago this opening
was a framed window in the wall
of H. H. Nininger's Home and
Museum building. From this
window he must have many times
pondered the mysteries of
Meteor Crater seen in the distance.
Photo by © 2010 James Tobin