Jump to content

This Might Change What You Think A Meteorite Looks Like!


Recommended Posts

Here is a meteorite with a great write up and pictures that I bet will expand your meteorite visual knowledge.

http://www.tucsonmeteorites.com/mpodmain.asp?DD=02/02/2021 

  • Like 6
Link to comment
Share on other sites


9 hours ago, mn90403 said:

Here is a meteorite with a great write up....

Excellent story.  But on the "change what you think" theme, aren't the carbonaceous chondrites a) rare, and b) not metal detectable?  (not sure about the latter since a large piece of graphite will set off a detector; however I don't know what form of carbon are in these)  Amazing how much can be deduced from the few pieces of evidence we get.  Most of us (yep, not nearly all nor enough) get a very different view of these natural phenomena than our caveman ancestors did.

Too bad Dogodog wasn't aware of this earlier, although Lunk is an adventurer and (in case you didn't know it :biggrin:) the area where this came down is known for the occasional piece of yellow metal.  Hmmm.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

GB,

There are meteorite hunters and then there are New Fall meteorite hunters.  What is the difference?

Known meteorite strewn fields are listed and known by detectorists or you can get 'lucky' and find an otherwise unknown or unreported meteorite.  The value of a meteorite goes up I'd say if it is from a known fall.  

There are lots of falls in the Mojave/Mohave Desert.  You can see them and try to get a piece if you have time.  Another area that has meteorites is Northwest Africa.  These are just labeled as NWAs for the most part and they are collected from the deserts in the area and smuggled out to Morocco and then sold.  They have to be smuggled because there are some prohibitions on ownership in the areas where found.

New Fall meteorite hunters are always packed and ready to fly to a New Fall.  I've only gone on two New Fall meteorite hunts (2012).  These require recent information which can include All Sky cameras, weather radar and local reports to try and position the new falls.  Pieces of New Fall sell for thousands of dollars depending on the amount of material collected.

Often times an area of a New Fall doesn't remain constant like the meteorite described above.  These pieces fell on a frozen lake.  When the ice melts the pieces can't be found any longer.  Those that were on land are mixed with the snow slush and are nearly impossible to identify.

Most New Fall meteorite hunters get skunked and end up buying from locals who own land where the meteorites fell.  It really does become their property.  It is very competitive to be one of the 10 or so meteorite dealers in the world to get New Fall pieces.  I think the center of the meteorite trading world is in Tucson.

This is an example.

http://galactic-stone.com/pages/falls 

  • Like 1
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...