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At 2:30 on Sunday April 23 the speaker at our Gallery Event is Dr. Steve Chesley, Senior Research Scientist at JPL. Steve is an expert at calculating accurate orbits for asteroids and comets, including the assessment of the risks of impact with the Earth. The title of his talk is: “The orbit of Bennu, the target of the OSIRIS-REx mission to sample a carbonaceous-chondrite asteroid”. Summary: The Osiris Rex mission will rendezvous with Asteroid Bennu in 2018 and spend 1.5 years mapping the surface. It will then sample the surface and return 60-2000 g to Earth in 2023. It is the first US asteroid sampling mission. Thanks to radar ranging observations over 12 years, Bennu has the most precise orbit in the asteroid catalog and, with Earth impact odds around 1 in 2700 late in the 22rd century, it is among the more threatening asteroids known. Modeling of the so-called Yarkovsky effect on Bennu through the use of radar and infrared observations has allowed a precise estimate of the mass and bulk density; this is the first such estimate not based on gravitational interaction with other bodies. The safe sampling of an asteroid regolith without landing requires very careful navigation. The lecture this month is at our new location: Geology 3656, just 40 yards west of the UCLA Meteorite Gallery. This is a larger and more comfortable room than our previous venue in Slichter, and about the same distance. Our next Gallery Lecture will occur on Sunday May 14 (Mother’s Day). The speaker is UCLA Professor Kevin McKeegan, the previous chair of the EPSS Department. He will speak on “The Great American Eclipse of 2017“. On Monday, August 21, 2017, a total eclipse of the Sun will be visible in the continental United States for the first time in almost 40 years. During a total eclipse the Sun is completely hidden by the Moon, the sky becomes dark, and the faint atmosphere (corona) becomes visible—looking like a beautiful halo. The eclipse will be total along a track stretching from Oregon to South Carolina. In Los Angeles the eclipse will be only partial with 2/3 of the Sun being eclipsed. I will discuss a few historically important eclipses, some general eclipse phenomena, and where and how to view the total eclipse.

It is my understanding he has many episodes of Gold Trails to do yet. That would be a time when he would make some changes or become a consultant to different groups. I'll try to ask him on Saturday at the Gold Show in Las Vegas.

I think Lunk was 'waiting' and he decided to make his own. I hope he posts a picture. His design allows for a space so the sand can pass under the coil rather than catch in the cover as it would in this design. Mitchel

Give us yanks (I'm not a yank ... Southern by birth) an idea of the post cost for such a thing ... Mitchel

Did it just get cooler in OZ again? Nice gold.

Nothing big ... come on now ... it is a matter of perspective! That is pretty b-i-g to ME. Nice one for a start as you say.

Did I miss something here? That is a 21g nugget? Mitchel

My goal would have to be for Lu to find an ouncer! I've exceeded that a couple of times. My sub-goal is to detect in Australia. My sub-sub-goal is to be 'productive' with a metal detector where I live in Southern California. Mitchel

I just bought some new Targhee and they have changed the shoe for the better. It is still without metal but they have made the soles with harder material. I don't think the long cactus will need to be pulled from these and they will be better for that boot scrape and the 7000. REI had 20% off plus I had a dividend coupon so all in with tax it was $104! My previous pair was from China and this pair is from Thailand.

I usually visit this site by using that 'untead comtent" button in the upper right-hand corner – it's not very large – I guess that's why I only noticed it about six months ago Splel Cehck

Thanks everyone who read, liked and commented on my deep target story. I hope everyone noticed that I filled my hole! The trip was not a loss so don't feel too 'sorry' for us. I finally got a picture of our two nuggets (one under the flash) and a good depth of field shot of the 5 meteorites. They total to 98g! Mitchel

I tried an array of 19 settings including JPs and I was still 'on target' so to say. I posted the story because of the depth. Many of our southwest fans have only shallow nuggets it seems when compared to your flat areas with layers of clay over them.

That is a very hard act to follow ... a 7000 I mean. Great gold alive! Mitchel

Steve has started a topic on the GPZ 19 coil and last Thursday I was using that coil in Gold Basin. Many of us have been to Gold Basin and we roughly know the conditions with gullies, benches, mountains and hills. Little of it is 'flat' but some of the benches are large and open. Some of the ground has been extensively worked with dry washers in the past and present. My area for the day was on a slope in a well known claim and I wanted to find a deep nugget. I've heard that they are there so I have the right equipment. As luck would have it about 100 ft from where I parked I got a faint signal. It was repeatable so I know I had to dig it. The area was up on a higher slope of a larger gully and had not been worked with equipment. I scraped and scratched and could still hear the signal. Time to dig. The signal got louder. I changed settings from normal to difficult and could still hear it ... maybe not a hot rock but it could be ?? I'm down now over a foot which exceeds most of my 19" holes so far and I can hear it getting louder so I go to the SUV and get my pin pointer, GB Pro and camera. Still too deep for the pointer and the GB Pro. Lu comes over with the 2300 and can't hear it either. Dig, dig more down next to a big rock ... is it the rock? GB Pro now jumps around on the numbers 42, 75, 15 ... I'm getting close. Lu says it is a hot rock. I dig and dig with my long handle pick and finally it is out of the hole. I scoop and scoop looking for color and then ... TRASH. It is an old, long 22 shell casing that has been damaged. Deep trash ... HOW? Never that deep before. Why? It is my theory that the shell fell into a squirrel hole. It was not a surface target that fell into the dug hole. I'll never know but it was one of my deepest digs with the 19 (18" or so). It would have been great if it was a nugget that deep and it is one of the reasons I will continue to use the 19. I don't think I could hear that trash with the 14. (Writing this perhaps I should have taken the time to try.) After my learning and disappointment it was time to fill my hole. I wish it was a gold story. Mitchel

Their trouble is only beginning now. The thieves and the potential owners will all want a piece. We'll see if the smiles they have on the posing pictures lasts. Mitchel

Fred, You were hunting in an area without gold and you (and your students) got all the shallow meteorites. There was nothing left for the 19 to find! Mitchel

Steve, When you bring up trash and the 19" I have always wondered how many of us use it on virgin ground. Virgin ground includes ground with trash. JP's videos show him going back to a patch he has hunted with several detectors BEFORE using the Zed 19. I think for most of us who have had a patch or go back to where gold has been found before that is the case. Most of the trash has been eliminated by other coils and hunters. We have to look under the bushes to find something that was missed so to say. Has the Zed been tested and engineered (reverse engineered to the patch) with this in mind? It will be mostly used on previously hunted ground with less trash? I'm not really able (without quad, 4x4 or horse) to find virgin ground in Gold Basin, Rye Patch and Quartzsite (I do have my feet!). It is just virgin to Zeds ... maybe. I walk for long distances without signals and so does my wife with her 2300. I know this is different in the Sierras and I do know some shooting ranges that I avoid. When I first got the Zed I experimented with the Extra Deep settings and it did seem to ignore the surface but then I didn't have anything to dig because my targets are shallow. To be truthful I think the targets I have found now with the 19" are more because of coverage than finding deeper targets. There are a few exceptions to this and I guess this is why I bought it and why Minelab sold it to us on the 'deeper is better' scenario. Larger coverage is good also. Mitchel

Nice nuggets!

The meteorite community knew Smokey too and they recently shared a story about Smokey. It is a bit 'long' but it gives some history about meteorite and GOLD knowledge that I think should be shared with a wider audience. Lunk's link at Bill and Linda's page should be used with this account. Team LunarRock solved the mystery of the "Curious Iron Rocks" that minerswere finding for years in Pershing County, Nevada.Here is how the mystery began:We were told by the locals that the best place to eat in Lovelock, Nevadawas at a Shell gas station, not the C Punch Casino we were staying at whilewe were getting ready to attend a cash-only land auction before starting ourannual meteorite hunt in June of 2015 . We thought they were joking with usso we ignored the recommendation at first. The pretty country girls at thebank, that looked like they were getting ready to enter a beauty contest,who provided us with cash for the auction, mentioned the Shell gas stationagain so our curiosity got the best of us. I could not help but notice thegirls in this small old western town were all dressed up with their hairmeticulously done. My wife noticed this too and asked where she could gether hair done for the big auction. The girls at the bank considered it anemergency, made a few cell calls and had my wife's hair done in no time. The girls were hoping to meet some rich ranchers or miners at the auction sohad to look their very best. Some may ask what this has to do with curiousiron rocks that were being found.Let me explain. We attended the auction which had about 50 bidders with therest of the people being spectators. I was concerned that there was nosecurity and the back door of the community center was left open for fresh air. There was stacks of cash tucked away in briefcases and satchels. I mentioned my concern to the auctioneer and he said that they have the bestsecurity there is. He said a would-be perpetrator would have dozens ofbullets in their head before they even hit the ground if they tried to pullsome stupid stunt since the attendees are all well-armed. I looked aroundand observed that some girls had Lady Smith 9mm's tucked in their boots andone bidder had a Colt 45 Peacemaker next his stacks of cash in hisbriefcase. We won some ranches at the auction, paid the county treasurerand had the deeds prepared and recorded in record time. We then went to theassessors office and had the girls print the plats for the land we justpurchased. We prepared months ahead of time for land we wanted and the TeamLunarRock hunt afterwards. One of the parcels we purchased wasstrategically located within a few thousand feet of the famous Poker Browngold mine in Rye Patch and the Majuba mountain range where meteorites havebeen found. It is this parcel that got the attention of local prospectorsand opened up a dialog with them since they trust no one.After taking care of the paperwork, we decided to have lunch at the Shellstation. I noticed a police officer filling up a 128 ounce soft drink sincerefills were only 79 cents. I gave him a hard time about it and hereassured me that it would last all day. The gas station proprietor, a veryfriendly guy of East Indian descent, told the police officer to tell thetruth that he actually came in twice a day for refills. We laughed andlooked at the menu which was surprisingly expansive for a gas station. Iordered a hamburger and my wife ordered shrimp kabobs with rice.While we were waiting for our lunch to be prepared, we sat down and wentover some maps. The police officer asked what we were doing and weexplained that we were trying to find the best places to prospect for goldand meteorites on our newly acquired properties. He made a phone call andthe next thing that happened is that a prospector show up. The prospector,who introduced himself simply as "Smokey", wanted to know why we werediscussing the Poker Brown mine and Rye Patch. We showed him some maps and his jaw dropped. He knew the entire territory like the back of his hand. We talked about metal detectors and treasure hunting and he becomecomfortable with us after making sure we were not claim-jumpers. He thenwent to his truck which had a horse trailer attached to it and retrieved atattered leather brief case.Our lunch was finally served and in between bites, we discussed treasurehunting. Smokey opened the briefcase and started sharing Polaroid pictureswith us. It was our turn to have our jaws drop as he showed us pictureafter picture of gigantic gold nuggets he had recovered with his $10,000.00Minelab metal detector. He traveled in the field on horseback with a metaldetector on one side of his horse and a 30/30 carbine rifle on the other andwould disappear for months at a time. We asked about meteorites and hestated that he did not know anything about them other than some prospectorswere finding "Curious Iron Rocks" that might be meteorites. He told us thathis nephew found a large piece of quartz with over 50 ounces of gold in iton the lot next to one of our properties and was excited to help us searchour virgin private land. He also mentioned that some mining operations havemetal detectors at the end of there sluices that set off an alarm when alarge nugget or curious iron rock passes into the tailing piles. We askedhim to save one of these stones so that we could determine what it waslatter on.After enjoying a very good lunch and conversations, at a gas station of allplaces, we agreed that the next time we were in the area that we would gettogether with him. We asked how to get in touch with him, and he told us totalk to a woman named, "Dusti" at the Star Point Trading Post off of Highway400 in Imlay, Nevada.Fast forward over a year to September 2016 and we got our answers to the"Curios Iron Stones" mystery. Team LunarRock, consisting of eight memberson that trip, stopped by the Star Trading Post and asked for Dusti. Welooked at prospecting equipment, gold nuggets and field supplies at thepost. Dusti emerged and we inquired about how to get in touch with Smokey. She had to attend to some business so we made arrangements to meet up withher for dinner at the post after we were done in the field for the day. Inthe meantime, we realized that this was a serious prospector and minerhangout with over 30 of them calling this post their seasonal camp. We couldhardly wait to return in the evening.We hunted on several hundred acres that we purchased the year before on thesame Highway 400 that the trading post and many mines were on. We did nothave the time or heavy equipment needed to search for gold but kept our eyesopen for meteorites. We found a few nice artifacts and drove up into themountains to see Mark Twain's (Samuel Clemens) dugout cabin in Unionvillewhere we stayed the year before in a creepy old 1860's field house filledwith fossils that ranchers collected over the years.We then returned to the trading post for dinner. Dusti put two massivewooden tables together to accommodate Team LunarRock members. She theninformed us that Smokey's health has been fading recently since he is wellover 80 years old and would not be able to meet up with us. I had no ideahe was over 80 years old. He looked much younger and in great shape theyear before. She told us that he is an absolute legend and we werefortunate to meet him because people lucky enough to gain his trust considerhim a treasure. She explained that he disappears for great lengths of timein the field and has been written off as dead many times so never count himout. She prepared an excellent dinner for all us and then sat down todiscuss we wanted to talk to Smokey about. I mentioned the curious ironrocks and she said, "you mean meteorites?"I said that we were hoping they were meteorites. She pointed to a glasscase and said we have plenty of them right here since Smokey toldprospectors to bring them in, We do not know how much they are worth but youare more than welcome to make an offer on any them. I looked in the caseand was pleasantly surprised that they all were indeed meteorites! She thenbroke out a photo album with images of gold nuggets, artifacts and othermeteorites including a gorgeous oriented specimen that a prospector foundwhile digging out what he thought would be a gold nugget.I did not have time to negotiate for any of the meteorites. Most lookedlike ordinary chondrites to me so I chose to purchase some chevron goldspecimens instead.In case any of you are interested, here is a link to the Star Point TradingPost:http://starpointtradingpost.com/index.htmlI am sure they will have meteorites to look at and purchase if you are ininterested in Nevada meteorites,Best Regards,Adam HupeTeam LunarRock

Scott, You have touched upon some of the 'obstacles' in the way of completely covering an acre. Each acre is different with gullies and slopes to complicate things even more. It is your first line that I think makes a bigger difference than most of us think. 'It is how well, you detect fast.' How 'fast' you can go effectively depends on the detector. We all know we can swing a coil faster than the processor can pick up on a target. We easily miss deep targets and small targets until we slow down. The past few days of looking for meteorites has shown me once again the value of a slower swing. I found more moving more slowly because some of the meteorites 'tease' you in the beginning when I'm using my 7000. The same holds true at the beach. There is an optimum speed vs return for the detector, settings and coil combination. If you go too fast walking and swinging then you ain't going to hear it. As Lucky and Steve said a complete coverage takes hours and that time may or may not be well spent after you get that starter nugget. The best of us get lots of starter nuggets(prospecting) and lots of cleanups(mining). It would be nice to have a cam (like the police) on JP, Steve, Lucky, Fred, Kevin, Bill, (you name em) etc. (not to find their spot) so that we could copy their pace. What is your favorite pace (prospecting) video rather than a dig hole (mining) video? Mitchel

We are back and did not increase our gold count but got 3 more meteorites! (43/24/6) Pictures on a new thread.

I am spending the night in Kingman. Gas is as low as $2.26 for regular. I like that! I also like that we found 2 nuggets (1.7/.25) and 2 meteorites (15/10).

Just a note: Dolan Springs gas is not a 'gas station' but they are building one now at the corner of 93 and Pierce Ferry Road. There are two gas pumps on the dirt in the 25 mph area. If you get to the Family Dollar Store and Double D Market on the way to Gold Basin you have gone too far. Turn back a couple of blocks. The pumps will take a credit card all the time. I talked to someone who has moved his RV to Dolan Springs because they were charging him too much in Meadview. That is near the gas.

Thanks Walker ... my second guessing. haha I have not found gold like that so I don't know. I was just dealing with my camera changing the flower colors out in Antelope Valley so maybe my critical eye was jumping too far. It is a Canon Rebel T1i and it is not like my old SLR.

Lunk, Did you put it on the skid or directly on the coil? Mitchel