Meteorite-Times Magazine

Contents by 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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Witnessed Fall: Vernon County, Wisconsin, USA by Martin Horejsi

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An March 1865 Witnessed Fall: Vernon County, Wisconsin, USA Foreshadowed the Death of a President

Posing with an faux antique scale cube, Vernon County rests patiently as it has in collections for almost 150 years. It is written that its fall attracted little attention, but today meteorite collectors worldwide covet such historic witnessed falls of small TKWs.

For the fledgling United States, the year 1865 is the dividing line between the Civil War and Reconstruction, and during that year only a single meteorite was witnessed to fall within the young borders of the US. The meteorite fell just 20 days before the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. Coincidence or fate?

Does a foreshadowing seem a stretch? Well, some Chinese think that Communist Party Chairman Deng Xiao Peng’s death on February 19th was foreshadowed by the February 15 fall of the Juancheng meteorites. Then why not Vernon County and Abraham Lincoln? Vernon County is classified as a veined H6 chondrite. About 1500 grams of Vernon County was recovered in the form of two stones; one weighing 800g and the other 700g.

Sadly the 800g stone was lost within a few years of its fall.

The distribution of Vernon County according to the Catalogue of Meteorites is as follows:

123g in the Harvard Collection

65g in the Paris Museum of Natural History

37g in Natural History Museum in London

28g in the Vienna Museum

22g in the Field Museum in Chicago

18g in University Geological Museum in Copenhagen

8g in the MtN in Berlin

7g in the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History

2g in the collection of the Max Planck Institute

2g in the American Museum of Natural History in New York

1.5g in the Collection of the University of New Mexico

My specimen fits nicely between Berlin and Copenhagen.

The following excerpt is from the 1884 book Original Researches in Mineralogy and Chemistry by John Lawrence Smith and Joseph Benson Marvin.

This feast for the eyes has an extra helping of crust along its two original edges. Smith and Marvin described Vernon County as being covered with “a thick, black, dull crust.” They get no argument from me. Another small patch of crust spilled over onto this face contrasting colorfully with the iron oxide that H6 specimens are famous for.

The lone cut face on my specimen show classic H6 texture. Much metal is visible, and although expressed as a rusty orange on broken faces, shows a shiny steely white when sliced.

While the connection to President Lincoln is a stretch, it does place the fall of Vernon County into a familiar time frame in American history. Lucky for the Vernon County meteorite that just 17 years earlier Wisconsin became a state. Otherwise this orphaned treasure might have joined its long lost sibling.

Until next time…

The Accretion Desk welcomes all comments and f eedback. [email protected]

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You Can Never Go Back by Jim Tobin

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Times change and they say that you can never go back to the way it was in the past. That is certainly true about meteorite collecting. There are a few of us out in the world that remember having to be on waiting lists with dealers. We would tell them what we wanted and hope in the next few months or years that a piece of the meteorite would turn up for sell. It may be that method that led me away from type collecting to a more unfocused style of collecting. There was a time in the recent past when there was just one diogenite and it was $25 a gram. That was a lot of money for a stone but, at least you could fill that category. However, if you wanted a howardite you were pretty much out of luck. There was one but you could not have any of it.

Today, if you have the money and the time I would guess that you could click a mouse and nearly fill a type collection. I suppose that makes this the best of times for meteorite collecting. Though it has created a different atmosphere for both the dealers and collectors. The question that is constantly asked now is “how much does the piece cost?’

Cost was always a concern of course. But, today the economics of meteorite collecting have shifted a little. There are lots of dealers, many selling the same material with prices often all over the place. And you can have any classification of meteorite you want. Lunars were unheard of only a few years ago now you can choose between many different classification of meteorites from the Moon. Martians the same thing many available even a chassignite. Something that is really different from the past is the unclassified meteorites we all have in our collections. There was no such thing as an unclassified meteorite. In fact it was not a meteorite officially until it was classified. Now and forever more there will be thousands of unclassified stones floating around collections of meteorites.

Box of fresh crusted unclassified meteorites bought in Tucson 2010

So here is the topic of my article this month. What makes a particular meteorite specimen worth the price that is asked? What factors make a collector decide what price they will pay?

My first thought is Name Recognition. There are some meteorites that I just want to have in my collection. They are historic falls from the very early years of meteorite study and they rarely come up for sell. Per gram price can fade into the background a little as we just suck it up and buy the price. So is an L6 from the 1700’s worth that much more than a fresh fall L6 from the last five years? Its all in the name. And with that goes the need to prove that it really is what its being sold as. Provenance, the history of the piece you are buying can add to the value. Getting all the old collection cards with the specimen when you buy it, is certainly very cool. The cards themselves are actually collected on their on right.

Wold Cottage slice with copy of British Museum specimen card. Note that the actual piece this was cut from and the name of the person it was bought from are shown

Next thought that I have is Availability. What if there is only one stone which fell. And what if it was not very big. Lets suppose that it too is just a “common” classification. Why do we think that it is necessarily much more valuable than a rarer more interesting type. I think it is partly conditioning. In every thing that is collected there is the assumption made that the more layers of rarity something has the more valuable it will be. So something like 1909 VDB pennies are valuable not just that they are old, but they are scarce, and a fine grade is even more valuable because it is even rarer. In meteorites we have multiple layers of value too it seems. A summary might read this way. One small stone, fell long ago. It has all be in a private collection for decades. Nobody has ever had any except the original couple pieces that went to museums. Now a slice has been cut from the main mass. It has been made into an unknown number of smaller part slices. How much can the owner offer a meteorite like this for to the collectors of the world?

The Circumstances of Arrival. Here we have many factors that seem to play into the eventual cost of a specimen. Was it seen and found right away? Some people only collect falls. Some only historical falls from the long past. Who found it? There are important names in the world of meteorites and owning specimens once touched by these individuals has motivated interested collectors to pay much higher prices then for run of the mill pieces of the same meteorite. I have seen space potato blobs of Canyon Diablo go for more then beautifully sculptured pieces. Why? Just because they were found or owned by a certain person. I am a sucker for these and might buy them myself if I had the money. Who can understand the forces at work in this. What if a meteorite hits a car, or a mail box, or a house, or a cow? Is it really much more valuable? Or it the cultural, psychological, statistical factors we place on it that raises the cost?. And is it OK? Is that part of the fun of collecting? To let the meteorites get under your skin so much that such factors add value. I think so. I have meteorites that are special for crazy reasons. Maybe it is who I was with when I found it or bought it. I would never sell them under any circumstance. Maybe it is one I had to wait months to get. We do seem to add value to things based on many factors beyond just weight and type. Today, you have to add factors like it was caught on video tape flying through the air, or seen on radar, or sniffed out by a doggie. And the list of reasons for making them more valuable goes on and on.

The Actual Costs. After having discussed a little of the ethereal in the last section let’s get right down to the true economics that determine price. I guess that brings up an issue right off. Price does not really have anything but a remote relationship to value in meteorites. It does however establish the bottom line below which a finder is working in the negative. We are dealing with a hobby and an obsession sometimes and price and value separate under those circumstances. A finder may be willing to sell a stone for any amount since they are hunting for fun. But, there are real costs that are involved for the professional. They do effect the price and to some extent the value of meteorites. For dealers selling meteorites is a career and occupation. They are in it for the money they can make. Like most of us they need to pay their bills and feed their family from the money earned through their work. Selling meteorites is their work. I never haggle with dealers for pieces in my collection. I may try to get a better deal if it is something we are going to sell. That’s business. But, if they have to travel across the world and rent transportation and obtain guides, pay for lodging and food, in order to recover meteorites, all that expense only logically becomes incorporated into the price they must sell the meteorites for. So OK it is only an L6, but if you want it you have to pay the price. What if it is a Ureilite and it was tracked from space to the ground. And it fell far away on the other side of the world. You’re gonna have to pay. But, you can massage away some of the pain of the price with all the cultural and psychological stuff.

For example, you can say to yourself.

“It is the only time that an asteroid was found in space and its trajectory to the ground was predicted. It was seen by pilots of a passenger jetliner right when it was supposed to be seen. And it turns out to be a fascinating type of meteorite and not much will ever be available to collectors. If I don’t buy it now my chance may pass or the price may be even higher later.”

That kind of internal talk can help but lets be honest “you want it, you know you want it. . .” (Apologies to Mel Brooks) I doubt that we will ever be able to really define the variables of meteorite pricing. There are too many factors and many are just plain too intangible. But, a bottom line can sort of be set for some.

Many times I just look at a specimen and say boy that is a nice shaped, mostly crusted stone and I would like to get it if I can. So I ask, “How much is this one.” I get an answer and make a decision. Sometimes its yes and sometimes its no. On other occasions I see a specimen on my want list and it is a whole new set of factors that determine the purchase.

Ain’t meteorites fun. I got to go to the garage and clean and cut a bunch today. I wonder what factors will weave together to determine the price they will sell for. One thing I know is that meteorite collecting will never again be as it was only a few years ago.

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Meteorite Market Trends by Michael Blood

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This Month’s Meteorite Market Trends

by Michael Blood

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Evidence of Life Found in Another Martian Meteorite! by Robert Verish

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Another Mars rock, the Los Angeles meteorite, has fossil evidence that suggests life once existed on Mars.

Researchers using Raman Spectrographic equipment (like the setup above) have found

“disordered graphite ” and “metalloporphyrin ” in the Los Angeles Martian meteorite (diabasic shergottite).

The fact that these compounds have a biotic origin is not questioned. Although these two compounds have been dismissed as being terrestrial contaminants, it begs the question, “Where are all the other compounds that would accompany this type of terrestrial contamination?” Given the absence of additional evidence for recent terrestrial contamination, it is my contention that “disordered graphite and “metalloporphyrin” are actually fossil residue, having a biological origin which predates the impact that launched the host rock from the surface of planet Mars.

Researchers at NASA in Houston announced in two separate press releases, one in November 2009, and then two months later, in January 2010, that they have found convincing fossil evidence in three martian meteorites that life once existed on Mars. This evidence has confirmed the researchers earlier findings about the martian meteorite Allen Hills 84001 from over a decade ago. The other two martian meteorites are Nakhla, which fell in Egypt in 1911 and since has been in a British collection, and an Antarctic find by the Japanese called Yamato 000593 (another nakhlite). Designated Yamato 593, it contains signs of fossil life similar to that seen in AH84001 and Nakhla meteorites. Both the Nakhla and Yamato life forms date to only about 1.4 billion years old, if it can be proved more definitively.

NASA presented their findings in greater depth before the American Geophysical Union Meeting (January 2010) in San Francisco. At the meeting, John McKay, the principal investigator for the original findings regarding AH84001 presented in 1996, declared that before the end of 2010 “definitive proof” will be announced. He stated that recent advancements in instrumentation have resulted in breakthroughs in our ability to identify “biomorphs”. The “biomorph” features discovered in the Yamato 593 meteorite look identical to those found inside the Allen Hills and Nakhla meteorites, according to McKay.

Because of these recent findings, there has been a shift in the “Mars life strategy”: NASA’s original strategy was to “follow the water”, then the strategy shifted to “follow the carbon.” The strategy now, however, simply reads “find direct evidence for seeking out life”. That role will first fall to the Mars Science Laboratory rover undergoing final assembly for launch in September 2011.

It is my purpose in this article to bring attention to another Mars rock meteorite, the Los Angeles meteorite (a diabasic shergottite), and to suggest that it, too, should be re-examined based upon findings that were originally reported nearly ten years ago. Given the “recent advancements in instrumentation”, this re-examination of the Los Angeles martian meteorite is warranted. In fact, before the next NASA science platform is launched to Mars in order to “search for any and all signs of life”, it would be prudent to re-examine as many martian meteorites as is possible.

Typical arrangement of Carbon molecules when in the form of Graphite

About 10 years ago there was an examination of the Los Angeles shergottite (LA) by a group of researchers, led by Alian Wang, utilizing state-of-the-art (for that time) Raman spectroscopic instruments. The sample of LA that was used in this survey was obtained from UCLA. This means that the sample came from the type specimen that this author submitted to UCLA in 1999. Having personally cut this type specimen on my own rock-saw, I can attest to the fact that this was far from a “clean room” operation.

The results of this “survey” were published in 2001 under the title:

Preliminary Raman spectroscopic survey on a martian meteorite – Los Angeles in Lunar and Planetary Science XXXII (2001) – 1427.pdf

Although the title called this a “Preliminary survey”, it was still a very thorough examination that identified all of the mineral constituents, as well as, contaminants, presumably all terrestrial. What I found intriguing was the emphasis placed on describing two of these “contaminants”:

1) the disordered graphite – which was always associated with the masses of secondary hematite. and

2) the metalloporphyrin – which were individual grains that looked like minute, ruby-colored crystals.

Since these compounds are known to have biologic origins, it is understandable that some space in the paper be taken to describe their occurrence. But their prominence in the abstract, particularly the images of the ruby-colored metalloporphyrin grains, has led me to think that the significance of their presence in this meteorite was being intentionally understated, in order to allow the reader to draw their own conclusion.

In order for me to draw my own conclusion, I need answers to certain questions.

For instance, if the Raman spectroscope was so sensitive as to detect and properly identify minute masses of carbon compounds that are, at best, ephemeral vestiges of once living organisms, then why didn’t the spectroscope detect a long list of hydrocarbon compounds, such as proteins, lipids, cell-walls, etc., in other words, the remains of the purported terrestrial organisms that “produced these two contaminants”?

How long does it take to form disordered graphite from once living organisms? Among all of the Martian meteorites, the Los Angeles stones are one of the freshest, having one of the lowest terrestrial residence times (~5k-9k years). Is this long enough for a terrestrial organism to decompose into “disordered graphite”?

In the absence of other hydrocarbons, wouldn’t the sole-presence of minute, crystalline grains of metalloporphyrin be exactly the kind of vestigial substance from once living organisms that could survive in the vacuum of space over long geologic time?

For now, until a re-examination of the Los Angeles meteorite with the newly advanced instrumentation can prove otherwise, I can only conclude that LA is too fresh, too pristine (lacks a wide variety of contaminants from terrestrial organisms) and too rich in the exact carbon compounds that you would expect to survive the transit through space from Mars to Earth.

Ordered Graphite – typical “narrow” response with Raman spectrograph Disordered Graphite – typical “wide” response with Raman spectrograph

Over the intervening decade since the above “preliminary survey” was published, NASA has never contacted me (the main mass holder of Los Angeles) for additional samples for a more thorough examination with the advanced analytical instrumentation they have developed. I find this curious, because their oft-stated strategy was to “Follow the Carbon”! In fact, as recently as January 2010 at the AGU Meeting in San Francisco, John McKay was quick to congratulate themselves (NASA) for having followed through on this strategy, because when it came to “following the carbon”, there was (and I quote) “a lot of carbon in Nakhla!”

But in my view, NASA has fallen well short of their goal to follow the carbon to Mars, when they failed to follow the carbon trail just this short distance to Los Angeles.

Diabasic Shergottite – Available for Re-examination

REFERENCES:

Preliminary Raman spectroscopic survey on a martian meteorite – Los Angeles in Lunar and Planetary Science XXXII (2001) – 1427.pdf - by Alian Wang, Karla E. Kuebler, John Freeman, Bradley L. Jolliff, Dept. Earth & Planetary Sciences, Washington University, St. Louis, MO, 63130 ([email protected]) Google docs – Preliminary Raman spectroscopic survey on a martian meteorite – Los Angeles, by Alian Wang, Karla E. Kuebler, John Freeman, Bradley L. Jolliff, Dept. Earth & Planetary Sciences, Washington University, St. Louis, MO, 63130 ([email protected])

(If the previous Reference has expired, try this more permanent link.)

Metalloporphyrin : Definition from Answers.com metalloporphyrin ( m?’talo’pörf?r?n ) ( biochemistry ) A compound, such as heme, consisting of a porphyrin combined with a metal such as iron, copper…

Disordered graphite - Graphite surface disorder detection using in situ Raman microscopy – BY Laurence J. Hardwick, Hilmi Buqa and Petr Novák in: Solid State Ionics – Volume 177, Issues 26-32, 31 October 2006, Pages 2801-2806

Fig. 4. In situ Raman spectra series of disordered graphite of the four points from open circuit potential (3000 mV) to 550 mV (top) and from 500 mV to 220 mV (bottom). Spectra are shifted arbitrarily up the intensity axis. The arrows on the left-hand side of each quad indicate the direction of the scan.

Alian Wang – Mission to Mars – Alian also uses Raman spectroscopy for another passion of hers: the study of Martian meteorites… …

Images of trace fossils in Martian meteorites: – NASA Johnson Space Center website – New Study Adds to Finding of Ancient Life Signs in Mars Meteorite – 12.08.09 SPACEFLIGHT NOW - Three Martian meteorites triple evidence for Mars life – BY CRAIG COVAULT

Posted: January 9, 2010 SPACEFLIGHT NOW – Martian meteorite surrenders new secrets of possible life – BY CRAIG COVAULT

Posted: November 24, 2009

Technology Review – Delta V – Wednesday, December 02, 2009 – Fresh Evidence of Ancient Life on Mars?

A new study says it’s the best explanation for materials found in a meteorite, but not everyone agrees.

Life on Mars NewsWire: Recent Articles – News that scientists had found evidence of life in a Mars meterorite had leaked out, …

Life on Mars: New Evidence from Martian Meteorites – in Proc. of SPIE Vol. 7441, 744102

In summary, the original hypothesis that features in ALH84001 may be the result of early microbial life on Mars remains robust and is further strengthened by the presence of abundant biomorphs in other Martian meteorites. These biomorphs, while not completely definitive for microbial life, are clearly associated with Martian aqueous alteration (crack-filling iddingsite) and are nearly identical to terrestrial biomorphs known to be formed by microbial activity. New Martian data since our original paper have significantly supported the habitability of Mars and the possibility of life there. These data include the presence of an early magnetic dynamo detected by by the discovery of strongly magnetized crustal rocks, the presence of abundant early surface water and recent near-surface water, the presence of early clay minerals and carbonates, and the presence of methane plumes in the atmosphere which may have a biological origin. Combining all of the new data from the Mars missions with our new data on biomorphs, the case for life on Mars appears to be much stronger.

My previous articles can be found *HERE*

For for more information, please contact me by email:

Bolide*chaser

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IMCA Insights – March 2010 by IMCA TEAM

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Meteorites 101 at a Deaf School by Pete Shugar

Background on Learning the Art of Sign Language

It was seventh grade. Her locker was just five away from mine. She was shy. I never saw her with anyone else. I finally screwed up the mental courage and taped a note to her locker, asking for a date. Imagine my surprise when she gave me a note saying yes. I had suggested a ice cream sundae at the local Woolworth. When she arrived, I found out the reason she didn’t have many friends. It was because she was deaf. She then taught me the manual alphabet.

Photo courtesy of Pete Shugar

Thus began my love affair with sign language. Over the years, I did very little to advance that beginning. About 15 years ago I chanced upon another setting that required signing. I took a few free courses from the school system and have continued to work on it ever since.

Ten years ago I found that my hearing was getting progressively worse. I worked faster to learn more signs. Early last year all hearing in the left ear was gone. The right ear was almost gone as well. I didn’t have too much trouble talking to someone face to face as I could read lips, but I was very nervous as this was the first time I had to sign to an audience, not counting my efforts at my home church. Photo courtesy of Pete Shugar

The Meteorite Teasers

I work for the school system here in Amarillo as a monitor on the bus to keep the kids from killing the bus, the driver, or themselves. I almost always put one or two meteorites in my pocket to show the kids on my bus. I’ve even done this at church or at any other gathering of kids or adults. Many is the parent that asks questions and want to learn something about our visitors from space.

One day I had to drive a SUV as the sub driver on a route. It was to fill in on the route that serves the deaf school here in Amarillo. I always carry a few meteorites with me as there is always someone that has never seen a meteorite or is a science buff that might like to see and hold one. I soon discovered the pleasure of watching the “Look of Wonder” that spreads across their face when they touch a meteorite. Although almost all of my meteorites are micros, I do have a few larger specimens as well as lunar and Martian micros in my collection. The boys and girls really freak out when told that they have just touched a piece of the Moon or Mars.

Photo courtesy of Pete Shugar

As usual, I had specimems with me that day and let a deaf girl touch several. She was very excited and her little fingers just flew far faster than I could read them as she told me of what it meant to be able to see and touch something that had been in space, but now it was in her hand. She was so thrilled to hold them. I promised to let her touch a lunar at a later time. The teacher saw the effect this had on “Karen Jo”* and asked me if I could come to the school and do a presentation. She saw that I signed and promised that I would have someone to help me if I got stuck for a word. I told her, “Yes, I would be glad to do the presentation”.

Photo courtesy of Pete Shugar

Preparation

Seeing as I only had 3 weeks to get my act together, I asked the MeteoriteCentral mailing list for some cheap meteorites that I could afford. To my surprise, there was an outpouring of offers for free samples. As these poured in, I became very proud of the members of this list and felt that I would do all that I could to honor each and everyone who helped make that presentation the best that I ever did. One offer asked how many there would be in the class. I estimated 30 to 35. What I didn’t know was that there was 2 classes, each with 30 to 35 kids.

Well, when all the offers had arrived, I counted out all of the meteorites. There were enough NWA 869′s for one class and enough NWA 4293′s for the second class. Then there were all the large unclassified NWA’s which became the focus of the science teachers’ gifts. There still remain the many smaller unclassified NWA’s that will find a home in a later presentation. One batch of meteorites did not arrive till the evening after the presentation. When I opened it up, there were 5 perfect small Campos made into individuals with a loop for a necklace which made perfect gifts for the teachers. I went back the next day and left one for the principal, as well as for the teacher who invited me.

Photo courtesy of Pete Shugar The IMCA “Meteorites 101″ PowerPoint presentation was a big help, but I had to trim it down because of time limits. Some of it was just too technical for the lower grade levels. I dug into the history of all the meteorites that I would present to find cool facts and tidbits that made the meteorites come alive, instead of just being a lump of rock and/or metal. I made sure not to take too many with me as there is such a thing as overload. Too many also makes it hard to keep up with what is being passed around. The last thing you need is to lose one of your more valuable meteorites.

The Moment of Truth Arrives

I first told of my awakening to meteorites and what I collected and why. I showed several must read books and told of the work of H.H. Nininger as the father of Meteoritics. The children were very attentive and all asked good questions that showed a grasp of the science of meteoritics. I was asked how the meteoroid could be dislodged from the asteroid belt. What made all the meteoroids and asteroids in the first place? How do we know that this meteorite is from 4 Vesta? These questions and many more were asked and answered.

Photo courtesy of Pete Shugar

“Vaca Muerta” was cool, I just passed Valera around with no explaination. The boys thought it was cool, but the girls just squeeled “Eewweee” when told that Valera was the “bullet” that killed a cow. Of course, the question “Has a meteorite ever killed a person?” came next. I showed the very micro-micro of Sylacauga. “Its so small”, they said. I told of how hard it was to obtain it. Every meteorite brought more questions. The meteorites caused several to want to study and learn more about them. One thought it would make a very interesting science fair project.

At the conclusion of the presentation I had one of the teachers pass out to each member of the class a meteorite. I wanted a teacher to not look at each one, but to simply reach into the box and pass one out. I was worried that there would be much made of the “I got one bigger than you” syndrome. These fourth and fifth grade boys and girls had a wonderful time. I was elated at the reception I received. I became the man of the hour in the eyes of kids as well as the teachers. It’s good to be a good role model for them. The teachers were very happy to have my resources there for them to use. They were also surprised to receive some very cool looking unclassified NWA’s for later use in the classroom. Photo courtesy of Pete Shugar

Conclusions and Lessons Learned

I fully believe that the giveaways were what made such a big impact upon the overall success of any effort to reach the students. You just need to be willing to spend a little time with them. The payoff is unreal.

My only regret was that I could have used at least 30 more minutes per class to cover more fully all that needed to be covered.

*Not her real name.

– This article will also be published in a future issue of Meteorite Magazine –

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NWA 869 Inclusions by John Kashuba

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Hey Chuck,

Please look for fine grained inclusions, too, when you’re slicing those NWA 869s. They look like little gray patches of unmixed Portland cement. Folks have been calling them achondritic inclusions but that might not be what they are. There’s a recurring rumor that something’s going to be published about them but I haven’t seen it yet.

NWA 869 is getting more study. I understand its classification has been amped up to L3-6 chondritic breccia. It is a coarse breccia with chunks of up to 5.5 cm. Nobel gas measurements show that some portions of the mix had been on the surface of the parent body so it is a regolith breccia – think “asteroid soil”. Plowed soil. The light colored, rather well metamorphosed parts might be from deep down. Clasts as primitive as type 3 have seen little heat. There are shock darkened and shock melted bits and the rare foreign carbonaceous fragment. Mostly it is its grey green self. Impacts plowed it up and impacts compacted – lithified – it.

Scientists figure the meteoroid that was blasted off the parent body was maybe 4 to 5 meters in diameter before atmospheric entry. Even with ablation loss of 90 to 95% about 7 tons dropped on the Sahara Desert. This was 4.4±0.7 kyr ago – after the mammoths but well before iPhones. [Metzler et al. (2008) LPS and Welten et al. (2010) LPS]

Slices with fine grained inclusions shouldn’t go to the kids. We’ll keep them. They’ll be good trading material if that paper ever comes out.

I’ve got some pictures.

- John

A breccia for sure. The long diagonal of the squarish white clast is 5 cm. The slice is 19 cm long. This inch long slice has a nice fine grained inclusion. Looks like cement, doesn’t it?

This is one of the thin sections made from that slice. The fine grained inclusion stands out pretty well here. Up close to it now. The fine grained portion is on the left and the regular lithology is on the right. PPL FOV 5.2 mm.

Same view. XPL Same slice, different thin section. Is that a carbonaceous clast there on the right edge?

Maybe it is. Same clast, different thin section. XPL FOV 2 mm. Different NWA 869 thin section. There’s a patch sitting a little above center with dark matrix and well defined chondrules. It’s probably one of the low metamorphic grade areas.

Here is a close-up of that part. Neat and orderly. PPL FOV 3 mm. Same with another filter thrown in. Not as distinct, but prettier. XPL FOV 3 mm.

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Count Guido Deiro by Editor

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This feature is devoted each month to one of the personalities within the meteorite community. This month we are delighted to have Count Guido Deiro share the incredible story of his first meteorite find.

METEORITE FIRST FIND STORY 3/3/10 12.73kg NEVADA RECORD CHONDRITE

Myself and Sonny Clary's dog "Brix" overlooking the find.

I’ve lived and worked in the Great Basin and Mohave Deserts all my life. For dozens of years and thousands of hours as a commercial airplane and helicopter pilot providing contract services to government agencies and scientific laboratories, most associated with the Nevada Atomic Proving Grounds (87% of the State of Nevada is government land).

After the death of Howard Hughes, (yes, I did know and fly with him) I left my position at the Hughes Tool Co. as Director of Aviation Services and began brokering ranch properties, Taylor grazing and patented water rights which put me “boots on ground” throughout the state.

I began to study meteorites about a year ago as a diversion to take my mind off the two years of radiation and chemo treatments I had been undergoing for stage IV metastasized cancer. I had responded well for a 72 year old and was in remission. I needed some new pursuit to get my mental and physical health back.

Little did I know that I was about to catch another disease..and this one incurable…the obsession with meteorites. After purchasing some sixty different types and classifications, a stereo scope and a cabinet for comparison purposes …and reading numerous posts on List and dozens of papers, attending Tucson… putting faces on all whom I had met online… I decided I was ready to go into the field and find my own meteorites.

My modest cabinet with the big chondrite looking so out of place.

I was fortunate to have made acquaintance with Sonny Clary who lives nearby. He had become my mentor, given me samples and shown me some pointers on hunting by taking me on a short local trip to look at an area of interest. We spent maybe two hours in the field. Sonny moves quickly, his acute vision and experience letting him cover a lot of ground in very little time. I found I was more comfortable going my own way and not slowing him up. Neither he, nor I, found anything.

I have four grandsons and I spent a few hours in some vacant fields in Las Vegas throwing down weathered samples and demonstrating to them the use of the cane and detector. Ten years young, Vincent, was fascinated. He’ll be an “ist” someday.

On Tuesday, March 2nd, Sonny called late and invited me to spend my first full day hunting an area he felt was promising several hours away. We met at his home and loaded up the gear, food and water. Brix, his super Alsatian, whined excitedly knowing we were going on a hunt. Sonny has trained Brix to the point that the dog will bring him rocks in the field. No meteorites yet…but it will happen.

We arrived in a remote part of the desert around nine o’clock. The temperature was a pleasant 67 degrees under clear skies and no wind. We saddled up and agreed as to which way each of us would go. Sonny took off to the left and me to the right. Within minutes we were out of sight of each other. We did have a means of communicating electronically in the event of an emergency.

After several hours with no luck, we met back at the truck and traveled two miles north on the valley floor. After another hour or two of nothing but meteor wrongs picked up from the desert pavement, Sonny decided to expand our search area again several miles to the west.

This time we were on excellent ground. Gently rolling, with very little organic growth and hardly any rocks at all. If they were here, the meteorites would stand out prominently. Again, Sonny strode off northwest with Brix roaming in front of him. Brix has received snake avoidance training and a good thing, because the rattlers, including the feared “Mohave Green”, are coming out of their dens this time of year to warm themselves, and shed their winter skin, making them ill tempered and aggressive. Sonny hunted with no assistance from cane, or detector. I used my six foot staff with a circular neodymium magnet screwed on the end. I followed Sonny to the west, deciding to make the first leg of my search into the reduced visibility of the sun, so I could make the other two half mile legs with the sun at my side and rear to highlight the ground and prevent squinting. I have special tinted prescription glasses that provide some UV protection, reduce eye strain and sharpen the field of view.

Sonny and Brix were quickly out of sight. About an hour and a half into things, and while walking forward a few paces at a 45 degree angle to the left and then to the right, my scan picked up an irregular shape 50′ to my right. It was so out of place as to shape and color that I knew immediately it was a possible. I turned and walked toward it. As I got within a few yards I could see that it had the familiar dark desert patination that I had studied on my Gold Basin samples. It was a three inch high tip sticking out of the ground like a triangular iceberg.

I started to laugh out loud as I walked around it in a tight circle. Taking my cane, I carefully placed it close alongside dangling it loosely between two fingers. Nevada chondrites tend to have low metal. The cane moved slowly toward the rock and touched it. So subtle was its movement that I didn’t immediately believe I had seen what I had seen and had to repeat the test all around the tip. Each time it “clicked” I got a rush of excitement.

Before I could contain myself, I reached down and grabbed the exposed tip and pulled. My hand slipped off. The rock was solidly buried in the ground.

The meteorite in situ after clearing the first two inches of dirt away from it by hand.

I began to dig with my bare hands. Down two inches and still no movement. Step back. Put scale cube down. Take picture. Three more inches and shove it with your foot. No movement. More pictures and the thought of “How in the hell did I get this lucky?” I dug frantically like a rabid gopher. “How big was this thing?”, “Wow”, “Wait till Sonny sees this.” Then I got greedy. I didn’t want it to stop getting bigger, but finally at a depth of about nine inches I was able to get my fingers under the bottom edge of the triangular shape. I stood up, put my foot against it and shoved. The meteorite came free from its thousands of years entrapment in the desert floor. I had my first find. The meteorite exposed in situ with 1cm scale cube. This photo resulted in Tom Phillips producing the one inch "Count" scale cube for larger meteorites.

I called Sonny on cell. At first he thought I was joking, but when I offered a $100 wager if he came and found it was not a meteorite, he started his trek to my location. He arrived in fifteen minutes, the last few yards with a huge grin on his face and his arms out stretched. “Dude” he said. “You the man.” We were like a couple of kids for a minute. Literally pounding each other’s fists and laughing. I have never seen Sonny so animated.

Brix immediately went to the meteorite, and curling around it, he laid down on guard. It was his now.

Adam Hupe' using his 24" diamond bladed saw that he calls "The Judge" to cut the Nevada chondrite in half. I gave Sonny half as without his guidance I wouldn't have made the find.

The specimen is currently the largest intact chondrite found so far in Nevada and my first find. Its gross weight was 12.73kg. 250mm x 180mm x 120mm. I went out and bought a bunch of lottery tickets. Count GuidoDeiro

IMCA 3536

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