January 1812 ** Both These Hamlets Lie on the Duero in the Burgos District

Meteorite Times Magazine Contents by Editor 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 Meteorite Calendar by Anne Black Meteorite of the Month by Editor Tektite of the Month by Editor Terms Of Use Materials contained in and linked to from this website do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of The Meteorite Exchange, Inc., nor those of any person connected therewith. In no event shall The Meteorite Exchange, Inc. be responsible for, nor liable for, exposure to any such material in any form by any person or persons, whether written, graphic, audio or otherwise, presented on this or by any other website, web page or other cyber location linked to from this website. The Meteorite Exchange, Inc. does not endorse, edit nor hold any copyright interest in any material found on any website, web page or other cyber location linked to from this website. The Meteorite Exchange, Inc. shall not be held liable for any misinformation by any author, dealer and or seller. In no event will The Meteorite Exchange, Inc. be liable for any damages, including any loss of profits, lost savings, or any other commercial damage, including but not limited to special, consequential, or other damages arising out of this service. © Copyright 2002–2011 The Meteorite Exchange, Inc. All rights reserved. No reproduction of copyrighted material is allowed by any means without prior written permission of the copyright owner. Meteorite Times Magazine Friendly Fire from Space: Berlanguillas, Spain by Martin Horejsi Friendly Fire from Space: Berlanguillas, Spain Berlanguillas fell 200 years ago on July 8, 1811 adding to the earth’s pile of L6 chondrites. But while the classification is not too exciting, the arrival of Berlanguillas did scare soldiers and draw crowds in anticipation of a battle. The following translations were kindly provided by Bernd Pauli in Germany. Thanks Bernd! VII. The fall of three meteor stones on July 8, 1811, near Burgos in Old-Castile* According to a report of the French divisional general Dorsenne from the Burgos headquarters to the French Institute, a violent explosion comparable to a loud cannon shot was heard near the Spanish village of Berlanguillas, on the road from Aranda to Roa**, on July 8, 1811, at 8 o’clock in the evening, out of a clear, serene sky; another three followed; then a forth like infantry fire. Several farmers in the fields heard this noise were frightened; it was like bullets whistling past their ears; in the soil that was blown up, they saw something fall; they went to look for it; it was a glowing-hot stone. Two or three other stones had fallen about 60 steps around them. Even the commanders of Aranda and of fort Cachabon, which is 7 hours distant, had heard the three cannon shots, the musket fire, and especially the whistling bullet-like sounds. They sent out patrols on reconnaissance in every direction, though without spotting an enemy. On the nearby hills, idle people had assembled because they thought they would soon see the spectacle of an encounter. When the patrols came to Berlanguillas, they found the true cause of the noises and the mayor gave them two of the stones that had fallen from the sky. * From the papers published January 1812 ** Both these hamlets lie on the Duero in the Burgos district. Additional information on the stones that fell near Burgos, Spain, on July 8, 2011 In addition to the reports by General Dorsenne on p. 116 of the previous volume of these Annals, I’d like add the following circumstances from his report: The commanders from Aranda and from Fort Cachabon, which is about 28 km (French la lieu = ca. 4 km) from Berlanguillas, had not only heard those 4 explosions but also the whistling sound of the stone. The four, pellet fire-like explosions lasted one minute. The stone had penetrated the soil to a depth of 8 inches and the soil surrounding the stone was very hot and completely red (rougie); the farmers claimed to have seen a distinct shadow in the air (presumably smoke). The two stones, which the troups received from the alcalde (= mayor) and the largest one of which General Dorsenne sent to the National Institute, were all of the same color. Still shiny after all these years! Crust is always a treat and important when considering the authenticity of a specimen. The historical fall of Berlanguillas did not go unnoticed on its bicentennial. This poster advertised the celebration event.On a follow up page from the event, there is a nice pic of a cut face of what I assume is the main mass of Berlanguillas. At first I thought it looked more SNC-like than chondritic, but considering the age of this stone, and the rough looking cut, it might just be weathered iron flake. The perpetual fighting on wars on this planet, while considering the events of the fall of Berlanguillas, can’t help but beg the question of how many meteorites have fallen in battle zones and gone unnoticed because the usually violent event of a meteorite impact blends into the chaos of war. Until next time…. The Accretion Desk welcomes all comments and feedback. [email protected] Meteorite Times Magazine Tucson Gem Show Memories by Jim Tobin In a few days it will again be time for the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show. I will be off to find treasures from beyond the Earth. If memory serves correctly this will be my twentieth Tucson Gem Show. Often I have used the January issue of my article as a time to remember the past and get some perspective on the upcoming year. So this month will be a short journey down memory lane. I am a kind of hands-on buyer of meteorites. I like to see and touch the meteorites that I buy if I can. Probably 40% of my collection has been gotten over the years at Tucson. I always get a little excited with anticipation about what I will find when I get there. I know that there will always be some of the more plentiful meteorites like Canyon Diablos, Campos, Gaos and many North West Africa like NWA869 that seem to always be around. I dream before the show of others; the ones rarely seen that will fill some gap in my collection or satisfy some unspoken desire I have. I have shared in the past some of the ways in which my collecting has changed over the last 4 decades since I got my first Canyon Diablo. I think if anything it is more focused now on older falls and new falls. But, I remain a sucker for that completely crusted stone whether find or fall. The last few years of abundance with Sahara and NWA recoveries has put a big number of those crusted individuals into my collection. And even though they will likely never be classified it does not lessen their importance to me. But, there was not always even the slightest direction to my collecting. I just loved meteorites so much that I got stones for practically no reason at all. Now days I at least spend some time handling them and thinking about it before they come home with me. There was a time though where there was more urgency in the decision making. There was no flood of material from anywhere. There were only the meteorites that a handful of dealers had brought with them to the show. And if you left the room without buying it there was a very good chance that you would not return even a short time later to find it still there. There just was not all the choices that we have today. So many meteorites that were locked up in collections at museums and universities have come out through trades that it has changed the way we collect. I remember a time of two diogenites, Tatahouine and Johnstown. I remember a time of only one of many classifications. There may have been many more but there was only the single location that was occasionally available to the collector. The others if they existed were locked away somewhere. Now with what has happened in the deserts of north Africa most classifications have many representatives. And what about the number explosion of Martians and Lunars. Wow. It was not really that long ago that there was no lunar material available to collectors. Then there was one in private hands for a while. Now there are many. Though they have never grabbed me very hard I have acquired quite a few of each of these types over the last few years. During the next couple weeks I will perform my yearly ritual of preparation. I will print out a copy of my catalogue so I limit the purchases of meteorites I already have. It also helps me to see if I want to upgrade to a larger specimen. I will also put together a short list of ones I would really love to add to the collection and that I want to keep an eye out for. I never come close to filling that list but it is surprising how many times I have found one or two in a single show. For the last few years Paul and I have spent much of our time looking for things to sell all day while we‘re there.

Load more