The ABC’s of Meteorite Collecting
By Vincent S. Foster
As Colby Navarro sat at his computer on March 26, 2003, he had no idea that a meteorite was about to come crashing through the roof of his Park Forest, Illinois, home, strike his printer, bounce off the wall, and land near a filing cabinet. The rock, about four inches wide, was part of a meteorite shower that swept through the Chicago area, damaging at least six houses and three cars. Scientists said that before the rock broke apart, it was probably the size of a car. Thank heaven for small favors.
Although chances of being hit by a meteorite are slim, it’s estimated that 200 tons of cosmic debris falls to Earth every single day. It rains down in the form of interplanetary dust particles, micrometeorites and chunks of rock. Scientists estimate that some 24,000 stones ranging from just a few grams to many kilograms strike the Earth every year. That’s a bombardment rate of about 40 meteorites per square kilometer over a period of a million years. That’s a lot of meteorites just lying around waiting to be picked up.
If a meteorite is seen to fall by credible observers and later recovered, it is described as a fall. There are perhaps only one or two falls each year. A meteorite discovered after it has been on the ground for some time is known as a find. Both falls and finds are typically named after the town or recognized geological feature nearest their point of discovery.
Most meteorites are leftover debris from the formation of the planets. They originate in the main asteroid belt. But a few specimens were blasted off the Moon or Mars in giant impacts.
Unless you’re lucky enough to have a meteorite come through your ceiling as happened at Park Forest, there are only two ways t...
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...”-like indentations, scoops, or ridges on the meteorite). If the fusion crust in present and intact, the meteorite is more valuable. In regards to the regmaglypts, the deeper the “thumbprints,” the greater the value.
You can buy whole specimens of meteorites, but if your budget is limited you can buy fragments. Fragments can be useful if they show a significant portion of the meteorite’s exterior as well as the interior matrix. Over time you can build a nice collection of meteorites that suits your budget and interest.
These tips are not written in stone. But a little knowledge can go a long way and may even lead to you finding a meteorite. And that is your primary goal when you join in on the fun and excitement this hobby has to offer.
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Vincent S. Foster
37 Brigantine Blvd.
Waretown, NJ 08758
Tel: 609-488-5898
Email: grantfinder1@aol.com
Not long ago on the 15th of February 2013 an asteroid named 2012 DA14 merely scrapped the earth’s surface by a tiny margin, even closer than some satellites. According to the NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) the asteroid was 17,200 miles above our planet's surface, which may seem a long way from earth. However, in terms how big the earth is compared to the 17,200 miles, we can acknowledge that many people were saved from death.
and Metamorphic rocks can be found. There are also a lot of crusted plates, and violent
... lava flows, vegetation, size and number of craters, and anything else you observe from the satellite images.
are not careful, you could land up with very severe burns, or worse. Some basic
On the night of July 4, 1947, William Woody, who lived east of Roswell, was outside with his father at their ranch, when they saw a brilliant fiery object plunge to the ground (IUFOMRC). On the morning of July 8th, Roswell Sheriff George Wilcox, who along with W. W. “Mac” Brazell, found the crashed object on the J. B. Foster sheep ranch near Corona, 85 miles northwest of Roswell. Brazell, who lived on a nearby ranch, had notified the sheriff the day before about the crash (AJ).
The extraterrestrial impact theory is that scientists have found logical evidence for if there was a large asteroid. The biggest point of evidence for it being an asteroid was that there was a 150 kilometer wide crater that was found off the coast of the Yucatan peninsula. Scientists calculated that the asteroid or comet was traveling at 30 kilometers per second. For months, scientists concluded that after the impact, clouds of dust blocked the sun and cooled the Earth to a deadly level for plants, and inturn many animals. After the dust settled, greenhouse gasses created a smolder...
On the outside it looks like a stereotypical rock, but on the inside you don't really know whether it's actually a rock or a crystal. You need to be open minded and willing to find out.
"Space Debris and Human Spacecraft." NASA. NASA, 27 Sept. 2013. Web. 25 Mar. 2014. .
It is composed of two elements; oxygen and sulfur. This mineral can either be white in colour, gray, brown, orange, green, red, pink, yellow, beige, or it can be colourless, and the streak that it leaves is white. Based on the Moh’s Hardness scale, Gypsum falls somewhere around the 2 margin. Its lustre is close to that of glass (in properties and in appearance), and is considered vitreous. The cleavage—where it breaks along its line of weakness—is 1,1 – micaceous ; 2,2 and its fracture is uneven. Gypsum is slightly flexible, has low hardness, where it can be scratched by a fingernail, and is sectile (can be cut with a knife). Gypsum is a sedimentary rock, meaning it was formed by cementation at the surface of the Earth near bodies of water; it causes the mineral (gypsum) to settle within the
There are more than 20,000 pieces of debris larger than a softball orbiting the Earth. This debris can travel at speeds up to 17,500 mph. Even a relatively small piece of space debris can damage a satellite or a spacecraft at these speeds. Additionally, there are more than 500,000 pieces...
Alvarez, a researcher at the University of California, discovered a pencil thin layer of Iridium around the rocks in Gubbio, Italy. (New Scientist, 1) Iridium is an element found in meteorites and asteroids. In 1980 it was proven that the layer if Iridium was evidence of a huge comet or meteorite that crashed into the earth sixty five million years ago. The normal amount of Iridium an area is to have is 0.001 on an average. The layer of Iridium found in Gubbio Italy was 0.003. Thirty times the average amount in parts per million. (New Scientist, 1) The theory of the Alvarez Asteroid states that the strength of this comet is at 10,000 times the explosive power of the global nuclear arsenal. The Alvarez Asteroid theory is the leading explanation as to why the amazing dinosaur creatures died millions of years ago, along with many other animals of the Earth's Crustaceous Period.
Besides these subjects, there are some things that every geologist should know. Most of these things are laws and rules about how the Earth is made up and how it works. These include chemical compositions, structures, and properties of a substance (Abilities from jobs.virginia.gov 1). Knowing what the magnetic, electrical, and gravitational forces are is also essential (JIST 60). Geologists have to know the methods for describing landforms, the sea, and air masses (1). This is helpful when working in the field. Geologists can describe what they see better and present it to others in a clearer way. As with anything, knowing the history of the study is also important. Geologists need to know historical events, their causes, indicators, and impact (1).
Space debris are all manmade objects, including their parts and fragments, whether their owners can be recognized or not, in Earth orbit or re-entering the dense layers of the atmosphere that is worthless with no reasonable bated breath of their being able to assume or resume their proposed functions or any other functio...
• Geologists have discovered meteorites on the earth that have existed for many thousands of millions of years, way before the earth came into existence.