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Mbale: The First Digital Meteorite

May 1, 2013

Mbale: The First Digital Meteorite

For a brief period in August 1992, a meteorite fall captured the attention of those few on the planet who were enamored by such things. The shower of stones arrived at 3:40 in the afternoon creating quite a disturbance. One hundred fifty kilos of anything falling from the sky and landing on a town would [...]

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The St. Michel, Finland Meteorite – A Lifetime of Breakage

March 1, 2013

The St. Michel, Finland Meteorite – A Lifetime of Breakage

A July 1910 Witnessed Fall: The St. Michel, Finland Meteorite A Lifetime of Breakage   Impressive breccias such as St. Michel provide obvious visual evidence of near-catastrophic injury before arriving on earth. Breccias are rocks composed of various sized visible pieces of angular rock cemented together. But that was just the beginning for St. Michel. [...]

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Hamlet: An Eye for an Eye. A Satellite for a Stone.

January 1, 2013

Hamlet: An Eye for an Eye. A Satellite for a Stone.

First, let me say that it’s really great to be here. Frankly, it was getting pretty nip-and-tuck as the fuse on 2012 burned short, but as we all discovered, 2013 arrived on schedule and in like-new condition. So now we can all shift our attention to the next world-ending event. If you are like me [...]

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Ochansk: If it’s abundant, it better be good

November 1, 2012

Ochansk: If it’s abundant, it better be good

An August 1887 Witnessed Fall: Ochansk, Russia Ochansk: If it’s abundant, it better be good.   With 500kg of the brecciated H4 named Ochansk arriving on earth, a collector desiring a piece should focus on collectability and a historical paper trail. In this particular case, the specimen has traveled through at least four documented collections. [...]

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An August 1904 Witnessed Fall: Shelburne, Canada A Mud-Slinging Meteorite

September 1, 2012

An August 1904 Witnessed Fall: Shelburne, Canada A Mud-Slinging Meteorite

An August 1904 Witnessed Fall: Shelburne, Canada A Mud-Slinging Meteorite   The classis L5 look of Shelburne is nothing to write home about, but it does offer plenty of eye candy chondrules for those who take the time to look…closely. The Shelburne chondrite fell back in 1904, and although an exciting event at the time, [...]

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Pantar: The Sky is Falling. Really!

June 1, 2012

Pantar: The Sky is Falling. Really!

Pantar: The Sky is Falling. Really! Lets hope its not a bomb!   Pantar, Philippines is an amazing meteorite. Not for its H5 class, the second most common type of chondrite after the oft-shunned L6. But instead Pantar has several wonderfully detailed descriptions about its 1938 fall and its travel from the island and into [...]

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Linum, Germany: It’s What’s For Breakfast!

May 1, 2012

Linum, Germany: It’s What’s For Breakfast!

Linum, Germany: It’s What’s For Breakfast!   Linum is one of those rare meteorites whose date of fall is within a few years of its TKW in grams. In this case, the Linum fell in 1854 with a total known weight of 1862 grams. Mike Bandli has an excellent description of the fall of Linum, [...]

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Lissa: Fell 110 years before Czechoslovakia, and 182 years before the Czech Republic

April 1, 2012

Lissa: Fell 110 years before Czechoslovakia, and 182 years before the Czech Republic

Lissa is an L6 meteorite that fell in 1808. And that’s a long time ago by any meteorite collecting measurement. I feel fortunate to have a slice in my collection because Lissa fell when the ancestors on my father’s side lived in what was once Bohemia, then Czechoslovakia, and now the Czech Republic.    This [...]

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Chantonnay: 200 Years and One Fine Person

March 1, 2012

Chantonnay: 200 Years and One Fine Person

One hundred years ago this August… a meteorite fell on the small villa of Chantonnay, France. The stone was studied throughout the next two hundred years including under the observant eye of Tschermak who described a fibrous translucent mineral within the matrix. The fibers turned out to be olivine bronzite, a compound that later became [...]

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Esnandes, France: Caution Hot!

February 1, 2012

Esnandes, France: Caution Hot!

Back in the fall of 1837… a  small meteorite fell in Esnandes, France. What makes this small especially interesting is that, and I quote, “A peasant, who observed the fall, said to have been burnt while collecting the stone.” Burnt?  Yet again, someone reported that a meteorite was hot when it landed. Esnandes was a [...]

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Friendly Fire from Space: Berlanguillas, Spain

January 1, 2012

Friendly Fire from Space: Berlanguillas, Spain

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 [...]

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Mundrabillia, Australia: Where it all began.

December 1, 2011

Mundrabillia, Australia: Where it all began.

Where it all began: Mundrabillia, Australia   The etched face of of this 69g end section of Mundrabillia brought joy to its owner, and the touchable wonders of space to hundreds if not thousands of students in its several decades as the cornerstone of my collection. Twenty or so years ago, I bought my first [...]

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Accretion Desk: A 100% Vein in a Gao Individual

November 1, 2011

Accretion Desk: A 100% Vein in a Gao Individual

I like to make up term for describing meteorites such as F2F as in Find to Fall (when an meteorite listed as a find might actually be a fall; or a Toolbox meteorite where the particular specimen was used as a tool of some sort before moving to a higher status in life, and even Meteorites [...]

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An October 1902 Witnessed Fall: Crumlin, Northern Ireland

October 1, 2011

An October 1902 Witnessed Fall: Crumlin, Northern Ireland

An October 1902 Witnessed Fall: Crumlin, Northern Ireland Crumlin: Fame Through a Satirical Cartoon   Like many collectors, I was first introduced to the Crumlin meteorite through the cartoon that appeared in John Burke’s must-read book Cosmic Debris. The caption of the cartoon reads: The British Museum has “Collared” another Irish Treasure…the remarkable meteorite that [...]

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September 1997 Witnessed Fall: Worden, Michigan. A “Fender Bender” Meteorite

September 1, 2011

September 1997 Witnessed Fall: Worden, Michigan. A “Fender Bender” Meteorite

An September 1997 Witnessed Fall: Worden, Michigan USA Worden: A Fender Bender Meteorite   For a five, Worden is filled with superb round chondrules. This 113g complete slice captures the essence of what was once a kilo and a half stone. Meteorites that land on cars deserve a special place in the subcategory of witnessed [...]

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