It was a good day for meteorites, but a bad one for a local resident of who’s funeral was in progress when the diogenite fell from the heavens. As if a loud disruption and falling rocks weren’t bad enough during the somber time, a 10kg chunk of achondritic asteroid mantle landed just a few paces from a chapel in a
After a couple months of discussing and planning the day of the Northern Nevada Meteorite Trip of 2019 arrived. The safari for me began at 4:45 AM on Sunday, June 16 when I started the car for the 500 mile trip up to Winnemucca where I would stay the night. Richard Garcia and Dave Libuszowski were staying there too at
The Northern Nevada Meteorite Hunting Trip of 2019 Read Post »
Evidence indicates that the Murray meteorite predates the solar system. After the recent fall of the Aguas Zarcas meteorite in Costa Rica, a lot of attention has been directed to “CM2” carbonaceous chondrites, and rightly so. When scientists want to research how our solar system formed, they request samples of “CM” meteorites. Because, these are the meteorites that contain grains
Our thin section maker deliberately varied the thickness to which he polished our Aguas Zarcas CM2 thin sections, from the standard 30 microns to thinner, sometimes much thinner. At the ‘proper’ thickness there are few crystalline features large enough to effectively span the thickness of the opaque, fine grain matrix. In transmitted light there is a lot of black. Thinner
Aguas Zarcas CM2 – Dust Mantles and Thin Thin Sections Read Post »
On our planet, the grand cabinet of curiosities contains a very limited range of glass teardrops. Volcanic eruptions can form fire-fountain droplets like Pele’s Tears that take their name from Hawaiian traditions. Occasionally, lightning strikes and electrical discharges produce a spatter of glassy droplets, termed “exogenic fulgurites”. I am sure there must be a variety of glassy droplets in coal
The cigognes (storks), Alsatian symbol and good-luck charm, were at their post and ready to welcome us all to the 20th Salon de Ensisheim on Friday June 21. This year the Show was back in the Palais de la Regence, just in time to celebrate its anniversary where it all started in 2000. A commemorative medal shows the fall of
Costa Rica’s Second Meteorite Un caso de pura birra. The summer Tuesday night skies were clear at 9:07, April 23, 2019, when the fireball flew above the crater of erupting Volcan Turrialba, captured on video by government cameras monitoring activity. Dash cams and security cameras around the country photographed the object as it exploded, dropping material. The fireball had a
I was directed in early May to someone wanting to acquiring a specimen of the Lafayette, Indiana Meteorite for teaching and study. He was thinking on a purchase of several grams. He pointed me to an article of how a couple of students, Phillip Cozariuc and Lauren Dilk had gather petitions for the return of some of the Lafayette Meteorite
The Lafayette Meteorite and Purdue’s 150th Anniversary Celebration Read Post »
This story begins a few months over two years ago as a simple ceramics project to make use of the small amount of lunar cutting dust I had saved from cutting the NWA 11273 meteorite. The first moon landing date is very significant for my family and I was trying to think of what could be done to commemorate the
Apollo 11 50th Anniversary Commemorative Tiles With Meteorite Glaze Read Post »
Our Meteorite of the Month is kindly provided by Tucson Meteorites who hosts The Meteorite Picture of the Day. Aguas Zarcas 63.82 gram contributed by Mike Farmer
