Author name: James Tobin

Over the course of my life, I have cut thousands of rocks on diamond saws. Most of the rocks the last twenty years have been meteorites. But until yesterday I had never cut a lunar meteorite. There has been a significant amount of meteorite from The Moon recovered recently, Paul and I decided that we would get a large piece

Most years I write something about the meteorite aspect of the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show. And it is that time again. Paul Harris and I went to the show with different goals and at a different time frame. We drove this year since we had the time and it is now more convenient to drive since Paul moved from

Harvey Harlow Nininger did about the best examination of the impact materials found at Meteor Crater in Arizona as anyone ever has. Some of the things that he reported on in depth had been seen and described poorly by others over several decades. The tiny bits of iron in the ground had been collected with magnets from the first investigation

As I cut meteorites to prepare them for sale I occasionally find one which is deserving of being classified. I would get them all classified if that was practical. But the realities of today are that ordinary chondrites are not being classified by many of the individuals who used to do them just 5 or especially 10 or more years

It is always exciting for me when I get the word back that a meteorite has finished being classified and is off to be approved. That happened several weeks ago for Paul and me. Three meteorites I had found while cutting a mixed box of stones looked unusual enough to warrant being sent off and classified. NWA 10731 as it

I am heading out to the Holbrook strewnfield in a few days. I missed the hundredth anniversary gathering/hunt and all the yearly ones since. Paul and I did get out there several years ago for a very successful two days of hunting. This year I am going to go to the yearly hunt. When I was working full time it

Well, you can guess that title is not referring to the lettuce that was forgotten in the refrigerator. Meteorites also do not always make it to fifty thousand years before completely falling apart and dissolving into the dirt. But, many desert falls do make it to that age or even longer. I had the process of weathering dramatically displayed for

To tell the truth I do not really know how many times I have attended the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show but it has to be close to 25. I start getting excited about going just about New Year’s and struggle to get through the month of January. This year Paul and I went for a shorter time and very

The end of one year and the beginning of the next always seem to be a time of reflection for me. I think about the things I did during the year and the things that I did not complete. This last year I left two ceramics projects I wanted to do not even attempted. So they roll over to 2016.

The History Twenty years ago Jim Kriegh found the first meteorites at Gold Basin, Arizona while prospecting for gold in Hualapai Wash. He had the stones identified and confirmed as space rocks. For the next two years or so the area was systematically hunted by Jim Kriegh and Twink Monrad and John Blennert to determine the extent of the strewnfield

Well summer is nearly over as I write this. It has been a fun season this year. Got in a couple trip to the desert for astrophotography. Got some ceramic pieces made and with both those interests tried new equipment and techniques. I try to never stop learning new things. This article has frankly been a problem. I have been

Spent a week making slices of Muong Nong Layered Tektite that were thin enough to see through easily. I do this every decade or so. It is hard work and time consuming. They can break easily if I am not careful since they are glass and only .020 -.030 inches thick. They are quite fragile. We know that they are