Winter Drought of 2011-2012 in SW US But not for meteorite finds. There won’t be a “Bob’s Findings” article this month because it happens that Mother Nature has given a gift to all of us meteorite hunters, in the form of a VERY dry and mild winter, here in the Southwestern United States. This is not the time to
Winter Drought of 2011-2012 in SW US – But not for meteorite finds. Read Post »
Hunting for Flädle at Ries Crater We travel to Nördlingen Germany to find these impact-glass “bombs”. June 2011 – this was the year that I finally made that return trip to Germany. It was a good time of year to revisit Southern Germany where I lived 40 years ago and met for the first time my soul-mate, and now
Ron Hartman and the Lucerne Valley Meteorites The finder of the Lucerne Valley Meteorite was more than my colleague; he was my mentor and personal friend. This is the only image of Ron Hartman at Lucerne Dry Lake that I could find. Photo taken late-1963 / early-1964 by Ron Oriti. Even if Ron Hartman would have never found that first
Make no mistake, this was a GROUP meteorite-hunt. Maybe one of the largest group-hunts. Probably the largest one with the highest percentage of “beginner” hunters. (And I’ve led a couple of those kind of group-hunts.) Certainly, this was one of the largest group-hunts with the highest number of “first-ever” meteorite finds! And speaking of numbers, here they are: 45 meteorite
This was the year that I finally made it to Ensisheim. For years I’ve been reading about and seeing the images from all of the meteorite collectors and dealers who attend this “Show”. But this was the year that I got the opportunity to return to Europe, so I made sure my trip would coincide with this annual event. But
Pennsylvania Meteorites in the mineral collection at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Since 1941 there have been a total of eight Pennsylvania (PA) meteorites – five irons (all finds)and three L-chondrites (all falls), according to the Meteoritical Bulletin Database. Three (3) of these “PA meteorites” are in the in the mineral collection at the Carnegie Museum
The article that appeared in the 2009 November issue of Meteoritics & Planetary Science. When I first saw the image of the Yaringie Hill meteorite on the cover of the 2009 November issue of Meteoritics & Planetary Sciences (M&PS), I have to admit that I didn’t know that it was an Australian meteorite. But I quickly found this to be
The University of Arizona Mineral Museum is a must-see attraction when you are in Tucson, especially if you are attending the Tucson Gem & Mineral Show. This article is the 2nd Part of a two-part series highlighting the meteorite displays at “The Flandrau” (Science Center) on the University of Arizona campus in Tucson. My previous article (the 1st part of
The Flandrau – Science Center & Planetarium For the meteorite aficionado this is a must-see destination while attending the Tucson Gem & Mineral Show. The Tucson Gem and Mineral Show has become a “mecca” for those of us with any interest in meteorites. The yearly “pilgrimage” to this desert city-turned-spacerock-convention is often described in near-religious-tones by visiting meteorite aficionado as
Happy New YearPrevious “Bob’s Findings” Articles – Revisions and Updates. Hello Year 2011! Goodbye Year 2010! The start of a new year gives all of us a chance to start anew. A chance to improve upon the previous year. Or, if the year 2010 was a particularly good year for you, then at least, the new year gives you a
Lost Lake After years of planning, I finally get to search this remote dry lake. Any meteorite found here would have to remain here! May sound stupid, but it’s true (to the letter of the law). Well, I finally succeeded in hiking all the way to the north end of Lost Lake, but I still didn’t find any meteorites. Darn
Bill Cassidy shares some of his pictures from the Campo del Cielo strewn field taken in the 1960’s. During a trip to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania last week, I stopped-in at University of Pitt to pay a visit to Professor Emeritus Bill Cassidy. It was a treat to talk to him about his work in the early days with
Bill Cassidy and the Campo del Cielo Strewn Field (1960′s) Read Post »
Planetary Body Odors A smell emanating from a Norton County meteorite gives this author some idea how an asteroid would smell if it had an atmosphere. This has to be one of my more unusual “Findings”! This “finding” involves the smell of a meteorite, which I’m discovering is a very difficult subject to write about and explain. Certainly can’t rely
Summer Vacation – 2010 Summer vacation is a great time to catch-up on reading about meteorites. Here is my select list of some recent abstracts. You can blame this abbreviated version of Bob’s Findings on my “summer-time schedule”. The weather this summer has been so mild, here where I live, that it is hard to stay indoors and work
