Huge Fireball Seen Over 7 Midwest States

The first piece has been found, and more are sure to be found in the next few days. Check out the youtube video at the bottom of the article – that’s what the fireball looked like. It was big enough to be seen over a large area, and it shook the ground. After you watch the video, scroll up and look at the piece again. Notice that most of it has a dark, melted exterior – that’s known as fusion crust. Bigger pieces will be found soon.

By the way, you should ignore most of the comments people are leaving in that article.

1. This was not a satellite or anything “man-made”. This was a textbook meteorite fall. Every year, several like this are witnessed and then found.
2. This was not ball lightning. Again, this is a textbook meteorite fall. A fresh, confirmed meteorite has already been found.
3. This doesn’t indicate that anything is disturbing the Oort cloud or that a “planet killer” is coming. Geez. Come on, people.

It’s a 590g (1.3 lb) unclassified stone meteorite from Northwest Africa. I usually collect micros, so this is a big one for me.

Gao-Guenie is classified as a H5 ordinary chondrite.  It’s a relatively inexpensive meteorite, considering that it’s a witnessed fall from a country without many meteorites.  At the moment, I don’t have any of this meteorite for sale myself.  But, to mark this occasion, here are some photos of an impressive Gao-Guenie meteorite I sold last year:

 

First, for those readers who don’t know what I’m talking about, the discussion regards this sort of labeling – painting numbers on meteorites so they can still be properly identified many years later.  This is more than just a tool to assist with forgetfulness – it’s so future collectors can identify our meteorites after we’re gone.  Many collectors are in favor of this sort of labeling, but I’m not so sure.

It seems to me that even if we paint numbers on our specimens, their identification still relies on whether or not our documentation accompanies them.  A number #47.02A doesn’t mean anything to future generations unless there is a catalog to indicate what it means.  And if all of this is going to rely on a paper/digital catalog, then why bother painting numbers on them at all?  I think a catalog with detailed photos can do the job just as well without harming the aesthetics of the piece.

I imagine a future collector trying to identify an unlabeled 5.5g meteorite from a known collection.  They look in the paper/digital catalog, sorted by weight, and find the photos of any 5.5g pieces.  Then they can quickly identify the specimen without having a number painted on 25% of the surface.

I guess what I’m saying is that digital cameras make documenting our collections easier than ever before – so let’s take advantage of this!  Documenting a collection with photos is fun, too.  Painted ID numbers may have served a purpose in the past, but I don’t see the need for them anymore.  I mean, come on.  Really?

As a side note, I do wonder if maybe specimens should still have a “mark” to indicate whose collection/catalog they belonged to.  This mark could be smaller and less obtrusive than a full ID number would be.  Maybe something like the owner’s initials would suffice.  I just don’t see the point of individual ID numbers painted on everything when it’s so easy to take photos nowadays.

Hello !

Let me proudly presents the most anorthositic rich outstanding one of a kind Lunar meteorite ever seen in history, a real attractive eye-catcher dream from Highland of Moon, with beautiful and absolutly freshest dark FUSION CRUST !!! ( 48gram )

Much more photos, 48gram extreme Lunar anorthosite meteorite !!!

http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/556563765wPuQit .

Best Wishes /// Göran Lindfors

mars@tele2.se

There were about 20 images attached to this email, and they all looked suspect to me.  Some of them vaguely resembled a lunar meteorite, but none of them looked genuine.  My personal opinion is that they look like a mixture of rock, coated with some sort of substance and then blowtorched.  Within a matter of seconds, I knew that I wouldn’t be purchasing anything from this seller.

It’s also worth pointing out that in my years of meteorite collecting, I had never heard of this seller or this 48g lunar meteorite.  Meteorite collectors are smart, and most of us know to look for lab classification and subsequent publication in the Meteoritical Bulletin – especially for something as important as a lunar meteorite.  So, certainly someone wouldn’t ignore all that and try to sell a fake, right?  Intrigued, I decided to do a google search of their name.  This is what comes up.  I found the 4th search result (here) to be particularly illuminating.

So, are they fake?  Well, I’m not in any position to definitively say that.  However, I can say with certainty that I will not be doing business with this person.  I would also like to recommend that everyone be very careful about offers like this.  Always do your research!

For more information, click this link to view this item in my eBay store.

Update: this item is sold!

 

Fragment of the Murchison meteorite

Alright, I realize that I’m about a week early on this one.  This is an important meteorite, though – so let’s begin.  It’s the 40th anniversary of the Murchison meteorite fall!

On September 28th, 1969, the Murchison meteorite fell in Victoria, Australia.  It had already been a big year for meteorites, thanks to the Allende meteorite fall in Chihuahua, Mexico.  These two carbonaceous chondrites are regarded as two of the most important meteorite falls of the 20th century – and rightfully so.

Many people heard and saw the Murchison meteorite fall.  Reports indicate that a fireball and cloud of smoke were seen, followed by a strange scent of alcohol.  Pieces of the meteorite rained down over an area of 5 square miles, including one piece which crashed through the roof of a barn and landed in hay.

What really makes the Murchison meteorite interesting is its composition.  Look up Murchison online, and you’ll find a wealth of information about its water content and famous amino acids.  Many of these amino acids are the building blocks of proteins found in life on Earth.  Equally intriguing, though, are the 50+ amino acids found in Murchison which have no terrestrial origin.

Even today, research of the Murchison meteorite continues to reveal new information about our solar system.  In 2008, a team of researchers identified the presence of purine and pyrimidine nucleobases in the Murchison meteorite.  As the science of astrobiology continues to advance, Murchison will surely remain a key player.

Happy birthday, Murchison!

Check out the photos below, and then click to view this item in my eBay store.