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Featured Monthly Articles Accretion Desk by Martin Horejsi Jim’s Fragments by Jim Tobin Meteorite Market Trends by Michael Blood Bob’s Findings by Robert Verish IMCA Insights by The IMCA Team Micro Visions by John Kashuba Galactic Lore by Mike Gilmer Meteorite Calendar by Anne Black Meteorite of the Month by Michael Johnson Tektite of the Month by Editor

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Meteorite-Times Magazine Beyrout, Lebanon: Ending the year with a Bang. Literally! by Martin Horejsi Like

Updated : Martin Horejsi’s Meteorite Books Website

A December 1921 Witnessed Fall: Beyrout, Lebanon

Beyrout, Lebanon Ending the year with a bang. Literally!

As a “hut ” hammerer, a New Year’s Eve f all, a LL3, a hist oric f all, and t he only met eorit e f rom it s homeland, Beyrout has it all. Well, all except , much remaining mat erial. Wit h only 21% of t he original 1100g account ed f or, a piece of any size in a met eorit e collect ion is is a welcomed addit ion. What is bet t er t han a wit nessed f all? An LL3 wit nessed f all! And what ’s bet t er t han t hat ? An LL3 wit nessed f all t hat crashed t hrough a house! And adding icing t o t his part icular cosmic cake are t he f act s, t hat t he met eorit e has an ext remely low t ot al known weight (made worse t hrough years of bad curat ion), and it is t he only wit nessed f all in it s count ry’s hist ory. Oh, and on t op of all t hat it f ell on New Years Eve and is world’s only f all on t hat day.

According t o t he st andard report , at 3:45 in t he af t ernoon on December 31, 1921, a single st one of 1100g f ell t hrough t he roof of a “hut ” not f ar f rom t he Universit y of St . Joseph in Beirut , Lebanon. But like all met eorit e f alls, t here is more t o t he st ory. T he Cat alogue of Met eorit es list s only a single ent ry in any collect ion anywhere in t he world, a 51g specimen. If t hat is really t he case, t hen over t he past 90 years, 79% of t he init ial mass has been lost . T he one and only collect ion ent ry in t he Cat alogue f or Beyrout is t he Nat ural Hist ory Museum in Paris, a locat ion t hat is quit e underst andable due t o hist ory.

T humbprints as Fingerprints Crust is an import ant if not imperat ive f eat ure on hist oric met eorit es. T he presence of crust , while not proof of aut hent icit y, does provide a unf alsif iable piece of inf ormat ion. Many wit nessed f alls have dist inct crust t hat can easily be compared t o ot her known samples. In f act , many seasoned collect ors experienced wit h crust across bot h t ime and classif icat ions can quickly assess a specimen’s pot ent ial as an aut hent ic hist oric wit h t he same skill as most ot hers have discriminat ing bet ween Campo, Canyon Diablo, and Sikhot e-Alin. To t hose in t he know, it s obvious. Int erest ingly, t he ent ry in t he Cat alogue of Met eorit es list s Beyrout , Lebanon as f alling in Syria. Had t he f all happened t wo years earlier, t he act ual count ry of landing would not be in quest ion, and would wit hout a doubt be Syria. But t hat neck of t he global woods was in t urmoil back t hen. Not t hat I was around at t hat t ime, but someone was and here’s what t he CIA Fact book has t o say about it : Following World War I, France acquired a mandat e over t he nort hern port ion of t he f ormer Ot t oman Empire province of Syria. T he French separat ed out t he region of Lebanon in 1920, and grant ed t his area independence in 1943. Clear as mud, right . I guess wit h t hat kind of explanat ion eit her Syria or Lebanon will work as t he home count ry f or Beyrout . Heck, I’m st ill t rying t o f igure out what “acquired a mandat e” means. But since t he land of Lebanon was ident if ied as separat e in 1920 and t he f all was in 1921 I t hink t his met eorit e should be right f ully claimed by Lebanon. Eit her way, it s underst andable how t he only sample list ed in a collect ion happens t o be in a French museum.

Like Eart h compared t o Jupit er, t he sliced chondrules visible in t his f ace represent a sizable port ion of t he surf ace area. Of course a larger f ace would eliminat e t his problem, but wit h t he rarit y of Beyrout mat erial, more real est at e is not an opt ion. Beyrout ’s ent ry in t he Met eorit ical Bullet in list s it as an LL3.8 wit h a t ot al known weight of a mere 1100 grams, while t he Cat alogue of Met eorit es adds, “only t wo small f ragment s preserved.” I’ve avoided adding small specimens t o my met eorit e cabinet since making t he arguably brut al collect ing shif t exclusively t o hist oric wit nessed f alls. At eleven years shy of a cent ury being hist oric was not an issue f or Beyrout , and t he f act Beyrout is a hammer did help, but a sub-t wo gram slice was pushing my unwrit t en collect ing rules. T hen again, specimens such as Beyrout come along only rarely if ever in t he big pict ure of met eorit e collect ing so acquiring it allowed me t o quest ion my mot ives while passing on it would have set me up f or lat er regret s. Regardless of it s diminut ive size, as an LL3.8 Beyrout does have some great chondrule act ivit y. I just wish t here was more surf ace area t o enjoy. Don’t get me wrong, I am t hankf ul t o be t he t emporary caret aker of t his localit y, but a larger slice would have cert ainly been welcome and easier t o just if y given my picky collect ing habit s.

Small specimens of a gram or t wo have not gained t ract ion in my collect ion over t he past f ew years. I t end t o avoid t he smaller pieces f iguring t hat t hey are more placeholders in a collect ion rat her t han f ull f ledged members. But when somet hing like Beyrout comes along, t he t erms placeholder and membership are synonymous. So how did t his piece of Lebanese hist ory come t o int o my collect ion in t he f irst place? It just t ook a f ew bit s of luck f or bot h a long-t ime met eorit e dealer and f or me. T he st ory picks up at t he Denver show back in t he early 1990s. Apparent ly a prof essor f rom t he Universit y of Beirut wit h more t han a passing int erest in met eorit es just happened t o be in Colorado during t he show. And t his prof essor just happened t o have wit h him a small piece of t he Beyrout met eorit e. And t he dealer ment ioned above just happened t o cross pat hs wit h t he prof essor while at t he show. T he prof essor was act ually more int erest ed in a t rade f or his precious Beyrout , but mat erial as rare as Beyrout requires an equally rarif ied specimen in exchange. Luckily in t his sit uat ion a large sum of cash carried t he same signif icance as rare met eorit e mat erial. T he slice of Beyrout remained in t he personal collect ion of t he met eorit e dealer f or over a decade bef ore a slice was removed. Wit h my nose always snif f ing f or rare mat erial as t he met eorit e winds drif t around, I jumped on t he piece t he inst ant it became available. Since t hen, a pleasant swing in t he t rends of met eorit e collect ing over t he past f ew years has generat ed an exaggerat ed int erest in t he so-called hammer st ones. Not only have t he prices f or such samples skyrocket ed, but t he general awareness of hammers as a collect ing generaâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;as well as t heir rout inely small T KWsâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;have led t hese special localit ies t o increase in monet ary value by a magnit ude or t woâ&#x20AC;Śor even in some cases t hree!

Everyt hing is large under magnif icat ion. Whet her t hrough loupe, scope or macro lens, t he t elling nat ure of an LL3 shows t hrough. Alas, wit h all explosive price amplif icat ions, t here is an ugly side t o met eorit e collect ing in t hat some unscrupulous collect or-dealer-robber-barons (CDRBs) have got t en a hold of import ant met eorit e mat erial including rare hist orics, or hammers (or bot h) and are of f ering millispecs on eBay f rom a seemingly never ending supply. Of course if one of t hese CDRBs got t heir greedy hands on, say a couple grams of Ensisheim or Orgueil, and broke t he grams int o milligram or cent igram pieces, t he singularly rare sample is now dozens of not hing more t han souvenir

met eorit e samples barely relat ed t o t he localit y upon which it claims ancest ry. Let s t ake a quick det our t o do t he numbers. Imagine a t wo-gram slice of Beyrout . Hit it wit h a hammer. T he t wo gram piece is now 2000 milligrams. Many of t he CDRBs of f er samples of about 0.05g. T here are f ort y 0.05g samples in 2g. If t he CDRB sold each millispec f or say $20, t hen t he t ot al selling price (40 t imes $20) would be about $800 (not subt ract ing t he eBay and PayPal f ees). At an average of $10/sample (not unusual wit h t ypical market sat urat ion and limit ed int erest given t he small size), t he t ot al selling price is $400. Of course some of t he f irst samples t o be of f ered my act ually f et ch upwards of t hree f igures, but none of t his mat t ers. Inst ead, it is t he global loss of import ant mat erial f orever t hrough t he avaricious act ions of slob collect ors.

T he rich chondrule dist ribut ion would benef it f rom a nice polish, but given t he size of t his specimen, t he mechanics of polishing would be bot h risky and cut int o t his specimen’s already low mass. however, in a close up pict ure such t he t ext ure of some some chondrules shows t hrough t he saw marks. Sadly, t he cit y of Beirut is a place t hat rarely makes t he global news scene f or anyt hing good. But you can change t hat . From now on, when you raise your glass t o t oast t he coming new year, raise it just one not ch higher f or Beyrout , Lebanon and say a quick t hanks f or t he only recorded met eorit e f all on New Year’s Eve. And t hen push your glass even higher and silent ly make a wish t hat next year will bring good t hings t o t he young count ry of Lebanon, t he only home t he Beyrout met eorit e will ever know. Unt il next t ime…. T he Accretion Desk welcomes all comments and f eedback. accretiondesk@gmail.com Please Share and Enjoy:

Meteorite-Times Magazine The Ravages of Time by Jim Tobin Like

Iron shale was once t he most common met eorit ic mat erial t o be seen around t he area of Met eor Crat er. But , af t er way more t han a cent ury of collect ing not very much is lef t of t he int erest ing byproduct of t he ancient met eorit es. Typically, pieces of iron shale are f lat plat es of hard black magnet ic rock. T he met allic iron and nickel is nearly complet ely convert ed int o oxide. T hough most pieces if ground and examined very closely will have t he t iniest specks of met al now and again. It is reminiscent of magnet it e in color and lust er but has really no cleavage and does not break at all t he same way as magnet it e. I would doubt t hat t he iron shale would even classif y as a mineral since it now lacks any int ernal cryst alline st ruct ure. St ill, it is t he rust ed remains of iron met eorit es and t heref ore f ascinat ing Larger pieces may be layered but given enough t ime in t he f ut ure t hese will also decompose f urt her breaking apart on t he layers t o individual f ragment s of only a single major layer. In t he phot o below of t wo unusually large pieces many layers can be seen. Yet , it is st ill just f lat plat e like st ruct ure. Any of t he original cryst alline st ruct ure of t he met eorit e is indist inguishable.

T he early work at t he crat er yielded many of what were called Shaleball Met eorit es. T hese large masses of shale preserved t he shape of t he original met eorit e and when cut did st ill show t he Widmanst 채t t en pat t ern in t he iron oxide. Somet imes t hese shaleball met eorit es st ill had a met allic core but of t en t hey were complet ely masses of iron oxide. T he layers of shale in t hese were curved somewhat also rat her t hen being just f lat sheet s. T he iron shale exf oliat ed of f t he out side of t he surf ace met eorit es and was spread by ot her processes, but f or t he shallballs which were buried t he masses st ayed t oget her. In t his phot o of a large f ragment of a shallball met eorit e curvat ure can be seen and t here is somet hing of t he original Widmanst 채t t en pat t ern hint ed at . But , is is not very clearly preserved.

On a rare occasion a piece of Canyon Diablo iron shale will show t he Widmanst 채t t en pat t ern more dramat ically. T he f ragment s of shale in t he group below have f eat ures of t he original cryst al st ruct ure preserved. On some it is very hard t o capt ure phot ographically. In general it is t riangular shapes in t he layers t hat are t he f irst t ip-of f . T hen you will see t hat t he whole area of t he piece is kind of pyramid shaped.

Somet imes as in t he enlargement of t his one f ragment t here is a well def ined Widmanst 채t t en st ruct ure preserved. It would seem t hat even over t he span of t housands of years t he dif f erences in t he Taenit e and Kamacit e composit ions allow f or one t o be preserved a geologic moment longer. Also, t he corrosion t hat we see in et ched slices which f ollows cryst al boundaries seems t o result af t er ages in cracks and t he f alling out of cryst al shaped port ions of iron shale. Please not e t he t riangular pieces missing in some of my shot s in t his art icle.

Here is one more pict ure f or you t o consider. See what f eat ures of remnant cryst al st ruct ure you can see.

Of all t he impact crat ers on Eart h only a handf ul have met eorit ic mat erial surviving around t hem. Iron shale is of t en one of t he subst ances recovered at t hese f ew sit es. Time and t he environment are working relent lessly t o breakdown t he iron met eorit es unt il not hing remains. Af t er 50,000 or so years not t oo much remains at Met eor Crat er, but we can st ill see in even t he alt ered and heavily weat hered mat erial evidence of t he met eorit eâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s cosmic st ruct ure. ďťż Please Share and Enjoy:

Meteorite-Times Magazine Meteorite Market Trends by Michael Blood Like

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This Monthâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Meteorite Market Trends

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Meteorite-Times Magazine Lost Lake by Robert Verish Like

Lost Lake Af ter years of planning, I f inally get to search this remote dry lake.

Any met eorit e f ound here would have t o remain here! May sound st upid, but it ’s t rue (t o t he let t er of t he law). Well, I f inally succeeded in hiking all t he way t o t he nort h end of Lost Lake, but I st ill didn’t f ind any met eorit es. Darn it ! Okay, maybe hiking 6 miles (one-way) doesn’t sound like much of an ef f ort , but allow me t o explain why it t ook me f our (4) at t empt s t o reach t his dest inat ion. For t hose who are curious, Lost Lake is a small dry lake t hat is locat ed in t he middle of t he Calif ornia Mojave Desert , nest led high in t he Owlshead Mount ains and sit uat ed bet ween Fort Irwin Training Cent er and Deat h Valley. Several years ago t he sout hern boundary of t he Deat h Valley Nat ional Monument was ext ended down t o t he Nort hern boundary of Fort Irwin and t he China Lake Naval Air Weapons St at ion, so now Lost Lake is on park land. And t he only way t o access t his valley is via a 50 mile dirt road, which makes it a 2 hour drive nort h out of Baker, Calif ornia. Sat ellit e image of Lost Lake f rom Google Maps websit e: View Larger Map

You can f ind a “MAP OF LOST LAKE” by going t o t he new mapquest websit e. Part of t he reason why it t ook me f our at t empt s t o reach my object ive was t he variable condit ion of t his “50 mile dirt road”, but anot her part of t he problem is coupled wit h t he variable weat her in t hese mount ains. Alt hough t here are long st ret ches of t his dirt road t hat are in great condit ion, t here are many sect ions t hat are vulnerable t o get t ing washed out by a local t hunderst orm. All it would t ake is just one nast y “gully-washer” t o leave you st randed, and cut -f f f rom civilizat ion.

So, t wo of my prior f ailed at t empt s were t he result of t his “road/weat her” problem. On my 2009 at t empt , I was already well down t he dirt road when I did a last minut e check of t he weat her f orecast (bef ore I lost recept ion) and it was f ort unat e t hat I had checked, because t he f orecast had just been revised and t he weat her was t aking a t urn f or t he worse, so t he t rip had t o be canceled and I t urned around. On a previous occasion I at t empt ed t o t raverse t his road t oo soon af t er a st orm, but had t o t urn-back, af t er seeing f irst -hand how badly compromised t he road had become. T his is not t o say t hat t he dirt road isn’t properly maint ained, because kudos should be given t o t he Nat ional Park Service and t he Depart ment of Def ense f or t heir prompt maint enance f or t heir port ions of t his road. But t here are many sect ions of t his road t hat are at t he mercy of Mot her Nat ure. An import ant side-not e: t he milit ary is becoming more propriet ary about t heir port ion of t his road. In f act , t he sole reason f or t he exist ence of t his road is t o give access t o a solit ary microwave inst allat ion, which af t er t he boundary was moved sout h, is now locat ed on nat ional park land. I’m not aware of t here being a requirement f or t his road t o have “public access” so it could become gat ed wit hout not ice. And should t he microwave inst allat ion go away, it would be t ypical of t he park service t o close-down t he road. What my f ailed at t empt s at accessing Lost Lake t aught me was t hat I needed t o keep t rying (because t he limit ed access t hat we had t oday, could go away complet ely t omorrow), and t hat I needed t o pick a t ime of year t o go when t here wasn’t a t hreat of wint er st orms (or t he danger of summer heat ), but wasn’t t oo early in t he spring bef ore t he dirt road condit ions had been improved. So I picked t he f all season, during t hat window of t ime when t he day-t ime high t emperat ures were below 85 degrees and night -t ime lows were above 50 degrees. Keep in mind, “accessing Lost Lake” was NOT my object ive. My prime object ive was t o reach “t he nort h end of Lost Lake”. T he reason f or t his clarif icat ion is because, in t he past , I had already “accessed” Lost Lake. Back in 2006, I act ually reached t he sout h end of Lost Lake while making a “recon” t rip t hrough t his area. On t hat t rip I had already hiked int o Owl Dry Lake, but af t er f inding t hat surf ace unsuit able f or searching f or met eorit es, I now had ext ra t ime and decided t o hike int o neighboring Lost Lake. By mid-morning of t he next day, I had reached t he sout h end of Lost , but decided t o f orgo t he addit ional 2 mile hike t o t he nort h end, and inst ead, spent t he remaining hours of daylight searching t he sout h end f or met eorit es. What t his successf ul at t empt at accessing Lost Lake t aught me was t hat (on my next t rip) I would need every hour of daylight in order t o make it wort hwhile t o hike t o t he nort h end of t he lake AND t o search f or met eorit es.

Time t o st art hiking t o t he drylake. Over t he int ervening years, as each at t empt at ret urning t o Lost Lake was met wit h f ailure, I f ancied t he not ion t hat t he only logical way t o ret urn would be “by air”! I would day-dream about various met hods of get t ing f lown int o Lost . I would reconcile t he expense by f iguring-out how much t ime and ef f ort I would save. But my dreams crashed t o Eart h when it was explained t o me by, no less t han, Scot t Johnson, of U.S. AirBorne Sport Aviat ion LLC f ame (and avid met eorit e hunt er), t hat no pilot was ever going t o risk losing his license and aircraf t even cont emplat ing a landing on a dry lake inside a Nat ional Monument . Having heard t his (bad news), I was now resolved, more t han ever, t o ret urn t o Lost Lake, and t hat I would have t o do it on my own. So, I st art ed planning my next t rip and wait ing f or t hose “ideal” weat her condit ions. I didn’t have t o wait long. A quick check of t he weat her f orecast f or t hat area, showed t hat t he condit ions were ideal and t hat I should depart immediat ely. I drove all night , and by dawn of November 1st 2010, I was already hiking, and by mid-morning I had f inally ret urned t o Lost Lake!

Self -port rait bef ore t he long hike t o t he drylake.

Have you ever heard t hat phrase, “Phone t ag”? Well, here it is in t he f orm of , “Drylake t ag”.

Hey Carberry, “Tag! You’re it !” Now it ’s your t urn, so give me a “call”.

I wonder what are t he odds t hat we would all meet accident ally at t his drylake? I t hought of t his unlikely scenario where t his couple goes t o Lost Lake, t rying t o get as f ar away f rom everyone, as is possible. And t hen I come walking out -of -nowhere and casually ask, “Hey t here, have you seen any met eorit es?” Bizarre!

A good view of t he east ern side of t he lake in morning light .

T his t arant uala didn’t have a sense of humor.

A good example of “sliding rocks” on Lost Lake.

T his rock is in a hurry t o get t o t he west ern shoreline.

T his is where all t hose “sliding rocks” will end up! I like t his image; it gives a sense of powerf ul movement . I can pict ure a massive (yet t hin) f loat ing sheet of ice being pushed on-shore and all t he gravel in f ront of it get t ing “bull-dozed” int o a linear f eat ure.

Finally made it t o t he nort hern shoreline of Lost Lake. T he “nort hern shoreline” is act ually 2 shorelines, or is bet t er described as being t he point where t he nort h ends of t he east ern and west ern shorelines come t o meet at t he middle of Lost Lake Valley. Each of t hese t wo shorelines are described in geologic t erms as being t he dist al margin of an alluvial f an, and since t he source of t he alluvium in each of t hese “f ans” are f rom separat e mount ain ranges (each composed of rocks wit h dif f erent pet rology) t he gravels in each of t hese shorelines is dist inct ly dif f erent . In general, t he alluvium on t he east ern shoreline is a dark-colored volcanic rock. Whereas, t he alluvium on t he west ern shoreline is a light er-colored granit ic rock and is predominant ly f iner-grained. Dark-colored volcanic cobbles t hat have “migrat ed” (ice-raf t ed) across t he lake and have been st randed on t he west ern shoreline, easily st and-out against t he light er-colored granit ic pebble-gravel (as would any dark-colored met eorit e). T he “nort hern shoreline”, t his conf luence of t he east ern and west ern shoreline AND t he drainage of

all surf ace wat er t o t his low-point in t he Lost Lake Valley, also appears t o be t he st randing surf ace of pref erence f or a variet y of object s (bot h man-made and nat ural) most likely having been t ransport ed t o t his spot by wave act ion during t hose periods when t he lake cont ained st anding wat er. T he man-made object s were primarily debris t hat f ell f rom t he sky, i.e., balloons, bullet s, f lares, shell-casings, weat her-balloon part s, et c. By comparison t o ot her Calif ornia dry lakes, t his was a prist ine lakebed surf ace. T he nat ural object s were most ly dead veget at ion, algal mat s, and of course cobble and boulder-sized rocks. T he surf ace condit ions were perf ect in order t o recover met eorit es, but alas, none were f ound (at least , not by me).

To t he best of my knowledge, t his appears t o be a relict part f rom an old weat her balloon. Most likely, when t he weat her balloon burst (at maximum alt it ude) t his weat her sensor component f ell ont o t he lakebed. Probably not on t his part icular spot on t he nort h shore (because it would be t oo much of a coincidence t hat it just happened t o land in t he middle of all t his ot her man-made debris) but probably some dist ance t o t he sout h and t hen t ransport ed t o t he nort h, here, by t he prevailing wind and wave act ion.

To t he best of my knowledge, t his appears t o be a driedup mat of red-algae. But t hen, I have never seen anyt hing exact ly like t his bef ore. And it was only f ound at t he

nort hern end of t his dry lake.

T his is opposit e-side of t hat same dried-up mat of redalgae, af t er I event ually got t he nerve t o pick it up and t urn it over. Not ice how convolut ed is t he surf ace, just like our brain, which means t his small mat probably represent s several square met ers of t he original, paper-t hin f ilm of f loat ing red algae. Not ice t he alluvium; t his is act ually t he nort hwest edge of t he nort hern shoreline.

T his is a good example of what t he nort heast edge of t he nort hern shoreline. Not ice what appears t o be a small, old monument of volcanic cobbles.

Looking in t he opposit e direct ion f rom where t he previous image was t aken, shows t he real color of t he shoreline gravels and t he “pile” of cobbles t hat I int erpret were purposef ully placed here (not recent ly, but some t ime ago) and were int ended t o be used as a “monument ’ t o mark t he spot where a jeep-t rail f rom t he nort h ent ers t he lake. T his is a very ephemeral t rail (I could not spot it on Google Eart h) and I would not have f ound it except f or t he f act t hat someone had driven a vehicle (illegally) on t his t rail and accessed t he lakebed some t ime ago (but probably less t han 4 years ago).

T hese t ire t racks are probably less t han 4 years old, but could just as easily be 14 years old.

“Pot at o chips”! It ’s just t he name t hat I have given t o t hat t op layer of clay on a dry lakebed af t er it has dried and curled-up, and t hen det aches it self f rom t he underlying layer of silt . T his common phenomenon occurs af t er rainst orms wash-in a new supply of mud ont o t he lakebed. Depict ed in t his image are broken f ragment s of oncelarger “pot at o chips” t hat were blown by t he prevailing wind ont o t he nort h shoreline. T his is an import ant process because it represent s a signif icant port ion of t he sediment t hat is def lat ed f rom dry lakebeds.

Looking back int o t he set t ing sun; makes it hard t o ident if y rocks. T he sun set t ing behind t he nearby mount ain range makes sunset come early.

Looking in t he opposit e direct ion f rom where t he previous image was t aken, shows t he real color of t he cobbles t hat have accumulat ed on t he beach gravels due t o a combinat ion of ice-raf t ing and wave act ion (not t o ment ion, get t ing washed down t he alluvial f an during a f lood). T his is just one of more t han a dozen such (nat ural) accumulat ions of cobble st ones (gravel bars). Can you say, â&#x20AC;&#x153;ice-sheet bull-dozingâ&#x20AC;? boys and girls? I t hought you could.

At sunset ; shadows st art t o crawl across t he valley.

What a heart -breaker! It was at t he end of a long t wo days of searching and I was st art ing t o resign myself t o t he f act t hat I would be going back home soon wit hout f inding a met eorit e. T hen I saw t hese f rom a dist ance and my heart jumped int o my t hroat . But upon closer examinat ion, t his t urned-out t o be a st rewn f ield of pseudo-carbonaceous chondrit e… in realit y, organic met eor-wrongs… But t his only served t o remind me how prist ine was t his small, remot e dry lake. T hinking back, I realized t hat I encount ered very f ew of t hese kind of animal droppings. And I remembered t hat I f ound very f ew pieces of manmade t rash, and most of t hose arrived by f alling out of t he sky

Time t o st art hiking back t o t he t ruck and heading home. On my way back t o my t ruck, I had plent y of t ime t o ref lect on my ef f ort at Lost Lake. I f elt t hat I covered enough of t he lake t hat , if t here was a st rewn f ield on it s surf ace, I would have f ound evidence of it . I f igure t hat t here must be at least a solit ary met eorit e st ill wait ing t o be f ound, because I’ve f ound met eorit es on even smaller playas. (Of course, t here is always t he possibilit y t hat a met eorit e has already been f ound f rom t here, in which case, I hope t he f inder does t he right t hing.)

I am sat isf ied wit h my ef f ort because I know t hat I pushed myself t o t he limit f or a person of my age and condit ion. I am not happy t hat I’m not get t ing any younger and t hat I may not be able t o replicat e t his physical f eat . I resent some of t he rest rict ions t o accessing large port ions of public lands, now t hat I’m old enough t o have t he t ime t o enjoy t he desert , knowing t hat over t ime I will be increasingly less able t o access t hat enjoyment . T hat is why I went t o all of t his ef f ort , even knowing f ull-well t hat I would NOT be able t o remove any met eorit e [ or anyt hing else f or t hat mat t er] . So, t here’s no need t o writ e t o me and t o remind me t hat Lost Lake is now wit hin t he boundary of t he Deat h Valley Nat ional Monument , because I’m very much aware of t hat . And by t he way, as long as you don’t do any digging, hunt ing f or met eorit es isn’t prohibit ed. What is prohibit ed is t he “removal” of any rock! And one more f inal not e, I must admit t o being very disappoint ed t hat I didn’t f ind a Lunar met eorit e. Now, t hat would have really made my millennium! (I f ound Los Angeles in t he previous millennium ;-) I would have loved t o have f ound a Lunar! I would have recorded t he recovery dat a; t aken t he insit u images; t hen t ry t o f ind a small sliver f or a t ype specimen; t hen leave t he main mass in place; t hen t ry t o f ind some way t o prot ect it (but probably would cover it up); and t hen upon my ret urn not if y t he Depart ment of Int erior t hat I f ound t heir Lunar met eorit e in one of t heir nat ional parks but t hat because of t heir regulat ions, I wasn’t permit t ed t o remove it , so I had t o leave it behind. I wonder what would happen next ? Ref erences: Link t o t he Google Maps websit e f or a sat ellit e image of : Lost Lake San Bernardino Count y, Calif ornia Link t o t he websit e wit h geographic and hydrologic inf ormat ion: Calif ornia Groundwat er Bullet in # 118 Lost Lake Valley Groundwat er Basin Descript ion – 1975 (Last updat ed 2/27/04) Link t o websit e wit h “ult ralight t rike” inf ormat ion: U.S. AirBorne Sport Aviat ion LLC – Eagles Nest Airpark c/o Scot t Johnson, Sport Pilot C.F.I WSC-L WSC-S For more inf ormat ion: inf o@usairborne.com Of f ice 509-780-0554 Cell 509-780-8377 My previous art icles can be f ound *HERE*

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Meteorite-Times Magazine IMCA Insights – December 2010 by IMCA TEAM Like

IMCA Insights – December 2010 Introduction to the New Board of Directors by the IMCA Board of Directors T his special edit ion of IMCA Insight s is an int roduct ion t o t he new IMCA Board of Direct ors. T he nine new and old IMCA Board Members int roduce t hemselves in t he f ollowing essays – enjoy! Martin Altmann Board Member Born and st ill living in Munich. Very early my int erest f or ast ronomy and wat ching t he night sky became not iceable and soon I passed t hrough t he t ypical career of an amat eur ast ronomer. From t he f irst “observat ions” wit h a lorgnet t e in t he age of a kindergart en child, via t he f irst small warehouse ref ract or t o t he 8”-SC as an adolescent .

My met eorit ic arousal happened in 1980, when t o my elat ion I f ound met eorit es of f ered at t he Munich mineral show, which weren’t , t o my surprise, locked away in t he vault s of science or in t he displays of t he museums, like t he German piece of t he Apollo Goodwill rock, which I had so of t en visit ed in t he Deut sche Museum in Munich. T he cornerst one of my f urt her passion was a small Mundrabilla individual, acquired f rom Walt er Zeit schel. Af t er st udies of language and lit erat ure, wit h a f ocus on ast ronomical medieval source t ext s, I decided t o choose t he rocky road and t o t urn t hat passion int o a prof ession. And wit h t he Golden Age of met eorit ics on t he horizon unleashed by t he beginning f inds in Sahara and Oman, which opened undreamed-of possibilit ies f or t he collect ors and researches, I st art ed as a f ull-t ime

met eorit e dealer. In 2005 t oget her wit h my colleagues St ef an Ralew and Andi Gren we f ounded Chladni’s Heirs and are since mainly specialized in newly recovered mat erials of t he rare and rarest classes. So t hat f inally, t he dream of a lit t le boy, t o hold a piece of t he Moon in his hand came not only t rue, but t hat we became able t o share t he f ulf illment of t his dream wit h so many people around t he world. Anne M. Black President It all st art ed when Dr. Alain Carion, t he well-known French expert , asked me t o t ranslat e his book “Met eorit es” f rom French t o English.

I am a French nat ive, who lived t en years in Af rica, as a child, t hen in France and t hen moved t o t he USA many many years ago. I was supposed t o t each French but I gave up on t hat quickly and joined t he corporat e world. Being in Colorado, I soon st art ed picking up pret t y rocks all over t he mount ains, t hen I discovered t he Denver Mineral show and I met Dr Carion who was willing t o t ell me what all t hose pret t y rocks were. I st art ed helping him during t he Denver Show, I did t hat f or some 15 years and learned a lot just t alking t o him and list ening t o his explanat ions, and event ually he got me int erest ed by met eorit es t oo. T hat led t o t he t ranslat ion of his f irst “Met eorit es” book, and t hen a f ew of his art icles. And it also led t o t he creat ion t o my websit e, www.IMPACT IKA.com, almost t welve years ago I am now ret ired and t horoughly independent , I t ravel when possible, and I at t end a f ew shows: Tucson, Ensisheim (Yes, I am a member of t he Conf rerie de Saint Georges des Gardiens de la Met eorit e de Ensisheim!), and of course Denver. My websit e has grown by leaps and bounds as I got more involved in consignment work. And a f ew years ago I added t hin-sect ions t o t he invent ory. I have also been involved wit h t he invent ion and original publicat ion of “Met eorit es f rom A t o Z”, and I recent ly t ranslat ed Alain Carion lat est “Met eorit es” book; all t he while wat ching t he phenomenal growt h of t he IMCA. Bob Falls Board Member Let me t ell you a lit t le about myself and met eorit es. I began t he journey int o met eorit e collect ing in 2003 when Carol (my wif e) gave me a 42.3g orient ed Sikhot e-Alin as a gif t . We are bot h amat eur ast ronomers and have spent many night s in t he mount ains of Colorado wat ching met eor showers which inspired her t o purchase t he Sikhot e sample f or me. She had no idea what t hat lit t le sample would st art ! T he f irst day was spent f ascinat ed wit h t his sample viewing it wit h an eye loupe t o examine every regmaglypt and f low line it would show me. I just could not get over what t his sample represent ed and t he journey it had t raveled t o end up in my hand.

T his led t o many hours searching t he Int ernet f or more inf ormat ion about met eorit es, leading me t o t he Denver Gem and Mineral show and t hen on t o Tucson. T hrough t he research and shows I have met many, many out st anding people in our met eorit e communit y and one of t hem, Anne Black, int roduced me t o t he IMCA and I became a member. I really enjoy part icipat ing wit h t he IMCA t hrough support ing t he Encyclopedia of Met eorit es and now as a board member. T hrough t he years I have met many IMCA members at bot h t he Tucson and Denver shows and look f orward t o meet ing more of you! Dave Gheesling Board Member I am chairman and CEO of FEI Group, Americaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest resident ial t rade cont ract ing organizat ion, based in At lant a, Georgia (www.f eigroup.net ). I am also is a co-f ounder and direct or of T he Scot t y Foundat ion (www.carecuredream.org), which helps pediat ric cancer pat ient s and t heir f amilies bot h direct ly and t hrough Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Healt hcare of At lant a, T he Ronald McDonald House and Camp Sunshine. I live in Milt on, Georgia, wit h my 7-year-old daught er Maddie and a f ew rocks f rom space.

I am also one of t he a f ounding members of t he Met eorit e Associat ion of Georgia (www.met eorit eassociat ionof georgia.org), if you live in t his part of t he US, let me know if you would like t o join us. A f ew years ago I developed an Out reach program, and I know do Present at ions t o schools as of t en as possible. I love int roducing t he subject s of met eorit es and met eorit ics t o several t housand st udent s in Georgia each year, using specimens in my collect ion as examples. Some of my collect ion and t he work I do wit h st udent s can be seen at www.f allingrocks.com. T he pict ure above is of one of my f avorit e and prized specimens: a 277.6-gram complet e Lâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Aigle individual. Maria Hass Treasurer I have been a met eorit e collect or, hunt er, and IMCA member f or seven years. My met eorit e collect ion st art ed innocent ly enough wit h a sculpt ural 200-gram Sikhot e Alin shaped like a perched buzzard. Now it houses a boot , Scot t y dog, comma, bullet , canoe, whale, angel wing, peeper f rog, a f lock of seagulls, f ive heart s, a duck playing hockey, a dolphin, f lying saucer, and a dead-ringer f or Bob f rom t he movie Monst ers Vs. Aliens.

I am a small-t ime hunt er who now lives in Arizona, where t here is no short age of st rewnf ields t o peruse. One of my proudest moment s as a hunt er came several years ago when I hit t he Arizona Trif ect a, having f ound a st one in each of t he Holbrook, Gold Basin, and Franconia f ields plus an iron in Franconia, all wit hin a span of f our days. T he credit f or my f inding t hat part icular Gold Basin goes t o Jim Kriegh, who pract ically sent me t o t he exact spot where I would f ind t hat st one less t han t went y minut es af t er having arrived t here. My background is t hat of an Organizat ional Consult ant , f rom which I have gained much experience managing many dif f erent t ypes of businesses and many t ypes of business-relat ed dif f icult ies. I also have a sales background and experience f undraising. I have been t he IMCA “Treasurer t o t he St ars” since 2007 and value many IMCA members and non-members as my great est f riends. Jef f Kuyken Vice-President I remember growing up in a semi-rural t own called Somerville locat ed on t he Morningt on Peninsula sout h of Melbourne, Aust ralia. But t here was one night I remember in part icular. I was dragged out side by my parent s one cold night during 1986 t o see somet hing called Halley’s Comet . My f at her showed me how t o use t he big cumbersome binoculars and I could dist inct ly make out t he whit e f uzzy object hanging in t he dark st arlit sky. I was t old it was a comet zooming t hrough our solar syst em and somet hing t hat I would not see again unt il I was an old man. Wow I t hought ! And t hat set of f an int erest t hat would persist t hrough t o t he present .

Some 15 years lat er I was browsing t he int ernet one day and st umbled across Jim St rope’s websit e selling Sikhot e-Alin met eorit es. Like many people, I was amazed t o discover t hat t here was a whole world of met eorit es out t here and bet t er yet … you could act ually own t hem!!! I st ill have t hat f irst small Sikhot e I bought f rom Jim and will always hold ont o it . I want ed t o know all I could about met eorit es and learn as much as possible but in t hose days t here were not a lot of websit es and good phot os of t he various met eorit es were f ew and f ar bet ween (even in books). It was t hrough t hat pursuit of inf ormat ion and decent phot os of met eorit es t hat my websit e Met eorit es Aust ralia was born. If I couldn’t f ind it t hen I’d make it myself . My plan f or Met eorit es Aust ralia right f rom t he beginning was t o build a sit e slowly over t ime and use t hat goal t o t each myself about met eorit es along t he way. It ’s almost a decade since t hen and now a number of scient if ic inst it ut ions use t he websit e as a ref erence so I guess it has now come f ull circle. During t hat same t ime period, t he IMCA was born and quickly became somet hing I want ed t o be a part of and help wit h. In July, 2004 bot h Norbert Classen and myself were invit ed t o join t he Board of Direct ors and we became part of t he t eam t hat would t ake us f rom an init ial idea t o a f ull legally incorporat ed int ernat ional associat ion. I am now in my t hird t erm as a Direct or and holding my second of f icer posit ion as Vice President . T he ot her posit ion was t hat of Secret ary during my f irst t erm. It has act ually been a privilege t o be part of building somet hing f or met eorit es t hat will hopef ully be around many years int o t he f ut ure and t o make many f riends along t he way. Quit e a bit has changed since t hat f irst small Sikhot e. I st art ed collect ing smaller specimens of just about everyt hing I could f ind so I could learn as much as possible about each classif icat ion. It t ook several years but I event ually st art ed t o move my collect ing habit s in a part icular direct ion t owards primit ive chondrit es. I st ill like t o collect int erest ing pieces of ot her classes but I f ind t hese met eorit es t o be part icularly int erest ing and import ant in what t hey represent . Af t er all we are all just chondrit es and st ardust ! So where t o f rom here? Well st ay t uned because my biggest met eorit e project is in t he pipeline!” Larry A. Lebof sky Board Member Bef ore I ret ired several years ago, I was a planet ary ast ronomer f or 30 years. While I have published papers on Mercury, t he Moon, Jupit er’s sat ellit es, Sat urn’s rings and sat ellit es, Plut o and it s large sat ellit e Charon, and comet s, t he main f ocus of my prof essional research was t he st udy of ast eroids—t he source of most of t he met eorit es in our collect ions.

My int erest in met eorit es came about when I f irst st art ed st udying t he ref lect ance propert ies of ast eroids and was able t o ident if y clay minerals on Ceres and ot her low-albedo ast eroids by comparing t heir spect ra t o t he spect ra of CI and CM chondrit es. Twent y years ago, my wif e, Nancy, and I f elt t hat we could use our science and educat ion skills in order t o bring t he excit ement of ast ronomy t o element ary and middle school t eachers and t heir st udent s, and so we became science educat ors. For t his, Nancy and I now have ast eroids named af t er us, 3439 Lebof sky and 5052 Nancyrut h. I also was honored by t he Division f or Planet ary Sciences of t he American Ast ronomical Societ y wit h it s “Carl Sagan Medal f or Excellence in Public Communicat ion in Planet ary Science” in 2000. Now t hat I am ret ired f rom my f ull-t ime universit y posit ion, I am devot ing most of my t ime t o science educat ion, including f ive years as edit or of Met eorit e magazine (wit h Nancy). However, I st ill do some observing. I am part of a t eam of amat eur ast ronomers who are f ort unat e enough t o get t elescope t ime on Kit t Peak’s 2.1-met er t elescope t o do f ollow-up observat ions of Near-Eart h Object s, t hus improving our knowledge of t heir orbit s so t hat we can f ind t hem t he next t ime t hey pass by t he Eart h and t ry t o det ermine if t hey will come close enough t o provide us wit h more met eorit es or leave a large hole in t he ground! Andrz ej S. Pilski Secretary I live in Poland, in t he small t own of Frombork, where Nicolaus Copernicus spent most of his lif e, died and was ent ombed in t he cat hedral, where his remains were ident if ied recent ly.

A small crat er, possibly met eorit ic, is sit uat ed close t o t own. Researchers f ound t hat t here is f our t imes more of met eorit ic dust close t o t he crat er t han elsewhere. I spent many hours looking f or met eorit es around t hat crat er, wit h no result . It has long been a cult ivat ed area and met eorit es could have been removed f rom t he f ields t oget her wit h many common t errest rial st ones. According t o a recent examinat ion t he crat er is about 8000 years old, so it is not of glacier origin. My job and hobby is t o show ast ronomy science f or t he general public in a small planet arium next t o t he Copernicus Tower. I have worked here nearly 40 years. I am married, have t wo children and t hree grandchildren. About 20 years ago I realized, t hat met eorit es may be a great way t o make ast ronomy more f amiliar f or people. T hey of f er t he possibilit y t o look closely or even t ouch a piece of a dist ant celest ial body. My f irst met eorit e, Canyon Diablo, I bought f rom Bob Haag. Now I am an experienced collect or, preparat or of irons, and aut hor of many art icles (you could read some in t he Met eorit e magazine) and a f ew books on met eorit es (in Polish). First I wish t o help Polish collect ors, who are not very f luent in English. While collect ing met eorit es I have f ound many f riends in many count ries and I f eel it is a great bonus. In t he pict ure above: Andrzej S. Pilski and t he 35 kg endpiece cut and et ched by him f rom t he largest Morasko mass (164 kg). Sergey Vasiliev Board Member I am a Russian living in Prague, Czech Republic. My f irst met eorit e hunt ing t rip was in 1992 t o t he Sikhot e-Alin st rewn f ield.

In 1993 I came t o t he Tucson Show f or t he f irst t ime and I was able t o see Robert Haag’s met eorit e collect ion. Af t er t hat I complet ely moved f rom minerals int o met eorit es. I have made several met eorit e hunt ing t rips t o t he hot desert s. Gobi, Kara-Kum, Sahara, Omani desert , Kalahari. And t he pict ure, above, shows t he large mass of Ghubara t hat I f ound in Oman. I like comput er coding and creat ing some online project s. T he biggest one so f ar has been t he Encyclopedia of Met eorit es. T his art icle has been edit ed by Anne Black and Norbert Classen • IMCA Home Page • IMCA Code of Et hics • IMCA Member List • Join IMCA • IMCA Met eorit e Inf o Please Share and Enjoy:

Meteorite-Times Magazine Vaca Muerta Olivine by John Kashuba Like

St eve Arnold looked like he was passing appet izers. He was circulat ing wit h a t ray of gem jars in Tucson. Each one held a cm size morsel of Vaca Muert a olivine. Mesosiderit es aren’t known t o be olivine rich so t hese were pret t y cool. Yes, please, may I have t wo? Vaca Muert a olivine appears t o be f rom t he mant el of t he mesosiderit e parent body, not f rom t he impact or t hat disrupt ed it . T hat PB is very similar t o t he Howardit e – Eucrit e – Diogenit e PB but t here is now evidence t hat suggest s t hey are not t he same. You can Google f or det ails but I suggest you go f irst t o David Weir’s always inf ormat ive sit e f or an up t o dat e overview. St art wit h a f ew words on mesosiderit es ht t p://www.met eorit est udies.com/prot ect ed_append4.ht m# st oiro t hen go t o his Vaca Muert a page. ht t p://www.met eorit est udies.com/prot ect ed_VACA.HT M

About t wo and a half grams each.

21 mm x 18 mm

Translucent at t wo millimet ers t hick.

One of t he t wo t hin sect ions shown below.

Olivine f ragment s of all sizes f ill cracks bet ween large clast s. T he lit erat ure on Vaca Muert a describes cracks wit h f ragment s in a sulf ide rich mat rix. T hat is not t he case here. Field of view is 3 millimet ers wide. Cross polarized light .

FOV = 3mm. XPL

Here t he crossed polarizing f ilt ers are posit ioned so t he large t an clast s are near opt ical ext inct ion. T he mot t led shading is indicat ive of undulat ory ext inct ion. As t he f ilt ers are rot at ed relat ive t o t he sample port ions of t he same cryst al go t o ext inct ion (go dark) at dif f erent t imes. T his is because shock has def ormed t he cryst al lat t ice.

Undulat ory ext inct ion. We move t hrough ext inct ion in 7 st eps. T he out side of t his f ragment darkens bef ore t he cent er. Tot al f ilt er rot at ion over t he 7 st eps is about 35

degrees. If t he cryst al was wit hout shock it would darken unif ormly. Please Share and Enjoy:

Meteorite-Times Magazine Early 21st-Century Meteorite Fall Statistics (2000-2010) by Michael Gilmer Like

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In t he f irst t en years of t he 21st Cent ury, we have seen 57 new met eorit e f alls (as of t his writ ing). As we close out t he f irst decade of t his new cent ury, let us examine some of t he f act s and numbers surrounding t hese recent f alls. For t he purposes of t his art icle, we will only examine t hose f alls which have been of f icially recognized by t he Met eorit ical Societ y. T here have been a f ew document ed f alls t hat have not been approved yet (Zunhua and Cart ersville), so t hese f alls will not be included in t his analysis. Let us f irst look at all met eorit e f alls since January 01, 2000. T hese f alls are list ed below. T he list is broken down by year, and each year shows t he f alls by dat e. For each f all, t he f ollowing inf ormat ion is list ed – dat e of f all, of f icial name, met eorit e t ype, geographic locat ion, and whet her or not t hat f all is a hammer. Af t er t he list , we will t ake a closer look at t he numbers and st at ist ics. List of all of f icially-approved meteorite f alls f rom January 2000 to December 2010 : 2010 Jan 18, 2010 – Lort on (L6 chondrit e) : Virginia USA (Hammer) Apr 14, 2010 – Mif f lin (L5 chondrit e) : Wisconsin USA (Hammer) 2009 Jan 17, 2009 – Maribo (CM2 carbonaceous chondrit e) : Denmark Feb 15, 2009 – Ash Creek (L6 chondrit e) : Texas USA (Hammer) Apr 09, 2009 – Jesenice (L6 chondrit e) : Slovenia Jun 23, 2009 – Whet st one Mount ains (H5 chondrit e) : Arizona USA Sep 25, 2009 – Grimsby (H5 chondrit e) : Canada (Hammer) 2008 Jan 23, 2008 – Sant a Lucia 2008 (L6 chondrit e) : Argent ina Mar 23, 2008 – Daule (L5 chondrit e) : Ecuador Apr 06, 2008 – Berduc (L6 chondrit e) : Argent ina Jun 12, 2008 – Pleşcoi (L5-6 chondrit e) : Romania Sep 12, 2008 – Sulagiri (LL6 chondrit e) : India Oct 07, 2008 – Almahat a Sit t a (Ureilit e) : Sudan Nov 20, 2008 – Buzzard Coulee (H4 chondrit e) : Canada Dec 20, 2008 – Tamdakht (H5 chondrit e) : Morocco 2007 Feb 01, 2007 – Dim Dim (H3-5 chondrit e) : Turkey Feb 21, 2007 – Mahadevpur (H4/5 chondrit e) : India (Hammer) May 10, 2007 – Puert o LaPice (Eucrit e) : Spain Jul 02/03, 2007 – Chergach (H5 chondrit e) : Mali Jul 06, 2007 – Cali (H/L4 chondrit e) : Columbia (Hammer) Jul 20, 2007 – Bunburra Rockhole (Eucrit e) : Aust ralia Sep 15, 2007 – Carancas (H4-5 chondrit e) : Peru (Hammer) 2006 May 21, 2006 – Werdama (H5 chondrit e) : Libya Jul 14, 2006 – Moss (CO3.6 carbonaceous chondrit e) : Norway (Hammer)

Jul 31, 2006 – Jodaya (L5 chondrit e) : India Aug 29, 2006 – Kavarpura (Iron IIE-an) : India Oct 16, 2006 – Bassikounou (H5 chondrit e) : Maurit ania 2005 – None. 2004 Jan 04, 2004 – Villabet o de la Pena (L6 chondrit e) : Spain Aug 01, 2004 – Maigat ari-Danduma (H5/6 chondrit e) : Nigeria Oct 05, 2004 – Bert houd (Eucrit e) : Colorado USA Oct 28, 2004 – Kaprada (L5/6 chondrit e) : India Nov 08, 2004 – Orlando (Eucrit e) : Florida USA (Hammer) Nov 22, 2004 – Benguerir (LL6 chondrit e) : Morocco 2003 Feb 01, 2003 – Hiroshima (H5 chondrit e) : Japan (Hammer) Mar 26, 2003 – Park Forest (L5 chondrit e) : Illinois USA (Hammer) Mar 30, 2003 – Hoima (H6 chondrit e) : Uganda Sep 23, 2003 – New Orleans (H5 chondrit e) : Louisiana USA (Hammer) Sep 27, 2003 – Kendrapara (H4-5 chondrit e) : India Oct 16, 2003 – Oum Dreyga (H3-5 chondrit e) : Rio de Oro Nov 02, 2003 – Kasauli (H4 chondrit e) : India 2002 Feb 03-14 2002 – Alby sur Cheran (Eucrit e) : France (Hammer) Feb 11, 2002 – Bensour (LL6 chondrit e) : Morocco Feb 20, 2002 – San Michele (L6 chondrit e) : It aly (Hammer) Apr 06, 2002 – Neuschwanst ein (EL6 chondrit e) : Germany Jun 06, 2002 – Bhawad (LL6 chondrit e) : India Jul 05, 2002 – Maromandia (L6 chondrit e) : Madagascar Jul 21, 2002 – T huat he (H4/5 chondrit e) : Lesot ho (Hammer) Jul 21, 2002 – Kilabo (LL6 chondrit e) : Nigeria 2001 Jan 08, 2001 – Beni M’hira (L6 chondrit e) : Tunisia Feb 08, 2001 – Al Zarnkh (LL5 chondrit e) : Sudan Feb 12, 2001 – Devgaon (H3.8 chondrit e) : India Mar 02, 2001 – Dergaon (H5 chondrit e) : India Jul 09, 2001 – Bukhara (CV3 carbonaceous chondrit e) : Uzbekist an 2000 Jan 18, 2000 – Tagish Lake (C2-ung carbonaceous chondrit e) : Canada May 06, 2000 – Moravka (H5 chondrit e) : Czech Republic Jul 15, 2000 – Yaf a (H5 chondrit e) : Yemen Aug 22, 2000 – Gasselt epaoua (H5 chondrit e) : Burkina Faso As you can see, t hat is quit e a list of met eorit e f alls, and t here are many f amiliar names t hat will immediat ely elicit some kind of react ion f rom scient ist s, collect ors, hunt ers, and layman alike. A f ew of t hese f alls were media sensat ions and one was a conf irmed crat er-maker. But hidden behind t he names are some int erest ing st at ist ics and some t rends t hat we will now examine. List ed below is every met eorit e t ype t hat is list ed in t he above f alls. T he number of f alls f or each t ype is also shown f or t hose t ypes which f ell more t han once. Total of Types f rom the above of f icial f alls :

CM2 CO3.6 CV3 C2-ung EL6 L5 : f our L5/6 L5-6 L6 : nine LL5 LL6 : f ive H/L4 H3.8 H3-5 : t wo H4 : t wo H4-5 : t wo H4/5 : t wo H5 : t welve H5/6 H6 Ureilit e Eucrit e : f ive Iron IIE-an Now t hat we have broken down t he f alls by dat e, locat ion and t ype, let us now explore some of t he t rends. A f ew of t hese t rends may be surprising or f un. Some numbers about the types of f alls listed above : H5 is t he most common t ype wit h 12 t ot al f alls in t he last 10 years. L6 is t he second-most common wit h 9 t ot al f alls in t he same period. LL6 and Eucrit e are t ied f or t hird-most common wit h 5 each. T here are a t ot al of 24 H-chondrit es. T here are a t ot al of 21 L-chondrit es. T here are a t ot al of 4 carbonaceous chondrit es. Each is dif f erent t ype. Of t he 6 achondrit es t o f all, 5 of t hem were eucrit es. (t he ot her was ureilit e). T here are 6 achondrit es out of 56 f alls, t hat amount s t o 9.3% rat io of achondrit es t o ot her t ypes. Only one iron has f allen in t he last 10 years. (Kavarpura 2006) T here is only one iron out of 56 f alls, or a 1.7% rat io of irons t o ot her t ypes. T here have been no pallasit e or st ony-iron f alls in t he last 10 years. Some observations about types and f requency of f alls : T here are only 41 known H4-5 met eorit es and only 2 of t hose are f alls. Bot h of t hose f alls occurred wit hin 4 years of each ot her bet ween Sept ember 2003 and Sept ember 2007. (Kendrapara and Carancas) 8 of t he 53 known EL6 met eorit es are f alls. Only one of t hose f alls has happened in t he last 50 years. (Neuschwanst ein 2002) First wit nessed f all of an H/L4 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Cali 2007. (only 12 approved of t his t ype, also a hammer) First wit nessed f all of a CO3.6 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Moss 2006. (also a hammer f all)

T here have only been t wo H3.8 f alls and bot h were in India – Dhajala 1976 and Devgaon 2001. T here have only been t wo L5-6 f alls and bot h were in Romania – Mocs 1882 and Plescoi 2008. T here are only t wo L5/6 f alls and bot h have occurred in t he last 20 years – Mbale 1992 and Kaprada 2004. T here have only been t wo CV3 f alls in t he last 100 years – Allende 1969 and Bukhara 2001. Stats and observations about f all locations and f requency : T here were 15 hammer f alls, or 1.5 per year f or t he last 10 years. One-t hird (5) of t he hammer f alls were in t he USA. India has 10 f alls (including one hammer) in t he last 10 years. Uzbekist an has only t wo met eorit es, and bot h are f alls – Uchkuduk 1989 and Bukhara 2001. Slovenia has only t wo met eorit es and bot h are f alls – Avce 1908 and Jesenice 2009. Ecuador has only one met eorit e – t he Daule 2008 f all. Turkey had one f all in t he last 10 years (Dim Dim 2007), but 11 t he of 12 of f icial met eorit es in Turkey are f alls. Columbia had it ’s f irst f all in 2008 – Cali (also a hammer). Madagascar had it ’s f irst met eorit e – t he Maromandia 2002 f all. Lesot ho had it ’s f irst met eorit e – t he T huat he 2002 hammer f all. T he USA has 7 f alls (including 5 hammers) in t he last 10 years. (approx. 71% hammer rat io) T he USA had zero f alls f rom Jan 01, 2000 unt il Mar 25, 2003. T he goose-egg was broken t he next day by t he Park Forest hammer f all. T he next big dry spell f or t he USA came af t er t he Orlando Florida f all of Nov 08, 2004 and last ed unt il Feb 15, 2009 when Ash Creek f ell. A dry spell of over 4 years. Since Ash Creek, t he USA has 4 of f icial f alls. Not t o be out done, Canada has only had 3 f alls in t he last 10 years, but all were “doozies” – Tagish Lake (C2-ung of ext raordinary int erest ), Grimsby (hammer), and Buzzard Coulee (media sensat ion). We have now lived t hrough t he f irst 10% of t he 21st cent ury, and while we cannot make a solid st at ist ical project ion f rom only one decade, we can possibly expect t o see about 5 f alls per year. Will t his t rend survive f or long? We only have 2 of f icial f alls so f ar in 2010 and t he year is almost over, but t here have been a couple of st rong candidat es t hat may get approved in t he near f ut ure – Breja (Morocco), Kosice (Czech Repub), and Varre-Sai (Brazil). If t hose are approved, t hen t hat will make a t ot al of 5 f alls f or 2010 and t hat would be right on par wit h what we saw f or t he years 2000 – 2009. Maybe if we all wish hard enough, we can get anot her f all f or t he holiday season bef ore we ring in t he New Year wit h 2011. Merry Christ mas and may we all have a met eoric New Year. © Copyright 2010, Michael Gilmer. (www.galact ic-st one.com) Please Share and Enjoy:

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Gibeon iron met eorit e exhibit ing great regmaglypt s. Image s, t e xt are Copyright ÂŠ 2010 RO CKSFRO MSPACE.O RG. No re product ion wit hout writ t e n pe rmission. We b de sign by Michae l Johnson of rocksf romspace .org RO CKS FRO M O UT ER SPACE

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Once a few decades ago this opening was a framed window in the wall of H. H. Nininger's Home and Museum building. From this window he must have many times pondered the mysteries of Meteor Crater seen in the distance. Photo by ÂŠ 2010 James Tobin