Meteorite Times Magazine

Meteorite Times Magazine Contents Paul Harris

Featured Articles Accretion Desk by Martin Horejsi Jim’s Fragments by Jim Tobin Meteorite Market Trends by Michael Blood Bob’s Findings by Robert Verish Micro Visions by John Kashuba Norm’s Tektite Teasers by Norm Lehrman Mr. Monning’s Collection by Anne Black IMCA Insights by The IMCA Team Meteorite of the Month by Editor Tektite of the Month by Editor

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Meteorite Times Magazine “War in Heaven” The Monroe Meteorite fall of 1849 Martin Horejsi

Monroe is a brecciated H4 chondrite that f ell on October 31 in 1849 in Cabarrus County, North Carolina.

The single recovered mass of 8.6kg was the second witnessed f all in North Carolina since becoming a state in 1789, and is one of 29 known North Carolina meteorites, and is the only witnessed f all in the world recorded f or the year 1849.

Thousands of chondrules are squished together in this H4 chondrite that could easily be mistaken f or an H3.

Accounts of the f all made contain mention of near-acopolyptical f eelings that overshadowed the “heavy jar to the ground” noted by nearby observers. I f ound it interesting that one could jump to the conclusion that the end of the world was near, but make no connection to Halloween (October 31). A f ew seconds with Google cleared up the mystery. Turns out Americans did not celebrate, or at least commercialize Halloween until into the 1900s, still over half a century in the f uture.

The American Journal of Science and Arts (2nd series) ; Volume 9 contains an article under the category of Miscellaneous Intelligence: Meteorite in North Carolina. According to J. H. Gibbon Esq., of the Branch Mint of the United States at Charlotte, North Carolina, a condensed account of the f acts surrounding the f all of the Monroe meteorite is as f ollows: “On Wednesday, the 31st of October, 1849, at 3 o’clock, P.M. several persons in the town of Charlotte were astonished, and not a f ew were exceedingly terrif ied, by a sudden explosion, f ollowed at short intervals by two other reports, and by a rumbling in the air to the east and south.”

I used a Celestron Fl!pview digital microscope to inspect the innards of Monroe more closely.

“The sounds were distinct, and continued more than half a minute; they were imputed by some to thunder —but there were not clouds, the evening was calm and mild like the Indian summer, and only a mist was seen in the eastern horizon; nor were the impressions of others better f ounded that the explosions were due to the blasting of rocks on a railroad; but sherif f Alexander having once bef ore witnessed the explosion of a meteor, justly traced the detonation to that cause.

The negroes, who are very acute observers of sound in the open air, denied the thunder, and an old f isherman said that the reports like those of three pieces of heavy artillery f ollowed by the base drum.

Horses both in harness and under the saddle started with alarm.”

A big beautif ul chondrule captured with the Celestron Fl!pview Abundant metal is visible as it should be in a pristine H chondrite like this.

“Enquiry began to be made f or f allen stones, and on Monday a servant of the mint brought in a report f rom the county of Cabaras, twenty-f ive miles distant, that there were notices stuck up on the trees, inviting people to come and see “a wonderf ul rock that had f allen f rom the skies on the plantation of Mr. Hiram Post.”

Post.”

Mr. Gibbon of the mint, with Dr. Andrews, traveled twenty-one miles, and partly at night by torch-light, to see “the large mass of metallic rock.” They f ound placed in a conspicuous position upon a barrel elevated upon a post,* “a bluish gritty rock,” of irregular f orm, eight inches long, six broad and f our thick, bearing marks in spots, of recent f racture, but otherwise black as if it had been exposed to heat and smoke, the black color being relieved where the crust had been broken, and a little of the clayey soil in which it was buried in its descent still adhered to it. It had the curved indentations usual in meteorites, as if it had been sof t and had yielded to impressions, and lustrous metallic points appeared through the ground color, which had generally a bluish slaty appearance, but no such rock was known in the neighborhood.”

The Chondrule density if phenomenal. The more you look the more you see. In f act, cementing matrix material is more rare than perf ectly round chondrules.

“Mr. Post took the travelers by torch-light to see the place where the mass f ell. He was at the time in company with a young man on horseback; they heard overhead a whizzing sound—the whole atmosphere appeared to be in combination—they compared the sound to that of chain shot, or of platoon f iring.

Nothing was visible; but their attention being directed by the sun towards a large pine tree east of them, they heard the stone trike “with a dull, heavy jar to the ground,” while the dog, in terror, crouched at his master’s f eet.”

The Fl!pView posing with my slice of Monroe. New technology like the Fl!pView make playing with meteorites ever so much more f un.

“Mr. Post (in his peculiar language,) had sighted the sound, and his negro man ploughing in a f ield had done the same f rom a dif f erent direction, and by sounding with a sharp stick in the hole made by the stone in its f all, they soon f ound it, and extricated it f rom its hiding place, which was ten inches below the surf ace; the dried leaves which had been “driven about by the percussion, aided in discovering the spot, about three hundred yards f rom the place where Mr. Post had stood at the moment of the f all, which was in the woods, but there were no marks on the trees—although the impression was that numbers small bodies had f allen, “making a noise like hot rocks thrown into water.””

The matrix of Monroe is literally nothing but chondrules crowded together like commuters on a Tokyo subway. Everywhere you look are chondrules.

“Mr. Gibbon and his companion viewed the place both by torch and daylight, and were convinced of the accuracy of the statement.

The people of the vicinity imagined that a rock had been thrown up f rom a volcano or f rom blasting, or had come f rom the moon, and were not easily persuaded that it could be f ormed in the atmosphere.

As is usual in cases of extraordinary celestial phenomena, some were terrif ied by the supposed approach of the day of judgment, or of war, or some other dire calamity, and a militia colonel, in a spirit quite prof essional, said that “there must be war in heaven, f or they were throwing rocks.”

At the request of Dr. Andrews, the stone was diverted f rom another destination, in f avor of Prof . Charles U. Shepard, of the Medical College of South Carolina at Charleston—f rom whom we learn that at a recent date the specimen had not yet reached him.”

The reverse side of my Monroe slice is less polished and still carries the scars f rom the saw that f reed it f rom a larger mass. “In due time we shall have the result of his scientif ic examination; but f rom the circumstances we have no hesitation in admitting this case as genuine: the f acts are perf ectly f amiliar to hundreds on record, and in many particulars are in accordance with the remarkable event of this nature which happened in Weston, Connecticut, in December, 1807, and with which the senior editor of this Journal, with his college colleague, Prof . Kingsley, was at the time f amiliar. There is no room to discuss theories, but we f eel f ully assured that aerolites are not f ormed in our atmosphere, are not projected f rom terrestrial or lunar volcanoes, but have a f oreign origin, giving us the only reports of the physical constitution of other worlds which have ever reached our earth.�

Until next time‌.

Meteorite Times Magazine Once A Decade Muong Nong Tektite Article James Tobin

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 caref ul since they are glass and only .020 -.030 inches thick. They are quite f ragile. We know that they are not everyone’s cup of tea and the slices are not inexpensive. But if you love tektites it is cool to be able to see down inside the glass at how it is made.

Caption Here is an image of a thin slice of Muong Nong Layered Tektite Glass that has a lot going on inside it. There is twisting of the layers and variations in the opacity. There is a considerable number of bubbles visible in this slice.

Muong Nong Layered Tektite like Darwin Glass, Libyan Desert Glass and the many impact crater glasses presents an interesting problem f or def inition writers. While tektites would generally be required to have f allen through the atmosphere and received some shaping f rom their f light. Muong Nong Layered Tektite and some other glasses do not have real f lights at all. Generally, these glasses are considered to have f ormed at or near the impact location. The crater glasses are in f act f ound around the craters they are associated with. But there is no currently known crater location f or the huge strewnf ield of the Australasian Splashf orm Tektites or the Muong Nong Layered Tektites of the same region.

The Astralasian strewnf ield of tektites is enormous extending f rom f ar into China down to Australia and westward some think as f ar as Tibet and out toward the east into the western Pacif ic Ocean where tektites are f ound on many of the islands. Microtektites have been f ound in the Trans Antarctic Mountains extending the symmetry of the strewnf ield southward f urther supporting an epicenter f or the cosmic event in SE Asia. These are also the only microtektites to be f ound on land. (Falco et al 2008) Approximately one

tenth of the surf ace of the Earth is within the area of this strewnf ield. But the Muong Nong variety of Australasian tektite is not f ound over nearly as large an area.

Is this layered tektite glass the result of pooling and f lowing of liquid rock melted at the location of the impact? That would seem to be the understanding accepted by most tektite researchers. Though there have been some other thoughts over the last hundred plus years that this glass has been studied. Some questions about this material continue to resist solution. The lack of a crater f or such a huge event being perhaps the biggest unresolved problem. With an age of only 770,000 years give or take, these are among the youngest of the glasses and clearly result f rom maybe the largest tektite f orming event, and no crater.

Is the crater of f shore? Has it been eroded completely away despite the short time f rame? Was it as a f ew investigators think an airburst event?

Again this is a slice of Muong Nong Layered Tektite Glass cut thinly. But this is a piece that has not been chemically etched and there are f ew bubbles. There is almost no twisting or swirling of the layers.

The volume of Australasian tektite glass and area of distribution are so great most investigators do not think an airburst was the cause. As to the total mass of the material. Based on the microtektite abundance it has been placed at 2.7 x 10 E16 grams. (Schmidt and Wasson 2008) Muong Nong Layered Tektite is as the name describes f ar less homogeneous then the splashf orm tektite glass. It is streaked with bands and swirls of glass f rom dark brown to nearly clear and all shades of yellowish-brown in between. It is f ar more bubbly than the splashf orm tektite glass. And where the splashf orm glass will show schlieren lines when examined in thin slices, Muong Nong type glass has dif f erent characteristics. It does not have the clarity that splashf orm tektite glass does. It is instead murky, cloudy and bubbly with some tiny dark bits enclosed within it.

Caption This image is a close up detail of the image that was shown above. It will hopef ully give a better impression of the amount of movement and mixing that occurred while the material was molten.

It seems good to devote a f ew sentences to the chemistry of Australasian tektite glass. Muong Nong type glass has the highest SiO2 content. The range of SiO2 f or Muong Nong across the strewnf ield is 68.2 – 82.57% with an average being 76.6%. By contrast the SiO2 content of splashf orm glass across the strewnf ield is a range of 62.2 – 79.7% with the average being 72.39%. The greatest variations in SiO2 content are f ound in the microtektites and that amount can be f ar lower than the SiO2 content of the other tektite glass types. The microtektites can also be enriched in MgO and FeO compared to the splashf orm and layered glass.

The chemistry of the glasses has been used to determine the source f or most of the tektite strewnf ields.

Moldavites are associated with the Reis impact in Europe and the Ivory Coast tektites are the result of Bosumtwi Crater’s f ormation. North American tektites the Bediasites and Georgiaites are f rom the impact which f ormed Chesapeake Bay. In the case of the Australasian tektites the crater is missing so f ar.

However, as with the others the chemistry of the glass is consistent with the target rocks of the area around Northeast Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and of f shore Vietnam. Some investigators have noted subgroups of composition which have presented some problems f or explanation. For example, a High Mg group, a High Ca australite group, and a High Ca philippinite group have been suggested.(Chapman and Schreiber 1969) What is more clear is that the composition of these subgroups overlap across the strewnf ield. The most reasonable explanation to this writer is that there was little mixing within the impact plume. The composition of the glass has with broad strokes recorded the chemical dif f erences of the target rocks across the very large impact region.

This is an image of a thin slice of Moldavite Tektite Glass. It is a splashf orm glass and its is very clear. But it shows remarkable twisting of the glass that occurred while it was still in a plastic state at high altitude.

I have written along with others about the problems of cutting splashf orm tektites which have not been annealed in a f urnace. As the inside and outside of the blobs of splashf orm glass cooled and became rigid at an altitude maybe near or in space, the areas cooled dif f erently. This created strain within the glass.

The individual splashf orm tektites are able to handle this strain saf ely since the thick outer glass is very strong. But when the piece is cut and that outer layer is ruptured the twisting and pressure of the strain can shatter the specimen. I have had pieces explode in the saw. This is always shocking the instant that it happens. I have had many slices of splashf orm tektite actually survive cutting, lapping and polishing to around .020 inch thickness only to have them crack while sitting untouched on my desk a day or two later.

Even in thin slice that strain is there. However, Muong Nong Layered Tektite presents no stain related problems to me f or cutting. It has other issues that make cutting dif f icult.

Here is another view of Moldavite glass in thin slice. The wonderf ul sharply etched exterior that we all like in Moldavite pieces can be seen on the perimeter and again the intricate schlieren lines show well when the lighting in the microscope is adjusted.

Of ten Muong Nong Layered Tektite is heavily etched and theref ore very weak in many areas of a single specimen. Of ten chunks are impregnated with lateritic soils that have hardened to stone. This laterite is f illing voids and cracks. This makes many f laws invisible bef ore cutting. Many times the specimen will be partially held together just by the red lateritic soil inclusions. Some pieces on the other hand are round lumps with no soil and little etching and cut easily. These are sometimes not the ones that show the characteristics that make this material so interesting under a microscope. These unetched laterite f ree specimens of ten do show the greatest range of colors in their banding and of ten have the lowest amount of bubbles. So in their own way these are also very interesting under a microscope.

While we usually think of Muong Nong type tektite as being f rom the Australasian strewf ield, layered type glass has been f ound as a small sampling f rom some of the other tektite strewnf ields as well. There have been recovered a f ew pieces of Moldavite that have a layered appearance also some Bediasites that look layered. Libyan Desert Glass sliced thin will show a similar layered appearance to Muong Nong glass under microscopic examination. However, with LDG there is not a lot of variation in color f rom layer to layer. I personally have little dif f iculty considering LDG to be material f rom a melt sheet that f lowed and puddled similarly to what is thought to have happened with the Australasian Muong Nong type glass. In the case of LDG the air burst explanation f or the event may be the best choice f rom what is known at this time.

For comparison this is an image of a thin slice of Libyan Desert Glass. There is little variation in color f rom layer to layer and this piece shows almost no twisting or motion recorded in the glass.

Muong Nong Layered Tektite glass is low in water and as discussed already chemically similar to the splashf orm glass. It is very dif f erent in color and nature f rom terrestrial glasses mainly represented by all the obsidians. Decades ago a volcanic origin was considered f or tektite glass and proponents of ten used Muong Nong glass f or many of the ideas the theory purposed. The Earth was not the source of the glass however. Instead the volcanic activity of the Moon was thought to have f ormed the Muong Nong type glass. It was thought to have arrived on Earth as impacts of large masses of Lunar volcanic rocks. Ideas like welded microtektites being the tiny structures f rom which the large masses were f ormed were held by some individuals. Even though I knew one such individual very well and spoke to him at length I never saw in the microscope what he was calling a microtektite. The layers in Muong Nong type glass always look like a continuous band of melted glass with other layers above and below. The overall mass punctured with numerous holes and bubbles and etched away in a manner that appeared to me to be the result of layers having dif f ering resistance to attack f rom chemicals in the soil.

Tektites and crater glasses remain an exciting area of interest f or collectors. They are not meteorites and may or may not contain material f rom the asteroid that liquif ied and vaporized in the impact. But it is clear that they did f orm in an impact event. It is also clear that these events were of f the scale we normally think

about f or temperature and energy. But even as high as the temperatures are the volatilization and elemental depletion f or all elements less volatile than Phosphorous is still minimal. This makes connecting the glasses to target rocks a reliable method f or determining the source crater. It was this type of analysis along with the returned samples of lunar rocks that placed the origin of tektites solidly on the Earth.

There are plenty of things to contemplate while looking at these strange objects. How did they get their shapes? Were they just liquid or vaporous bef ore they cooled? How high toward space did the material go up? Did they all ablate some during their f all to the ground? Or did only the Australites ablate. What was special about the material that headed toward Australia that it f ormed f langed tektites? Are other zones of ablated tektites out in the ocean? Why are there only a f ew places f rom a handf ul of impacts that have tektites while there are vastly more impact craters? Why is Muong Nong type glass almost only f ound at the one event of the indochinite tektites? And was the Muong Nong material once a continuous sheet that has broken up or was it always somewhat discontinuous? A person can spend years reading works written about research into these questions.

August is the time some of us remember Darryl Futrell’s passing. He was a lif elong collector of tektites and related rocks. He held views that became less than popular as the years went by. Our visits to the Moon and the samples returned f rom there did bring an end to most of the debate about the origin of tektites. That is not to say that all the answers were discovered about them. But their origin as being f rom melted terrestrial material was quite settled. For most individuals except Darryl and a handf ul of others the Moon was no longer a candidate f or tektite origin. Darryl never did give up his belief in a lunar origin. I remember him telling me what he thought happened on the Moon. He envisioned a volcanic vent that spit out streams of glass as microtektites that f ell onto a growing molten mass. This went on f or eons f orming huge amounts of rock. I asked him right out one day if he thought that impacts or later volcanic explosions had blasted this material of f the Moon. He said “yes giant blocks of this rhyolithic like rock was sent out into space and then hit the Earth.” As I said bef ore I have never seen what he saw in the glass. Yet he did know more about these bits of glass than most people. He clearly had more of them to look at then nearly anyone else. He wanted answers to a f ew remaining questions that he had. He thought these questions were still best solved by an origin of f our world. I guess I admired Darryl f or his honest pursuit of knowledge in a climate that was getting more hostile toward him all the time. I remember reading some rather sarcastic remarks in scientif ic journals about a problem tektite that did not f it the new models. How it was hoped by the writers that this tektite would not revive an old dead theory like Lazarus rising f rom his grave. It always seems to me unprof essional to try and squelch debate with sarcasm and ridicule. Darryl never involved himself in that sort of thing. He took I think little note of the comments. He just seems to have loved the tektite mystery and sought to discover whatever he could about them. It has been years since Darryl passed away but Paul and I are still surrounded by a remaining portion of the tektites that Darryl had amassed. It is hard not to think of him every time I load a piece of Muong Nong into the saw or clean a batch of splashf orms f or sale. I emptied onto a table one of his ancient wooden crates that had been used to ship his tektites f rom Thailand. It held large pieces of Muong Nong. I was looking f or pieces to cut and polish. But once again I was presented with specimens just too big and too nice to cut. I guess I got some of that respect f or the stuf f that Darryl had and it is hard to slice some of them up. Tektites are not everyone’s cup of tea and giant pieces of the Muong Nong type maybe interest even a smaller group of people. They don’t rust at least. However, they will chip pretty easy. For those of us that have allowed ourselves to catch tektite f ever there seems to always be room f or one more on a shelf .

Darryl Futrell at one of our “tektite parties� where we invited f riends f rom Southern Calif ornia who love tektite to come and share and show and story tell while enjoying some great f ood.

Meteorite Times Magazine The Point Loma Lost “Meteorite” Robert Verish

Last reported in a 1904 newspaper article.

Image locat ion: The hist orical (Old) Point Loma Light house is locat ed in t he Cabrillo Nat ional Monument at t he sout hern t ip of Point Loma in San Diego.

Latitude: 32.66503 — Longitude: -117.24266 For a larger map of the area around the Point Loma (Old & New) Lighthouses, click here: Mapquest.

First and f oremost, I would like to acknowledge “Dolan” Dave Libuszowski f or inf orming me about this possible “meteorite”. Being the consummate prospector that he is, Dave was data-mining the Internet when he discovered this newspaper article f rom 1906: Los Angeles Herald, Volume XXXI, Number 288, 13 July 1904 “MADE IMPORTANT DISCOVERY” – Lighthouse Keeper Finds Meteor [sic] on Point Loma SAN DIEGO. July 12 (Special).— Capt. R. A. Weiss, keeper of the lighthouse on Point Loma, has made an Important discovery of a meteor which f ell In 1875, and has lain in the ground near the lighthouse ever since. Capt. Welss came across in the records of the lighthouse, the account of the f alling of the meteor and the directions where it had struck. He f ollowed them and had the gratif ication of locating the stone.

The meteor [sic] was f ound to be very large, too large to be taken out of the ground in whole, so several chunks of it, which had broken of f in the f all, were recovered. The specimens are very rare indeed, as there are very f ew examples of such rock in this country. Mr. Weiss believes there are other interesting

articles to be f ound on the Point and with the help of the lighthouse records will make a search.

Map of Point Loma in San Diego This very intriguing story raises a lot of questions (probably too many to list here). Unf ortunately this newspaper article is all the inf ormation that can be f ound, so f ar, f or this “meteor-event” of 1875 and the “stone” that Captain Weiss f ound in 1906. So, let’s list what this 1906 article has told us: 1) Captain Weiss was the lighthouse-keeper f or Point Loma in 1906 — An important f act to keep in mind is that there are two Point Loma Lighthouses; the “Old” and the “New” (the current lighthouse). The “New” one was built in 1890. Captain Weiss was the keeper of the “New” lighthouse f rom 1904 to 1908.

2) Captain Weiss “came across in the records of the lighthouse” an entry f rom 1875 describing a meteor event — Another important f act to keep in mind is that Captain Weiss was reading “the records” f rom the “Old” Lighthouse and not f rom the records f or his “New” Lighthouse, which wasn’t built until 1890. As of this writing, these “records” have not been located.

3) In 1875 the f all of a meteor was witnessed and recorded in the lighthouse keeper’s log — It is a matter of record that Captain Robert Decatur Israel was the Lighthouse Keeper at the “Old” Point Loma Lighthouse in 1875. It is assumed that he made the entry into the Keepers Log, except that his wif e, Maria Arcadia Machado de Alipas Israel, was also the Assistant Lighthouse Keeper and she may have been authorized to make the entry. In addition, there were 4 children, making f or a f amily of six people living at the lighthouse, and it is not known (at least, f or now) who or how many of them witnessed the meteor.

4) The Keeper’s Log gave an “account of the f alling of the meteor and the directions where it had struck” — The key f act here is the wording, that being “the directions” and NOT the location “where it had struck”!

5) “He f ollowed them and had the gratif ication of locating the stone.” — Captain Weiss read the account in the log entry and “f ollowed” in the directions (as recorded) in order to f ind “the stone”. (The article is clearly telling us that someone has deemed this a stony meteorite, as opposed to an iron meteorite. Who was this “someone”? Did the article rely upon Captain Weiss to make that determination?)

6) If the stone was near the lighthouse and was so easy to be located, why did it take 30 years f or it to be

f ound? — Since Captain Weiss started working as the keeper in 1904, this tells us that it took him, at the most, 2 years to locate the “stone”. The article doesn’t attempt to explain how the log entry helped Captain Weiss to locate in less than 2 years the “stone too large to move”, yet f or nearly 30 years since the f all, why no one else was able to locate it, or why no one else made the attempt. Could it be that even though the eyewitness knew exactly in which direction the meteorite struck, it was also known to be at such a great distance away to preclude bothering to search f or the object? Keep in mind that there was no mention of any sounds or actual visible impact event. As we now know with witnessed f ireball events that pass beyond the horizon, interviewed eyewitnesses of ten assume that “the meteor must have struck in the direction that it was last seen”, when in f act, it actually continued travelling 200 km more, bef ore breakingup at an altitude of 15-30 km.

7) “… and [the meteorite] has lain in the ground NEAR THE LIGHTHOUSE ever since.” — Unf ortunately, the newspaper article isn’t clear about WHICH LIGHTHOUSE, but it is more than likely it meant the “Old” Lighthouse. If that assumption is true, it would be important because that would most likely place the f ind location within the Cabrillo National Monument. If not true, it would substantially increase the area to search f or the f ind location, and would encompass the entire south end of Point Loma to include the U.S. Coast Guard f acility at Pelican Point.

8) “… so several chunks of it, which had broken of f in the f all, were recovered. ” — The article recounts that samples of the f ound “stone” were successf ully obtained. But what is not made completely clear is whether these “several chunks which had broken of f ” were assumed to have broken of f while in f light (thus, having f ormed a strewn-f ield), or if the chunks had broken of f directly f rom the f ound mass f rom its assumed impact with the ground. Nor does the article conf irm who made the determination that the pieces “broken of f in the f all” were indeed paired to the large main-mass. Having personally f ound a broad scattering of round, iron-rich concretions in the vicinity of the historical lighthouse, I must admit to being suspicious that there may have been a misidentif ication by non-prof essionals of those chunks collected back in 1904.

9) “The specimens are very rare indeed, as there are very f ew examples of such rock in this country.” — Again, the wording of the article conf irms that there were several “specimens” recovered. The comment about the rarity “of such rocks” is probably just a general statement of f act about there being “very f ew examples” of meteorites, and not likely a specif ic statement conf irming that these specimens have been authenticated as being “very rare”.

Determining what ever was the f inal disposition of these specimens is an important objective of this research.

Finding just one of these specimens would be crucial to answering many of these questions.

Rediscovering the original f ind location, not to mention the main-mass (especially, if it is still in-situ), would be tantamount to bringing this entire story to a f ull circle.

To this end, several experts in various f ields of expertise have been contacted (names withheld): Librarian – National Archives, Records of the Bureau of Lighthouses and its Predecessors Historian – Cabrillo National Monument, San Diego, CA Historian – self -employed civilian who specializes in the history of Point Loma.

Resident – currently the oldest living f ormer resident of the Point Loma Lighthouse.

Resident – currently resides in Point Loma and f ound a meteor-wrong on his property.

The Smithsonian Institute meteorite collection manager has also been contacted, but will be “out-of -theof f ice until September 1st”, and consequently can’t contribute to this report, and can’t be included in the above list. The rationale f or involving the Smithsonian is based on the f act that Captain Weiss was a government employee and the samples were f ound on f ederally-managed land. By def ault, and as was the

custom back at that time, the samples would have been shipped back east and eventually turned over to the Smithsonian f or authentication and curation. It is very possible that these samples could have made it all the way to the Smithsonian bef ore they were properly examined. This begs the question, ‘Were these samples classif ied, and if they were determined to be non-meteoritic, would there still be a record of this?”

As I’ve already stated, the newspaper article is all the evidence we have regarding this “meteorite”. So f ar, none of the people that I have contacted have been able to add any corroborating or tangible evidence to substantiate the statements in the 1904 newspaper article.

But, among those involved in this research, I’ve f ound it curious that their opinions about this “Lost Meteorite” are f orming into two polarized camps. One camp seems to be of the opinion that the newspaper article is suf f icient evidence to prove that the meteorite actually exists, and that samples of it must be residing in the vast Smithsonian collection as one of their many “unclassif ied meteorites”. That camp is insisting that the Captain Weiss f ind be recognized as Calif ornia’s f irst “f all”, and that it is incumbent upon the Smithsonian to prove otherwise.

The other camp is diametrically opposed to all of that, and is of the opinion that this is all about the f ixation over a “probable meteor-wrong” that was self -authenticated by a bored lighthouse-keeper. Coupled with the shoddy journalism by the LA Herald newspaper, where their investigation f ailed to separate f act f rom opinion, we have nothing more than back-page f luf f that somehow survived all the way into the Internetage.

To me, I f ind that camp’s opinion to be harsh, but I also understand why they are so jaded. In the recent decades there have been too many instances of the media reporting of “rocks that just have to be meteorites because we saw them f all just over the hill, and besides there was a meteor shower last night!” (f or example, just do a Google search on “Freehold New Jersey meteor-wrong”).

There is a very exhaustive list compiled by my learned colleague, Ken Newton, on his Meteorite Misidentif ication In the News Website.

And since my article may have the same ef f ect as the original newspaper article, that of seeming to conf irm the Captain’s story, I f eel I should side with the “show me” camp. Besides, having personally f ound a variety of meteor-wrongs at this very locality, doesn’t give me conf idence in the Captain’s story, even though I would very much love to rediscover his “meteorite”.

Nevertheless, it would be very helpf ul if we could conf irm that the “Old Lighthouse” logbook still exists.

Once located, we need access to it in order to f ind the 1875 entry that describes a meteor event. We need to read the very same entry that Captain Weiss read in 1904, which led him to believe that a meteorite f rom that f all could be f ound on Point Loma.

We need to break this “cold case”. We need some new leads.

We need to bring this subject to a conclusion.

Photo Gallery:

Point Loma “Old” Lighthouse – present day image by Monika Waiblinger (2015). Note the dense chapparel which made f or thick ground-cover and marginal expectations f or seeing a meteorite.

Point Loma “Old” Lighthouse – northwest corner (image by author – 2015) The lighthouse is situated on the highest portion of the topmost bluf f that caps the southend of Point Loma. This bluf f is comprised of a f lat layer of sedimentary rock.

Although this is the youngest layer underlying Point Loma, it is also the most weathered layer. The more iron-rich rocks in this particular layer have been deeply oxidized and are darkly stained.

Point Loma “Old” Lighthouse – and the paved access-road leading up to it. The pebbles seen in the gutter are nearspherical concretions that have weatheredout and rolled-down the slope. Although

they are oxided to a dark-brown, the sand in these concretions are still so magnetiterich, they are attracted to a magnet.

Weathered-out concretions f rom sediment underlying the “Old” Point Loma Lighthouse. These were f ound to have rolled into the gutter and were so iron-rich that they would jump onto a magnet.

The same concretions af ter I returned them to the ground where they originated. Note the variety of sizes f or these concretions.

Much larger concretions were f ound exposed in a lower layer of sediment.

Along the road that connects the “Old” and the “New” Point Loma Lighthouses, there are road-cuts that expose boulder-sized concretions. These in-situ concretions are in a lower, but less-weathered layer directly

below the “Old” Lighthouse.

More in-place concretions beneath the “Old” Lighthouse. Some of these are over a meter in diameter. The concretions at the top of this section appear to be weatheringout. Overlying this is a darkly iron-stained paleosol. If one of these large, weatheredout concretions were to be f ound in this paleosol, it would be expected to be darkstained, as well. If it was as dark-stained and as attracted to a magnet as the smaller concretions shown above, it could conceivably be mistaken f or a stony meteorite. Could the “meteorite” that Captain Weiss f ound in 1904 be one of these kind of concretions?

A view to the north-northeast along the west shore of Point Loma in the direction of the “Old” Lighthouse. In the distance can be seen the road-cuts (with the concretions depicted above) along the road down to the “New” Lighthouse. Because a low cloud-deck would obscure the “Old” Lighthouse up on the top of the bluf f , the “New” Lighthouse was built at this lower elevation (not f ar to the right of this image

by Monika Waiblinger – 2015).

Point Loma “New” Lighthouse at Pelican Point – circa 1934 (NPS photo) This is the Lighthouse that Captain Weiss was the lighthouse-keeper in 1906, when he read in the old logs about the 1875 Meteor. But this “new” lighthouse was built in 1885, and hence, did not exist in 1875. The Meteor of 1875 was witnessed by the lighthousekeeper f or the “Old” Point Loma Lighthouse and that person made his entry into the “Old Lighthouse” logbook.

Point Loma and the “Old” Lighthouse – recent photo with North Island, Coronado, and San Diego in the background.

References: Meteoritical Bulletin: the search results f or all provisional meteorites f ound in “USA” – Published by Meteoritical Society – Meteoritical Bulletin, Database.

Meteorites of Calif ornia the list of f ormally-recognized Calif ornia meteorite f alls and f inds.

Los Angeles Herald, Volume XXXI, Number 288, 13 July 1904 http://tinyurl.com/ozxaaww “MADE IMPORTANT DISCOVERY” – Lighthouse Keeper Finds Meteor [sic] on Point Loma SAN DIEGO. July 12 (Special).— Capt. R. A. Weiss, keeper of the lighthouse on Point Loma, has made an Important discovery of a meteor which f ell In 1875, and has lain in the ground near the lighthouse ever since. Capt. Welss came across in the records of the lighthouse, the account of the f alling of the meteor and the directions where it had struck. He f ollowed them and had the gratif ication of locating the stone.

The meteor [sic] was f ound to be very large, too large to be taken out of the ground in whole, so several chunks of it, which had broken of f in the f all, were recovered. The specimens are very rare indeed, as there are very f ew examples of such rock in this country. Mr. Weiss believes there are other interesting articles to be f ound on the Point and with the help of the lighthouse records will make a search.

Point Loma Lighthouses near San Diego, CA ● Cabrillo National Monument & Point Loma Lighthouse 1800 Cabrillo Memorial Dr, San Diego, CA (619) 557-5450 ● Old Point Loma Lighthouse – Cabrillo National Monument http://www.nps.gov/cabr/learn/historyculture/old-point-loma-lighthouse.htm The Old Point Loma Lighthouse stood watch over the entrance to San Diego Bay … Today, the Old Point Loma Lighthouse still stands and is is located in the Cabrillo National Monument at the southern tip of Point Loma in San Diego.

Latitude: 32.66503 — Longitude: -117.24266 ● “New” Point Loma Lighthouse http://www.lighthousef riends.com/light.asp?ID=28 Records of the Bureau of Lighthouses and its Predecessors National Archives in Washington DC in Record Group 26.2 – Bureau of Lighthouses and its Predecessors 1785-1951.

National Archives Basic Search Path f or Records Relating to Lighthouses: http://www.archives.gov/research/lighthouses/index.html The San Diego History Center, Research Library Casa de Balboa, Lower Level, 1649 El Prado, Suite 3 Balboa Park San Diego, CA http://www.sandiegohistory.org/research_library.html San Diego Historical Center – Archived Record Collection#: TMS MCDA Title: A HIstory of the Old Point Loma Lighthouse Creator: McDermott, Ashley Thomas Date: September 1960 Content: Unpublished manuscript For a larger map of the area around the Point Loma (Old & New) Lighthouses, click here: Mapquest.

My previous articles can be f ound *HERE* For f or more inf ormation, please contact me by email:

Bolide*chaser

Meteorite Times Magazine Two IMR Inclusions in NWA 869 John Kashuba

About 1% of the volume of NWA 869 L3-6 is impact melt rock (IMR) according to Metzler et al. Their study tells us a lot about these highly variable f ine grained inclusions we f ind in cut stones. Some IMR clasts include mineral and rock clasts, some do not. The crystallized f allback material is depleted in nickeliron metal and sulf ides. Grains that crystallized f rom the melt are olivine. Any pyroxene crystals are included relict grains. Oxygen isotope analysis show that some IMR match bulk sample values while some do not. The latter perhaps ref lect inclusion of impactor material.

These photos are of two nearly adjoining IMR inclusions in one thin section.

Two IMR clasts, the smaller, more coarsely crystallized at bottom lef t and the larger, more f inely crystallized clast to the right. The larger clast contains clasts within the crystallized melt. Field of view (FOV) = 12.5mm wide, cross-polarized light (XPL), NWA 869 L3-6.

Same, with arrows.

Portion of the f ine grained clast. FOV = 3mm wide, plane polarized light (PPL), NWA 869 L3-6.

Portion of the f ine grained clast. FOV = 3mm wide, XPL, NWA 869 L3-6.

Close-ups of the f ine grained clast showing skeletal euhedral grains. FOV = 0.3mm wide, XPL, NWA 869 L3-6.

Portion of the coarse grained clast. FOV = 3mm wide, PPL, NWA 869 L3-6.

Portion of the coarse grained clast. FOV = 3mm wide, XPL, NWA 869 L3-6.

Close-ups of coarse grained clast showing skeletal euhedral grains, all at the same scale as the close-ups of the other clast above. FOV = 0.3mm wide, XPL, NWA 869 L3-6.

Norm’s Tektite Teasers: An Indochinite flow-nose!

by Norm Lehrman (www.TektiteSource.com) This is the third time I have tried to present this stone in the Tektite Teasers column. I just haven’t been able to do it justice. It is really hard to get a pleasing photograph of this complex piece.

In describing the challenge of trying to capture the essence of this gem in a photograph, I find myself saying that you really need to hold this one to get a grasp on what it is. Turn it over in your fingertips.

Fondle its form and symmetry.

A voice pipes up in the dark rows high in the back of the auditorium: “Aha! We always knew you were a little dingy about tektites. We’ve wondered about you and your infatuation. And now you’re telling us to explore it “with our fingertips” and “fondle it”.

Can you see where I am going with this? You’ve lost it man---“ See? That’s what happens every time. Some version of that guy in the back row knocks me off the rails and the story doesn’t get written. But if you will bear with me for a little while, I will prove him completely wrong.

This is an extremely sculptural piece. Expand it to the scale of public art and it would look intriguing anywhere---in the lobby of a magnificent hotel---or in a children’s playground.

But you really do need to turn it in your fingers to grasp the marvelous thing that it is.

Imagine a rivulet of molten glass. It advances like a bulldozer track. At this small size, it is losing heat quickly. A stretchy skin forms on the surface and is inflated and over-ridden by the molten interior, granted a bit of extra life by the insulating skin. It rolls forward, the surface skin rolling over the nose like a waterfall, then transforming into an insulating carpet laying upside down on the substrate. As cooling finally outruns the internal supply of melt, the highly viscous glass assumes deep, bulbous, stretchy features and freezes solid.

It is intuitively certain that many variations on this theme will form anytime molten glass flows like a stream. That it happens is not in question. But finding a fine example? A vanishingly small possibility.

In the face of that improbability, here is one. It is quite possibly the only known example of its kind. With that unveiling, a bright crystal fairy with diamond slippers and a wand trailing prismatic sparks spins across the stage and the curtains close.

(Now maybe if one of you could explain to that guy in the back row that this is a completely reasonable and fully justified utilization of the word “fondle”, I would be most appreciative. In exchange, he can continue using the words “a little dingy”, but he must refrain from use of any phrases expressing the sentiments of words like “a bit too far” or “off in la-la land” or “completely stark-raving nutters” Especially that one. That’s a deal-breaker.).

Meteorite Times Magazine Marissa’s Meteorite Hunting Adventure Marissa Fanady

Well this year in May I embarked on a grand adventure, my very f irst ever meteorite hunt and if I’m lucky this hunt won’t be my last. This hunting trip completely changed my lif e, my f ellow hunters and myself made history with this trip. Now what’s so special about this particular meteorite hunt you may be asking?

Well I am physically disabled and I’m conf ined to a power wheelchair f or mobility. This was the f irst time in history that a disabled individual ventured out into the desert to search f or rocks f rom space. And it’s all thanks to the meteorite community, scientif ic community and the general public f or raising the f unds that allowed me and two of my staf f to f ly out to Las Vegas, Nevada to hunt on a dry lake bed. The task wasn’t easy, the road to meteorites was long, so many f actors could’ve prevented me f rom going but against the odds the entire trip went completely smooth and couldn’t have been more perf ect. Let me share with you now my entire experience of the hunt and how this has made an impact on my lif e. But f irst let me tell you how this all got started.

Ever since I discovered that I had a passion f or astronomy and soon af ter meteorites I have done nothing but dream about going out hunting f or these rocks. With my condition I was convinced that looking f or my own meteorites would always just be a dream; such bitter sweet dreams. But later in 2012 my f amily was kind enough to take me to New York f or the Northeast Astronomy Forum where I was lucky enough to meet the Meteorite Men. Af ter that encounter and watching every episode of their show it became clear that it wasn’t impossible f or someone like me to go hunting. Much later af ter joining Club Space Rock, an online f orum f or discussing everything meteorite related, I f inally f elt comf ortable enough to ask experienced hunters f or advice to pursue my dream. On June in 2014 I made a new discussion simply asking about which dry lake beds would yield some success in f inding meteorites, that my goal was to get out there and hunt. Michael Mulgrew was the f irst to respond giving his opinions as a hunter and of f ering to help out if I made it out his way. Later he would become my hunting guide, a massive help and a new lif elong f riend. More people chimed in on ideas and solutions to get me out there as well as words of

encouragement. People even started saying that they wanted to help me f inancially, strangers whom I’ve never met were of f ering to help with this trip. The next thing I knew a gentleman by the name of Rogan Hennie created a kickstarter campaign to raise the money f or me……I was deeply humbled, there were no words. This incredible community that I stumbled upon through Geof f Notkin was going to try to get me out west f or meteorite hunting. Creating the discussion was in no way a means to ask f or that, I only wanted inf ormation. When I f ound this community I wasn’t expecting to f ind the best of humanity but that’s exactly what I f ound. For the f irst time in my lif e I wasn’t seen as a burden and something to avoid, I was once again welcomed with open arms by the science community. People even donated meteorites and other perks f or the f undraiser as well as the time they spent spreading the word. Even Geof f and his company wrote a PR report just to promote the f undraiser, I was in shock of all the generosity that surrounded and was given. The campaign launched in August 2014, we had a month to raise $5,000 f or all the costs, the plane tickets, van rental, hotel, backup bubble chair in case mine couldn’t perf orm, f ood and meteorite hunting gear.

Talking with Mike we agreed that the end of May, af ter my classes, would be the best time to go search f or space rocks if the campaign was successf ul. Most days were pretty dull with the f undraiser, I thought f or sure that we wouldn’t make it but whatever was raised will be extremely helpf ul. Regardless we kept pushing it and spreading the word as much as possible. On August 25th I awoke to learn that the goal was actually reached…..my heart f illed with joy and gratitude, I was crying and trembling. All those nights of dreaming were going to come true, I couldn’t believe how many good incredible people there were out in this world. Throughout my lif e I’ve only known rejection and verbal abuse f rom the community just because I looked dif f erent. Even af ter the goal was reached people still kept on donating and at the end of the campaign we reached an impressive $5,786! Now f or the hard part, waiting f or time to pass.

With classes f inally over and f inal exams completed the time had come to start packing! The big trip was only weeks away which still f elt so f ar away and time seemed to move even more slowly. Everything was all set thanks to Rogan and Mike, over the months earlier, the hotel was booked, plane tickets purchased, backup chair ordered and the van rental was all set. My hunting gear and supplies that Rogan sent were all packed and ready to go…f inally it was the night bef ore leaving! Our f light was set f or departure at 7:20am, we were required to be there f or boarding at 6:40am. Due to travel time we had to wake up at 3am so sleep the night bef ore was very little, too much excitement to sleep anyway! We arrived right on time and even though we didn’t have f irst boarding classes they let my staf f and myself on f irst, being disabled has its perks once in a while. The seats in the f ront of the plane were the best spot f or us and having already claimed the window seat the more room those seats had made it possible f or my staf f to put me in that seat. This would be like my f irst time f lying, I have f lown bef ore but I was so young my only recollection of the experience was going through the tunnel to get on the plane. The excitement was unbearable, I was a little nervous and scared but more than anything I wanted to just go and f inally f eel the power of the aircraf t and the power of what we humans have done. The plane started taking of f and I’m getting high and laughing over the experience, it was the most beautif ul amazing ride that I’ve ever been on. Cleveland looked so beautif ul even with it being mostly cloudy. Some sunshine did peak through and the lake was the same color as the sky, I couldn’t tell where the water ended and the sky began. The whole experience made me cry while my staf f was scared to death! The view when we f inally broke through the clouds was stunning! Beautif ul clear blue skies with a thick cloud layer beneath us, the clouds looked like one giant comf orter that you could f all on and they would catch you. About an hour or so later we f inally passed the weather f ront and all the clouds. I got my f irst view of the land f rom 37,000 f eet up, it was unbelievable!

The trees f ormed around rivers looking like the very roots beneath the trees or the structure of the universe branching out away f rom the rivers. The landscape really did look like a topographic map with green, brown and tan squares and rectangles everywhere. Much later we f inally saw some proper snow caped mountains, this was my f irst time seeing mountains that huge. An hour or so later we started making our decent, the landing scared me the most because a rough landing might cause me some pain. Once we got through the clouds Las Vegas was in sight, it was much bigger than I expected! The pilot landed the plane beautif ully and smooth so luckily we didn’t bounce and I avoided any back pain. The airport was ridiculously huge, we had to take an Amtrak to get to the baggage claim area. Once we got there I saw a young man waving at me, f or a moment I thought that someone else f rom Ohio came too and I couldn’t remember this person. He walked over and to my surprise it was Rogan!!!!! I was in shock, I had no idea that he was coming because he led me to believe that he couldn’t come. I was so happy that he actually came! From there we got the van rental and headed out to check out Las Vegas. We enjoyed a breakf ast at New York New York since we haven’t had anything to eat yet. From there we walked up Las Vegas Blvd to hit a casino. Mike wouldn’t get to Pahrump until the next day so I had a day to spend in Vegas, how could I not this may be my only chance. Af ter that we headed to our hotel in Pahrump, about an hour away, to change f or dinner. We had reservations at the Top of The World restaurant in the Stratosphere, the restaurant is 700-800 f eet high and actually rotates giving you a 360 degree view of the city. The

restaurant was beautif ul and the view was breathtaking! People could actually bungee jump of f of the side of the building. So every so of ten we’d see another person taking the plunge. The service was so outstanding that when I asked our waiter if they had any plastic silverware and he said no he actually went to someplace else in the building to get me some! We f inished a bottle of the best wine I ever had and enjoyed the amazing f ood with a brilliant view. The city lights in the distance were shimmering like stars in the night sky. We watched as Venus and Jupiter set and then we headed back to the hotel to rest up f or our f irst day of hunting.

Michael Mulgrew was coming in today f or our f irst hunt in Stewart Valley and to show of f his metal detector and meteorites. The bubble chair did arrive in Las Vegas but they wouldn’t deliver it because it was the holiday weekend to them. So Rogan had to go get it, my staf f Autumn went with him. While they were gone Mike arrived and we lef t to get lunch and supplies f or the hunts. When we returned we went straight to looking at maps and meteorites. He showed me where we should start looking and we planed the days to come. Then he busted out his meteorites and we geeked out. I looked at some of his Stewart Valley f inds and one was a puzzle piece meteorite where he could actually piece it back together! Not long af ter he started showing me his meteorites Rogan and Autumn were back and the three of us were geeking out and got pumped to f ind our own. It was so f un to f inally share the love of meteorites with others who love them as much as myself . Af ter that we loaded everything up and headed to Stewart Valley f or the f irst hunt, they had to take my chair apart a little so that it would f it in the back of Mike’s truck. Thankf ully Mike is an engineer and between the two of them they were able to load up my wheelchair. I’m so glad Rogan came because without him the trip would not have been possible it takes two men to help with everything and he made the trip go extremely smooth and perf ect!

Here is a picture of myself and my hunting f riends Mike Mulgrew and Rogan Hennie out on the Dry Lake hunting meteorites.

The chosen site was only about 20-25 minutes away and each time we went we had to cross into Calif ornia f or about 200 f eet. So I can say that I was in Nevada and Calif ornia. We arrived at the hunt site at about 4:30 and af ter unloading my chair it was about 5:00 and my very f irst hunt began! The landscape was incredible, there were mountains all around us and I could see every detail in them that shaped them.

The valley was very peacef ul, not a sound was heard unless we heard the sweet sound of a meteorite jumping onto our magnet canes. Within minutes one of my aides f ound a meteorite and within a half hour Rogan Hennie f ound one, I rushed over to see his f ind and check the surrounding area and I f ound my f irst meteorite near his f ind, a small f ragment weighting about 0.6-0.8 grams!!! The valley got very windy which Mike said was normal and actually it was tame compared to what it usually is like in the valley. Hours went by and Mike and Rogan made more f inds, about an hour or so bef ore we ended the hunt someone else f ound another meteorite and again not f ar f rom their f ind I f ound my second meteorite! The tiny rock weighted about 0.1-0.2 grams. With the wind it got cold very f ast so we decided to end the successf ul f irst hunt and Rogan, Mike and myself shared a drink on the dry lake bed in the twilight under the crescent moon and Venus. Mike also set of f some f ireworks to celebrate the historic moment and then we headed back to the hotel where we grabbed dinner and then headed away f rom Vegas to see a proper night sky. I saw more stars and meteors than I’ve ever seen as well as the Milkyway clearly visible, a perf ect end to a perf ect day.

The next day we woke up early, got some breakf ast at a Denny’s and loaded up f or a very long day of hunting ahead of us. The weather was beautif ul again with clouds around the mountains, yet sunny over Stewart Valley, the wind was perf ect keeping us cool while hunting. Across the lake bed I noticed that I was observing my f irst mirage, it was so intense that the mountains in the distance completely disappeared! My aides decided to stay with the truck while the three of us hunted, Mike and Rogan took turns walking beside me having great conversations and f orming deep f riendships. My f ellow hunters f ound more meteorites but I was not so successf ul which didn’t bother me because I got to experience a successf ul day and a bust like every meteorite hunter experiences. Lunch was late around 4:00 and we had to charge my chair while eating so that I could continue hunting. Even though I came with a f ull battery the terrain really made my wheelchair work hard, I was told that it’s technically not built f or the outdoors but she put up a good f ight. Spending time with other hunters was more than enough as well as priceless to me being able to completely be myself and let go of all my f ears and insecurities. Throughout my lif e I always f elt like I don’t belong…that my burden should be my own and nobody else’s problem, I avoid asking f or help as much as possible because I don’t want to hurt and burden others. But when I’m with the meteorite community and the scientif ic community in general my problems and f ears melt away, I completely f orget about my disease and don’t see the dark that lies ahead. I’ve only received acceptance f rom everyone, not one person involved in science saw my wheelchair….they only saw me and they help me bring out my best. There were a handf ul of moments where I f elt insecure, a bit af raid of what these gentlemen would really think of me and how they’d react to the amount of help I require. Being the f irst meteorite hunters that I’d be hunting with I wanted to make a good impression and not look that weak. But they welcomed me with open arms and showed that they were ready to help with anything that they could.

Rogan assured me that I’m with f riends, I have nothing to f ear. We started hunting on one side of the lake bed and walked across to the other side to end the hunt, myself and Rogan had a wonderf ul talk and the scenery was amazing. The sunsets were beautif ul every evening with the mountains glowing yellow, orange, gold, and red. We ended the day with f ireworks again and headed back f or dinner which was always hilarious! We cracked so many jokes but I’m not telling, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas remember!

Here we are having more f un af ter the day of hunting talking and laughing at a restaurant. An looking at the days f inds.

We didn’t wake up quite as early as the day bef ore and the plan was to hit a dif f erent hunting site called Stump Spring a dense collection area and then back to Stewart Valley. Af ter eating our Denny’s breakf ast we loaded up my chair f or the last day of hunting, I was f eeling lucky and determined to f ind one or more meteorites. Stump Spring was not too f ar f rom our hotel maybe 20-25 minutes away. Making our way to the location I observed numerous dust devils which I had never seen bef ore. One even went right across

the dirt road we were on and Mike tried to catch up with it but the dust vortex was too quick. There were also some rain clouds coming of f of the mountains and I was worried that it might rain on us, if that would’ve happened then my chair would’ve surely gotten stuck. Luckily they all dissipated when they moved over the desert and the smell of the rain was intoxicating. The ground had rocks everywhere!

Hunting could never become boring at Stump Spring but it’s also slow going having to check countless rocks hoping that you’ll hear the sweet sound of one jumping onto your cane. We talked about the Meteorite Men a bit and commented on how Steve Arnold’s magnet rake would’ve been perf ect f or this area and I could drag it around and hunt at the same time! I saw much more wildlif e at this location f rom bugs to butterf lies to lizards, one lizard even hid under my wheelchair. Mike and myself spent the most time walking around together here while Rogan, the geologist, was nerding out over all the rocks. He actually f ound quite a f ew that were very interesting and later he let me choose some to take home. Af ter a f ew hours I decided that we needed to get back to Stewart Valley because the odds are better and it wouldn’t stop calling my name so we packed up and lef t. By the time we arrived and unpacked everything it was about 6:00 so we went straight away to looking f or meteorites. The ground was perf ect f or my wheelchair but I still had to watch out f or sof t spots so that I wouldn’t sink and get stuck. Griding an area is actually very easy f or me because my chair lef t tire tracks so I knew where I already looked.

Rogan made the only f ind of the day on that last day, I look over and see my tire tracks just f eet away f rom his f ind!!! I was so mad but now I can say I had the complete experience of hunting with other hunters where you missed one and someone else f ound one right where you were. The sunset gave us a beautif ul show with lighting up the mountains and the sky, Rogan couldn’t stop taking amazing pictures. We started heading towards a new area but at a certain point my chair kept sinking in sand so we had to turn back and by that time it was time to end the hunt….I looked around at the scenery, the mountains, the clouds, the lake bed and said my f inal goodbye to Stewart Valley and thanked it f or my precious meteorites as well as making the weather perf ect f or me to hunt saf ely and successf ully. My hunting days are all over and I cherished every moment of the experience, I f inally understand how hunters f eel when they f ind a meteorite and they say/think “there’s gotta be more I gotta f ind just one more!” Hunting is truly addicting. I think Stewart Valley was sad to see me go because a storm rolled in up on the mountains, it was stunning to see all the lightning strikes. We headed back f or our last dinner together as Mike was leaving right af ter our meal. He brought his metal detector with him to show me how they work, he was f orming ideas on how I could use one but I’m still doubtf ul that I can because my wheelchair is metal and I’m betting that it will set of f the detector too much.

We sat at the table checking out all of our f inds and taking photos. Mike brought his scale cubes f or the photos but the lighting in the restaurant was poor f or the rocks. It was a bitter sweet moment f or me because while it was so f un being with f ellow meteorite lovers and checking out our haul it was also sad because this might be the only and last time that I spend with f riends and hunt f or meteorites. Back at our rooms it was time to say goodbye to Michael Mulgrew…I tried not to but I teared up while we were embraced in a hug goodbye. I was so very thankf ul that he was my guide and took me to his best locations f or f inding meteorites, most never do that because as we all know these rocks are very valuable and nobody wants their spot to be hunted out. I’m so happy that I’ve made a new lif elong f riend. Because the truth is I don’t have that many f riends besides my astronomy club, people usually don’t want to be around me. Whether it’s f ear, sadness, misunderstanding or pain most avoid me, but not Mike and Rogan…they ignored my condition. I truly hope that I get to see Mike again someday and hope f or nothing but the best in his lif e.

Well today was my last day in Nevada. Bef ore packing everything up and leaving we grabbed breakf ast and then had a nice swim in the pool at our hotel. That water was the coldest water I’ve ever experienced in a pool!!! I know it gets to be in the triple digits but geez! The water took all our breaths away and you never get completely used to the temperature. Of course I can’t swim but I love to sit on the stairs and move a heck of a lot more than I usually can move while in my chair. By noon we were done swimming and had to quickly pack up all of our stuf f and souvenirs hoping that we don’t leave anything behind which we didn’t. By 1:00 we were on the road back to Las Vegas, we needed to make a quick stop at the welcome to Las Vegas sign f or pictures since we f orgot to do that on our f irst day. Can’t leave without getting that!

The ride to the airport was so sad f or me knowing that it was all over and I had to say goodbye to Rogan and everything. The gentleman who dropped of f our van was right there to pick it up and take Rogan to another part of the airport because as we were leaving his girlf riend was arriving. They had plans f or a vacation as well and go visit f amily in Texas I believe. The time had come to part ways…..We had one last hug and I thanked him again f or everything he has done f or me, he changed my lif e f orever. Rogan didn’t have to do this, most wouldn’t due to how much work this required but he did it anyway. I am eternally gratef ul f or him and everything he did as well as Mike and every single person who helped with this trip.

Once he walked away I cried my eyes out, I’m not ashamed to admit that because they were happy and sad tears…I don’t know if I’ll ever see him and Mike again in my lif etime. I can only hope that someday I

will. We made it through security and our plane was almost delayed by 45 minutes but luckily it wasn’t.

While waiting f or the plane my Twitter account f or the trip went nuts, I look down and it was Geof f Notkin! I was f ortunate enough to have met him once back in 2012 at NEAF and we’ve talked a little here and there ever since. He was spreading the news of my successf ul historic hunt. We got to talking a little saying his congrats to me and how he wished that he could’ve been there with us. I mentioned how I’m gonna try to get to the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show next year and he said that if I go he’ll arrange private tours f or me. Well my jaw dropped to the f loor at that point! No promises but I’m sure as heck gonna try! As you can imagine that made my day better, but it was still a sad moment. The memories I’ve made will be with me f orever and always bring a smile to my f ace in dark times.

The plane ride home was amazing like the f irst f light but this time I was heading into the dark, I was so excited to see city lights f rom 37,000 f eet. Bef ore I could see any lights we were f lying over clouds and I thought ok boring nothing to see yet, but then I saw a f lash. Staring out the window I thought to myself “there’s no way that I’m lucky enough to see a storm cloud f rom above!” But sure enough I was!!!! Oh my God it was incredible, I was geeking out so bad while my aides were about to crap their pants!!! People worry too much and easily f orget how amazing it is to see storms f rom above. Soon af ter the storm clouds we f inally came to a clearing and I couldn’t believe my eyes, there were small cities and lights dotted everywhere! The ground actually looked like the night sky, it took my breath away. Back home the weather was supposed to be bad and stormy, but lucky f or us it was clear and nice out, f or a nice smooth landing.

Even the staf f and pilots asked me if I was successf ul in my hunt and they congratulated me f or my success and a great trip!

We arrived home at about 2:00 in the morning. I didn’t even notice how tired I was because I was still sky high over the trip and everything. This was an unbelievable experience, Mike and Rogan were more amazing than I ever thought they’d be and I’m very thankf ul and lucky to call them f riends. I really cannot thank you all enough f or this, you guys are all amazing and angels in my book. YOU ROCK!!!!!

Later at home I was f inally able to weigh my f inds and the of f icial weight is 0.58 grams f or my f irst f ind and 0.31 grams f or my second. My lif e has completely changed f rom this experience, I’m very gratef ul as well as proud to belong to such an amazing and loving community. The generosity given to me will always be with me giving me the strength to carry on and I will always give it back to others, especially children, and f oster their interest and share the love.

Meteorite Times Magazine Marissa Fanady Interview James Tobin

This f eature is devoted to one of the personalities within the meteorite community. This month we are delighted to share an interview we had with Marissa Fanady.

This is an image f rom my meteorite hunting trip to Stewart Valley Dry Lake.

(MT) Who or what got you interested in meteorites and how old were you when you got your f irst meteorite?

(Marissa) Astronomy got me interested in meteorites. I f irst got into astronomy back in 2010 and I started watching the science channel a lot and sometimes they would show the Meteorite Men. I knew about meteorites but like everyone else I thought that they were impossible to obtain, that the only way you can get any is by hunting f or them. I was 19 when I received my f irst meteorite.

(MT) What was your f irst meteorite?

(Marissa) I obtained my f irst meteorite, a tiny Campo, as a gif t f rom Astronomy Magazine f or buying a DVD back in 2011 and I was hooked af ter that moment.

(MT) Do you still have it?

(Marissa) Yes it will remain in my collection as long as I live.

(MT) Do you have special areas of interest that you f ocus on in regards to meteorites?

(Marissa) I enjoy the history and makeup of meteorites, where they came f rom, how they f ormed and if they brought water, the ingredients f or lif e or even lif e itself to the earth.

(MT) Does your f amily share in your interest in meteorites?

(Marissa) They think it’s cool but really I’m the only meteorite nut in my area. My astronomy club calls me their meteorite expert which I’m really actually f ar f rom being an expert!

(MT) Do you have any special approaches to collecting?

(Marissa) I collect any meteorites that catch my eye, they’re all amazing. But I do play f avorites to chondrule packed stone meteorites as they’re a glimpse into the early solar system.

This is a close up of the edge of a Chelyabinsk with the internal structure and thickness of f usion crust showing.

(MT) Is your collection displayed or kept in a dry box or both?

(Marissa) Most of my meteorites are kept in a box in my room and some are scattered throughout my room so I can always see some and enjoy my collection.

(MT) In what ways do you use your computer f or meteorites?

(Marissa) I mainly use my computer with all my meteorite activities. Without my computer I would not have any meteorites or know any f olks who love them as well. I use it f or shopping, research, sharing photos and knowledge, and chatting with other meteorite lovers around the world.

(MT) Do you ever hunt f or meteorites?

(Marissa) Yes I am very proud to say that I have hunted and successf ully f ound meteorites. This was a huge deal because I am physically disabled and use a power wheelchair. Thanks to the amazing meteorite community my dream came true and we made history.

(MT) What is your f avorite meteorite in your collection?

(Marissa) My f avorite meteorite is my Chelyabinsk peas and small slice all under a gram and my largest chely weighing about 123 grams.

(MT) What is your f avorite overall if it is not the one above?

(Marissa) My f avorite meteorite overall is my very f irst meteorite f ind that I made out in the Mojave desert on a dry lake bed, it’s a nice stone meteorite.

This is my f irst meteorite f ind. I f ound it on Stewart Valley Dry Lake and it weighs .58 grams.

(MT) What makes these of special interest?

(Marissa) I love my Chely because I never imagined that an event of that magnitude would happen in my lif etime. I remember everything about that day and I’ll never f orget that day, I almost skipped class because of that event! I was ecstatic and knew that there had to be meteorites, if there was I was going to get my hands on a piece of that meteor no matter how small. My very f irst meteorite f ind is priceless and very important to me because I thought that being physically disabled that I’d never f ind my own meteorites. But thanks to the science community I went out on the desert in my power wheelchair and f ound a meteorite! Actually I f ound two! It was the greatest accomplishment of my lif e so f ar.

(MT) What methods have been most successf ul in building your collection?

(Marissa) The methods I use to build up my collection are buying f rom dealers online and buying f rom eBay auctions. I use eBay the most because I can f ind better prices that f it my budget.

(MT) Do you also collect related materials like impact glasses, breccias, melts, tektites, shocked f ossils, native iron rocks, etc?

(Marissa) Yes I own some impact glasses, breccias and tektites. I’ll collect anything related to meteorites or created f rom impacts, I love and need to see the whole picture of what happened.

Meteorite Times Magazine Agoudal Meteorite 52 kg Paul Harris

Our Meteorite of the Month is kindly provided by Tucson Meteorites who hosts The Meteorite Picture of the Day.

Agoudal 52 kg. 30 x 33 x 45 cm. Iron, IIAB contributed by Aziz Habibi, IMCA 6220 Submit Pictures to Meteorite Pictures of the Day

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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 Š 2010 James Tobin