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The Gambler's Stone: Tom Phillips and the case of a meteorite shot and left for dead in the desert.
Martin Horejsi
Tom Phillips might be best known in the Meteorite-Times universe as OG of the Micro Visions column, and for the cover image of Kevin Kichinka's book The Art of Collecting Meteorites. Like many of us over the years, we moved from mainstream meteorite activities to a more subdued enjoyment of space rocks especially those meteorites with a unique story to tell. And like anyone or anything with a long and deep meteorite backstory, things from the past pop up again and again mostly with a thicker storyline than when last seen. And such is the case of a large hot desert stone individual.
The wounded stone with crack. (Photo courtesy of Tom Phillips)
Throughout the centuries, meteorite lore has swung like a pendulum from good luck such as Ensisheim, to bad luck as with Henbury. Well, it seems that the case Tom Phillips recently encountered involved both good and bad luck within the same meteorite, along with some gunplay in the desert.
The story, as Tom tells me, centers on a roughly 13kg stony individual he acquired from Dean Bessy within a collection sale. Tom also has a passion for antiques which started long before any meteorites landed on his doorstep. And antiques are still an active pursuit for Tom today. From a scientific perspective, meteorites could be considered the ultimate antique, but for those who appreciate recognizable objects, or even elderly home furnishings still full of life, meteorites
seem a stretch. That said, antiques often share display space with curiosities, and meteorites are certainly that. And so it was that Tom Phillips displayed a 13kg stone for sale in an antique mall.
One day an offer was made on that stone meteorite. The deal was done and the new owner took home his prize. Now we all own meteorites for different reasons even if many of them are the same. The good-luck aspect of meteorite ownership is, in my experience, usually reserved for small specimens, mainly irons. Taken further, the little lucky charms are often incorporated into jewelry or carried in a pocket. But a 13kg weathered hot desert stone? Sure, why not. However, the large investment into the good luck meteorite should, in the thinking of its new owner, yield large returns. And for the first time in my life I’ve ever heard of this, the luck will be measured and the meteorite will be held accountable.
As the story goes, the poker-playing owner of the 13kg stone felt jaded by the meteorite’s performance. So much so, that disappointment soon turned to revenge. Not only was the meteorite not producing the anticipated good luck, which I am told is a meteorite feature apparently commonly reported on the internet, but this stone appeared to be producing the opposite effect and inflicting bad luck upon the owner. But this being America, and the meteorite was in Idaho, the only logical solution to reverse the misfortune of the meteorite’s owner was to take the stone out into the desert and show it some old-school western justice. Shooting stars, if you will.
Using a .22 caliber pistol, the stone’s owner shot the meteorite 28 times. Presumably the low power .22 rimfire was chosen more to teach the stone a lesson rather than inflict serious harm to the rock. Any larger application of firepower would likely be the end of the story, but actually we are about in the middle of it. Also of note is the number of shots at 28. It turns out that the number 28 is actually associated with wealth, both the gain and loss of it. In the gambling world, the significance of the number 28 is common and promotional images of Rolex watches are displayed with the date set on the 28th as well as the common 10:10 position of the hands. Regardless of anyone’s superstitious beliefs, the meteorite definitely was unlucky that day, at least for the meteorite itself.
As if in a spaghetti western, the stone lay injured and alone in the desert for a few days (I can only imagine the tangent this story would take had I stumbled across the stone during this time!). The owner returned to the scene of the crime a couple days later (That’s a figure of speech. To my knowledge there is no state or federal law criminalizing the shooting of a meteorite, but if this becomes a problem, I may call upon my senators to take a stand on it). Retrieving the stone, perhaps out of respect and regret as well as some potential financial recovery, the owner sold the stone and story to a pawn shop. And here’s where Tom Phillips comes back into the picture.
The pawn shop. (Photo courtesy of Tom Phillips)
Tom got a call from the manager of the pawn shop who knew that he has both extensive experience with meteorites and an interest in such oddities and their story. In fact, Tom may have unknowingly planted a seed that sprouted into the pawn shop manager’s curiosity and potential monetary interest in a meteorite that may have some use outside of hard science. Back in 2008, I wrote an article here about something I called “Toolbox Meteorites” which I defined as “Utilitarian meteorites", or those space rocks and irons I like to call "Toolbox Meteorites" begin life on earth in a more practical occupation rather than an academic one.` So when the shot-up meteorite walked into the pawn shop, the stage was set for a continued story.
(Photo courtesy of Tom Phillips)
The pawn shop manager told Tom a crazy story about a gambler who bought the meteorite for good luck, but changed his mind and shot the stone 28 times and then sold the wounded stone to the pawn shop. With this too good a story to pass up, Tom stopped by the pawn shop and immediately recognized the stone as the one he sold at the antique mall. Unbelievable! But then again, it is a small world, and those of us who travel in meteorite circles know that this subworld is even smaller. And as proof, here I am writing this story and reconnecting with Tom.
Tom measured the weight and compared images of the stone to notes he had. It was, in fact, the same stone he sold at the antique mall and he had the receipts to prove it. One 38g piece was shot off the meteorite but recovered from the desert and included with the main mass. At
the moment, the meteorite is on display at the pawn shop, and Tom hopes a sign will soon read, "Not for sale at any price, or best offer!"
meteorite on
I would like to thank Tom Phillips for sharing this story, providing pictures, and giving me a reason to dig up meteorite lore from the good old days.
Until next time….
The
display in the pawn shop. (Photo courtesy of Tom Phillips)
Meteorites and New Friends
James Tobin
About a year ago I joined the local Gem and Mineral Society. It has been a great experience. I was needing something to do and a way to make a few friends. The field trips have been fun, and I have found a lot of rocks. No meteorites yet but hoping to do some serious hunting in the fall again when it cools off. The rocks I find go mostly into the tumblers and they look pretty in bowls scattered about the house.
One of the activities the club does is a parking lot yard sale to raise money for the local senior center where we hold our gem club meetings. That was in mid-June. They all know I work with meteorites, and I have spoken on meteorite hunting to the club. So they asked if I would bring a display of meteorites to have for the public to enjoy when they come inside to get cool and buy the raffle tickets for our two upcoming raffles of mineral treasures and restaurant gift certificates. There was a great fossil display by another gentleman in the club. They created a lot of interest. I spent two days telling the meteorite story and talking about some of the special meteorites I had on display. Everyone enjoyed the “Jailhouse Rock” story of Beaver, Oklahoma a meteorite used to hold the door of the jail in the town until it was recognized as a space rock. And Valera “The Cow Killer” who would not love the story of a cow murdered by a cosmic attacker while grazing and minding its own business. I included some lunar and Martian meteorites in the display, I was asked the “how do you know they are from Mars and the Moon” question nearly every time I handed those Riker boxes to someone to hold. I have those answers worked out pretty well by now. What was hard science to explain years ago is a bit easier now.
I had never done a sit and visit with meteorites for the public before. I worked at outdoor fairs and astronomy functions selling meteorites and tektites but never just sat quietly and chatted with people who came by my displays of space rocks. Most of the people visited the fossil display first. I guess because it was closest to the raffle ticket sign up table. Eventually they arrived at my tables. I had two display cases filed with meteorites and some larger specimens on the tables. I brought a very large piece of Muong Nong Layered Tektite too. Everyone got a kick out of how much lighter to lift the tektite was. Hardly anyone knew anything about tektites, but most people knew that meteorites are pieces of material from outer space. One of the families sat down and were just fascinated to hear everything. The treasurer of the club took a picture of me and the family and joked that I was holding meteorite class. It was fun.
They asked me to speak on Meteor Crater for the July meeting of the club and well how can I turn that down its my favorite place on the planet almost. I have put together a 44 slide PowerPoint presentation and find myself rehearsing it even though it is nearly a month away. It is a big topic, and I could talk forever about the crater, but I have to try and keep it around an hour total. It starts with some slides about the actual impact and the crater formation. A few slides about the geology and statistics of Meteor Crater and then it is a plunge into the history and the three decades of work by D. M. Barringer. There is a good throughout section about the drilling on the south rim and probably a shameless plug for my book “Drilling for Meteorites”. The talk ends with a brief few slides about the Crater as it is today and photos with links to our in-depth website pages about our hikes there.
It’s the July 4th holiday as I write this, and I have another display case out at the Independence Day Festival at the town up the road. The club has three booth spaces. One for selling rock
specimens, slices, geodes, and such. Most of the material was cut and prepared at the club workshop by club members. Another booth is for the spinning wheel where people pay $1 or $5 and get the specimen or jewelry piece that the wheel ends up on. That’s great fun for kids and grownups alike. The last of our tents is an information booth. That’s where my display will be for the three day event. It is a much smaller and less elaborate display than I had at the Senior Center Yard Sale event. Since I will not be sitting there, and it is in the information tent, I made it more educational. It has samples of meteorites with labels for the types, and some information about how meteorites are studied in labs to classify them before they become official.
Being in the Gem and Mineral Society created a need in my lab for a bigger piece of equipment to lap and polish the larger rocks I collect on the field trips. I have for a long time needed a larger flat lap to do the beautiful cut Muong Nong halves that I polish to water wet finishes. They have been very difficult to do with the smaller lap and I have often had to grind them on a thick glass sheet with abrasive grit. So I investigated 12-inch laps and was not happy about the price of $3000 or more for just the machine without the diamond disks. So I did what I always do and made my own machine. It has been my habit the last few years to no longer give away secrets and tricks. But this one is easy. I bought a 14-inch electric potter’s wheel that I wanted anyway for my ceramics. I got six 12-inch sturdy hard fiberboard bats for pottery work. I ordered a big piece of 3 mm thick hard felt and 12-inch diamond lapping discs for 80, 320, 600, and 2000 grit.
I put sections of heavy duty Velcro on the aluminum potter’s wheel at the 12-inch marking groove. I stuck matching Velcro on the edges of the backs of the fiberboard bats. I sprayed adhesive on the front of the bats and backs of the diamond laps and stuck them together perfectly aligned. I attached the thick hard felt to a bat the same way and trimmed it smooth to the bat’s edge. That’s it, other than making a water container with a flexible hose and valve that would stand above the lapping discs and drip water while I was grinding and polishing. I made a wonderful fantastically effective 12-inch lapping machine for about $500 in one day. It works so well I wish I had made it years ago. But I am not sure there were inexpensive electric potter’s wheels back then. I have used it a huge amount already. I quickly made ten large pieces of Muong Nong with spectacular polished faces, and it was easy work now. Here are pictures of the machine. Sorry it is in constant use, so it was not very clean for the shot. Oh I did make a very strong table for it to stand on at a height that I was comfortable with. But it could sit on any table a person had who made one of these machines.
Here is an image of one of the big Muong Nong polished faces.
Summer is going strong, and it is getting hotter every day. We had our first brush fire yesterday and it was pretty near. The county ordered evacuations for three tracks of land just east of the house. But still a mile away. We had a power outage too. So all normal for central California in the summer. The air conditioning in my lab is working perfect so I spend a lot of time out there working on meteorites. But it is nice to get together with my new friends at the club workshop and work on rocks there too. But there is no AC, and it is a small room full of big saws and combination grinders, laps, and belt sander/polisher equipment. It gets frightfully hot in there. But it is worth it. I have found since my wife passed that it is important to meet people and make friends and get out of the house and do things. But right now it is too hot to hike in the desert. I am already looking forward to Fall and doing some metal detecting and meteorite hunting. I
have trained two of my new friends on my metal detector. They got very interested after my talk to the club and have made magnet sticks and are getting their own detectors. Some one-day and weekend trips with them are in my future. But that will be later. It is 100° F today at only 10:30 in the morning. It is off to the cool lab now I have meteorites to prepare. Till next issue, enjoy your summer.
Spherules in NWA 4884
John Kashuba
NWA 4884 is a lunar mingled basalt-rich breccia. It has both mare and highland components. It is launch paired with Antarctic meteorites QUE 94281 and Yamato 793274. They were all blasted off the moon at the same time.
NWA 4884 contains spherules. The composition of the droplets in the Antarctic stones show that some are highland material and therefore the product of impact melting. Other beads are mare - each either the product of a mare basaltic fire fountain or impact melt splash.
Our sample weighed 0.34 grams. The original individual weighed 42 grams.
This is one of the three thin sections we had made.
That section in cross polarized light, XPL.
In plane polarized light, PPL. Spherules are sparse, scattered and small.
Only a couple were readily apparent at lower magnification so we searched at 250X. The arrow in the dark clast on the right points to a small swirl of translucent glass. PPL.
This spherule contrasts well with the matrix and is relatively large at 0.22 mm in diameter. PPL.
Spherule width = 0.18 mm. PPL.
Spherule width = 0.09 mm. PPL.
Length = 0.09 mm. PPL.
= 0.08 mm. PPL.
Diameter
Less distinct. Field of view = 0.44 mm wide. PPL. In rotating XPL, optical extinction circulates in myriad minute sectors as in cryptocrystalline chondrules.
Diameter = 0.12 mm. PPL. This droplet contains crystal laths arrayed as in radial chondrules. In rotating XPL, bands of extinction sweep across this polished face, pivoting about a point in the area that is bright in this view.
A frozen swirl of translucent clear and brown melt glass within a dark clast. Field of view = 0.5 mm wide. PPL.
Spherule in a different NWA 4884 thin section. XPL.
That droplet in incident white light.
In XPL.
In PPL. We favor using PPL when searching for these objects.
Vatican Meteorite Collection
Mitch Noda
I never imagined that the Vatican would have an observatory and meteorite collection. In 1543, Polish astronomer, Nicolas Copernicus, wrote “On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres” about the Heliocentric theory laying the foundation that the Sun is the center of the solar system and the Earth and other planets revolve around the Sun. Others had theorized this way before Copernicus, however, it was Copernicus’ publication that started the Heliocentric theory to become established. At the time, the Catholic church believed the Earth was the center of the universe, and the moon, planets and stars revolved around it. From the time of Aristotle, and the ancient Greeks, this was the belief. The bible is neither Geocentric or Heliocentric. In 1633, Galileo’s support of this model lead to his famous inquisition trial as a heretic before the Catholic church. The church also banned Copernicus’ and Galileo’s books. In time, both Copernicus and Galileo would be exonerated. This point in history did not paint a picture of the church basing some important beliefs on science or even the bible, therefore, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that the church has an observatory and a meteorite collection.
The Vatican observatory dates back to 1582 and is one of the oldest active observatories. Originally located in the Roman College of Rome, it is now headquartered in Castel Gandolfo, Italy and operates a telescope at the Mount Graham International Observatory in Safford, Arizona, U.S.A. Data from the observatory assisted in forming the Gregorian Calendar (the calendar most people in the world use today). From 1891 until the 1950’s, eighteen countries including the Vatican, produced the Carte du Ciel (map of the Heavens) the first photographic atlas of the stars.
French nobleman, Adrien-Charles, Marquis de Mauroy (1848-1927), established the meteorite collection at the Vatican with his donation of 104 specimens, including duplicates in 1907. In 1912, another 50 meteorite samples were added to the collection. The Marquis died in 1927, and in 1935, his widow Marie Caroline Eugénie donated all but the very largest pieces of his meteorite and mineral collection to the Vatican. This donation consisted of a thousand pieces sampling more than 400 different meteorite falls. The Marquis’ mineral collection was substantial, and his meteorite collection was said to be the second largest private collection in the world. In the years following the Mauroy bequest, the collection has grown slowly by gifts and trades. Today, the meteorite collection has over 1,100 specimens representing over 500 different falls totaling over 150 kg of extraterrestrial material. The Vatican no longer trades its meteorites from its exceptional collection.
A 2.1 gram Ensisheim specimen with hand written label by the Marquis de Mauroy. This specimen was part of the Vatican meteorite collection and listed in multiple Vatican meteorite collection catalogues.
Years ago, I was fortunate to communicate with Brother Guy Consolmagno, the director of the Vatican Observatory and president of the Vatican Observatory Foundation. Brother Guy was also the curator of the Vatican meteorite collection at the time I contacted him in January 2015. He confirmed that my Ensisheim specimen was part of the Vatican meteorite collection. The specimen was referenced in mulitiple Vatican catalogues. When I contacted Brother Guy years later, he informed me that he was no longer the curator for the meteorite collection. The new curator was Brother Robert Macke.
What is also cool is that this is an iconic Ensisheim meteorite specimen. Ensisheim, fell on November 7, 1492, near the town of Ensisheim, in the same year that Columbus discovered America. Ensisheim is one of the oldest recorded falls, but not the oldest. That distinction belongs to the Japanese meteorite witness fall – Nogato – May 19, 861. Residents of the town and nearby farms began to take pieces off the visitor from space, as souvenirs. King Maximilian ordered it to be preserved in the church at Ensisheim. Today, all but 56 kg (123 pounds) of the original 127 kg (280 pounds) rock remain. Ensisheim is the oldest recorded fall in Europe at a time when it was not believed that rocks fell from the sky.
The other side of my iconic Ensisheim piece with label by the Marquis de Mauroy and my friend’s Mike Bandli’s label. The Vatican no longer does trades which makes this historic specimen even more rare.
The Vatican Observatory Meteorite Collection catalogue 2001 references my 2.05 gram Ensisheim specimen.
References
Heliocentrism | Definition, History, & Facts | Britannica
400 Years Ago the Catholic Church Prohibited Copernicanism | Origins (osu.edu)
Why did the Catholic Church believe that the Earth stood in the middle of the universe? - Quora
Some Catholics seek to counter Galileo – Chicago Tribune
Home - Vatican Observatory
Vatican Observatory - Wikipedia
Ensisheim meteorite - Wikipedia
N?gata meteorite - Wikipedia
Meteoritical Bulletin: Entry for Ensisheim (usra.edu)
Ensisheim meteorite | Falling Star, German Impact & 15th Century | Britannica
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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.
