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Re: UK Meteorite Hunting

Hi Stuart:
I would recommend checking the stone fences that farmes build out of rocks from
their field.  They may be quite old and they are somewhat protected from the
elements. Good luck!
Matt

STUARTATK@aol.com wrote:

> Hi List,
>
> Inspired by all the tales of meteorite hunting you guys do over in the US, and
> by the "Z" lights incident the other evening, I've been wondering how I could
> go about tracking down some over here in the UK before I move to the States
> before year's end...
>
> Of course, the problem is that the UK is a very small "target", surrounded by
> a LOT of water, and quite a proportion of what land there is either covered in
> forests or is totally exposed to the weather, and you all know how sh-    how
> *bad* our weather is, right? (It's raining heavily as I write this, so hard
> that if it doesn't let up soon I'm seriously considering building a big boat
> and rounding up pairs of animals...) So anything older than a century or so
> will be - literally - history now.
>
> I have had an idea though, which I'd appreciate some advice or coments on..? I
> live in a heavily farmed area, with a lot of ploughed fields, and I was
> wondering if it would be worth asking local farmers if I could scour through
> their rock piles in search of any meteorites they'd dug up during their
> labours..? It seems like my best bet, to go through a concentration of rocks
> rather than just walking around with my eyes on the ground waiting to stumble
> across something. I don't own a metal detector (but to be honest using one of
> those around here might be more bother than it's worth, there are lots of old
> mines around here, and the fields are burial grounds for old farm and
> agricultural machinery, and a lot of furnace slag is lying around), so it
> would be a case of me sitting there on a rock pile, like a gnome, with my
> trusty magnet and magnifier, checking out suspects... what are my chances?
>
> Has anyone done something similar, with or without success? I'd be interested
> to hear any UK or non-desert meteorite hunt stories. Feel free to mail me
> privately if this is an old topic...
>
> I just feel like I should *try*, you know..?
>
> Finally, on the aforementioned "Z" lights story... I spent a good deal of my
> away-from-the-computer time yesterday (all two hours of it!) reassuring people
> that no, it doesn't mean that death is going to rain from the sky at any
> moment "like in that film" (which means "Deep Impact" as "Armageddonoutofhere"
> hasn't opened here yet). Seriously though, this is the second UK fireball
> report in a couple of months, and as I said we *are* a very small target...
> coincidence? Or is there a precedent for such a nocturnal bombardment..?
>
> Best wishes to all,
>
> Stuart A
>
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--
Matt Morgan
Mile High Meteorites
http://www.mhmeteorites.com
P.O.Box 151293
Lakewood, CO 80215-9293


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