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Re: Cumbrian meteorite..?

Dave Hostetter schrieb:

> Hi, Stuart:
>
> ... try narrowing the time frame a little.
>
> ... what was going on around the time of the meteor. Was it before or
> after the Apollo 11 moon landing, for instance?  ... anything that was
> going on in his life at the time ... something his kids were doing,
> where they were in school, or something he was doing at work?

> Contact the London Planetarium to see if they have any records
> about the meteor that establish the date - they may sometimes
> have visitors make comments about it.

> Once you narrow down the date some, check the local newspaper
> archives.

> ... the articles would probably give you the exact date and time along
> with a mention of the places where the meteor was seen.

> ... the list of cities may give you a hint of how widely the object
> was seen.

See also Eric Hutton:

http://www.rmplc.co.uk/eduweb/sites/bookman/meteorites/c20.html#bovedy1


> Perhaps as important as the field where he thinks it fell would be
> the exact place where he stood as he watched it, particularly if he
> tied its motion in with local landmarks that still exist (and have not
> changed).

May I offer some more help like Dave did in such an encouraging way to
carry on/out the search systematically on different levels:

a) collect oral and written reports / documents / allusions
b) search the purported location(s)  => f i e l d  r e s e a r c h
c) combine, compare and evaluate (a) and (b)
   assess and sift the evidence  => d e s k  r e s e a r c h

A. Collect oral and written material

Local residents (any person of interest that might be of help - directly
or indirectly) should be asked questions like:

01) What do you personally know / remember ?
02) What word-of-mouth information do you have?
03) Who gave you these word-of-mouth reports?
04) Where did (s)he/they read / collect the information?
05) What exactly did you / (s)he / they read / hear / say?
06) Where /when / how was it told or reported?

    written form             oral form
     - story                    - story
     - newspaper                - (former) eyewitness
     - letter                   - rumor
     - document                 - hearsay

07) Can you(r source) mention any place names and / or distances from
... to ...?
08) Can you(r source) describe any (striking) features of the purported
locations?
 - rocks                    - (steep) hills and slopes
 - trees                    - mountains (N-S/E-W etc.) - orientation?
 - animals                  - paths, junctions
 - (special) vegetation     - brooks, ponds, rivulets
 - holes or depressions in the ground

09) What was the soil / terrain like?
 - grassy - rocky - wet - pebbles - soft - dry - dusty

10) What time of the day / week /month /season / year was your source /
were you there?

11) How high up in the sky was the Sun / the Moon?
 was / were the planet(s)?
 was / were the constellation(s)?
 was / were the star(s)?

12) Was the Moon in the evening or in the morning sky?
 Was the Moon a (waxing or a waning) crescent?
 Was the Moon (waxing or waning) gibbous?
 Was the Moon full?

13) How much of the sky could be seen?
    - horizon to horizon view
    - obstructed, limited view

14) What was your horizon obstructed by? How much? What height?

15) Which celestial bodies could be seen from your vantage point?
 If none - could / did you see any later on / before?

16) What time was it when you went/ left / arrived / came back?
 How long did it take you from A to B (and back again)?

17) How many fragments were described / did you see / do you know of?

18) Do you have any information about their size / weight / shape or
color?

19) Where were the masses (reported to be) lying?

20) How deep were they (said to be) buried?

21) How much material was moved, possessed, bought, sold or traded? -
Where did it go?

22) Has anything ever been built there? Is it still there? What was it?
When was it removed?

Such a questionnaire may help you pin down possible fall/find sites for
meteoritic material.


B. Searching techniques for purported location(s)

It might prove useful to cover the purported area with a network/grid of
squares (longitude / latitude) to search in systematically just like
archaelogists do when digging for ancient stuff.

Method 1: Team members searching from oppoite sides (East - West / West
- East)

Method 2: Team members searching at right angles

Method 3: Team members searching N -S and S - N

Method 4: Team members searching at some oblique angle


Best (meteoritic) wishes and good luck again,
We are keeping our fingers crossed for you!

Bernd

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