[meteorite-list] Fireball Dust Collection Experiment

From: E.L. Jones <jonee_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 09:43:35 2004
Message-ID: <3B60AE3B.87E22197_at_epix.net>

Hello List,

I need your thoughts on the following idea along with an assistance in
locating an institution which would accept collections for analysis. As
anyone in the list is aware there was a large bolide here in PA Monday.
Attempts to refine the data are scattered amongst the meteor and
meteorite communities-- no one agency has stepped up to the lead. Time
is an enemy here along with the weather.

I remembered that after a high altitude bolide exploded, Nininiger once
collected dust on a snow field which he later determined to have had
chondrules. It occurs to me that there may be a concentration of
meteoroid dust underneath the area of an explosion given prevailing wind
driven dispersion , of course. Because this is a do now or lose
forever proposition the only physical evidence we may ever recover is
from dust collecting on roof tops and later washed into the gutter spouts.

I am preparing to make a post to local news groups discussing the meteor
asking volunteers to place old nylon stockings around their gutter
spouts for a period of a week or so to see if there is a rise in
concentrations of dust iridium etc. I can work out the retrieving the
samples but I would like a lab/University/museum to agree to provide
technical advice and assist me in sending these samples ultimately to a
facility which will complete the experiment. Perhaps there is a grad
student somewhere needing a thesis subject.

Thoughts? Suggestions? Financial assistance? <G> Yeah Right!

I know there is a lot of institutional resistance to these "come-lately"
projects but think of the benefits if we could find compositional data
on this and future fireballs if we were able to implement this in time
to do some good. Please offer you advice and contacts if you think this
idea has any merit.

Regards,
Elton
Received on Thu 26 Jul 2001 07:58:17 PM PDT