[meteorite-list] Yet another Elma Material update

From: Adam Hupe <adamhupe_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 10:16:34 2004
Message-ID: <14f801c363c1$be383b20$b4dbe60c_at_attbi.com>

Dear List Members,

This email was sent and I felt it deserved to be responded to publicly
because I have received numerous other emails asking similar questions. If
you are not interested in the latest Elma material results please hit your
delete button now.

**************************************************
I was wondering if you would mind updating me on what you have
found out about the Elma object. I did not want to post this to the list
because the subject seems to bring out the worst in SOME people, and I
don't really want to invoke another word war. In any case, I would keep
anything you say confidential until you decide to tell the rest of the
community about it if you wish.
**************************************************

First of all, I went back to Elma for some answers to several questions.
Some of the things that I did was to collect samples from the supplier of
the original sinter track material and to track down the source of the sand
found in the shot-put pit.

The sand in the shot-put pit came from a quarry about a quarter of a mile
away. It was determined that the sand is natural, clean and that the glassy
objects were introduced sometime later.

Since sinters could be a possible explanation we decided it would be proper
to compare them with what was found in the pit. The sinters are left over
material from burning coal in a steam plant. The sinters in the original
track have been covered for over a decade by a layer of asphalt and a
covering of rubber. Since it was thought that these glassy objects might
have been contamination from the original track it was important to locate
the source of these sinters for comparison. Here is the problem, coal
varies from one burn to the next which means there will be some variance in
the sinters. All I can say is that the sinters that were tested at the UW
did not match the glassy objects found in the pit. The UW will release a
public opinion, I believe, on the results tomorrow.

Things that we have no explanation for:

A dust cloud was observed from the pit within seconds of seeing the
fireball.

An eyewitnesses finger and thumb were burned after picking up a piece.

A piece of this glass was found by a police officer embedded in a telephone
pole next to the pit.

The same police officer reported that there were dents and burn marks on
some nearby bleachers.

The same officer reported that where these black objects were found on an
asphalt sidewalk that there was melting.

A newspaper photographer took a picture of hundreds of little craters in the
sand, each containing these black glass objects at the bottom.

Sand which was not melted was found in the centers of most of these objects
which consist of basaltic glass that was quenched very rapidly, kind of like
a fulgurite.

The track coach claims the sand was clean prior to this event and sinters
would never have been added.

A few institutions have weighed in on this event. One DOD contractor thinks
it could have been a transient event (a plasma discharge) which they
sporadically pick up on their sensors when monitoring for nuclear activity
from time to time. A Russian scientist is convinced that it might have been
a Geometeorite event (ball lightning). I think that the UW will report that
yet more study needs to be done in order to connect this strange glass to
the meteor sighting which was witnessed by several dozen people.

I will post microprobe pictures and data when the UW gives me the green
light.

All the best,

Adam
Received on Sat 16 Aug 2003 02:43:44 AM PDT