[meteorite-list] FWD: The Vitim update

From: Robert Verish <bolidechaser_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 10:21:09 2004
Message-ID: <20030728010512.65038.qmail_at_web80506.mail.yahoo.com>

------------------ Forward Message
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meteorobs-digest Sunday, July 27 2003
Volume 04 : Number 1193

++++++++++
(meteorobs) re: Vitim event (2)
(meteorobs) The Vitim event, the airplane crash and
more
(meteorobs) The Vitim update
Re: (meteorobs) The Vitim event, the airplane crash
and more

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 26 Jul 2003 22:41:27 +0200
From: "Marco Langbroek" <marco.langbroek_at_wanadoo.nl>
Subject: (meteorobs) re: Vitim event (2)

With regard to the Vitim "impact" event and possible
causes of the fire damaged trees in the area: below is
a piece of text from Andrei Olkhovatov's June 13
posting to the Meteorobs list, citing the Kosmopoisk
expedition leader V. Chernobrov. These lines have
apparently remained without further attention, but
should they? They are:

"it was the heard by them version about the fact that
immediately after the fall of the meteorite in the
same region suffered catastrophe the aircraft
(according to precise now data, aircraft An-2 has
burned after forced landing in the side from the
epicentre)"

If I understand this correctly, this says there has
been an Antonov aircraft on fire close to the location
with forest fire damage near the day of the Vitim
bolide.

- - Marco

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 27 Jul 2003 08:48:27 +0400
From: "Andrei Ol'khovatov" <olkhov_at_mail.ru>
Subject: (meteorobs) The Vitim event, the airplane
crash and more

Dear Marco and All,

Regarding the airplane (AN-2) crash, Chernobrov said
that they failed to find any evidences that it was
somehow related with the Vitim event.

Also , please, keep in mind that the region of Siberia
is very rich in various (ore, etc.) deposits, so "you
can find what you want". I just mention (from
Chernobrov's words), that initially the expedition had
serious (very dangerous, in reality) problems with
local gold-diggers (I guess that not all of them are
legal), as diggers had suspected that the expedition
came "for gold". But later their attitude have
changed, and they even hired an expensive helicopter
for the expedition...
I think that the adventures are no less interesting
that the Vitim event itself.

Interestingly, that Kulik searching "Tunguska
meteorite" in 1920s was in similar situation with the
"gold".
And one more interesting parallel. I think that
unless the mass-media promoted Kosmopoisk's
expedition, it was very unlikely that now 4
expeditions are in the area, as it is much easy to get
money for something already promoted/popular.
And recently deceased Kosmopoisk's Chairman of
Emeritus - Alexandr Kazantsev was the first who stated
in 1945 that the "Tunguska meteorite" did not fall on
the ground, but exploded in the air, and therefore it
was an alien spaceship. At once top Soviet
meteorite-experts began to critisize this, stating,
that "all scientific evidences point that Tunguska
meteorite fell and sank in a swamp and the resulting
crater quickly disappeared". But Kazantsev "heresy"
promoted by mass-media led to a raise of interest to
almost forgotten "Tunguska meteorite", and led to a
number
of expeditions, which discovered that no "Tunguska
meteorite" sank in the swamp ...

So I propose to wait some days-weeks for developments
of the interesting story. I will try to post any news
on the event. And those who have access (or money to
order/buy) for satellite pictures, could conduct their
own research right now checking the "Vitim bolide"
forest-fall appearence date/time.

Best wishes,
Andrei Ol'khovatov

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 27 Jul 2003 09:20:34 +0400
From: "Andrei Ol'khovatov" <olkhov_at_mail.ru>
Subject: (meteorobs) The Vitim update

Dear All,

As illustration to my previous post, here is info I
just found in Russian top TV-channel internet site,
which I translated with
http://babelfish.altavista.com/babelfish/tr
======================
http://www.1tv.ru/owa/win/ort6_main.main?p_news_title_id=57541&p_news_razdel
_id=8

The north of Irkutsk region enveloped the new form of
search fever . . .

The north of Irkutsk region envelopped the new form of
the search fever Hunters after the success hope to
become rich not on the gold mines - they search for
more expensive material - fragments Of the vitimskogo
meteorite, which last fall fell in the taiga town
Bodaybo. Trade in meteorites became in recent years
the very extended business, which brings solid incomes

to salesmen and enormous damage to science - in the
last 20 years into the collection of the academy of
sciences from the population it entered not one
meteorite. To stir in the meteoritic business in its
time assisted output to the screens of film
"armageddon" - about the threat for the Earth from the
side of asteroids. Space cobblestones of steel by the
extremely advantageous method of the investment of
money. They did leave far behind gold? the total
weight of all discovered meteorites does not suffice
even to the total weight of the world annual output of
yellow metal. Meteorites now can be acquired at the
auctions, through the Internet and even in the
antiquarian stores. Representative of the auction:
"one gram of meteorite can cost from
1 to 1000 dollars, and price only grows in the course
of time. Only yr or two can indicate in certain cases
a triple increase in the cost of meteorite".
Furthermore, chases people into the taiga and the kept
balance popular belief, that the piece of meteorite
can become almost panacea from all illnesses.
Sorcerers, jewelers and astrologers are ready to lay
out for the rare goods sizable sums. But the
miraculous property of meteorites does not have
scientific confirmation. In Russia the majority of
meteorites, including unique models, "swim away" for
the boundary. The collection of the Russian academy of
sciences, one of the old in the world, counts less
than 800 meteorites. For the comparison - in the
Japanese approximately 9 and one-half thousands of
meteorites, in THE USA? more than 10 thousands.
For the latter several decades in the territory of
Russia were noted drops in the approximately
one-and-a-half hundred meteorites. Today they all
count
"in the search". Regardless of the fact, they will
find Vitimskiy meteorite and will how much cost its
fragments, it already became priceless gift for the
inhabitants Bodaybo, where they today celebrate the
100- anniversary of settling.
======

I think that consequences of such article could be
harmful and even dangerous for research groups in the
area, as it will apparently result in negative and
hostile attitude to them of local gold-diggers, which
are real "hosts/masters" in taiga...

Best wishes,

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 27 Jul 2003 12:46:45 +0200
From: "Marco Langbroek" <marco.langbroek_at_wanadoo.nl>
Subject: Re: (meteorobs) The Vitim event, the airplane
crash and more

> So I propose to wait some days-weeks for
> developments of the interesting story. I will try
> to post any news on the event.

Looking forward to new details, but frankly, I have my
serious doubts about this whole story. I think this is
just a prolonged news hype of the kind "Loch Ness
monster seen again / another new sighting of Elvis!".

While the Kosmopoisk reporting language is very
suggestive, I feel that the pictures do not entirely
match with their descriptions. The Taiga damage on
the pictures seem to be quite localized patches with
no indications either in the pictures, or in the
reports, why this could not be a 'normal' forest fire
(which is why I pointed to that more down to earth
possible source of forest fire that was reported for
the area: that apparently burning Antonov aircraft
crash-landing in the area. And if this can be ruled
out as a source: forests burn for many reasons,
natural or man-induced. For example because of a
careless gold digger. A meteoric event as a cause for
a forest fire is not immediately the most likely). The
DOD satellite registration points to a 2 kT event,
which is too small to cause the claimed kind of
damage. And I find those reported strange phenomena
like "bitter taste of water", "increase in background
radioactivity", "elevated tritium levels" a bit too
much of the bizarre, they raise my alarm bells with
regard to all this 'evidence'. They are not things you
expect associated with a genuine impact/airburst
event. They only strengthen the apparently weird and
suspect character of the findings on the ground. I
think it is most likely that the things now found on
the ground have nothing to do with the observed
bolide.
That is my opinion, and I'll only change it after some
clear evidence is presented upon which established
impact scientists agree.

By the way Andrei, to avoid misunderstanding, I highly
appreciate your news reporting coverage of the event
so far, and your rightfull cautious attitude to the
reports, so my comment above is not directed to you,
but to the issue in question itself. Let there be no
mistake in that! Your call to examine satellite
pictures from before and after the Vitim event, is a
very good and wise suggestion I think.

That's my 2 cents worth of it, and as this subject is
slightly OT of the Meteorobs goals and the Perseid
season is nearing, I'll leave it to that untill fresh
evidence emerges I think.


- - Marco
------------------------------

End of meteorobs-digest V4 #1193
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Received on Sun 27 Jul 2003 09:05:12 PM PDT