[meteorite-list] New Nebraska meteorite a mystrey

From: Mikestockj_at_aol.com <Mikestockj_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Tue Oct 5 23:10:32 2004
Message-ID: <a9.6370c491.2e94bc12_at_aol.com>

Hi Dave
I would posted it some time ago but have been having a hard time posting to
the list. Just needed to post as plain text. The photo sure doesn't look like
fresh fall.
Looks like Matt Morgan was sent a piece....any comment Matt?

http://www.sun-telegraph.com/cgi-bin/au/archive.cgi?todays_news=2004072710221

What appears to be a rare phenomenon has set the small community of Chappell
abuzz with excitement. Two of the town?s rural residents have discovered what
is presumed to be a meteorite in their own front yard, a find that if
confirmed valid by experts, is said to be a once in a lifetime discovery. ?We?re so
excited,? said Donna Akeson of the find. ?We have heard that if it is a
meteorite that this happens once in every 100 years.? Akeson discovered what appears
to be a meteorite the afternoon of Thursday, July 22 while going about airing
out the house following a thunderstorm the night before. ?I went to open the
window to get some air circulating in the house when I saw it just laying
there about four-feet from the house in the front yard,? she said. Akeson and
husband, Bert, live eight and one-half miles north of Chappell.
Akeson said she knew right away that it was a meteorite because she had done
a little research prior to stumbling upon the find. ?It?s funny, I had just
done some reading on meteor rocks so I knew immediately what it was,? she said.
?It?s kind of interesting to know that I read about it and then found one.?
Akeson believes that the object fell from the sky during a thunderstorm that
hit the Chappell area around 9 p.m. Wednesday, July 21. Though the only one
who seems to have known that something unusual had occurred was the couple?s
dog, Flossee.
?I was sitting on the couch around 9 p.m. Wednesday night when I heard a
crack of thunder accompanied by a bright flash,? Akeson said. ?At first I didn?t
think much about it but then my dog jumped off my lap and took off on a dead
run for the kitchen....to hide in her basket. Apparently she (dog) knew
something serious had just happened and got scared.? Due to Flossee?s strange
reaction, this is when Akeson estimated the time the rock landed on her property.
The object fell at such a momentum that it hit a tree in the Akeson?s yard,
damaging the bark and leaving a trail of leaves three to four-foot wide in its
wake. The rock is about the size of a cantaloupe and estimated to weigh around
six pounds.
Five days after the find, the rock is now in the safe keeping of the Deuel
County Sheriff?s Office. Sheriff Jeff Ortgies said the office has submitted a
quarter-size piece of the rock for testing to the Colorado Meteorite Recovery
Team in Lakewood, Colo., and is awaiting official confirmation as to whether or
not the community of Chappell can indeed stake claim to its first reported
meteorite.
?It brings real excitement to the community to see something like this,?
Akeson said. ?It?s really just a funny thing, and we?re happy that we had an
idea of what it is so other people can see it and enjoy it.?
The Akeson?s hope to share their discovery further with the community
displaying it at the Deuel County Fair in August.
Once test results are received back from the Colorado Meteorite Recovery
Team, the Sidney Sun-Telegraph will run a follow-up article based on the findings.
Received on Tue 05 Oct 2004 11:10:10 PM PDT