[meteorite-list] RE: Dhofar 025 Real or Phony

From: Göran Axelsson <axelsson_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Sat Aug 27 09:23:19 2005
Message-ID: <431069FA.2060601_at_acc.umu.se>

I have just tested the small fragment that I got from Chicago Steve's
freebies and it is lifted by holding a strong magnet one cm above it.
Well, I'm not too surprised and I had already strong doubts about
it being a lunar.

I guess that I got what I payed for. :-)

/G?ran

Norbert Classen wrote:

>Hi Don, Martin, and All,
>
>I've seen close-up pictures of fragments of the alledged "Dho 025" sold on
>eBay by "floridacoaster", and they actually don't look like the real McCoy
>but more like a vesicular terrestrial basalt. However, pictures are not too
>good to judge from, and I would actually be interested in comparing a sample
>of "floridacoaster's" alledged lunar with a real piece of Dhofar 025. Your
>choice - contact me off-list for more information. As Martin said, you can
>also bring your sample to the Munich show in late October where I can have a
>close look at it (BTW, the finder of Dhofar 025 will also be there to have a
>look).
>
>Don wrote: "A neo magnet has no problem attracting it." Another reason to
>doubt the authenticity of the material sold by "floridacoaster". I tested my
>samples of Dhofar 025, and the paired Dhofar 301, 304, and 308, and none of
>them were attracted by a very strong Neodymium magnet, not even slightly. So
>I would say that the magnetic suspectibility of the floridacoaster samples
>also suggests that these are not pieces of Dhofar 025, but basaltic samples
>of terrestrial provenance. Of course, I could be wrong here since regolith
>breccias often do contain NiFe inclusions of impacting iron meteorites, and
>micro-meteorites. In this case, the magnetic suspectibility of the sample in
>question shouldn't be homogenous but biased to such NiFe clasts. However, I
>doubt that there's much metallic NiFe left in any sample of Dho 025 since
>Dho 025 is famous for its very long terrestrial residence time of about 250K
>years (longer than any other lunar meteorite, recovered thus far). Dho 025
>is thouroughly weathered, and more terrestrialized than any other lunaite I
>know of. It would take me by surprise if any metall partical in the breccia
>would have survived up to this day.
>
>Best,
>Norbert
>
>-----Urspr?ngliche Nachricht-----
>
>Hi Don,
>
>I bought a crumb and I was more than skeptic too.
>Beside that it looked to vesicular, the story the seller told can't be true.
>She stated that her husband acquired a chunk through ebay at a time were the
>finder sold it exclusively
>and indeed he never sold fragments or endcuts but only thin slices. My
>specimen was fairly thick, had no cut faces,
>thus wasn't broke off from a slice. The main mass of Dho 025, was sold
>later, can't stem from it.
>I planned to show it to the finder, Serge Afanasjev from cometshop, who else
>could judge better and to the lunar master, Norbert Classen, but I have to
>confess, that my piece got lost in my chaotic strewnfield (Perhaps the cat
>kicked it behind the piano).
>I also told Illinois-Arnold, that it might be not a good idea to use his
>piece to fabricate giveaways, but he didn't care.
>So I suggest, that you or any other who took a substantial fragment, may
>send it to the IMCA-Europe-chief Norbert Classen,
>who also will meet the finder Afanasjev on the end of October at the Munich
>show.
>
>Cheers!
>Martin
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Don Merchant" <dmerchan_at_rochester.rr.com>
>
>
>

.. snipp ..

>>allready done so. Steve Arnold from Chicago, I know you purchased a piece.
>>What else have you found out? Thanks Don Merchant---emflocater
>>
>>
Received on Sat 27 Aug 2005 09:26:18 AM PDT