[meteorite-list] Magazine for Meteorite Enthusiasts Moves to University of Arkansas Space Center

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Wed Dec 14 15:21:30 2005
Message-ID: <200512142019.jBEKJsR13279_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

http://dailyheadlines.uark.edu/6500.htm

FOR RELEASE: Wednesday, December 14, 2005

Magazine for Meteorite Enthusiasts Moves to University of Arkansas Space Center
University of Arkansas

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - A popular journal for people interested in
meteorites is moving its headquarters to the University of Arkansas, and
the new publisher sees this as a chance to connect meteorite
researchers, collectors, dealers, amateur enthusiasts and educators with
a common goal of enhancing the understanding of these mineral
ambassadors from outer space.

The quarterly magazine Meteorite will be produced for the first time at
the University of Arkansas in February through the Arkansas Center for
Space and Planetary Sciences, said Derek Sears, director of the center
and a professor of chemistry and biochemistry in the J. William
Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences. Sears sees the publishing of the
magazine as a natural step for the center to take.

"The space center is growing. We have the scientists. We have the
teaching. And we're in the process of building the outreach," Sears
said. The center sponsors teacher workshops and lectures, but Sears sees
the magazine as an important forum for communication among the different
types of people interested in meteorites.

Meteorite magazine was founded in 1995 by Joel Schiff and his colleagues
in Auckland, New Zealand.

"They've succeeded in finding a very productive niche," Sears said.

The 44-page magazine contains general interest articles on meteorites,
information on conferences and gem shows, expeditions to recover new
meteorites, technical developments and research articles. It also offers
tutorials - a sort of a "meteorites 101" course for novices. A sampling
of articles includes "Confessions of a Lunatic" by a collector who owns
several lunar meteorites; a description of a mass of small meteorites
that fell in the province of Lesotho, South Africa, in 2003; reports
from meteorite expeditions to Antarctica and Oman; and using ancient
rock art to locate meteorites. The magazine will continue to publish
high-quality articles of interest to meteorite enthusiasts, Sears said.

The magazine will be under the joint editorship of Larry and Nancy
Lebofsky of the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory at the University of
Arizona. Larry Lebofsky will be a visiting professor on the UA campus
during the spring semester. He is the education officer for the Division
of Planetary Sciences of the American Astronomical Society. His interest
in the magazine stems from his placing a high premium on researchers
working in collaboration with non-researchers, Sears said.

"Meteorite magazine provides an excellent forum for everyone in the
meteorite community to exchange information and share their particular
expertise," Larry Lebofsky said.

While the National Science Foundation does fund expeditions to
Antarctica to search for meteorites, many places rich with potential
material have remained unexplored until recently - especially parts of
north Africa, where many dealers have now led their own expeditions. The
more meteorites found on Earth, the more likely rare ones such as those
from the moon or from Mars will be found. The dealers and researchers
need one another - the researchers because with every meteorite find
they learn something new, the dealers because finds that are
authenticated and properly characterized are more valuable.

"This is an undertaking where people who are non-scientists can be very
important," Sears said.

Hazel Sears will serve the magazine in the capacity of managing editor.
She was the managing editor of Meteoritics and Planetary Science during
its 10 years on campus, during which time the journal grew from a
quarterly publication to a monthly research journal.

For more information, please see the Web site at
http://meteoritemag.uark.edu/.
 

###

Contact:

Derek Sears, director, Arkansas Center for Space and Planetary Sciences
Fulbright College
(479) 575-7625, dsears_at_uark.edu

Larry A. Lebofsky and Nancy Lebofsky, editors, Meteorite Magazine
Lunar and Planetary Laboratory and Steward Observatory
(520) 621-6947, meteditr_at_uark.edu
 
Melissa Lutz Blouin
University Relations
(479) 575-5555, blouin_at_uark.edu
 
Received on Wed 14 Dec 2005 03:19:53 PM PST