[meteorite-list] NPA 07-27-1976 Sipiera Offers Reward for Meteorites

From: MARK BOSTICK <thebigcollector_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Jan 27 10:36:05 2005
Message-ID: <BAY4-F30C6558C3E288BFCFE11FB3780_at_phx.gbl>

Paper: Stevens Point Daily Journal
City: Stevens Point, Wisconsin
Date: Tuesday, July 27, 1976
Page: 5 (of 24)

Reward offered for shooting stars

     MADISON - Do you ever watch the night sky for shooting stars?
Paper: Stevens Point
     Actually what you're seeing are not stars at al, but meteoroids -
pieces of rock-like material that have escaped from the orbits of Mars and
Jupiter.
     When a meteoroid enters the Earth's atmosphere. the friction created by
its high rate of speed caused the surface to ignite in a flash of light.
This "shooting star" is then properly called a meteor. If a meteor survives
its fiery journey through the atmosphere and strikes the earth, it becomes a
meteorite. Once it settles upon the earth, a meteorite tends to blend in
with the common rocks around it. Only rarely is one found.
     Because of their celestial origins and their rarity, meteorites have
been considered mystical by many civilizations over the centuries. Beaded
necklaces fashioned from meteoritic iron have been found in 6,000 year-old
Egyptian tombs. Similar necklaces have been found in Ohio and Havan, Ill.
Even today, ground-up meteoritic powder is taken orally for its supposed
curative powers for a wide variety of diseases.
     But Paul Sipiera, geologist in residence at the Arizona Center for
Meteorite Studies, says that meteorites have more to offer earth's residents
than mystical cures.
     "Meteorites have been travelers in both space and time, and much can be
learned from them about the conditions that existed when the solar system
was formed," Sipiera says, "Prior to the Apollo moon landings, meteorites
provided the only extra-terrestrial materials available for study. According
to radioactive dating techniques, meteorites are the oldest known solid
materials in the solar system."
     Under Sipiera's direction, the geology department at Chicago's Field
museum of Natural history is conducting a meteorite hunt. A $100 reward is
offered for information leading to the discovery of any previously
unreported meteorites.
     If you have ever witnessed a meteorite fall, or have found one, you may
be able to aid the science of meteoritics and earn yourself some money.
     "If you suspect you have a meteorite specimen, send it, or a piece of
it, to the Field Museum and it will be examined free of charge," says
Sipiera.
     For those interested in hunting meteorites, Sipiera offers several
tips. He says the best place to start a meteorite hunt is a museum. There,
one can become familiar with the appearance of meteorites.
     According to Sipiera, meteorites can vary in size from microscopic to
massive but most recovered meteorites measure between two inches and tw0
feet in diameter. The surface is usually smooth with shallow "thumb-print"
depressions.
     "However," he stresses, "the most obvious feature of the meteorite is
its unusual heaviness as compared to a rock of similar size.
     Sipiera notes that the surface of a freshly fallen meteorite may appear
charred from its momentary blaze through the atmosphere. The interior,
however, remains icy cold for a brief period due to its outer-space origin.
     The degree of coldness is illustrated by the story of a Colby, Wis.,
farmer who on a hot July 4th in 1917, saw a meteorite plunge into his field.
A few minutes later when he dug it from the ground, the meteorite was so
cold that frost immediately formed on its surface.
     "Meteorites usually are found in fields and other flat areas that are
relatively free of rocks." says Sipiera. "It's not that more meteorites fall
in these areas. It's just that meteorites are easier to see there."
     Frequently, he adds, meteorites are recovered from dusty shelves in
barns and cellars, having once been collected for their curious appearance
and then forgotten.
     Sipiera says that each year about 10 new meteorites are discovered
throughout the world. He hopes his reward system will boost this average.
Sipiera now receives about 25 samples and reports of possible meteorites
each week - most of them from midwestern agricultural areas.
     So far, however, no previously unknown meteorites have been uncovered
by the multi-national hunt. But Sipiera says that the reward will be offered
as long as there is interest.

(end)

Clear Skies,
Mark Bostick
Wichita, Kansas
http://www.meteoritearticles.com
http://www.kansasmeteoritesociety.com
http://www.imca.cc

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PDF copy of this article, and most I post (and about 1/2 of those on my
website), is available upon e-mail request.

The NPA in the subject line, stands for Newspaper Article. The old list
server allowed us a search feature the current does not, so I guess this is
more for quick reference and shortening the subject line now.
Received on Thu 27 Jan 2005 10:35:05 AM PST