[meteorite-list] Palomas, Mexico H4 and Columbus, NM H5...paired?

From: MARK BOSTICK <thebigcollector_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Sun Jul 17 21:31:52 2005
Message-ID: <BAY104-F11007063C57068C4650E4FB3D50_at_phx.gbl>

Hellio list,

I asked the other day for information on Palomas, which I have not got a
response, so if you can add more to the classication information of Palomas,
please e-mail me.

Anyway.....someone brought to my attention, how close Columbus and Palomas
are.....and the general classification of both meteorites.

So what do you guys (and gals) think?

Columbus
Stone Chondrite H5, S3, W3, Fa. 18.8, Fs 16.8, Wo 1.1
Lunar County, New Mexico
Cordinates: 31º49.777'N 107º23.667'W
Found on January 27, 1997
Found by Michael and Wren Cottingham
Total weight: 165 grams, largest 88.1 grams
Published in Meteoritical Bulletin, No. 82, 1998 July

Palomas
Stone Chondrite H4
Found near Palomas, Chihuahua. Mexico
Found late 2002
Total weight: 8.9 kg., single stone

     Three miles south of Columbus, New Mexico is the old sleepy Mexican
village Palomas. This is a "crossing town" of Mexico and the United States.
You can drive across or like many, simply park on the U.S. side and walk
into Mexico. The towns survives by tourism of its resturants and gift shops.
     Columbus might best be know for being attacked by General Franisco
"Pancho" Villa. In the middle of the night on March 9, 1916, between 500
and 600 Mexican revolutionaries, led by General Francisco "Pancho" Villa,
crossed the border into the United States. Villa divided his troops and
attacked Columbus from the southwest at approximately 4:20 am. The
Villistas concerned themselves more with raiding than killing, otherwise the
town might have been erased. By the time the raid was over, one half the
invaders were killed or wounded and 18 Americans were dead. This was the
last time a foreign government invaded the Continental United States. Today,
Columbus has a population of a little under 2000.

     The Columbus meteorite was found January 27, 1997 in Luna County, New
Mexico by meteorite hunters Michael and Wren Cottingham while hunting a dry
lake bed. Six small stones were found totaling 165 grams. The largest
sample weighed 88.1 grams/ 18.5 grams was donated to UCLA, where it was
classified by A. Rubin as an Ordinary Stone Chondrite, H5.
     The Palomas meteorite was found during late 2002 near the village of
Palomas, Chihuahua, Mexico. Only a single stone of 8.9 kg was found. This
meteorite has been classified as an H4 chondrite.
     Both meteorites have a brown-black matrix with specks of metal
distibuted pretty evenly between both stones. It is hard to tell the two
meteorites apart.
     IF BOTH meteorites are paired, not saying they are or that they are
not, and they were distibuted in typical strewn field fashion, then this
would mean the meteor of the fall came from a northern direction. This
would also suggest there is possibly more meteorites, located between
Columbus and Palomas, or there abouts.


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

http://stores.ebay.com/meteoritearticles
Received on Sun 17 Jul 2005 09:31:49 PM PDT