[meteorite-list] NPA 02-28-1893 Mt. Joy Meteorite Analyzed

From: MARK BOSTICK <thebigcollector_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Mon Mar 21 13:24:54 2005
Message-ID: <BAY104-F1779E9CB81CAE88CD8F2F2B35E0_at_phx.gbl>

Paper: Gettysburg Compiler
City: Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Date: Tuesday, February 28, 1893
Page: 4 (of 4)

A METEOR ANALYZED
It Is Found to Be Composed of Six Distinct Minerals

     An analysis has just been made of one of the three largest meteorites
that have hit the United States. This analysis will prove of interest in
the view of the recent comet and meteor scare. It is fair to assume that
the majority of the meteors in the so-called November meteoric orbit are
composed of the same material of which this one consists. In fact a
singular sameness in make-up has been found to exist in all the meteors
which have been analyzed. The formula is as follows:

Iron......................................................... 93.80
Nickel..................................................... 4.81
Cobalt..................................................... .51
Copper................................................... .005
Lead....................................................... .10
Sulphur................................................... .01

      Total................................................. 99.325

     Only a portion of the crust was used in the analysis, which accounts
for the discrepancy in the total. The meteorite was found in November,
1887, by one Jacob Snyder, about a foot below the ground, while digging to
plant an apple tree near his home, five miles to the southeast of
Gettysburg. Mr. Snyder and his neighbors jumped to the conclusion that
there was an iron mine on the farm and his property rose tremendously in
value. Had he been any kind of scientist he could easily have determined
the nature of his find and then have exploited the value of his mine, sold
his property for a big sum and cleared out pending the mining arrangements.
As it was, the true character of the meteorite was not discovered until
1891.
     Its three largest dimensions are 11.24 and 32 ½ inches and it weighs
847 pounds. An effort was made to buy it by the National museum, but as Mr.
Snyder placed the price very high it was eventually bought by Mr. Edwin E.
Howell, of New York, who has a leaning towards meteorites.

(end)

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

http://stores.ebay.com/meteoritearticles

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 Sat 05 Mar 2005 08:54:56 PM PST