[meteorite-list] Steve Arnold Discovers Brenham Main Mass

From: moni Waiblinger-Seabridge <moni2555_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Nov 10 15:41:11 2005
Message-ID: <BAY103-F2163148BF5D88DFF0FE1EACD660_at_phx.gbl>

Hi Geoff, Steve and list members,


THIS IS SO AWESOME!
I AM SPEECHLESS!

See what happens when you go out and search!

Steve, I am amazed and how did you know it was way down there? ;-)
Story please!!!!!

With best regards,
Moni



>From: "Notkin" <geoking_at_notkin.net>
>To: "Meteorite List" <meteorite-list_at_meteoritecentral.com>
>Subject: [meteorite-list] Steve Arnold Discovers Brenham Main Mass
>Date: Thu, 10 Nov 2005 10:40:07 -0700
>
>Dear Friends and Listees:
>
>Steve is in the field and has asked me to post the following press release
>on his behalf.
>
>Steve did not quote any prices to the media, so the $12 million figure is
>just one of those colorful media exaggerations. However, the pallasite is
>extraordinary and is definitely oriented (something you cannot really see
>in these photos) -- it's one big nose cone. Additional photos will be
>forthcoming.
>
>The find, at 1,400 pounds, beats the next largest Brenham found by
>Stockwell in 1949 (1,000 lbs) and therefore becomes the main mass. I'm sure
>you'll all want to join me in congratulating our friend Steve on this find
>of a lifetime.
>
>I know you all want to see the photos, taken by Steve's partner Phil Mani,
>so here they are:
>
>http://www.aerolite.org/brenham.htm
>
>
>Well done Steve!!
>
>Geoff
>
>
>***********************
>
>
>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
>November 9, 2005
>
>
>WORLD RECORD METEORITE UNEARTHED BY HUNTER IN KANSAS
>
>A 1,400-pound stony-iron pallasite meteorite found in Kiowa County is the
>largest of its type ever recovered in the United States, and the third
>largest in history
>
>Steve Arnold, 39, a professional meteorite hunter from Arkansas has found
>and excavated a meteorite weighing almost three quarters of a ton from a
>farmer’s field near Haviland, Kansas. The discovery was made in late
>October using sophisticated metal detecting equipment. It is one of the
>most valuable meteorite finds ever made in the United States and is of
>historic and scientific importance.
>
>Meteorites — rocks that have fallen to Earth from outer space — are of
>considerable value to both scientists and private collectors. Meteorite
>collecting is a growing hobby, with thousands of enthusiasts worldwide
>willing to pay high prices for these rare sky rocks.
>
>Brenham meteorites, named after the Kiowa Country township in Kansas, were
>first found in the area during the 1890s, when frontier farmers sold a
>number of them to universities and mineral dealers. Brenham specimens are
>today on display in the American Museum of Natural History in New York, the
>Field Museum in Chicago, and other prominent institutions. They are of a
>rare type, known as pallasites, which account for only 1% of all known
>meteorites. Pallasites consist of a nickel-iron matrix full of colorful
>olivine crystals (the semi-precious gemstone peridot) and are very
>beautiful when cut and polished. Well prepared pallasite specimens often
>sell for between twenty and forty dollars per gram.
>
>Mr. Arnold’s discovery is the largest pallasite ever found in America, and
>the largest oriented pallasite meteorite ever found anywhere in the world.
>An oriented meteorite is one which has traveled through Earth’s atmosphere
>without spinning and formed a conical or bullet shape as its surface
>melted. Oriented pallasites are extremely rare and highly prized by museums
>and private collectors.
>
>Steve Arnold was born in Kansas, and has been thinking about Brenham
>meteorites for more than a decade. “I traveled all over the world hunting
>for meteorites, but came home to make my most important discovery. I was
>just sure there were more of them out there waiting to be found,” he said.
>Mr. Arnold and his partner Phil Mani — a geologist and oil and gas attorney
>from San Antonio, Texas — made arrangements with local landowners, which
>allowed them to search for the deeply-buried meteorites. The 1,400-pound
>specimen was recovered at considerable depth, and a back hoe was needed to
>lift it.
>
>Dr. Art Ehlmann, Curator of the Oscar E. Monnig Meteorite Gallery at Texas
>Christian University in Fort Worth visited the site last week, and
>described Mr. Arnold’s discovery as “the most significant American
>meteorite find in decades.”
>
>###
>
>Video footage of the meteorite excavation is available.
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Received on Thu 10 Nov 2005 03:41:06 PM PST