[meteorite-list] Meteorite on August 10th, 1862, in Jamaica?

From: bernd.pauli_at_paulinet.de <bernd.pauli_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Sun Sep 18 15:49:59 2005
Message-ID: <DIIE.0000003700003C9C_at_paulinet.de>

Chris wrote:

"I just need to confirm whether any such fall was registered on this
date or thereabouts in Jamaica, to finish an article. Does anyone
have a record for one?

Anne responded:

"The only Jamaican meteorite known is Lucky Hill, found in 1885."

Yep, that's the only Jamaican meteorite I found in my database but
August 10th sounds very much like a substantial Perseid fireball or
bolide that may have been mistaken for a meteorite that fell "right
behind the next mountain range" or something like that.

Why I think so? Most of us know that the Perseids are thought to
be bits of debris shed by comet SWIFT-TUTTLE 1862 III ... 1862 !!!

> a bibliographical reference for the 1885 report ...

BUCHWALD V.F. (1975) Handbook of Iron Meteorites, Vol. 2, pp. 788-789:

Lucky Hill, Jamaica
17? 54' N, 077? 38' W
Medium octahedrite, Om.
Structural details unknown / Group unknown / Analysis unknown

History

Little is known of this heavily weathered meteorite. According to Fletcher
(Introduction to the Study of Meteorites, editions 1886, 1888 and 1894) the
mass was found in 1885 at Lucky Hill, St. Elizabeth and was presented by
the Governors of the Jamaica Institute, in Kingston, to the British Museum.
The following is an excerpt from a handwritten entry in the acquisition record
book of the Institute of Jamaica, Kingston, containing a preliminary report of
the Island Chemist: "Found in digging yams (= sweet potato) in garden in front
of house, about two feet deep, April l7th, 1885. Presented by (the finder) Philip
Sterling, Lucky Hill, Bellevue, St. Elizabeth. -- Received in three pieces which
fitted together showing they were the three fragments of one stone. They weighed
respectively 25 lbs, 11 lbs, and 8 lbs., totalling 44 lbs. The small fragments weighed
9 ozs. so that the whole stone before it was broken must have weighed over 45 lbs.
(20.5 kg). The outside of the stone appeared to be hematite, the portion within the
outer skin - proved to be magnetic oxide of iron. - The mass was made up of either
tetra- or octahedral crystals, some nearly 3/4 inch in length of edge. These crystals
when not tarnished were of almost silver whiteness, they easily cleaned yielding thin
plates, and proved to be iron with a little nickel."
The coordinates of the place have been given differently by Brezina (1896), Ward
(1904a) and Hey (1966). Those above are as reported by the last mentioned.

Collections

London, British Museum (4,640 g, probably the 11 lb fragment), London, Museum of
Practical Geology (3.2 kg, probably the 8 lb fragment), Berlin (64 g), Chicago (51 g),
Washington (40 g), Vienna (21 g). Smaller fragments are present in many collections,
but all specimens appear to be extremely weathered.

Analysis

No analytical work has been reported because of the bad state of the material.

Description

The three fragments in the U.S. National Museum are oxidized fragments with indistinct
octahedral outlines. They contain a few specks of unaltered metal, insufficient, however,
for any description. The specific gravity is about 4.2 g/cm3. The 4.6 kg in the British
Museum consist of similar weathered fragments, ranging from powder size to 4 x 2 x 2 cm
in size. Unweathered metal is apparently inside some fragments and should be examined.

Specimens in the U.S. National Museum in Washington:

Three weathered fragments of respectively 15, 21 and 3.8 g (nos. 2888 and 2889).


Best regards,

Bernd
Received on Sun 18 Sep 2005 03:49:56 PM PDT