[meteorite-list] The falling sky is falling!

From: Darren Garrison <cynapse_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Wed Oct 18 07:19:23 2006
Message-ID: <rb3cj2ddf0ruh1b9tmhv5ch1anpt06i83s_at_4ax.com>

http://kvoa.com/Global/story.asp?S=5554116

Meteorites' value astronomical

TUCSON, Ariz. -- Marvin Killgore could be described as the Indiana Jones of the
meteorite world.


In the past 16 years he has traveled the globe in pursuit of rare treasures from
outer space. During that time he has built up one of the world's largest
collections of meteorites, part of which was recently on display in Sierra
Vista.

And among his specimens was a unique Lunar meteorite, worth an astonishing $3.5
million.

The moon rock was found in the Western Sahara Desert and was the star of the
Huachuca Mineral and Gem Show last weekend.

"We value a meteorite based on supply and demand and the amount of material
available," said Killgore, curator of the University of Arizona Southwest
Meteorite Center in Tucson. "Even though there are a lot of moon rocks about,
there is less than a kilo of this material known to man. It's worth $10,000 a
gram."

The aim of the center, however, is not to find and then sell rare and valuable
meteorites.

Its purpose is rather to preserve the specimens for future research and to
become a world class meteorite facility for scientists, dealers, collectors and
the general public.

It is the realization of a dream for Killgore, who says the worldwide recovery
of meteorites is reaching crisis point.

"We are picking up meteorites at more than a 1,000 times the rate they are
falling," he said. "And there was no public organization someone could go to
take their meteorites.

"So they end up being scattered and broken down for jewelry, watch faces, beads,
earrings and knives."

Most meteorites are found in arid deserts, where the climate is conducive to
their preservation, but these specimens are usually sold to Moroccan traders who
sell them to the highest bidder.

Commercial dealers are the only individuals with the resources to acquire rare
meteorites, but the Southwest Meteorite Center is currently trying to raise the
funds to buy such pieces.

In the entrance to the center, based at the Department of Planetary Sciences
Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, sits a 425-kilo meteorite.

Found in the Gobi Desert in China, the extraterrestrial material is worth around
$8 million, according to Killgore.

"It's a really gorgeous meteorite. This is 10,000 times more rare than gold,
platinum or diamonds," Killgore said.

His colleague, Dante Lauretta, an associate professor and director of the
center, adds, "A meteorite like this represents the core of a planet and gives
us the chance to look deep inside places we would never be able to go."

In the pockets of his jeans Killgore keeps a nugget of gold from Australia,
worth $4,000, and a small meteorite, the first he ever saw.

They are a fond reminder of the humble beginnings that set him off on the path
to becoming a world renowned meteorite expert.

"I started as a meteorite hunter," he said. "When I moved to Payson in 1981 I
started a plumbing business, but during the winter months I wouldn't really have
any work because they weren't building new homes. So I bought a metal detector
and started looking for gold nuggets to help pay the bills."

Then one of his buyers told Killgore he should start looking for meteorites.

"He showed me a meteorite and I told him I had found them but thrown them away,"
he said.

Killgore, who had studied geology and chemistry, then became a meteorite dealer,
but eventually began keeping the better pieces for his own collection.

As he learned more he started to educate others. He also observed more and more
dealers setting up worldwide and became concerned about the number of meteorites
being picked up and sold off.

"I could see a situation where future generations would not be able to see these
meteorites, unless there was a public organization which could buy them,
preserve them and use them for future research," he said.

The Southwest Meteorite Center opened its doors with limited funding a year ago.
Since then, Killgore and Lauretta have been concentrating their efforts on
outreach programs and raising awareness of the need for funds.

Interested groups are able to tour the facility, which also houses a replica of
the Phoenix probe, due to launch from Cape Kennedy in August 2007.

It is the first time a university has been given the management of a space
craft.

"People will be able to have their photograph taken holding a piece of the moon
in one hand, and a piece of Mars in the other," Lauretta said.
Received on Wed 18 Oct 2006 07:19:26 AM PDT