[meteorite-list] The New Jersey Object

From: Sterling K. Webb <sterling_k_webb_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu, 1 Feb 2007 19:10:59 -0600
Message-ID: <009701c74667$00531850$5c26e146_at_ATARIENGINE>

Hi, All


> if it is something thrown by some sort of explosion...

    Of course, it could be thrown by many other means
than explosive ones. A nine second fall in the Earth's
gravitational field will yield a 200 mph velocity after
falling from 1300 feet. And, frankly, a six-second fall
(570 feet, 130 mph) is enough to puncture that roof
and ceiling.
    It is reported to be an 11-ounce object. Shall we
have a contest to see how many ways we can think
of to lob an 11-ounce chunk 600 feet high? Or maybe
just turn the job over to some bored teen-agers? (I
have an otherwise sane friend fascinated by potato
cannons; he can lob a near-kilogram Idaho more
than a kilometer! By some miracle, he has never
entuberated a living target...)
    And yes, the FAA said it isn't one of theirs, but...
Couldn't that merely mean it isn't recognizably one
of theirs? They're not going to take responsibility unless
you can prove it's aircraft related (obvious shape, or
maybe a part number).


> Are the owners forbidding the object cut and
> tested or etched?

    They have yet to be persuaded to do so. So, we
are speculating. Speculation is what happens when you
don't know anything at all or not enough or not anything
conclusive. The only definitive element is the object
itself; it's the sole piece of actual evidence of anything.
    The NJO will either be a worthless conversation
piece, or it will be a meteorite. It won't BE a meteorite
until you hack off twenty grams and send it to a
certified lab. (Or, in the case of an iron, have it done.)
That's the price of existence... for a meteorite.
    Opinion has no place in it. It's a physical determination.
That's all that counts.


> How was the nickel presence confirmed?

    Delaney of Rutgers, who has published on meteoritic
topics, was allow to test for nickel; it was positive. As I
understand it, he has not been allowed to cut, slice, window
or etch. He also measured the density, which was in the
range for an iron. (Knowing the dimensions, shape, and
weight from early articles you could calculate the density,
which I did and posted here, at 7.0 to 8.0 gm/cm^2).


> seeing bigger pictures makes it look odder and odder...

    Very odd. If the NJO is real, it has a lot of 'splaining to do.


> I wholly agree with tabling this topic for a month or so...

    Oh, Pish! Darryl; we're talking about meteorites. Isn't
that what the List is for? Or is it reserved exclusively for
Sale Announcements and Dealer Braggadocio? We know
that you like only pretty meteorites, so this one is not really
your provence, being, as it is, Butt Ugly.
    It may not be tested in a month, a year, or ever, given
the owner's reluctance. I like the exercise of Observation,
Deduction, Calculation, and Hypothesis, while waiting for
actual testing and some real data, if that ever happens. (Isn't
there a name for that process?)


> ...if it is outright fraud

    The neighborhood is a well-to-do, somewhat cloistered
one, according to local papers; the owners of the meteorite
are the owners of the property where it fell. They seem to
be puzzled and uncertain about what to do, it appears, and
not overjoyed by the attention they're getting.


Darryl says:

> I'm informed the object will undergo appropriate analysis.

    If that is the True Skinny, the Inside Dope, wonderful!
But until that event emerges from the vast darkness and deep
womb of Futurity, we'll probably keep testing our powers of
observation against the as-yet unspoken definitive word.
    Or, maybe, we're just grumpy because we can't in Tucson
looking at REAL metorites.


Sterling K. Webb
--------------------------------------------------------------------
----- Original Message -----
From: "Darren Garrison" <cynapse at charter.net>
To: <Meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
Sent: Thursday, February 01, 2007 5:13 PM
Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] The New Jersey Object


On Thu, 01 Feb 2007 18:08:51 -0500, you wrote:

>
>It would be cool if it were genuine, but personally, I see much to be
>skeptical about.
>

I agree, seeing bigger pictures makes it look odder and odder. But the
question
is, if it is something thrown by some sort of explosion, shouldn't there be
more
debris other places, and reports of the explosion? Or if it is outright
fraud,
could they really be determined enough to drill a hole through their roof,
their
ceiling, and puch a hole in the wall?
______________________________________________
Meteorite-list mailing list
Meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
Received on Thu 01 Feb 2007 08:10:59 PM PST