[meteorite-list] Suspected Meteorite Goes Through Window in Illinois

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Tue, 6 Mar 2007 08:46:43 -0800 (PST)
Message-ID: <200703061646.IAA29925_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

http://media.www.dailyvidette.com/media/storage/paper420/news/2007/03/06/News/Suspected.Meteorite.Goes.Through.Window-2758413.shtml

Suspected meteorite goes through window
Eric Heisig
The Daily Vidette
March 6, 2007

At a 71-degree angle, going 60 mph, an object went through the house of
Bloomington residents David and Dee Riddle at 9:40 a.m. Monday morning.
Although it has not been officially confirmed, the object is suspected
to be a meteorite.

"I was in the kitchen when I heard the sound of glass breaking," Dee
Riddle, whose house is located off of West Miller Street, said. "There
was also a thump and a shake."

Riddle ran around the house to find the breaking glass. She found it in
their bedroom in the back of the house.

"It took me 15 minutes to look for it and then I found it," she explained.

After the object was spotted, she called the police to file a report.

"When I told them what I thought it was, they thought I was crazy,"
Riddle said. "Then they saw it and called the sergeant to look at it."

>From there, the Fire Department came with Geiger counters to make sure
it was not radioactive. Crime scene officials also came to investigate
the ballistics of the impact.

"They did say it was a meteorite, but it needed to be tested," Riddle said.

Professors from ISU were also called to look at the scene and many of
them, after dong some preliminary studies, said they speculate it is a
meteorite.

"From what I know, this is consistent with meteorites," Jay Anser, a
general education lab coordinator for the department of Physics, said.

Dave Malone, a professor in the department of Geology, said he is 80
percent sure this is a meteorite.

It is uncommon for meteorites to actually hit the ground.

"Most of the time they burn up completely," Skip Nelson, a professor in
the department of Geology, said. "It is rare for them to land."

Nelson said the department of Geology gets about two calls per year of
people who think they have found a meteorite, but they rarely turn out
to be them.

"This is the first one that has even been close," he explained.

Even if the geologists at ISU are certain, there are tests that need to
be done to confirm whether or not it is a meteorite. There are a number
of tests that can be done, according to James Day, a professor in the
department of Geology.

"It can be cut with a diamond saw and do a spectrogramic study," Day
said. "Also, acid etching can be done, to determine its crystal structure,"

The object will need to be sent out in order to determine whether or not
it is in fact a meteorite.
Received on Tue 06 Mar 2007 11:46:43 AM PST