[meteorite-list] "SNEAKY LITTLE DEVILS" NJO CONFIRMED METEORWRONG

From: tracy latimer <daistiho_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Sun, 13 May 2007 18:25:33 +0000
Message-ID: <BAY115-W616F855FB3BB987985DD7CA3F0_at_phx.gbl>

Hadn't the Occam's Razor explanation of this object been that it was part of a tub grinder ejected during operations while grinding up some dead trees several hundred yards away? They showed one of these babies in operation on the Discovery Channel several weeks ago, and I could easily believe one of the chipper blades broke loose and flew on the appropriate trajectory (it looks like the Sarlacc from Star Wars, with layers of rotating teeth). It seems to me part of "research" should be asking the guys who were using the tub grinder "Hey, did you lose any of the blades out of this thing on such-and-such a date? If so, do you know where the piece went?" Also, checking to see if the composition of the "meteorite" was comparable with a tub grinder blade.Tracy LatimerTo: meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.comFrom: darryl at dof3.comDate: Sat, 12 May 2007 06:26:42 -0400Subject: [meteorite-list] "SNEAKY LITTLE DEVILS" NJO CONFIRMED METEORWRONGIt has finally been determined by experts that the NJO is not a meteo
rite. In Friday's AP story, Rutgers University geologist Jerry Delaney was quoted as saying,"I was wrong. Sneaky little devil."The second sentiment is not even remotely accurate. As I mentioned to the list in January, there was absolutely nothing about the NJO which resembled a new meteorite. I advised the Newark Star Ledger, The New York Times and AP in writing that the NJO was not a meteorite. I contacted the museum at Rutgers prior to their exhibition of the object---which generated the largest attendance on a single day---that this was not a meteorite. The only "sneaky little devils" are the folks at Rutgers University. Stories are released on Friday nights so the story will miss the news cycle. It's for stories that would cause embarrassment; it's for those moments where you hope the story disappears.This is just so deplorable---and it's not an isolated instance of how an institution with something to gain---and the media---work. But for scientists to be so sloppy in THEIR work is just so....disap
pointing. As I wrote to the list several months ago: "While [this] may ultimately be among the most unusual freshly fallen meteorites known to exist, such an assessment cannot and should not ever have been made by simply passing it around for a casual analysis and singing kumbaya."Here is the latest story....in case you missed it. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070511/ap_on_sc/fallen_object Depth of Field Management1501 Broadway Suite 1304New York, New York 10036212.302.9200Just Released / THE BAD PLUS - PROGComing 5/22/07 / MICHAEL BRECKER - PILGRIMAGE
_________________________________________________________________
Create the ultimate e-mail address book. Import your contacts to Windows Live Hotmail.
www.windowslive-hotmail.com/learnmore/managemail2.html?locale=en-us&ocid=TXT_TAGLM_HMWL_reten_impcont_0507
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://six.pairlist.net/pipermail/meteorite-list/attachments/20070513/3007be39/attachment.htm>
Received on Sun 13 May 2007 02:25:33 PM PDT