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

From: Sterling K. Webb <sterling_k_webb_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Wed, 16 May 2007 13:49:09 -0500
Message-ID: <076501c797ea$e4751bd0$f54de146_at_ATARIENGINE>

Hi,

    In the Illinois case, the (sharp) reporter for the
Bloomington Pantograph discovered that a big
woodchipper was operating in the neighborhood
(well, about 1000 feet away) at the time, verified
by the actual woodchippers, which makes it the
almost-certain source of what analysed out as a
man-made object.
    In the New Jersey case, it's now been proved
what was only highly suspicioned then: that it's a
man-made object, too. But as far as I've heard,
no one has identified any specific potential source.
The Big Chipper sounds good to me, though.
    The assertion that it's "space junk" is always
possible, but I personally doubt it. Space craft
are designed to minimize weight by all means
possible, including the distribution of stress and
the avoidance of massive strong points. In a word,
space craft are rarely made out of big solid chunks
of stainless steel. This chunk is irregular, so it
would have to be an ablated remnant of a much
larger chunk, yet it shows no particular surficial
evidence of ablation (none to my eye, but I've
only seen bad photos).
    A purely terrestrial source is almost certain,
but there are no specifically suspicious sources
like the (running) Bloomington woodchipper.


Sterling K. Webb
--------------------------------------------------------------
----- Original Message -----
From: epb471 at aol.com
To: sterling_k_webb at sbcglobal.net ; daistiho at hotmail.com ; darryl at dof3.com ;
meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
Sent: Tuesday, May 15, 2007 8:12 AM
Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] "SNEAKY LITTLE DEVILS" NJO CONFIRMED
METEORWRONG


I thought the woodchipper theory applied to the NJO as well?
I agree that it does not appear to have features of an object that made a
trip through out atmosphere (fusion crust, albation, orientation etc.)

Take care,
Elias

-----Original Message-----
From: sterling_k_webb at sbcglobal.net
To: daistiho at hotmail.com; darryl at dof3.com;
meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
Sent: Tue, 15 May 2007 12:49 AM
Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] "SNEAKY LITTLE DEVILS" NJO CONFIRMED
METEORWRONG


Hi, Tracy, List

    No, that was the Illinois pseudo-meteorite:
the BO, or Bloomington Object, not the NJO!
The BO "fell" on March 5, 2007; the woodchipper
was mentioned in print on March 9, 2007, and in
a few days its career as a meteorite was over.
    Things take longer in New Jersey. The NJO
"fell" or was dropped on January 3, 2007, so it's
had over a five month career as a meteorite and
got to do a gig at a University Museum. But it's
a has-been now.


Sterling K. Webb
-----------------------------------------------------------
----- Original Message -----
From: tracy latimer
To: Darryl Pitt ; Meteorite List
Sent: Sunday, May 13, 2007 1:25 PM
Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] "SNEAKY LITTLE DEVILS" NJO CONFIRMED
METEORWRONG


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 Latimer




To: meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
From: darryl at dof3.com
Date: Sat, 12 May 2007 06:26:42 -0400
Subject: [meteorite-list] "SNEAKY LITTLE DEVILS" NJO CONFIRMED METEORWRONG


It has finally been determined by experts that the NJO is not a meteorite.

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....disappointing. 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





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Received on Wed 16 May 2007 02:49:09 PM PDT