[meteorite-list] West, TX meteorite hunt, day 5

From: Rob Matson <mojave_meteorites_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Sun, 22 Feb 2009 22:32:11 -0800
Message-ID: <GOEDJOCBMMEHLEFDHGMMAEEJDLAA.mojave_meteorites_at_cox.net>

Hi Mike and List,

Congrats on your continuing success in the field, and in particular for
extending the distance betweeen most-separated finds to 10 miles or more.
That's an amazing accomplishment when you consider that the thing fell
just a week ago!

Regarding the scrambled mass distribution, you are absolutely right --
there were multiple fragmentation events, at least three of which are
visible in the video.

As for the name, I would be surprised if the NomComm would have accepted
the name "West". As some others have noted, it would be a source of
confusion in verbal communication, and in related astronomical fields it
is customary to avoid choosing proper names that are a subset of existing
ones (e.g. Clearwater West, Kelly West, Laundry West, Victoria West, West
Hawk, West Point, etc.)

Best wishes,
Rob

-----Original Message-----
From: meteorite-list-bounces at meteoritecentral.com
[mailto:meteorite-list-bounces at meteoritecentral.com]On Behalf Of Michael
Farmer
Sent: Sunday, February 22, 2009 8:15 PM
To: meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
Subject: [meteorite-list] West, TX meteorite hunt, day 5


Well, back in the hotel after a long day's hunt. Our team recovered 9
meteorites today, including the one you saw in the pic of the day.
We have extended the strewn field much longer today, with confirmed finds
nearly 10 miles apart. All together, my team has recovered 30 meteorites.
We are just starting.
The distribution of these stones is interesting, we have 5 gram meteorites
being recovered nearly 10 miles from first to last, usually you have normal
size segregation, it seems this fall disrupted so many times, that sizes are
not really where they should be. I have no idea how far the main mass went,
we will only guess that the largest piece has been found when someone finds
a larger piece every day.
We found two broken stones today, and inside was the most amazing breccia.
It reminds me of St Michel, white interior with spiderweb veins and nice
darker clasts in a light cream-colored matrix.
I spoke to most hunters today, and it is almost unanimous that no one wants
to sell stones. I have seven myself and would not sell any of them. Too hard
to find, too much walking and the money would not make much difference. I
will keep a nice jar full of pristine flawless stones that have never been
rained on. At least the weather looks great for the next 10 days, if not a
little warm.
It seems that virtually everyone who has come here has found a stone, a
wonderful thing, that hunters are being rewarded for their hard work.
I would not expect, at least at this point, for many stones to be offered
for sale. Again, even at $50 gram or more, so far most people would not even
pay expenses for the trip, as most stones are under 20 grams. I guess that
about 10% are larger than that.

I am sure the meteorite will be named West, Cottonwood is already a name,
and I don't think this deserves to be a (b). A creek is just that, and I
know doug want's it named that after the landowner's creek, but NOMCOM is
not going to accept that.
West, is a great name.
We will see what tomorrow's hunt brings,
good night to all.
Michael Farmer
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Received on Mon 23 Feb 2009 01:32:11 AM PST