[meteorite-list] Meteorite Hunting in one's own "backyard"?

From: mstreman53 at yahoo.com <mstreman53_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Mon, 6 Jul 2009 13:27:23 -0700 (PDT)
Message-ID: <367116.97681.qm_at_web55207.mail.re4.yahoo.com>

Well Richard, From one who did much of that and spends more time in the field than 98% of the folks reading this...IF you are independently wealthy don't have job, education, or family obligations ,have the free time to spend 24/7 on the search for 3 to 4 years and are willing to accept the odds of >10% of less success, willing to sleep in the cab of your truck, then sounds like you have a plan as good as any.

If you want to improve your odds don't even start out until you have personally looked at/examined 500-1200 meteorites, reviewed the photos of 2000 more meteorites and 3000 meteor-wrongs, read 100-300 linear feet of journals including half of it plain ole mineralogy and petrology.?

If you ever think you would like to take a short cut and just run down fireballs then to improve your odds some more,you'll need a fundamental survey in infra-sonics, seizmographic theory and how to locate and read seizmograms, Geo-science Information Systems human/eye physiology/psychological perception, navigation, including reading topographical maps and using a circular slide rule to compute displacement by winds aloft, a bit of trig and survey course on the techniques of surveying or artillery. Meteorology , physics plus a basic chemistry understanding--Folks WILL ask you questions on every imaginable topic.? Like it or not you will be an ambassador for science.? Accident Scene Investigation and Intervierw skills translate over to interviewing witnesses.

To make meteorite hunting productive most casual hunters also hunt fossils, minerals, arrowheads and take wild life photos so they will have something to show for their time afield.

Don't forget to include cemeteries in your search plan: grave spoils are better than stone walls in my opinion.

You might take another more productive path and read the archives of the metlist. Re Moraines, rockwalls, rock piles, etc.

Regards,
Elton

--- On Mon, 7/6/09, Richard Kowalski <damoclid at yahoo.com> wrote:

> From: Richard Kowalski <damoclid at yahoo.com>
> Subject: [meteorite-list] Meteorite Hunting in one's own "backyard"?
> To: meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
> Date: Monday, July 6, 2009, 5:45 AM
>
> As a relative newbie to this field, I've been pouring
> through books, websites and videos on youtube learning more
> about meteorites and meteorite hunting.
>
> There appears to be good information out there for the
> beginning hunter to get started. It seems that the falls get
> the attention and I understand the attraction of finding
> fresh material immediately after a fall. However it strikes
> me that just about anyone can hunt practically in their
> backyard and have the search area all to themselves.
>
> In Richard Norton's _Rocks from Space_ in the chapter on
> meteorite hunting, page 315 under "The Farm Belt" he wrote
> "It has been more than 50 years since Harvey Nininger
> successfully search the farms of the midwest for meteorites.
> It's time to retrace his footsteps and try again. ...
> Farmlands in Michigan Illinois, Ohio, Iowa, and Indiana were
> barely touched by Nininger's search."
>
> I'm curious if anyone has made a concerted effort to repeat
> his searches, both where he worked and in other areas? In
> the same book, it is mentioned that early on Nininger simply
> asked for permission to search through the rock piles that
> accumulate on just about every farm. It would seem to me
> that there are many, many farms in just about every state
> that could hold a cache of meteorites that are simply
> weathering away because no one has taken the time to look
> for and recover them.
>
> Maybe this type of hunting is not as sexy as hunting for
> fragments that brand new fall with their sleek fusion crust,
> but then again, one wouldn't have to travel across the
> country or around the world just to start searching and then
> be in a race to find fragments and individuals before a
> competitor does.
>
> I may be missing something here but I'd be interested in
> hearing how many hunters actually do this, if any, and how
> often they turn up a new meteorite.
>
> Thanks
>
> --
> Richard Kowalski
> http://fullmoonphotography.net
> IMCA #1081
>
>
> ? ? ?
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Received on Mon 06 Jul 2009 04:27:23 PM PDT