[meteorite-list] WHO IS THE BEST AND MOST SUCCESSFUL METEORITE HUNTER OUT THERE?

From: Galactic Stone & Ironworks <meteoritemike_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu, 16 Jul 2009 13:28:32 -0400
Message-ID: <e51421550907161028y3317c7c7s602c0b1d97d5d318_at_mail.gmail.com>

Who is the BEST meteorite hunter? Last night I jokingly said Hopper
the Dog, but after some thinking on the subject, and considering some
of the other replies on the List, I realize I was being shortsighted.

I think everyone can agree on some general criteria of what makes a
great hunter -

1) results - number of finds and the significance of those finds.
Obviously, whoever finds the first lunaite on US soil is going to be
remembered more than a prolific hunter with a hundred OC finds.

2) contributions to science - has the hunter put science before
personal gain? And not just once or twice for show - but a continuing
dedication to the science of meteoritics that results in a better
understanding of meteoritics and planetary science.

3) accessibility - is the hunter available for questions, mentoring,
and outreach? Do they go out on their own time and educate people
(especially kids) about meteorites?

4) humility - nobody likes an arrogant person or braggart - regardless
of how successful they are.

5) longevity - how many decades has this person been hunting
meteorites? If the answer is less than two, then it's difficult to
argue that they are "great" - they may well be on their way to
greatness, but IMO a minimum of 20 years in the field is required for
"greatness". (combined with the above criteria)

Beyond those criteria, other factors will surely apply. But I think
it is shortsighted to simply make a dry tally sheet of finds and keep
score like this is a game of darts the pub.

Best regards,

MikeG


On 7/16/09, JoshuaTreeMuseum <joshuatreemuseum at embarqmail.com> wrote:
> Isn't this a no brainer? It's Michael Farmer! If you're talking high
> profile, non Russian, Japanese, Moroccan, Antarctic, European,etc., Mike is
> currently the man to beat at every new fall, with a very few exceptions.
> For better or for worse, Mike is the face of modern American meteorite
> hunting. I would think this is common knowledge among the uninitiated, non
> cognescenti, teeming masses. Steve Arnold is a contender, I think he beat
> the pants off Mike at West, but didn't he have a 5 year long drought? Since
> the torch has been passed from Bob Haag, I would have to go with the
> populous viewpoint that Mike is currently The Man. And it's important to
> keep in mind that he's only at mid career with a long way to go, unlike Bob
> who's semi-retired. Of course I am probably completely wrong, but am only
> trying to answer the question from the viewpoint of non meteorite people.
>
> Couldn't this question be answered objectively simply by ranking the number
> of meteorites each of the contenders has had classified? It would be
> interesting to see this column of figures.
>
> Phil Whitmer
>
>
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-- 
.........................................................
Michael Gilmer (Louisiana, USA)
Member of the Meteoritical Society.
Member of the Bayou Region Stargazers Network.
Websites - http://www.galactic-stone.com and http://www.glassthrower.com
..........................................................

Received on Thu 16 Jul 2009 01:28:32 PM PDT