[meteorite-list] Meteorite Postcards

From: Mike Hankey <mike.hankey_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Mon, 14 Sep 2009 00:50:15 -0400
Message-ID: <f0a794130909132150g68bf7db9ia03d5e90ab295e9c_at_mail.gmail.com>

I know there are some assumptions i've made that could cause things to
back fire. e.g. if this is not a west like stone this will not work.
its a gamble, and the odds are in favor, but if it turns out not to
be... this won't help.

the fell from space thing is to add to excitement, but I agree its not
very descriptive.

i had another version with pictures of a lot of different kinds of
meteorites but I thought that was also confusing.

There isn't a lot of room on the postcard or for people's attention
span. the challenge is keeping it simple but informative at the same
time. the goal is to get people jacked up about looking for it and to
give them some help along the way. Realistically I can't go on 2000
meteor-wrong reports either... so there has to be some balance and
compromise.

most people have told me this will be similar to the west fall, i'm
not sure if this is just because of the odds, or if there are other
reasons.

The witness reports described a blue-ish color. I'm not sure if there
is anyway to guess the type based on the colors described in witness
reports?

thanks for the feedback.

On Sun, Sep 13, 2009 at 8:10 PM, Jason Utas <meteoritekid at gmail.com> wrote:
> Hola,
> Well, I'd have to disagree. ?I wouldn't tell people to look for flecks
> of metal - small rounded bumps, maybe, but...it's very unusual to see
> metal on the broken surface of a chondrite.
> My only criticism would be that there is a small chance that the stone
> was carbonaceous or achondritic (including irons, pallasites).
> Admittedly, the odds would be very against that, but if someone does
> find an iron, given your postcard, they might think nothing of it -
> same goes for any C-type chondrite, really, given the fact that you
> say the interior of a meteorite would be cement-coloured.
> Adding comments like 'Fell from space' don't really add anything.
> Yeah, if the person saw it 'fall from space,' it's probably a
> meteorite. ?Amusing, but there's more useful information you could
> include in that space. ?My problem with making fliers for the West
> fall, as well as others, was that there is just too much potentially
> useful information to squeeze onto an 8 1/2 by 11 piece of paper.
> You've done a good job as-is, assuming the fall was a relatively
> unshocked ordinary chondrite...
> Regards,
> Jason
>
> On Sat, Sep 12, 2009 at 9:13 PM, Phil Whitmer <prairiecactus at rtcol.com> wrote:
>> Hey Mike,
>>
>> I think the postcards are a great idea! ?You're taking a very good approach
>> to this hunt. I for one say if there are meteorites to be found in this
>> area, you'll find 'em! ?The only thing I would add to the description would
>> be to look for tiny metal flecks and small circular rounded bumps
>> (chondrules). ?I know it's probably too late for major changes, but you
>> might want to add a bit of biographical information, about your historic
>> photo and how you're now on an epic quest to recover the fall. Adds some
>> human interest to the story, might make people want to get more involved.
>>
>> I know you're downplaying the economic side of it, you obviously aren't
>> doing this as a money making venture. ?It's a touchy subject, but moolah is
>> a big motivator, look at all the stones it brought out of NWA. ?I guess you
>> said they're valuable, that should be enough. ?I'm just guessing but this
>> seems to be a smaller fall than West. ?Otherwise a stone or two would have
>> been found by now you'd think. West initially went for over 140 a gram, then
>> leveled off at 70. ?That kind of incentive would have me walking corn fields
>> from sunup to sundown. (Nothing compared to the thrill of the hunt, though.)
>> Offering a reward is sort of vulgar, but it might get results. I know this
>> is a controversial matter and I'm not a dealer or a hunter (been on two
>> hunts, an extensive one for the Plymouth Meteorite and ?not so extensive one
>> for the Rochester Meteorite), so I can't say one way or another.
>>
>> OK, ?Bird-in-hand, ?Intercourse, Bareville, it sounds like a bunch of
>> sophomores made up those names!
>>
>> Now, if you just spoke High German!,
>>
>> Phil Whitmer
>>
>>
>>
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Received on Mon 14 Sep 2009 12:50:15 AM PDT