[meteorite-list] Livingston Fall Worth A Million Dollars!

From: JoshuaTreeMuseum <joshuatreemuseum_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Sat, 17 Apr 2010 13:57:05 -0400
Message-ID: <BF5DA0BF51E64A578B1F1AC3A7740D25_at_ET>

This ought to bring them out of the woodwork:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/17/us/17meteorite.html?src=me


Meteorites in Them Thar Fields


CHICAGO - On the first day, there was light. On the third day, land - strewn
with meteorites.
Related
Soaring Meteor Lights Up Skies Across the Midwest (April 15, 2010)
A spectacular meteorite shower that lighted the sky in several Midwestern
states Wednesday night sent meteorite hunters scrambling to get to
southwestern Wisconsin during the past two days for the pieces of rock from
outer space.
Initial bragging rights went to Terry Boudreaux, a 49-year-old collector
from the Chicago area. After reports of a fireball in the sky surfaced
Wednesday night, Mr. Boudreaux calculated the meteorites' path and took his
two sons out of school Thursday to drive four hours to Livingston, Wis.
They were dejected after a day of searching in vain, Mr. Boudreaux said,
when a dairy farmer approached them with a rock he had found in his driveway
and asked if it was a meteorite.
"Our first reaction was one of disbelief," Mr. Boudreaux said Friday. "I
expected it to be a piece of asphalt."
He said he gave the farmer $200 for the meteorite, which is about the size
of a quarter, and planned to donate it to the Field Museum of Natural
History in Chicago. He would not disclose the farm's location because he did
not want competition when he went back to look for more.
Paul P. Sipiera, adjunct curator of meteorites at the Field Museum, said the
fireball effect was a result of friction and heat generated when a meteor
hit Earth's atmosphere, which caused it to burn up and break apart.
Michael Farmer, an Arizona collector who was on his way to Wisconsin on
Friday, said there could be hundreds of meteorites in the vicinity, with a
total value of as much as $1 million. They are often sold online or to
museums.
"Something this big only happens once every few years," Mr. Farmer said. "It
will be like a gold rush."

---------------------
Phil Whitmer
Received on Sat 17 Apr 2010 01:57:05 PM PDT