[meteorite-list] Yet Another Jupiter Meteorwrong Makes The News

From: JoshuaTreeMuseum <joshuatreemuseum_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu, 13 May 2010 13:41:52 -0400
Message-ID: <F3325BCFB5F4417E87C5060E70B71416_at_ET>

 So any time you find a rock, just call the newspaper and say it's a
meteorite and they'll publish the story? Please note: every earthly factor
has been ruled out and it's probably from Jupiter or Mars.

http://www.sourcenewspapers.com/articles/2010/05/13/news/doc4bec031a6ab9b765018531.txt

Otherworldly? Resident suspects his rock find is from another planet

Devan Werner is a pretty productive 14-year-old.

His spare time is spent running track, building award-winning pens out of
circuit boards and collecting unique rocks.

Recently, the Shelby Township youth was taking advantage of the warm
weather, hunting for rocks near vacant land by his home, when he stumbled
upon something that didn't appear as a typical Michigan rock.

"It caught my eye because it was had ripples on it, but some parts of it
were smooth and I thought for sure it was a lava rock," Werner said. "But
then, I wasn't so sure. So I took it home to my dad, knowing he knows a lot
about things like this."

As he walked home, Werner began to suspect the rock wasn't lava.

"I started to wonder if it was a meteorite," he said.

His father, Steven Werner, an avid researcher who has studied meteorites,
began to conduct research and so far, every earthly factor has been ruled
out.

"The first thing we did wasn't to search for other-worldly markings," Steven
Werner said. "We searched for factors to determine if it's from this planet
or not."

The 5-pound, charcoal-colored rock has markings that appear to show it
traveled through several temperature changes and is denser than typical
rocks. It's also magnetic - as are meteorites.

But where did it come from?

"Researchers say that they came from Mars or Jupiter. More testing needs to
be done. We need to get this certified to make sure of whatever it is."

Devan Werner hopes it's a meteorite.

"Because I might sell it," he said. Meteorites this size sell for an average
of $2,000. Devan Werner said he would use the money toward college or to
launch his pen website.

The Eppler Junior High School student has won several state and regional
industrial technology awards for his acrylic-, wood- and circuit board-made
pens.

"I'm just really good at making them. I like to launch different designs,
try different materials to make them ... I've already sold a few."

-------------------------

Phil Whitmer
Received on Thu 13 May 2010 01:41:52 PM PDT