[meteorite-list] Real or not real.

From: Larry Atkins <thetoprok_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Wed, 27 Apr 2011 12:28:08 -0400
Message-ID: <8CDD30F3A111C31-BBC-4406F_at_webmail-d072.sysops.aol.com>

Greg, Jim, List,

I found something while following up on a meteorite lead, a story of a
witnessed fall by a farmer who picked up a 25 lb. rock that supposedly
fell
right in front of him. Many years later the great grandson wanted to
get the 'meteorite' but it was nowhere to be found.
He enlisted me to search the property where the farm once stood and I
found this enigma in about an hour. When the great grandson saw the
rock still setting on the ground where I found it he got really excited
about, saying that he recognized it, I had found the 'meteorite'.

I almost hate to dredge this story up but it is relevant to the thread.

I found the rock in 2001. Within 3 weeks of its discovery and after
passing through
the hands of several esteemed meteorite experts It was sent to the
U.S.Dept. of Energy for
Al 26 counting. It was deemed by the
U.S. D.O.E. not a meteorite due to a lack of Al 26. When I asked what
it
was they said they did not know, they were so certain it was a
meteorite that they tested it for 100 times less Al 26 than
they expected to find in a
normal meteorite but still found none. I was told that it is a rock
unlike any they had ever seen, perhaps from Disko Island (due to its Ni
content) but not like anything they had seen from Disko Island. Since
then, samples of it have been archived at three different Univerities
for 'future study' should anything arise (or fall) to justify it. My
own amateur research indicates to me that it may possibly be some sort
of impact
debris, possibly related to the KT impact. Two main reasons for this
potential conclusion are the fact that Argon dating puts it at the
right age, 75 ma. + / - 10 million, and the fact that there are some
unusual crystals, tiny Cr spinels with a peculiar feature that are only
found in one other place on Earth, the KT boundary layer. Those
crystals, (in the KT) are pseudomorphs after spinel and the dirt
immediately adjacent to the xtals is enriched in Cr. suggesting a
possible relation. These crystals in the KT layer are thought to have
condensed and
precipitated from the plume that shrouded the planet. There is another
camp that thinks the xtals may be from the impactor.

To address Jim Wooddells concerns, let me say that I was told flat out
that the reason they couldn't or wouldn't take this to the final
conclussion was simple, it could jeopardize future funding and
professional reputation. It seems that if a scientist spends a bunch of
money and wastes a lot of time on an object that turns out to be
nothing, monies and reputation are at stake. I can understand this I
guess, but it seems like a sure way to ensure that the really odd stuff
will not be recognized unless it's an irrefutable witnessed fall.

Of course it could all be a big coincidence, just a man made rock that
fooled the Argon dating process. Some have scoffed at it saying it is
nothing unusual, but the majority of experts say that it is a very
unusual rock.
This is evident when looking at a sawn surface, you ca see that it's
made of minerals with texture, it looks nearly
identicle to D'Orbigny. In fact, several experts thought it was
an angrite at first look. When I saw D'Orbigny the first time in ET's
room I almost fell over. Tiny crystals in the vugs sparkling in the
light like little diamonds, just like mine. On closer examination I saw
that the crystals were not the same.

To this day I do not know it's true origin, any meteoriticists or
impact experts out there with deep pockets and nothing to lose care to
take a stab at it?

I posted some pictures to photobucket.

http://s934.photobucket.com/albums/ad190/alienrockfarm/2001%20Find/

Ths is an extremely condensed version of the story, it's truly one of
the most fascinating meteorwrong stories of all time.

Happy Hunting!

Sincerely,
Larry Atkins

IMCA # 1941
Ebay alienrockfarm


Sincerely,
Larry Atkins
?
IMCA # 1941
Ebay?alienrockfarm
?


-----Original Message-----
From: Jim Wooddell <jimwooddell at gmail.com>
To: Meteorite List <meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
Sent: Wed, Apr 27, 2011 9:47 am
Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Real or not real.


Hello Jeff,

The problem with that analogy is that visual inspection is only a very
small part of the testing of a rock. While your post appears to
suggest the scientist could not tell, it does not indicate that any
testing was completed on it. What testing was done on it???
I could be totally wrong but sure hope that with the bazillions of tax
dollars spent on funding research, in this day and age, I would
suggest that there better not be a rock out there the scientist can
not identify.
I really get the impression that maybe the scientists where being
polite and not attempting to burst your bubble?
Respectfully, what scientist in their right mind would turn down a
valid cold find or a new fall specimen? Does this actually happen???
Any scientists out there???

Check out my number 4 of 4 finds on yesterday's hunt at Franconia :
http://desrtsunburn.no-ip.org/DSCN0142.jpg (~5mb macro)


Kind Regards,

Jim Wooddell
http://desertsunburn.no-ip.org

---
On Wed, Apr 27, 2011 at 1:46 AM, Jeff Kuyken <info at meteorites.com.au> 
wrote:
> I have a stone from years ago that appears oriented but weathered. It 
was
> originally thought to be a planetary but that did not seem to pan out
> clearly. The problem was that the very qualified scientist could not 
say for
> sure what it was and could also not rule out other options like an 
Earth
> meteorite either. Further tests were just too expensive and the budget
> didn't allow for it.
>
> The thing is that the stone was even taken along to one of the Annual 
Met
> Society meetings and passed around to various people along with a 
couple of
> well known planetary scientists from NASA looking at it. A couple 
suggested
> it is likely some sort of basalt but not one person could come up 
with any
> idea of where or how it formed. Basically they said to just wait and 
see if
> any other similar NWA's showed up over the years. I'm still waiting! 
;-)
>
> So yes... there are definitely stones out there that stump even the 
best.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Jeff
>
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "GREG LINDH" <geeg48 at msn.com>
> To: "meteorite-list" <meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
> Sent: Wednesday, April 27, 2011 4:47 AM
> Subject: [meteorite-list] Real or not real.
>
>
>>
>>
>> ?To all,
>>
>> ?Are there any stones that have been found that are unable to be
>> definitively identified as a meteorite? ?In other words, are there 
stones
>> (metal or stony) that the meteorite experts of the world examine 
closely,
>> and then just say, "We just don't know"?
>>
>>
>> ?Greg L.
>> ______________________________________________
>> Visit the Archives at
>> http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html
>> Meteorite-list mailing list
>> Meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
>> http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
>>
>>
>
> ______________________________________________
> Visit the Archives at
> http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html
> Meteorite-list mailing list
> Meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
> http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
>
______________________________________________
Visit the Archives at 
http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html
Meteorite-list mailing list
Meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list

Received on Wed 27 Apr 2011 12:28:08 PM PDT