[meteorite-list] Mis-Conception Junction (casual similarities to Brenham)

From: Dave Gheesling <dave_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Fri, 11 Nov 2011 23:05:11 -0500
Message-ID: <F76BBC80207A411DA4C21F011FC3B177_at_meteorroom>

Mike G wrote: "I have only seen photos, but if I was presented with a slice
of each in a "blind taste test", I would be at a loss to tell one from the
other."

Actually, you wouldn't. What's missing is scale, and the Conception
Junction crystals are substantially smaller than Brenham (or just about any
other known pallasite, for that matter). We ran some comparisons, and I
think the average Brenham crystal diameter was about 7.5 mm compared to only
4.5 mm for Conception Junction. It's strikingly obvious when you see it in
person, and there are actually quite a good number of other aesthetic
distinctions as well. Then there are the comparative analyses Dr. Wasson
conducted, which are to some extent detailed in the monograph and are beyond
conclusive in terms of dilenating Conception Junction's uniqueness from
Brenham -- or any other known pallasite.

All the best,

Dave
www.fallingrocks.com

-----Original Message-----
From: Michael Gilmer [mailto:meteoritemike at gmail.com]
Sent: Friday, November 11, 2011 6:22 PM
To: dave at fallingrocks.com
Cc: Michael Farmer; Dick Lipke; Meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
Subject: Re: Mis-Conception Junction (casual similarities to Brenham)

Hi Dave and List,

The title of your post gave me a good chuckle - quite punny and definitely
appropriate.

Nobody would blame Dr. Korotev for that mess of an article. Although, I
think this entire affair can be laid to rest if some billionaire (or lotto
winner) would simply step forward and take one for the team - I have a
part-slice of El Hammami that I am willing to sell for several million
dollars, thus setting the precedent required to make the article accurate.

While we are on the subject of this new pallasite, I'd like to bring up a
question that was briefly touched upon in the past - the visual similarity
between Conception Junction and Brenham.

I realize that the analysis has been done and these two meteorites are not
the same. However, is there some chance that the two finds may be
casually related in some way? To the eye, based on visual
appearances alone, Brenham and Conception Junction do look similar.
Now, I may be speaking from ignorance, since I have never seen a specimen of
Conception Junction in person. I have only seen photos, but if I was
presented with a slice of each in a "blind taste test", I would be at a loss
to tell one from the other.

Is there any possibility that these two meteorites might share the same
parent body, or be launch-paired in some way? Are there any similarities in
cosmic ray exposure data, terrestrial age, oxygen isotope (or any other
compositional data) for these meteorites?

Best regards,

MikeG

--
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Galactic Stone & Ironworks - Meteorites & Amber (Michael Gilmer)
Website - http://www.galactic-stone.com
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On 11/11/11, Dave Gheesling <dave at fallingrocks.com> wrote:
> Michael & All,
>
> As indicated before, we're as disappointed in the sensationalism that 
> hit the wire with this article as anyone, as if any of us knew about 
> it prior, it obviously could have been prevented.
>
> Diana Lutz, the WUSTL writer of the first article that started the 
> mess, however, actually wrote a nice article for the most part.  I've 
> spoken with her at length, and she not only corrected the gross error 
> in value -- she deleted value references entirely, which is quite 
> uncommon in journalism today.  Her mistake, which jumps off the screen 
> at those of us in the meteorite community who are familiar with 
> meteorite values, was an honest miscalculation on her part, and she 
> feels badly about it.  So at the end of the day, her work is probably
undeserving of the descriptive "bunk"
> (although I do share your frustration, Michael).  Her revised article
> follows:
>
> http://news.wustl.edu/news/Pages/22942.aspx
>
> I should also note again that none of this was Dr. Korotev's fault.  
> He gave a great interview, and there was simply a disconnect in their 
> discussion of value...nothing more.
>
> Some of the stories that followed when Diana's article was picked up 
> have also been corrected or at least modified, although it's 
> frustrating to watch reporters simply refuse to get away from the 
> notion of "heavenly values" and that sort of BS (which was obviously 
> the reason most of them ran the story in the first place, which is a 
> shame).  Anyway, we've worked hard to stop everything that we could, 
> but I'm afraid the mess will never be swept up entirely.
>
> Best wishes for a great weekend to all,
>
> Dave
> www.fallingrocks.com
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: meteorite-list-bounces at meteoritecentral.com
> [mailto:meteorite-list-bounces at meteoritecentral.com] On Behalf Of 
> Michael Farmer
> Sent: Thursday, November 10, 2011 4:48 PM
> To: Michael Gilmer
> Cc: Dick Lipke; Meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
> Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Remember this common find?
>
> Considering that it is being publicly sold for less than 1/3 that 
> price makes this article is bunk. Even Krasnojarsk hardly sells for $200
gram.
> Yup, this misinformation further hampers field recoveries. It is a 
> spectacular meteorite, it is not $3 million dollars.
>
>
> Michael Farmer
>
> Sent from my iPad
>
> On Nov 10, 2011, at 2:26 PM, Michael Gilmer <meteoritemike at gmail.com>
wrote:
>
>> Hi Dick and List,
>>
>> Conception Junction is a spectacular pallasite find and everyone 
>> involved with the find should feel a well-deserved sense of 
>> accomplishment.
>>
>> But, I cringe every time I see an article like this.
>>
>> Worth $3.4 million dollars?  Really?  To whom?  Something is worth 
>> what someone will pay for it.  In the history of meteorites, how many 
>> specimens have sold for millions of dollars?  To my knowledge - none.
>>
>> Carelessly throwing around cash numbers like this is irresponsible at 
>> best and damages the entire meteorite community by unrealistically 
>> raising expectations amongst lay people who are not knowledgeable 
>> about the meteorite market.
>>
>> Every article like this creates scammers intent on making a quick 
>> buck from slags, landowners wanting astronomical sums for common 
>> chondrites, and draws unwanted attention from legislative authorities 
>> who might feel tempted to interfere with meteorite market via 
>> taxation or regulation.
>>
>> I expected better from Space.com.
>>
>> Best regards,
>>
>> MikeG
>> --
>> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
>> -
>> ----------- Galactic Stone & Ironworks - Meteorites & Amber (Michael
>> Gilmer)
>>
>> Website - http://www.galactic-stone.com Facebook - 
>> http://tinyurl.com/42h79my News Feed -
>> http://www.galactic-stone.com/rss/126516
>> Twitter - http://twitter.com/galacticstone
>> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
>> -
>> -----------
>>
>>
>> On 11/10/11, Dick Lipke <RICHARDLIPKE at comcast.net> wrote:
>>>
>>> -
>>> www.space.com/13578-missouri-farmer-rare-meteorite-conception-juncti
>>> o n.html I recall someone saying it was only a common find!!!
>>>
>>>
>>> Richard Lipke
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Received on Fri 11 Nov 2011 11:05:11 PM PST


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