[meteorite-list] The World's Second Largest Meteorite

From: MexicoDoug <mexicodoug_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Tue, 13 Sep 2016 12:51:15 -0400
Message-ID: <1572475b080-6b47-24651_at_webprd-m66.mail.aol.com>

Peter, John and Al,

I agree with John about the weighing difficulties, heck, even less than a quarter ton meteorite isn't a convenient thing to weigh...

I found another article published today in La Nacion (Argentina) which seemed to throw some light on what's going on and probably is the article you're referring to. It shows that the guy who who made the press release to begin with, who is in the Chaco Astronomy Club set off the flurry of articles. His claim is:

My interpretation:
"According to what he explained, the celestial mass weighs 30,800 kilograms and the extraction equipment was taken advantage of to weigh another meteorite that was discovered previously, El Chaco, which reached a weight of 28,840 kilograms."

So the recovery team that found the new Gancedo mass is claiming theirs is the biggest in town now. As pointed out in John's article, AMNH's Cape York mass is still larger at a claimed weight of 30,900 kilograms. Also, the new buried mass was in some water and probably remains to be cleaned of shale, dirt and water and reweighed properly then. El Chaco appears to have undergone that, whether by cleaning or natural shedding during its decades on display.

There is a great deal of political tension surrounding these meteorites. El Chaco was originally cleared by lawmakers to go on a temporary exhibit in Germany in 2012, with the intent of sharing with Europe its story and generating interest in tourism in Argentina. However several interests banded together to force the government to retract their offer of good will. The explanation was that there was a danger of loss and damage and that the meteorite was owned by the people of Argentina and had a sacred role in the indigenous peoples living in that area, the Moqoit, so it wasn't appropriate to export for that reason either.

Since then, the groups: academics, anthropologists, conservationists, the local Astronomy Club, and tourism forces have been re-enforcing and building up a culture surrounding the meteorites.
As for the indigenous attributed narrative coming to light, this is from an article in the paper of an anthropologist that got a job doing this work:

For the Moqoit the Cosmos is filled with different non-human beings that it is necessary but dangerous to relate to. .... Milky Way..... is how the Moqoit interpret the heavens, etc., and its brightness shows the power of these beings, etc. etc.

In this context meteorites have great importance for this group. They are seen as stars that fall to the ground and portend rains, and are also seen as sources of luck and fortune, since they are the embodiment of the powerful beings in the skies here on Earth. The meteorites are filled with power and their manipulation is dangerous but also associated with building leadership.

He continues in an Arthurian/Camelot flavor:

"It is thought that the meteorites bury themselves deeply when falling and start emerging slowly from the ground on the surface to those person for whom they are destined. For the indigenous, the removal of meteorites by Argentinian of European descent, and by foreigners, acts like a symbol of the sacking of their resources they have experienced since the Conquest, and their forced settlement (from their nomadic lifestyle). The meteorites fill an iconic roll for these communities. The interest of outsiders for many of them is a metaphor for the inequalities existing in the world. For that reason lately, many actions to reclaim their rights are organized around the meteorites.

ref: http://elfederal.com.ar/nota/revista/28622/meteoritos-fundamentales-en-la-cultura-indigena-de-chaco

Kindest wishes
Doug
Now, I will never eat another Gansito again without special contemplation!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gansito


-----Original Message-----
From: Peter Scherff via Meteorite-list <meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
To: meteorite-list <meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
Sent: Tue, Sep 13, 2016 7:14 am
Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] The World's Second Largest Meteorite

Hi,

My reading of the article, albeit through Google translate, talks about El
Chaco being reweighed and its weight being reported at 28,840 kilos. The
newly discovered meteorite weighs 30,800 kilos.

Thanks,

Peter

-----Original Message-----
From: Meteorite-list [mailto:meteorite-list-bounces at meteoritecentral.com] On
Behalf Of Bigjohn Shea via Meteorite-list
Sent: Tuesday, September 13, 2016 6:05 AM
To: metlist
Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] The World's Second Largest Meteorite

https://steemit.com/gancedo/_at_merlinesm/meteorite-record-the-gancedo-weighs-3
0-8-tons-and-is-the-fourth-largest-in-the-world

This article, with some great photos, lists it at 4th with 30,800kg as the
official measure.

Weighing the big ones like this and compairing them to others has always
been confusing it seems.

2nd or 4th is kkind of irrelevant in my book. Still amazing...

Cheers,
John A. Shea, MD
IMCA 3295



Sent using the mail.com mail app

On 9/13/16 at 2:01 AM, MexicoDoug via Meteorite-list wrote:

> Just a journalistic failure to fact check... The original El Chaco is
said to be 37.4 MT (37,400 kg). They need to weigh this "Gancedo" more
accurately perhaps, but it is over 14,500 pounds more to get from the
Gancedo 30.8 MT to the El Chaco 37.4 MT:
>
> see the recovery of the find here:
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7OGZpVbI6I
> Best
> Doug
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Rob Wesel via Meteorite-list
> <meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
> To: Sterling K. Webb <sterling_k_webb at sbcglobal.net>; meteorite-list
> <meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
> Sent: Tue, Sep 13, 2016 1:41 am
> Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] The World's Second Largest Meteorite
>
> I have seen this in the news a few times today. Amazing find but I'm
> confused.
>
> This new find is 34 tons.
>
> El Chaco weighs in at 37 tons and Hoba has them beat at 66.
>
> I missing a metric conversion in reference to El Chaco?
>
> Referencing the book
> The Campo Del Cielo Meteorites, Vol. II, Chaco Guillermo Faivovich and
> Nicolas Goldberg
> 2012
> Page 45
>
>
> Rob Wesel
> ------------------
> Nakhla Dog Meteorites
> www.nakhladogmeteorites.com
> www.facebook.com/Nakhla.Dog.Meteorites
> www.facebook.com/Rob.Wesel
> ------------------
> We are the music makers...
> and we are the dreamers of the dreams.
> Willy Wonka, 1971
>
>
>
>
> --------------------------------------------------
> From: "Sterling K. Webb via Meteorite-list"
> <meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
> Sent: Monday, September 12, 2016 9:52 PM
> To: <meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
> Subject: [meteorite-list] The World's Second Largest Meteorite
>
> > List,
> >
> > A 34-ton iron has been found
> > in the Campo del Cielo region
> > of Argentina:
> > http://www.shanghaidaily.com/article/article_xinhua.aspx?id=332776
> >
> > The meteorite was found on
> > Sept. 10 in the town of Gancedo,
> > 1,085 km north of Buenos Aires,
> > Mario Vesconi, president of the
> > Astronomy Association of Chaco,
> > told the daily newspaper Clarin."
> >
> > "While we hoped for weights above
> > what had been registered, we did
> > not expect it to exceed 30 [metric]
> > tons," Vesconi noted, adding that
> > "the size and weight [about 68,000
> > pounds] surprised us."
> >
> > "The meteorite will be weighed
> > again to ensure an accurate
> > measurement. The largest
> > meteorite ever found is Hoba,
> > weighing 66 tons, in Namibia."
> >
> > See also:
> > http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2016/sep/12/30-ton-meteor-discovere
> > d-in-arg
> > entina-at-ancient-m/
> >
> >
> > Sterling K. Webb
> >
> > ______________________________________________
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Received on Tue 13 Sep 2016 12:51:15 PM PDT