Title: Reno Evening Gazette City: Reno, Nevada Date: Monday, October 06, 1941 Page: 8
Astronomers Interested in Meteors Which Blazed Across Sky of Nevada Three blazing meteors which streaked across the Black Rock desert of the northwestern Nevada last summer have aroused the interest of Nevada amateur astronomers. All were unusually large; all passed in the same direction. If traces of them can be found, an addition will be made to the small number of recorded meteorites found in the state, it was explained by Dr. Vincent P. Gianelle, professor of geology at the University of Nevada, at a recent meeting of the Astronomical Society of Nevada on the U. of N. campus. In the 125 years that meteorite falls have been recorded throughout the world, only three have been found in Nevada. Largest is the Quinn river meteorite, which was found in 1908 Weighing 3160 pounds, this strange mass of iron and other heavy metals is now in the Chicago Field Museum. In 1938 a meteorite, weighing over 10 pounds was found in the Quartz Mountains of Nye county by a prospector named Jack Waldrous. He presented his find to the Mackay School of Mines of the University of Nevada where it is now on display. Nevada's third meteorite, a 50-pound chunk, was found near Las Vegas in 1940. It was given to the United States National Museum in Washington, D.C. Many other reported Nevada "meteorites" have been proven to be ordinary terrestrial materials, such as lumps of slag from old and forgotten smelters, said Professor Gianella. The difference between a meteor and a meteorite was explained by John L. Carison, a Reno High School instructor and University of Nevada graduate, who also spoke at the meeting. A meteor is the commonly known "shooting star" and it becomes a meteorite only if it actually strikes the earth, he pointed out. With the estimated one million meteors bombarding the earth's atmospheric blanket every 24 hours, people often wonder why more death and destruction is not caused by them. The answer, said Carlson, is that all but a few burn up before they reach the ground because of the intense friction caused by their rush through the air. In other words, few meteors become meteorites. Since meteorite recording began, there have been only 499 known falls in the United States and only 1392 in the entire world. Undoubtedly many more than the three known meteorites have fallen in the state, said Dr. Gianella, but unless they are actually seen to strike the ground it is exceedingly difficult to locate them, especially in Nevada, where "one rock makes more or less little difference." Please visit, www.MeteoriteArticles.com, a free on-line archive of meteor and meteorite articles. |
