My perspective, as someone who neither collects nor hunts meteorites, is
that it doesn't much matter. All meteorites come from the same place: space.
And where they actually land rarely matters from a scientific standpoint,
beyond perhaps the general region (which seems always present in the
database). If the nomenclature committee were to have a policy of not
accepting meteorites with deliberately undisclosed locations, should they
also refuse to accept specimens with unknown locations? Scientifically,
there is no difference.
I'm all for maximizing the information available, but I wouldn't refuse to
make "official" specimens that are missing information, whether deliberately
withheld or not. That would be scientifically counterproductive. (I
certainly understand why someone owning property where a meteorite is found
would wish to keep the location vague- either a region or lat/long to a
degree or so of precision.)
Of course, I recognize that there are rare cases where knowing the exact
coordinates of a meteorite are essential- for instance, in the kind of work
I do, modeling falls from orbit to fireball to the ground. But such research
represents only a tiny fraction of the science devoted to meteorites.
Chris
*****************************************
Chris L Peterson
Cloudbait Observatory
http://www.cloudbait.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "Galactic Stone & Ironworks" <[email protected]>
To: "Meteorite List" <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, October 27, 2009 5:32 PM
Subject: [meteorite-list] Secret Find/Fall Coordinates and
Legitimacy -Someone help me understand this.
Hi List,
Recently I was doing some research on various meteorites for an
article I am writing, and I noticed a few entries in the Met Bulletin
database that give all of the details about a meteorite, but then says
that the actual find coordinates are secret or being withheld.
Ok, I understand the motivations behind keeping a location secret.
These motives have been discussed on the List previously, as recently
as the new fall in Arizona that Dr. Schrader found - which
subsequently set off a flurry of espionage and intrigues to find the
fall which Dr. Jack was keeping secret. Granted. I can understand
the value of not having 200 amateurs running rough-shod over a new
strewnfield before it is properly documented. But, once the
strewnfield is mapped, and the team(s) working the field have packed
up and left with their specimens, what is the motivation for keeping
the exact location a secret? If the fall is known to science and
available to science (meaning, it has been classified and samples are
available for study), then why should the location be kept secret? Is
it financial reasons, so the original finders can come back on
subsequents trips and deplete the strewnfield for their own
inventories? Or, is it because the location is on someone's private
property and the owner has requested that the exact location be kept
secret to prevent a flood of trespassers? If the latter, then how
does this explain the secret coordinates of the NWA desert finds -
some of which are ordinary chondrites out in the open desert that were
catalogued over 10 years ago. Why are these still being withheld?
It seems to me, that science (and institutions) should not recognize
meteorites whose find/fall locations are being kept secret
intentionally without good explanation - doing so would encourage
profiteering and damage the availability of specimens for scientific
study and private collectors. If finders wanted to have their falls
officially classified (and reap the benefits of legitimacy that comes
from recognition and inclusion in meteorite catalogues), then they
should have to divulge the coordinates of their finds. Wouldn't that
take away some of the incentive to keep these locations secret where
the only motivation to do so is personal profit?
I don't want to strike a nerve here or touch off a big debate, I just
want someone to explain to me the reasoning behind anonymous find
locations (not because the location is unknown, but because it is
being withheld) being accepted into the Meteoritical Society database?
Best regards,
MikeG
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