Ron: Well that is fantastic - Congratulations. It is very hard to tell from photographs on the web. Sounds like it will make a fine addition to your department.
Greg S. ---------------------------------------- > From: [email protected] > To: [email protected]; [email protected] > Date: Mon, 8 Nov 2010 16:20:11 -0600 > Subject: RE: [meteorite-list] UNT confirms man's meteorite > > Hello Greg, > > As with all public press, scientists are at the whim of the reporters, who > oftentimes do not portray the story completely. We had a successful nickel > test, we cut a small piece of the sample and put it through several tests in > our materials lab of our physics department. It is a meteorite, no doubt! > > I am the director of the largest undergraduate astronomy laboratory program > in the U.S. I discovered my first meteorite in 1977, worked with Oscar Monnig > when he was alive, and have located over a dozen different fall sites. I was > a part of NASA's Deep Impact program - I am comfortable with "space rocks". > > We do not, as a policy, offer to purchase samples that are brought into our > labs for examination. We offer the service free to our surrounding community. > We identify fossils, peculiar earth rocks, and possible meteorites. The only > reason we offered to purchase this was because he said he was going to sell > it (Thank you "Meteorite Men"), and "would take $1.00 per gram" so we > purchased it, where it will be put on display as another Texas meteorite. > Since then we have been researching the huge bolide that was seen to fall > near Lufkin in February, 1955. The trail was seen from Jackson, Mississippi > to Mineral Wells, Texas - over 700 miles! Perhaps we might be able to > determine a strewn field from 50 years ago! > > I hope this eases your concern over our credibility. > > Kindest Regards, > Ron > > > Ron DiIulio > Planetarium and Astronomy Laboratory Director > Adjunct Professor > Physics Department > University of North Texas > NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador > office phone: 940-369-8213 > fax number: 940-369-7792 > email: [email protected] > > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: [email protected] > [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Thunder > Stone > Sent: Thursday, October 28, 2010 4:10 PM > To: [email protected] > Subject: [meteorite-list] UNT confirms man's meteorite > > > Seems like they could have done more testing. Seems a little off. > > Greg S. > > > http://www.dentonrc.com/sharedcontent/dws/drc/localnews/stories/DRC_meteor_1028.1d2463a9b.html > > > UNT confirms man's meteorite > > Down to Earth > > 11:58 PM CDT on Wednesday, October 27, 2010 > > By Rachel Mehlhaff / Staff Writer > > A man recently found out that a rock he stumbled upon two years ago is > actually a meteorite. > > George Wright holds a meteorite he discovered near Lufkin, on Wednesday in > Denton. Researchers at the University of North Texas confirmed that Wright's > find was from a meteor. > > > George Wright of Denton was walking outside his brother's house in Lufkin > when he kicked a rock that was sticking out of the ground. He knew it wasn't > like rocks that are typically found in the area, he said, because he hauled > rocks for 30 years. > > "I could tell it was different," he said of the rock that was halfway buried > in the clay. > > Wright's girlfriend convinced him to take the rock, which sat on a shelf at > his parents' house for the past couple of years, to the University of North > Texas. > > "I had an idea it was a meteorite," Wright said. > > His suspicions were confirmed with the help of George Maxey and Ron DiIulio, > UNT faculty members who put Wright's rock to the meteorite test. > > A meteoroid is the result of two asteroids colliding in space, DiIulio said. > > DiIulio said an asteroid has three layers: the core, which is made of iron; > the middle "boundary" layer, which is a combination of stone and iron; and > the outer "mantle" layer, which is made of stone. > > Each layer produces different types of meteorites that people find. > > "Ninety-four percent of the meteorites that come in are rock," he said. > > He said 5 percent are iron and 1 percent of meteorites are stony iron. > > Since the meteorite was found in Texas by a Denton resident, the university > wanted to keep the meteorite in Denton, and UNT was willing to pay Wright > $300 for his find. > > > But there is no easy answer to how much a meteorite is worth, as each type > has a different monetary value, DiIulio said, adding that each part of an > asteroid is important to scientific research. > > He said a person has to research the market. > > An iron meteorite, like the one weighing 300 grams that Wright found, is > worth $1 per gram. > > "Unless you find one of these oddballs like this," said DiIulio, pointing to > a stony iron meteorite - worth closer to $50 per gram. > > The stone meteorites are worth about 15 to 20 cents a gram. > > To determine whether Wright's rock was a meteorite, it went through several > tests, starting with a test to see if it was attracted to magnets. > > DiIulio said that even stone meteorites are usually attracted to magnets. > > Researchers also check that it is solid and not porous, and that it is an > irregular shape, Maxey said. > > Meteorites usually don't have sharp edges, and they have what look like > "thumb prints," DiIulio said, which researchers believe form when a meteorite > enters the Earth's atmosphere and burns unevenly. > > They don't know the composition of Wright's meteorite yet, he said. > > And it is difficult to date the meteor that Wright's rock came from, but > DiIulio said he believes that the meteorite is from a meteor that fell in > 1955 and was reported in the Port Arthur News. > > DiIulio and Maxey are hoping to extract Earth rocks from the meteorite that > will help them determine when it may have fallen. > > "Earth rock may be easier for us to date," DiIulio said. > > He said that while they may not know whether it fell in 1955, he thinks the > coincidence is significant. > > This year UNT opened a lab that allows people to do just what Wright did - > bring in their finds and determine if they have meteorites or fossils. > > "We have a lot of people come in with objects; they don't know what they > are," Maxey said. > > Many people bring in what DiIulio calls "meteor-wrongs," as opposed to > meteorites. He has a collection of those items on a table in his office for > comparison with possible meteorites. > > He and Maxey encourage people to bring in objects they want tested. For more > information, e-mail DiIulio at [email protected]. > > ______________________________________________ > Visit the Archives at > http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html > Meteorite-list mailing list > [email protected] > http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list ______________________________________________ Visit the Archives at http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html Meteorite-list mailing list [email protected] http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
