Hi, Thanks for the kind words, Count, but in truth they are undeserved; Lovina was determined to be a meteorite at the time of my acquisition, and I merely facilitated further analysis once a question was raised. Had Lovina not been included in the Meteoritical Bulletin, I can't say I would have acquired it.
Let's also put this context, please recall Lovina's elemental signature---the elements and the proper elemental ratios---points to extraterrestrial origin. One esteemed researcher likened the odds of a terrestrial object matching a meteorite's highly specific signature as closely as Lovina's does to be akin of winning a very large lotto prize---which is to say "extremely unlikely." (Lovina may be the closest thing to a meteorite on Earth.) As it regards the comment concerning the ziggurat structures: yes, it's the presence of tetrataenite, a high nickel content and the object being in solution for hundreds of years---if not more---which is responsible for these unique structures. As it regards the comment regarding the roller coaster: I assure you I can relate....and in an effort to preserve what little is left of my sanity, I need to hop off. ;-) All the best / Darryl On May 24, 2011, at 10:52 PM, Count Deiro wrote: > I know how disappointed you must be, Darryl. You spent a great deal of blood > and treasure directing and paying for the the analysis of this still > extraordinary apecimen. The professionalism and honesty of your efforts to > find the truth of Lovinia is apparent to all. The piece sure did capture the > imagination. I was hoping for a different outcome, so I could have a piece. > > Best personal regards, > > Guido > > > > -----Original Message----- >> From: Darryl Pitt <[email protected]> >> Sent: May 24, 2011 6:22 PM >> To: Meteorite-list List <[email protected]> >> Cc: Baiyu <[email protected]> >> Subject: [meteorite-list] Lovina: most likely not a meteorite >> >> >> >> Greetings: >> >> I just received a preliminary abstract on Lovina from Kuni Nishiizumi of UC >> Berkeley's Space Sciences Laboratory. Kuni, the abstract's lead author, >> concluded it is unlikely Lovina is a meteorite. The markers analyzed were >> beryllium and chlorine concentrations and the paucity of cosmogenic >> radionuclides (only Gibeon and Nantan show less). One more round of tests >> will occur and further conclusions will be drawn from the same. The abstract >> entitled "Lovina: is this a Meteorite?" will appear in the MAPS volume >> associated with the 74th Annual Meteoritical Society Meeting this coming >> August. >> >> It has been suggested by some diehards that the bubbling evident in the >> Lovina mass could have been the result of smelting, and that the lack of >> cosmogenic radiation could be explained by Lovina having been near the >> center of a much larger mass---as we know Lovina originated from at least a >> somewhat larger mass for the ziggurat structures to have formed. However, >> in the spirit of embracing the most likely of explanations, it seems >> compelling to conclude that the most likely explanation for an expanding >> host of anomalies is Lovina's terrestrial origin. >> >> Accordingly, I've decided to no longer offer Lovina as a meteorite and have >> asked my webmaster to take down references to the same on Macovich.com at >> her earliest possible convenience. >> >> >> All best / Darryl >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> ______________________________________________ >> 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
