14 replies to this topic

[star acres]

I've found maybe a half dozen, and that's hardly looking.   .  One time, I had to wait 20 minutes for one to cool, that landed right next to me. Picking up an orange glowing rock is not good. In simple terms, there are more meteorites than many people think. 

Edited by star acres, 14 February 2024 - 05:28 AM.

[Hubbletrouble]

[TOMDEY]

A friend of mine often saw meteors become meteorites while driving his jeep on country roads. He's stop the car and load them in the trunk. He lived in Mukwonago, Wisconsin --- which seems to attract cooling meteorites. He said the added weigh helped traction in the winter.   Tom

[lee14]

Meteorites do not land as glowing rocks that take 20 minutes to cool down. The only portion that experiences significant heating is the surface, which generally forms a fusion crust. If the interiors were heated to that degree there would be evidence indicating so, and there isn't. The heating is due to air molecules being compressed at the leading edge, or the entire surface as a tumbling specimen rapidly traverses the atmosphere. There is insufficient time for such extreme heating to reach the interior. Large stones are too massive for this to occur in the short space before reaching the ground, small ones slow quickly after the initial fusion crust forms because they lack sufficient mass to overcome atmospheric drag and heating effects cease.

 

Fusion crusts have characteristics that result from heating and motion. Flow lines are sometimes present, indicating an extremely thin melt zone at the surface. Often this crust shows a series of fine cracks, a consequence of rapid cooling, as the interior remains cold. Interiors are generally pristine, retaining the characteristics present during formation. One example; iron meteorites are composed of kamacite and taenite, nickel iron crystals whose crystalline structure breaks down at much lower temperatures than that required to reach incandescence. 

 

Lee

[TOMDEY]

Back in 1977 one hit my car, damaging the left back tail light and another hit my wife's car damaging the right front headlight. Both cars were in the driveway. I didn't witness the event, but my wife did and reported that to the insurance company. They declared that to be an act of God... so denied coverage. Although the meteorite fragments were stolen by some passing kids, seems the one that hit my wife's car was shaped like a left back tail light, and the one that hit my car was shaped like a right front headlight. Thankfully --- no one was injured or burned. To this day, the valuable meteorites have not been recovered.  Tom

Edited by TOMDEY, 14 February 2024 - 04:32 PM.

[lee14]

Back in 1977 one hit my car, damaging the left back tail light and another hit my wife's car damaging the front right headlight. Both cars were in the driveway. I didn't witness the event, but my wife did and reported that to the insurance company. They declared that to be an act of God... so denied coverage. Although the meteorite fragments were stolen by some passing kids, seems the one that hit my wife's car was shaped like a left back tail light, and the one that hit my car was shaped like a right front right headlight. Thankfully --- no one was injured or burned. To this day, the valuable meteorites have not been recovered.  Tom

This is why anecdotal evidence is so very valuable (sic). And so reliably resists refutation. Now if you were living in Peekskill in '92....

Lee

[Glassthrower]

100% Troll Job.

[leonardovaller]

100% Troll Job.

I don't think it's trolling. It happens that people find rocks and they are sure they have found meteorites. So they think that by making up a story, they will convince others of what they themselves are convinced of.

 

I see it all the time in a Facebook group I'm a part of. There are people who just want others to validate their expectations.

 

They lie because they believe that the lie is justified by a reality that only they can see.

[lee14]

I don't think it's trolling. It happens that people find rocks and they are sure they have found meteorites. So they think that by making up a story, they will convince others of what they themselves are convinced of.

 

I see it all the time in a Facebook group I'm a part of. There are people who just want others to validate their expectations.

 

They lie because they believe that the lie is justified by a reality that only they can see.

That's a fair assessment behind many of these types of claims. Many dealers and collectors have seen this particular pattern before. The claimant seeks both attention, and validation of his good fortune in actually finding such a valuable specimen and their acumen for its identification. A key feature is often a sharply heated emotional reaction when the claim is challenged or debunked.

 

In this case however, I think Michael is correct. Statements like 'landed right next to me' and hesitancy about 'picking up an orange glowing rock' cannot be expected to be taken seriously.

 

Lee 

Edited by lee14, 14 February 2024 - 07:58 PM.

[moefuzz]

Back in 1977 one hit my car, damaging the left back tail light and another hit my wife's car damaging the right front headlight. Both cars were in the driveway. I didn't witness the event, but my wife did and reported that to the insurance company. They declared that to be an act of God... so denied coverage. Although the meteorite fragments were stolen by some passing kids, seems the one that hit my wife's car was shaped like a left back tail light, and the one that hit my car was shaped like a right front headlight. Thankfully --- no one was injured or burned. To this day, the valuable meteorites have not been recovered.  Tom

Wow Tom, what a coincidence! Apparently those meteorites have been found and are now being reported in many unrelated but not unfindable threads in this very Forum at this very moment! Probably has to do with the fact that the "passing kids" that stole them eventually threw them away into the local rock pile at the garden centre! And wonder of Wonders they are all being found and reported right here on the forum as we speak!

What are the chances of that? Personally I think the chances of that are unfindable!

Edited by moefuzz, 14 February 2024 - 09:14 PM.

[TOMDEY]

This Martian Meteorite was found by Percival Lowell. We earthlings can't make these things up --- but the Martians can.   Tom

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[star acres]

My fingers can wait until a meteorite is excessively cool. Wikipedia has a good introduction, but it's the iron-nickel ones I'm familiar with. They go super hot in the extreme upper atmosphere and cool when they reach real air. Their entry angle is a roulette's wheel. They do sometimes explode in the air or on impact. Much material is vaporized before landing.

[Astroman007]

I don't think it's trolling. It happens that people find rocks and they are sure they have found meteorites. So they think that by making up a story, they will convince others of what they themselves are convinced of.

 

I see it all the time in a Facebook group I'm a part of. There are people who just want others to validate their expectations.

 

They lie because they believe that the lie is justified by a reality that only they can see.

Lies are never justified. They will only hurt your credibility in the end.

[leonardovaller]

Lies are never justified. They will only hurt your credibility in the end.

I know that.

As a serious collector of classified and authenticated meteorites I would never tell a lie. I wouldn't need to do that.

But, not all people think the same.
 

[star acres]

My huge LED lamp turned my meteorite into a fuzzy gold nugget and the focus is crummy, but the bigger disappointment is how posters didn't get along. This isn't Facebook and this isn't a town hearing or condo meet. Behave yourselves.