List members. I must express my disappointment with Jason for quipping that the fact that the Fredericksburg meteorite has not been classified, thus is not a meteorite. Jason, here are you exact words "It would be something like calling Fredericksburg (remember that Hexahedrite from a few years ago?) an approved meteorite - it's never been mentioned in the bulletin or elsewhere, so how can you?"
Jason, you know it is a meteorite, and you know why it has not been approved. Politics and personal grudge has turned science into a farce. John Wasson at UCLA (the top iron meteorite scientist in the world" refuses to submit it since I bought it. He classified it, confirmed with the owner that it was a Hexahedrite that was not paired to any other known meteorite, and tried to buy it. He did not try very hard, as he had several years head-start on me. The owner sent many faxes and emails to Dr. Wasson, who did not respond for more than one year. Tired of waiting, the owner found me on eBay, called me, and we made a price. I was in Alaska only days later, cash in hand and saw the copies of emails. He told me he needed money and could no longer wait on UCLA, which did not return his emails/faxes and phone calls. The emails I saw were very clear, asking Dr. Wasson to get in touch with him and finalize a price and purchase agreement. Those phone calls, faxes, and emails all went unanswered for nearly a year. Only days after announcing that I had bought the meteorite, I received a rather terse and abrupt email from Dr. Wasson, angry that I had bought "his meteorite" and he demanded a large piece for UCLA since they had done the work on the meteorite. I sent them an end cut weighing more than 500 grams (Perhaps as much as 800 grams, I can't remember because that was more than seven years ago). I never heard one more word from Dr. Wasson, not a "thank you" or anything. I emailed him numerous times requesting the classification data, with no response. I heard through other scientists that he was quite angry with me for buying what he felt was his meteorite. It has now been more than seven years since I bought Fredericksburg, I don't even remember the exact year, but in that time, it has all been sold off. Did I leave anything out? Do you know more about this? Can I ask what you are calling me on? If UCLA could not make a decision or raise the funds years after knowing about this meteorite, then I think the loss was due to their own lack of interest and follow-through and ignoring the repeated requests of the man trying to sell them the meteorite. The owner needed money, and years after asking UCLA for it, decided to sell to myself. So actually, more than seven years after I bought the meteorite, and provided more than 500 grams to UCLA, Dr Wasson refuses to finish the job he started years before I ever heard of the meteorite. I guess politics triumphs over science in this case. Pieces of the Fredericksburg meteorite are in collections and museums around the world. Mr Wasson has the data, so perhaps people who have bought this meteorite should start emailing Dr. Wasson, and ask him why he will not submit it a decade after doing the classification. My emails to him have gone unanswered, so I have to assume that any further attempts by me to get the data will meet the same fate. Michael Farmer This is a simple and complete history of the Fredericksburg meteorite from Texas. ______________________________________________ Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
