Dear List:
It's gun show weekend for me and I am in near to Tucson heaven...talking
rocks all weekend long.
I was brought some small "nuggets" of metallic iron-like chips from a
1,200 main mass of a suspected meteorite...
With 10X loupe, I determine that the boytroidial and vesicular make up
of the pieces, that it was a geothermal or hydrothermal massive (indeed)
magnetite. The folks were familiar by book reading but had not handled
meteorites. They were fascinating to discuss the find with. They went
home and brought back the cam corder and showed me video of the "main
mass" and also carried in a 15 pound sample of the specimen. Massive
Magnetite, and boytroidial even.
I get home from the show (sold a number of gibeon pieces), and there is
an answering machine message.....Dave, I have a 140 pound meteorite you
might like to show off at your Tuesday night lecture. I call and run
out to the edge of town and look... immediately! This one is a heart
breaker....foundry slag. He said that a friend of his took a 10 pound
piece "down to Arizona and some people (for lack of a definite name or
qualification, possibly those darn know it all rock hounds) said it was
surely a meteorite". No one ever had it tested, he had it for five
years knowing it was a meteorite. It has vesicles, strongly attracted
to a magnet in some spots and where the gray clinker stuff was, no
affection to the magnet. Darn, two big hits in one day and struck out.
I did provide a goodly amount of education to both parties and thank
them, and recommended books. Second guy had 500 pounds of tremolite,
not jade like he thought, double whammy on this adventure.
Soon to see Tucson,
Dave Freeman, meteorite adventurist
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