(meteorobs) Bruce & Frank's extraordinary adventure

bmccurdy at telusplanet.net bmccurdy at telusplanet.net
Sat Nov 29 02:19:39 EST 2008


Hello from Marsden, Saskatchewan. I'm delighted to report that I was on hand 
today as the media horde descended on a farm just south of Lone Rock (!), SK, 
where several meteorite fragments were found frozen in a slough. It was quite 
the scene, with some 35 media people meeting at a fast food restaurant in 
Lloydminster, with some 20 vehicles joining a convoy for a 20-minute drive to 
the site. Plus a helicopter! 

These meteorites, recovered by Ellen Milley and Alan Hildebrand of the 
University of Calgary, have been tentatively identified as ordinary chondrites 
of Type 5 or 6. Dr. Hildebrand estimates that some thousands of meteorites may 
have fallen in a strewn field some 3 by 8 km in extent. 

Later as Frank and I roamed the area hoping to find a meteorite or two that may 
have fallen on crown land, we encountered another fellow with an astronomy 
interest who suggested we go to the Marsden Hotel pub about 20 km to the south. 
Here we saw an extraordinary site -- a 13 kilogram meteorite which had been 
recovered by an enterprising rock hound. It was a monster, somewhat larger than 
a human head. My fellow adventurer Frank Florian quickly confirmed it was 
indeed a meteorite, and somehow Alan Hildebrand caught wind of it and arrived a 
couple hours later for a look-see. He too immediately confirmed its 
extraterrestrial origin. Where it was found and who actually owns the thing 
remains an open question at this point. 

Needless to say, though, it was a huge hit at the pub where the locals were 
passing it around and examining it carefully. Given it had already been handled 
rather excessively, there was no point in passing up the opportunity to pick up 
and hold this object which is simultaneously one of the newest and one of the 
oldest rocks on Earth. What a tremendous thrill to say the least. 

The combined observation of seeing the fireball, observing some of its 
meteorites _in situ_, and now having touched a large member of the family ranks 
very high on my Life List.

More adventuring tomorrow; I'll write a more detailed report once we return to 
Edmonton.

Bruce
*****   




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