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Re: Micrometeorites in Rain Gutters

I read an online article several months ago about this exact topic.  I don't
remeber the author, but I remember the technique that she ( I beleive it was
a woman school teacher) described.

She said to take the material out of the rain gutter, dry it (if wet),
seperate the larger material, and run the dust over a magnet.  This was
supposed to capture micro-meteorites, which could be identified under a
nmicro-scope.

The author said that something like 1 ton of meteroitic "dust" fell through
the atmosphere everyday.

If I can find the web page, or if I actually printed the article I'll post
it.

I found this while searching for information on the web for finding
meteroites prior to joining the list.

Chris L. Ball

-----Original Message-----
From: Louis Varricchio <varricch@aero.und.edu>
To: chikadee@earthlink.net <chikadee@earthlink.net>;
meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com <meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Wednesday, September 29, 1999 6:36 AM
Subject: Micrometeorites in Rain Gutters


>Hi, Ginger:
>
>Here's my two centavos: The idea of collecting micro-meteorites in rain
>gutters has been floating around since the 1950s at least. I recall reading
>an Isaac Asimov science-fact article about it in an old issue "Fantasy &
>Science Fiction" magazine.
>
>My guess--and I never actually looked at gutter detritus under a 'scope--is
>that between the asphalt-fiber glass roof shingle debris and organic matter
>which collects in gutters (unless you have a slate, metal or terra cotta
>roof which might produce a distinctive erosional product(?)), it should be
>somewhat "easy" to identify one--depending on having the luck of finding
>particles in your gutter.  I am skeptical that your gutter would be
brimming
>with the stuff (in fact I know it isn't).  But if you search regularly
after
>rains over a long period of time, you may turn up something (irons would be
>easy to spot I should think).
>
>>
>
>LOUIS VARRICCHIO
>Environmental Information Specialist/Research Associate
> Upper Midwest Aerospace Consortium
> Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences
> University of North Dakota
> Grand Forks, N.D. 58202-9007
>   Phone: 701-777-2482
>   Fax: 701-777-2940
>   E-mail: varricch@umac.org (in N.D.)
>              morbius@together.net (in Vt.)
>
>"Climate is what you expect, weather is what you get."--Robert Heinlein
>
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