[meteorite-list] meteorite fall rates, please, and first piece

From: Robert & Wendi Beauford <wendirob_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 09:55:41 2004
Message-ID: <000701c19665$222b2240$e64897cc_at_wendirob>

Could someone give me a hand with approximations of the correct information
for the following questions?
Thanks in advance,
-Robert Beauford : )

ps. On the topics of first pieces, mine was a meteorwrong found in Colorado
when I was 8. I still have it. I don't remember when my first real
meteorite came along. They were just another gemstone/mineral variety for
many years until I read about the stony variety and understood the extent of
the science that was possible in these wonderful rocks. I never was all
that fascinated by the irons or tektites until I understood them in their
context. Now I really appreciate them (but not as much as the chondrites).
I actually bought small irons and tektites from many of you at Tucson when I
did the show and dealt in gems, pearls, and anything else fascinating.
That's been a few years, though, and I didn't know who any of you were.
(Now that I want very much to meet you all face to face, I haven't had the
opportunity to go back to Tucson.)
My first chondrite, and the beginning of my passion for the subject, was a
gift from a list member. I couldn't learn enough about it. I still spend a
lot of time just trying to understand the science behind the subject
(Reviews in Meneralogy v. 36 helps a lot.), but it's challenging to make
headway from books alone.
I really wish there was a meteoritics department or planetary science
program closer to home or an extension studies coarse. I'd be working on my
masters right now if there were.
Thanks for sharing all of your first meteorite stories!
Again, any help with the questions below would be most sincerely
appreciated.
-Robert Beauford : )

Questions
What proportion of visible meteors, or shooting stars, results in
a meteorite being left on the ground?
Would it be accurate to say far less than 1 in 10000(??)

1 object over 10 grams falls per (how many square miles) per year.

An object over 1 kilo (2.2 lbs) might fall in a given 1 square mile piece of
land only once in every (how many) years?

Even very broad estimates will be fine, as long as they communicate
something about the rate of falls.

Thank you again to anyone who might be willing to take the time to help!
Received on Sat 05 Jan 2002 10:48:54 PM PST