[meteorite-list] Guide to "Newbies" (was Meteorites & Competition)

From: Mark Bowling <minador_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Mon, 16 Nov 2009 04:49:48 -0800 (PST)
Message-ID: <365322.14003.qm_at_web54506.mail.re2.yahoo.com>

Hi List,

I think MikeG understands the concept, and if Jim Tobin already has material covering the subject, it's probably not worth the time putting it in book form. But none of the books below touch on the subject I'm touching on. The newest Norton book does give a great explanation for nickel testing, determining bulk density and etching meteorites. The idea isn't about meteorite hunting/people, the origin of meteorites in space, a catalog of meteorite types (or the history of the XYZ fall), but a detailed, step-by-step guide for cutting, polishing, treating meteorites, so as to ensure that people can reduce waste. It wouldn't be a heavy, big book. I have such a guidebook on casting, which is wire bound, and is smaller, much lighter than 99% of my meteorite books.

Eric's suggestion made me laugh! I think he's right, maybe it would be good to just put the existing material into Meteorite Wiki!

Anyways, what touched off the discussion was a question about exchanging money and stones with people in Morocco, and wasn't a question about meteorite prep. I just thought that I've seen many "newbies" have a lot of questions like that. And someone attacked newbies for asking questions on cutting, etching, etc. And when Adam Hupe reminded us how precious the material really is, it made me wonder just how much material has been damaged by novices experimenting with lapidary equipment. I've seen people soak stones in acid to expose the metal (terrible outcome...).

Anyways, thanks for the feedback everyone. Happy hunting/collecting (and selling). And keep the thought provoking questions coming you newbies!

& have a great day!
Mark


--- On Sun, 11/15/09, Gary Fujihara <fujmon at mac.com> wrote:
> Here are some titles of books on meteorites that I have in
> my library, use in public outreach, or for informal science
> education in schools.? Some of them are well known,
> while others more obscure, but all most informative and
> worth the time to read.???Some of them are
> listed here in no particular order:
>
> Cambridge Encyclopedia of Meteorites, O Richard Norton,
> 2002, Cambridge Press, 354 pg
> ??? Good information that is well organized
> by the master
>
> Field Guide to Meteors and Meteorites, O Richard Norton,
> 2008 Springer, 288 pg
> ? ??? Great reference from
> classifications to hunting to handlens/microscope viewing
>
> Rocks From Space, O Richard Norton, 1994, 1998 Mountain
> Press Pub, 444 pg
> ??? One of my favorite books, one to which I
> often return
>
> Meteorites, Hutchison & Graham, 1993 Sterling
> Publishing, NY, 60 pg
> ??? Good pictures and information, I donate
> copies to science classes I visit
>
> Falling Stars, Mike Reynolds, 2001 Stackpole Books, PA, 148
> pg
> ??? Like the subtitle says, its a Guide to
> Meteors and Meteorites
>
> Meteorites - Their Impact on Science and History, edited by
> Zanda & Rotaru, 1996 Cambridge University Press, 128 pg
> ??? Great color pictures, very informative
>
> Meteorites, Alain Carion, self-published, 36 pg
> ??? Short B/W printing with nice photos and
> good information
>
> Thunderstones and Shooting Stars, Robert T Dodd, 1986,
> Harvard Press, 196 pg
> ??? Good pictures and information, some
> dated or obsolete
>
> Santa Lucia Meteorite Fall, McCartney Taylor, 2009 self
> published 62 pg
> ??? Great story of meteorite hunting in
> Argentina
>
> Find a Falling Star, Harvey Nininger, 1972, Erikson, 254
> pg
> ??? Autobiography of America?s first
> meteorite hunter
>
> Meteorites from A to Z, Jenson, Jenson, Black, 2004 self
> published, 276 pg
> ??? Great reference for falls and finds
>
> The Handbook of Colorado Meteorites, Matt Morgan, 2000 CO
> Geo Survey, 40 pg
> ??? Compilation & pictures of the
> meteorites of Colorado
>
> Meteorites and Their Parent Planets, Harry McSween, 1999
> Cambridge Press, 312 pg
> ??? Good book on meteorites and where they
> come from
>
> The Meteorite & Tektite Collectors Handbook, Philip
> Bagnall, 1991 WIllman-Bell, 160 pg
> ??? Somewhat dated, but good source of
> information
>
> Tektites - A Cosmic Enigma, Hal Provenmire, 2003 self
> published, 210 pg
> ??? Comprehensive book on the different
> tektites, strewnfields and theories of origin
>
> Meteorites and the Origin of Planets, John Wood, 1968
> McGraw-Hill, 118 pg
> ??? A lot of valid information in this dated
> book
>
> Tucson Meteorites, Richard Willey, 1987 Smithsonian Press,
> 46 pg
> ??? A history of the Tucson Ring meteorite
>
> The Port Orford, Oregon Meteorite Mystery, Roy S Clarke,
> 1993 Smithsonian Press, 42 pg
> ??? Great story of an even greater hoax
>
> The Fallen Sky, Christopher Cokinos, 2009 Penguin Books,
> 518 pg
> ??? Story weaves history, science and the
> author?s life in an engaging manner
>
> Meteorites - A Journey Through Time and Space, Bevan &
> DeLaeter, 2002, Univ So Wales Press, 216 pg
> ??? Beautiful book, good information in an
> easy to read format
>
> Meteorites - Their Structure, Composition and Terrestrial
> Relations, Oliver Cummings Farrington,? 1915 self
> published, 226 pg
> ??? Obviously dated, but a good read of
> period meteoritics
>
> Meteorite Craters, Kathleen Mark, 1987, UA Press, 288 pg
> ??? Good book on impact craters around the
> world
>
> Meteorite Hunter, Roy Gallant, 2002 McGraw-Hill, 232 pg
> ?????? Stories of Tunguska,
> Sikhote Alin, Chinga, Pallas, Tsarev and more
>
> The Mystery of the Tunguska Fireball, Surendra Verma, 2005
> Icon Books, 278 pg
> ??? Investigation of the 1908 fireball in
> Siberia
>
> The Day the Sky Split Apart, Roy Gallant, 1995 Simon &
> Schuster, 156 pg
> ??? Good book for young adults on the
> Tunguska event
>
> T Rex and the Crater of Doom, Walter Alvarez, 1997
> Princeton Univ Press, 186 pg
> ??? Giant impact kills off dinosaurs 65
> million years ago
>
> Man and Impact on the Americas, E P Grondine, 1998 self
> published, 466 pg
> ??? The effects of asteroid and comet
> impacts on man throughout the ages
>
> gary
Received on Mon 16 Nov 2009 07:49:48 AM PST