[meteorite-list] Meteorite that hit Northwest Georgia unveiled

From: Julian Gray <julian.gray_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Wed, 21 Apr 2010 22:42:18 -0400
Message-ID: <001401cae1c5$6d553cb0$47ffb610$_at_gray@comcast.net>

Mike et al.

I can respond to this. I am the curator at Tellus Science Museum where the
new chondrite will be exhibited beginning tomorrow - 22 April. I am new to
the list, but joined to (A) connect with you fine folks, (B) monitor the
response and (C) to answer questions like these if I can.

Why is the meteorite not classified? We are working on getting it
classified. The stone fell in March 2009. It wasn't until August that we
first heard of and saw the stone. It took another eight agonizing months to
get the stone in the museum. In the process we lost 13 months, a fact that
I am painfully aware of. Patience.

I hope that this helps.

And yes, it is a magnificent stone! I took another round of photos today
and will get them posted somewhere and notify everyone.

Cheers everyone
Julian Gray
Curator
Tellus Science Museum
Cartersville, Georgia
www.tellusmuseum.org

-----Original Message-----
From: meteorite-list-bounces at meteoritecentral.com
[mailto:meteorite-list-bounces at meteoritecentral.com] On Behalf Of Galactic
Stone & Ironworks
Sent: Wednesday, April 21, 2010 3:42 PM
To: Greg Stanley
Cc: meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Meteorite that hit Northwest Georgia unveiled

Hi Greg and List,

The article says the meteorite is an "ordinary chondrite". Is there
any official word on what exact type of OC?

I wonder why some institutions wait so long to obtain an official
classification? Is it because they don't want to surrender a type
sample and aren't recognized by the MS to do their own
classifications? Why wait so long when the meteorite has been
confirmed?

Best regards,

MikeG


On 4/21/10, Greg Stanley <stanleygregr at hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> List:
>
> What a beauty - and a hammer too.
>
> Greg S.
>
>
>
http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2010/apr/21/meteorite-that-hit-northwest-
georgia-unveiled/
>
>
>
> Meteorite that hit Northwest Georgia unveiled
>
> By: Andy Johns
>
>
> CARTERSVILLE, Ga. -- A meteorite older than Earth itself, traveling
millions
> of miles through space before blowing through an attic in Northwest
Georgia,
> was unveiled Tuesday morning at the Tellus Science Museum.
>
> "It's sort of interesting to ponder the journey this meteorite might have
> had," said museum curator Julian Gray.
>
> Experts estimate the half-pound, peach-sized space rock was traveling
> between 50,000 and 70,000 mph when it entered the atmosphere on March 1,
> 2009. They estimate it was still moving at 200 to 300 miles per hour when
it
> punctured a roof, bounced off of a joist, punched through a drywall
ceiling
> and landed in a bedroom in a Cartersville home around 11 p.m. that night.
>
> "I would suggest we all look at the fine print in our (insurance) policy,"
> joked Jose Santamaria, executive director for the museum.
>
> Held in a special airtight case, the meteorite will go on display at the
> museum Thursday.
>
> Staff photo by Andy Johns
> This meteorite crashed through the roof of a Cartersville home in March
2009
> and will be on display at the Tellus Science Museum.
>
> Officials at the museum said testing on the rock place its age at about
4.6
> billion years old. Scientists generally estimate that the Earth is 4.5
> billion years old.
>
> No one was home when the space rock fell from the sky, but a neighbor
> reported hearing a sonic boom. The homeowner, who brought the rock to
Tellus
> in August, wishes to remain anonymous and museum officials declined to
> discuss the location of the find.
>
> Mr. Gray said the meteorite's discoverer was not sure exactly what the
rock
> was.
>
> "The first thought was that kids were throwing rocks through the window,"
he
> said.
>
> After noticing the hole in the roof, the homeowner thought the rock might
be
> from a quarry blast.
>
> Once the find was brought to the museum, it didn't take the staff long to
> determine its cosmic origins.
>
> "I think I identified it before I touched it," said Dave Gheesling, a
> founding member of the Georgia Meteorite Association.
>
> METEORITE AT A GLANCE
>
> * Weight: 294 grams, or about half a pound
>
> * Age: 4.567 billion years old
>
> * Speed at impact: 200 to 300 mph
>
> * Speed at entering atmosphere: 50,000 to 70,000 mph
>
> * Type: Ordinary chondrite
>
> * Contents: Iron, nickel, other elements
>
> Source: Tellus Science Museum
>
> Residents, especially around areas like Cartersville, where mining blasts
> are common, bring Mr. Gheesling more than 1,000 "meteorwrongs" every year.
> The stones are usually river rocks, iron ore or metal slag mistaken to be
> from outer space.
>
> The Cartersville rock, thought to have originated in the asteroid belt
> between Mars and Jupiter, is the 25th meteorite found in Georgia.
>
> Mr. Gheesling said the rock is a little larger than most of the meteorites
> he's seen, but documented specimens range from 60 tons to the size of an
> English pea.
>
> The Cartersville meteorite probably lost a good bit of its mass as it
burned
> through Earth's atmosphere and other fragments may have splintered off
> during decent, Mr. Gheesling added.
>
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-- 
------------------------------------------------------------
Mike Gilmer - Galactic Stone & Ironworks Meteorites
http://www.galactic-stone.com
http://www.facebook.com/galacticstone
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Received on Wed 21 Apr 2010 10:42:18 PM PDT