[meteorite-list] Intergalactic False Alarm: Novato Meteorite is Just a Rock

From: Galactic Stone & Ironworks <meteoritemike_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Wed, 24 Oct 2012 10:45:11 -0400
Message-ID: <CAKBPJW8Vo8h5w8mE9RZSCS19zBZfupCT5App5YjCrZYt7+-Luw_at_mail.gmail.com>

Well, the first four letters of Novato are Nova, which is the Met Bull
designation for meteorites of uncertain origin. ;)

It's also Spanish for "No Go", literally.

So is Novato the real deal, or is it a bust? Outside of the initial
hammer-wrong and Brien's report, we aren't hearing reports from anyone
else. Has anyone else found a specimen or confirmed Brien's stone?

Best regards and happy huntings,

MikeG

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On 10/24/12, JoshuaTreeMuseum <joshuatreemuseum at embarqmail.com> wrote:
> Shawn,
>
> I agree, the second rock doesn't look like a meteorite either. Has it been
> examined by an expert?
>
> Phil Whitmer
> Joshua Tree Earth & Space Museum
>
>
> Hello Listers
>
> Just found this, might be interesting for others that are hunting for
> meteorites in Novato area.
>
> "After a fireball streaked across the Bay Area sky last Wednesday evening,
> scientists and locals alike have been on the hunt for pieces of the meteor
> that is believed to have made landfall in the Bay Area.
> On Tuesday the meteor astronomer with the SETI Institute who reported over
> the weekend that the first piece of the meteor was found after it hit the
> roof of a Novato home clarified that the suspected meteorite discovered
> there is actually a natural rock.
> Dr. Peter Jenniskens with the SETI Institute said on his NASA Ames Research
>
> Center webpage the house of administrative nurse at the University of
> California at San Francisco Lisa Webber was hit by something during the
> fireball's descent last Wednesday evening, but the meteorite remains
> elusive.
> After an examination using a petrographic microscope Monday, Jenniskens was
>
> able to conclude the rock was not a meteorite.
> He wrote Tuesday, "I sincerely thought it was, based on what appeared to me
>
> was remnant fusion crust. On closer inspection, that crust was a product of
>
> weathering of a natural rock, not from the heat of entry."
> The 2-inch rock is 63 grams, dense and responds to a magnet, according to
> information from the SETI Institute, a nonprofit scientific and education
> organization that has projects sponsored by NASA and other foundations and
> research groups...."
>
> source:
> http://millvalley.patch.com/articles/intergalactic-false-alarm-novato-meteorite-is-just-a-rock
>
> The sample that was first found looks like the second sample that was
> found.
>
> Shawn Alan
> IMCA 1633
>
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Received on Wed 24 Oct 2012 10:45:11 AM PDT