[meteorite-list] Nothing beats Nature for Entertainment (Lightning Dep't.)

From: Kevin Kichinka <marsrox_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Mon, 23 Jul 2018 16:28:33 -0600
Message-ID: <CANDn_7Gkv9LHvwS=0syBMj0VQmryBqRPA2nX8j-9fbxjHnR+Hg_at_mail.gmail.com>

John Lutzon observes: " I just witnessed the most spectacular spider
lightning in my 65 years.
The only way I can describe it is -- from ocean horizon to 90+ degrees
overhead and 180 degrees north/south there were hundreds of spider
connections. It appeared to me as over half of an umbrella. Never have
I witnessed Anything like this. I forgot my words of being so overwhelmed."

Oddly, and I beg your patience for being doubly off-topic, I just wrote
about something like this myself.

Last week I submitted a feature to the Costa Rican periodical 'Tico Times',
a paper I've written for since the early '90's, about an extremely venomous
snake locally called the* terciopelo*, known to others as the* fer de lance*
.

The publication asks authors to write a three sentence bio, and I
mentioned:

*".....I watch the silent night lightning caress the mountaintops with a
dozen fingers."*

Joel Schiff and I still trade attaboys while arguing the best attributes of
rugby (he - All Blacks) and futbol (me - Real Madrid) and he found that
description a little, ahem, over-the-top. So I further explained:

"I've never seen this anywhere else in the world before moving to this
mountaintop. It may be caused by the nearby warm Pacific air bumping into
chilly mountains-to-the-sea downdrafts. It is horizontal lightning, filling
an entire quadrant of the sky with multi-forked silent flashes, often BELOW
EYE LEVEL from my viewpoint. And flashes are separated by only a few
seconds, the show lasting up to an hour. One could ooo and ahhh as one does
during a fireworks show. "That was a really good one!" It's most common
just before the rainy season begins in May, and just as it ends in
November."

He responded that they have a similar phenomenon in New Zealand.

On the topic of meteorites, I'll mention that I continue to subscribe to
the list, greatly enjoy the 'Meteorite Times', suspended my bi-annual "The
Global Meteorite Price List" for lack of an internet connection, and last
month purchased a 19 gm crusted frag of Bolivia's *Aiquile *fall, which
likely makes me one of two people in the world (with Blaine) to have
samples of both of Bolivia's authenticated mets. I have about half the met
collection here, but only material not harmed by living in an environment
where cigars don't need a humidor. Once in awhile I'll take out a few, open
Monica's version of the Cat of Mets to recall the circumstances of the
find/fall/petrology and look under a loupe at one to take myself to another
place far, far, away.

Collecting meteorites will always be the *Best Hobby *for me.

*****************************************
I'm wondering........ where's Baalke?

******************************************

A fallen star?

     \
       \
          ***

Joel has yet another book soon to be published, 'The Universe'.

He rejected my alternate title, 'The Multiverse'.

________________________________________

Anyone interested in reading about the extremely aggressive venomous snakes
I have in abundance on my mountainside, click here:

http://www.ticotimes.net/2018/07/20/costa-ricas-hidden-enemy-the-terciopelo

And part two....

http://www.ticotimes.net/2018/07/23/dont-panic-top-snake-bite-tips-and-tricks-to-prevent-them

>From Nine Degrees North

Kevin Kichinka
Marsrox at gmail.com
"The Art of Collecting Meteorites" on Amazon
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Received on Mon 23 Jul 2018 06:28:33 PM PDT