[meteorite-list] NPA 07-18-1974 Wasson Offers Reward for Fireball Fragment

[MARK BOSTICK]

Paper: The News
City: Van Nuys, California
Date: Thursday. July 18, 1974
Page: 40-B

Reward Offered For Fragment of Meteorite

     A UCLA professor is offering a $200 reward for recovery of the first 
meteorite fragment from a brilliant fireball which lit up the central valley 
south of Fresno around 10 p.m. on July 1.
     Observers reported that the fireball broke up in passage, probably 
scattering meteoritic stones over a wide area, before its bright path was 
extinguished about 12 to 14 miles south of Avenal (a town 60 southwest of 
Fresno) and west of the Kettleman Hills.
     Fragments of the meteorite may have come down in parts of Kings, Kern, 
Monterey, or San Luis Obispo counties.
     The most likely fall area, according to Prof. John T. Wasson, is 
bounded approximately by U.S. Highway 5 on the east, Devils Den on the 
south, Cholame on the west, and Reef City on the north.
     State highway 33 crosses the fall area, and Dr. Wasson believes that 
the smaller fragments, which traveled a shorter distance after the fireball 
breakup, will most likely be found near or east of the highway, and larger 
stones to the west.
     Dr. Wasson urges would-be searchers to look for irregularly shaped 
black stones with the following characteristics:
A glass crust, darker than the inside of the stone.
Generally slight but sometimes strong magnetism, which can be checked with a 
small hand magnet.
Greater weight than normal rocks of the same size and no large pores or 
cavities on the rock surface or interior.
     "Residents of the area might start by looking around their own yards 
for any black stones that weren't there before July 1," the UCLA chemistry 
professor suggests.
     To be eligible for the reward, specimens believed to be meteorites 
should be sent to Prof. John T. Wasson, Institute of Geophysics, UCLA, Los 
Angeles, Cal. 90024. If the sample weighs more than a pound, finders are 
advised to chip off and mail a small piece weighing one-half to 2 ounces.
     Dr. Wasson is also interested in purchasing any other meteorites held 
by private collectors, but he is particularly eager for a specimen from the 
July 1 event, because it is one of the rare falls sighted by observers.
     His eagerness is mainly scientific, since meteorites, as 
billions-year-old "messengers from outer space can give scientists 
invaluable clues about the formation of the solar system.

(end)

Clear Skies,
Mark Bostick
Wichita, Kansas
http://www.meteoritearticles.com
http://www.kansasmeteoritesociety.com
http://www.imca.cc

http://stores.ebay.com/meteoritearticles

PDF copy of this article, and most I post (and about 1/2 of those on my 
website), is available upon e-mail request.

The NPA in the subject line, stands for Newspaper Article. The old list 
server allowed us a search feature the current does not, so I guess this is 
more for quick reference and shortening the subject line now.