[meteorite-list] NPA 07-27-1976 Sipiera Offers Reward for Meteorites

[MARK BOSTICK]

Paper: Stevens Point Daily Journal
City: Stevens Point, Wisconsin
Date: Tuesday, July 27, 1976
Page: 5 (of 24)

Reward offered for shooting stars

     MADISON - Do you ever watch the night sky for shooting stars?
Paper: Stevens Point
     Actually what you're seeing are not stars at al, but meteoroids - 
pieces of rock-like material that have escaped from the orbits of Mars and 
Jupiter.
     When a meteoroid enters the Earth's atmosphere. the friction created by 
its high rate of speed caused the surface to ignite in a flash of light. 
This "shooting star" is then properly called a meteor. If a meteor survives 
its fiery journey through the atmosphere and strikes the earth, it becomes a 
meteorite. Once it settles upon the earth, a meteorite tends to blend in 
with the common rocks around it. Only rarely is one found.
     Because of their celestial origins and their rarity, meteorites have 
been considered mystical by many civilizations over the centuries. Beaded 
necklaces fashioned from meteoritic iron have been found in 6,000 year-old 
Egyptian tombs. Similar necklaces have been found in Ohio and Havan, Ill. 
Even today, ground-up meteoritic powder is taken orally for its supposed 
curative powers for a wide variety of diseases.
     But Paul Sipiera, geologist in residence at the Arizona Center for 
Meteorite Studies, says that meteorites have more to offer earth's residents 
than mystical cures.
     "Meteorites have been travelers in both space and time, and much can be 
learned from them about the conditions that existed when the solar system 
was formed," Sipiera says, "Prior to the Apollo moon landings, meteorites 
provided the only extra-terrestrial materials available for study. According 
to radioactive dating techniques, meteorites are the oldest known solid 
materials in the solar system."
     Under Sipiera's direction, the geology department at Chicago's Field 
museum of Natural history is conducting a meteorite hunt. A $100 reward is 
offered for information leading to the discovery of any previously 
unreported meteorites.
     If you have ever witnessed a meteorite fall, or have found one, you may 
be able to aid the science of meteoritics and earn yourself some money.
     "If you suspect you have a meteorite specimen, send it, or a piece of 
it, to the Field Museum and it will be examined free of charge," says 
Sipiera.
     For those interested in hunting meteorites, Sipiera offers several 
tips. He says the best place to start a meteorite hunt is a museum. There, 
one can become familiar with the appearance of meteorites.
     According to Sipiera, meteorites can vary in size from microscopic to 
massive but most recovered meteorites measure between two inches and tw0 
feet in diameter. The surface is usually smooth with shallow "thumb-print" 
depressions.
     "However," he stresses, "the most obvious feature of the meteorite is 
its unusual heaviness as compared to a rock of similar size.
     Sipiera notes that the surface of a freshly fallen meteorite may appear 
charred from its momentary blaze through the atmosphere. The interior, 
however, remains icy cold for a brief period due to its outer-space origin.
     The degree of coldness is illustrated by the story of a Colby, Wis., 
farmer who on a hot July 4th in 1917, saw a meteorite plunge into his field. 
A few minutes later when he dug it from the ground, the meteorite was so 
cold that frost immediately formed on its surface.
     "Meteorites usually are found in fields and other flat areas that are 
relatively free of rocks." says Sipiera. "It's not that more meteorites fall 
in these areas. It's just that meteorites are easier to see there."
     Frequently, he adds, meteorites are recovered from dusty shelves in 
barns and cellars, having once been collected for their curious appearance 
and then forgotten.
     Sipiera says that each year about 10 new meteorites are discovered 
throughout the world. He hopes his reward system will boost this average. 
Sipiera now receives about 25 samples and reports of possible meteorites 
each week - most of them from midwestern agricultural areas.
     So far, however, no previously unknown meteorites have been uncovered 
by the multi-national hunt. But Sipiera says that the reward will be offered 
as long as there is interest.

(end)

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

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PDF copy of this article, and most I post (and about 1/2 of those on my 
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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.