[meteorite-list] Ensisheim Meteorite show - brief account

[Gerald Flaherty]

Thanks for taking the time to share Svend. I'll idle away in daydreams of 
splendid diogenites by virtue of your splendid descriptions.
Jerry Flaherty
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Dr. Svend Buhl" <info at niger-meteorite-recon.de>
To: <meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
Sent: Sunday, June 18, 2006 6:05 PM
Subject: [meteorite-list] Ensisheim Meteorite show - brief account


> Good evening folks,
>
> inquiring minds wanted to know so I take the liberty to offer a brief 
> account on what was going on on in Ensisheim.
>
> We arrived late friday evening just in time to witness the culmination of 
> a red wine taste celebrated by a mixed US-Moroccan-German table in the 
> back yard of La Couronne hotel. Mike Farmer, Mohammed, Dave Schulz, Andi 
> Gren, Harald Strehlik and Jim Strope shared a number of adventures jumping 
> from Tokio to Tucson to Las Vegas to the Hamburger Reeperbahn and to some 
> other bizarre coordinates that slipped through my memory.
>
> The next day presented a concentration of cosmic matter of unseen density 
> in the historic town hall. People rushed in the exhibition hall like 
> sharks in a feeding frenzy. For some dealers the show paid off within the 
> first hours. The competion was massive.
>
> About five or six tables backed up by the Erfoud, Midelt and Zagora 
> commection were completely focussed on NWAs, most of them uncut. This 
> meant a lot of work for Marcin who had set up his saw in the yard. As I 
> stepped by, a croud gathered around the lucky buyer of a freshly cut NWA 
> that suspiciously resembled a diogenite.
>
> Classic locations were presented in lower quantities, at least that was my 
> impression. Almost no Sikhotes, just here and there a few, very few 
> Gibeons, only a handful of Tazas. Campos of course were the exception. 
> Hans Koser, the king of Campos, had about fifty on his table, beside some 
> nice Uruacu individuals representing his recent finds. As a surprise he 
> brought two large slices of the new Brazil meteorite Santa Vitoria do 
> Palmar (provisionary) with him. That material was offered for 5 EUR /gm.
>
> Beside the planetary and achondritic rarities displayed on the tables of 
> Mike Farmer, Marcin, Martin Altmann, Stefan Ralew (who was honoured and 
> accepted as a new guardian of the Ensisheim meteorite)and the other usual 
> suspects, the tables of Hanno Strufe and J. Nauber need to be mentioned. 
> J. Nauber displayed a magnificent >2 gm fragment of Chasigny and an 
> exceptionally well prepared 12gm slice of a striking lunar regolith 
> breccia.
>
> But the killer was a 32 gm slice of a newly classified diogenite that was 
> unlike any other I have seen. The yellowish slice looked like an assembly 
> of humongous centimeter sized pyroxene crystals embedded in a Thai curry 
> colored matrix spiced with distinct green olivine sparks. Another piece of 
> exceptional beauty was a yet unclassified meteorite displayed by Andi 
> Gren, that has chances to enter the Bulletin as the next bencubinite. The 
> creme de la creme of rare historic US-localities could be found on the 
> table of Anne Black, I'am convinced her asortment represented at least one 
> third of the Texas and New Mexico localities.
>
> Compared to the recent years only few tables were set up by Russian 
> dealers. Surprisingly and in contrast to the general opinion regarding the 
> recent Oman issues there is still fresh material coming out of Oman. Of 
> exceptional quality were some heavily shocked and very fresh looking 
> Eucrites from the Dhofar region. The jet black crust just coated by a fine 
> layer of caliche twenty potatoe sized individuals lay on a table - a 
> beautiful sight.
>
> The 1st day ended with the traditional festival, powered by the 
> Meteor-brewery and the local accordion orchestra. Just in time after a 
> beaaitiful and hot sunshiny day a deluvian drove everybody into the large 
> tents where the party continued until the early morning. While one half of 
> the accordion orchestra continued to play under the portico a group of 
> four players seperated into the tent and started to battle their 
> opponents. It was the trumpets of Jericho against the trumpets of the Last 
> Judgement. The sound was so tremendous, Manfred Dannapfel was scared the 
> olivines may fall out of his newly acquired Fukang pallasite.
>
> There is much more to tell and those actors I did not mention may forgive 
> me, as this account is just an impression and by no means representative. 
> I'am sure others will share there stories and pictures as well.
>
> best regards
>
> Svend
>
> www.niger-meteorite-recon.de
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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