[meteorite-list] Misinformation in Meteorite Times Magazine/Nevada Picture of the day/ unreported Nevada meteorites

[wahlperry at aol.com]

Hi Bob,

I have read your article in Meteorite Times and would like to correct 
you.

http://meteorite-recovery.tripod.com/nvmetpod/nvmetpix.htm

Explanation:

>Up until this year, all of the Nevada meteorites that have appeared on 
this monthly webpage were "REPORTED" finds. This means that each and 
 >every one of those finds have been reported to the Nomenclature 
Committee of the Meteoritical Society. But in spite of all that has 
been written >about the importance of reporting finds, more and more 
finds are going "unreported". And what with even more and more Nevada 
meteorites >being found each year, soon the "unreported" finds will OUT 
NUMBER the reported finds. All it would take is for just one bureaucrat 
to get wind of >this developing situation and we could see some 
draconian measures put in place. Worst case scenario is that our hobby 
gets banned.

>So instead of doing nothing, and just sit and let the worst case 
scenario happen, I've decided to become more proactive. I'll continue 
with this >webpage and let it try to lead by example.


The meteorite in the picture is one of my finds... which you already 
knew. It is a new Nevada meteorite from one of the strewn fields that I 
am currently working on. All of the meteorites that I recover are 
documented. I have situ pictures, time and date found, number of 
fragments and depth of mass, etc. The location is kept secret until all 
of the fieldwork is done and possible pairing noted. All of the 
information and meteorite samples will be shared with the University 
doing the classification as well as any other interested Universities.

As for a time frame for new finds and provisional numbers I feel that 
is up to the finder. I have discussed this topic with numerous 
meteorite hunters and if they had to do it all over they would wait to 
release any information.

I will only address a few of your points.

> All it would take is for just one bureaucrat to get wind of this 
developing situation and we could see some draconian measures put in 
place. >Worst case scenario is that our hobby gets banned.

To begin with I would like to know how this hobby would get banned by 
delaying the release of information until a later date. Who sets the 
time frame? Is there a process that must be followed for every 
meteorite find?

>And I'll continue to try and educate by reaching out to the new 
hobbyists. But, since some of these >unreported finds were made more 
than 5 >years ago, it isn't simply a case of nouveau hunters being 
uneducated on this subject. It's probably more >a case of 
procrastination. But how long is >too much time spent procrastinating? 
How much recovery information has already been lost for ever?

What you may think is procrastination I see as taking the time to do 
good field work. The longer the finder keeps the information quiet the 
better the chance of collecting all of the field data. By doing this he 
or she has a complete set of records. What a better tool for interested 
parties to study a new strewn field with complete accurate data.

>So starting this year, this "NevMetPOD" webpage will be depicting an 
image each month of another nearly forgotten, but possibly already lost 
for all >time, "unreported Nevada meteorite". You could think of it as 
peer pressure, but it can also be considered as a reminder, with the 
hope that >the "unreported" find will soon become the latest "reported" 
Nevada meteorite.

>[Note: This web page will be revised when the finder has reported this 
meteorite to the Nomenclature Committee of the Meteoritical Society. 
You >don't need to be a member of the Society in order to do this 
reporting. In fact, the Committee prefers that the finders, themselves, 
report each >of their Nevada meteorite finds. The minimum information 
they require is 1) Date of find, 2) Mass of find, and 3) Location of 
find. With this minimal >information you can then have a Provisional 
Name and/or Number assigned to your find. Yes, that's right. Your find 
doesn't need to be classified in >order to get a Provisional name. The 
NomComm will keep this "information" and the Provisional Name strictly 
confidential, even after your meteorite >is classified.]

My question. Is any of my meteorite recovery or field work any of your 
business? Are you currently working for the Nomenclature Committee? 
Would this be part of your job description to put pressure on a hunter 
in a public Forum such as a monthly meteorite publication? How would 
you know if there is or is not a provisional number or name assigned? 
And if so, shouldn't that be STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL information?
 From now on you must have permission from me to use any of my 
photographs in any of your work.

I CURRENTLY HAVE 3 NEW METEORITE DISCOVERIES COMING OUT IN THE NEXT 
BULLETIN. TWO FINDS FROM NEVADA AND ONE FROM CALIFORNIA . ALL OF THESE 
ARE FROM NEW LOCATIONS. Feel free to check them out.

I am currently working on numerous field study areas. All of this 
information will be released to the public at a later date when I have 
concluded my studies. If you would like to check out some of my work 
you can view my webpage.
http://www.nevadameteorites.com/


Sonny
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