[meteorite-list] "SNEAKY LITTLE DEVILS" NJO CONFIRMED METEORWRONG

Tue May 15 09:12:46 EDT 2007

I thought the woodchipper theory applied to the NJO as well? 
I agree that it does not appear to have features of an object that made a trip through out atmosphere (fusion crust, albation, orientation etc.)

Take care,
Elias 

-----Original Message-----
From: sterling_k_webb at sbcglobal.net
To: daistiho at hotmail.com; darryl at dof3.com; meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
Sent: Tue, 15 May 2007 12:49 AM
Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] "SNEAKY LITTLE DEVILS" NJO CONFIRMED METEORWRONG

Hi, Tracy, List

    No, that was the Illinois pseudo-meteorite:
the BO, or Bloomington Object, not the NJO!
The BO "fell" on March 5, 2007; the woodchipper
was mentioned in print on March 9, 2007, and in
a few days its career as a meteorite was over.
    Things take longer in New Jersey. The NJO
"fell" or was dropped on January 3, 2007, so it's
had over a five month career as a meteorite and
got to do a gig at a University Museum. But it's
a has-been now.

Sterling K. Webb
-----------------------------------------------------------
----- Original Message ----- 
From: tracy latimer
To: Darryl Pitt ; Meteorite List
Sent: Sunday, May 13, 2007 1:25 PM
Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] "SNEAKY LITTLE DEVILS" NJO CONFIRMED 
METEORWRONG

Hadn't the Occam's Razor explanation of this object been that it was part of 
a tub grinder ejected during operations while grinding up some dead trees 
several hundred yards away?  They showed one of these babies in operation on 
the Discovery Channel several weeks ago, and I could easily believe one of 
the chipper blades broke loose and flew on the appropriate trajectory (it 
looks like the Sarlacc from Star Wars, with layers of rotating teeth).  It 
seems to me part of "research" should be asking the guys who were using the 
tub grinder "Hey, did you lose any of the blades out of this thing on 
such-and-such a date?  If so, do you know where the piece went?"  Also, 
checking to see if the composition of the "meteorite" was comparable with a 
tub grinder blade.

Tracy Latimer

To: meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
From: darryl at dof3.com
Date: Sat, 12 May 2007 06:26:42 -0400
Subject: [meteorite-list] "SNEAKY LITTLE DEVILS" NJO CONFIRMED METEORWRONG

It has finally been determined by experts that the NJO is not a meteorite.

In Friday's AP story, Rutgers University geologist Jerry Delaney was quoted 
as saying,"I was wrong. Sneaky little devil."

The second sentiment is not even remotely accurate.

As I mentioned to the list in January, there was absolutely nothing about 
the NJO which resembled a new meteorite. I advised the Newark Star Ledger, 
The New York Times and AP in writing that the NJO was not a meteorite. I 
contacted the museum at Rutgers prior to their exhibition of the 
object---which generated the largest attendance on a single day---that this 
was not a meteorite.
The only "sneaky little devils" are the folks at Rutgers University.
Stories are released on Friday nights so the story will miss the news cycle. 
It's for stories that would cause embarrassment; it's for those moments 
where you hope the story disappears.
This is just so deplorable---and it's not an isolated instance of how an 
institution with something to gain---and the media---work.  But for 
scientists to be so sloppy in THEIR work is just so....disappointing. As I 
wrote to the list several months ago: "While [this] may ultimately be among 
the most unusual freshly fallen meteorites known to exist, such an 
assessment cannot and should not ever have been made by simply passing it 
around for a casual analysis and singing kumbaya."
Here is the latest story....in case you missed it.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070511/ap_on_sc/fallen_object

Depth of Field Management
1501 Broadway  Suite 1304
New York, New York  10036
212.302.9200

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