[meteorite-list] Michael Cottingham's BATH FURNACE meteorite

[bernd.pauli at paulinet.de]

Hello Meteorite Folks,

I'd like to draw your attention to a highly historical US American meteorite,
a witnessed fall with many appealing details, anecdotes, and characteristics!

http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?sofocus=bs&sbrftog=1&dfsp=1&catref=C12&frpp=25&from=R10&satitle=Bath+Furnace&sacat=3239%26catref%3DC6&sadis=200&fpos=68775&sabfmts=1&saobfmts=insif&ftrt=1&ftrv=1&saprclo=&saprchi=&seller=1&sass=meteorite-collector&fsop=1%26fsoo%3D1&fgtp=

And, let us all wish the Cottinghams the very best for the soon-to-happen
arrival of a yet even more spectacular, one-of-its-kind, "sweet" specimen:

=> their baby <= !!!!!!!!

Now, here are some interesting Bath Furnace tidbits:

The fall of Bath Furnace, a perfectly flight-oriented L6 chondrite in the early evening
of November 15, 1902 was accompanied by blinding light and heavy detonations.
Fragments were reported to be "singing" as they flew through the air. The first piece
that was found had fallen in the road in front of a house. It had struck the ground so
violently that it cut a furrow in the road! The second piece was found one hundred
yards west of the first piece and #3 about half a year later in mid-May of 1903.
A squirrel hunter noticed a scar on a white oak tree and soon found the third stone
buried about 2 feet deep nearby.

According to Henry A. Ward, the third piece "has gone through the ordeal of a suit
at law brought by the owner of the land upon which it fell, against the man who found
it. The suit was compromised by the payment of several hundred dollars to the finder,
in consideration of his relinquishing his claim."

When the original masses were recovered they showed a dense, black crust - both
primary and secondary. Direct evidence that atmospheric break-up of the meteoroid
must have occurred high up in the air. High enough to trigger the development of a
secondary crust.

Henry Ward describes the third mass found as "one of the most completely furrowed
and definitely oriented aerolites known to science. We know no stone of American fall
which equals it in this respect. The furrowing of the front side is most complete. These
furrows radiate from the apex in all directions, covering that surface and streaming back
upon and over all the sides."

Henry Ward even came to the conclusion that Bath Furnace had been furnished by the
Leonid shower, an assumption based on the fall date of the meteorite which happens to
coincide with the date of the Leonid shower!

Returning to the description of the Bath Furnace chondrite Ward states that there are
"abundant sparkling points of nickel iron".

The online Encyclopedia of Meteorites has a photograph of the beautifully regmaglypted
main mass but says "Photograph from unknown source". Well, the source is Henry Ward:

Proceedings of The Rochester Academy of Science, vol. 4, pp. 193-202, Plate 19.
Notes on the Bath Furnace Aerolite (By Henry A. Ward). Rochester, N.Y.
Published by the Society, August 21, 1905


Best wishes,

Bernd


P.S.: Yes, of course, I've purchased some BF pieces: 2.56 + 0.38 + 0.37 grams and I can
hardly wait for their arrival (as usual ;-)