[meteorite-list] Meteorite hunters find 13 space rocks in Grimsby

[Meteorites USA]

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ARTICLE SOURCE: 
http://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2199710

Meteorite hunters now have a baker's dozen of space rocks that rained 
down on Grimsby two months ago.

But the scientist leading the University of Western Ontario's search 
believes there are still plenty of out-of-this-world stones that have 
yet to be recovered.

"It's nothing to sneeze at," planetary scientist Phil McCausland said 
Monday, describing the meteorite haul to date.

"There's actually still quite a lot of mass out there. It's just 
difficult to find."

The fireball that broke apart and crash landed in Grimsby was first 
picked up Sept. 25 by cameras operated by Western's physics and 
astronomy department.

Astronomers at the London, Ont., university traced the 
4.6-billion-year-old meteor's path and narrowed their search to a 10-to 
12-kilometre area on the west side of Grimsby.

The 13 fragments collected so far were all found beneath the escarpment 
on the border area of Grimsby and Winona.

The first piece was found after it smashed the windshield of a Grimsby 
family's SUV.

The stones range from very tiny — about one gram — to the size of a golf 
ball. The largest weighs 69 grams.

But McCausland said the larger meteorite pieces, which would have 
carried farther, are expected to be found above the escarpment.

Search parties organized by the university spent many days scouring the 
area over the past two months, but came up empty-handed each time.

The hunt was made difficult by forest that runs along the brow of the 
escarpment, plus crops that remained in farmers' fields until recently, 
McCausland said.

"We expect this fall to have produced several kilograms of material. So 
far we've got less than 200 grams."

Three of the stones were found by local residents, two were spotted by 
meteorite collectors from the U.S. and the remainder were gathered by 
McCausland's hunters.

"They took a long journey to get here. It was really fun to pick them up 
and find them," said McCausland, who has two of the finds to his name.

Under Canadian laws, meteorites become the property of the landowner 
where they are discovered.

McCausland said the university has all but one of the rocks on loan for 
research and is trying to negotiate to keep a few of them with their owners.

The university isn't planning any more organized searches until possibly 
the spring.

In all likelihood, residents living in the area of the meteorite fall 
will be the ones who find more of the rocks, McCausland said.

To help people know what they're looking at, the university is planning 
to hold a meteorite identification clinic at the Grimsby museum within 
the next couple of weeks. A date hasn't yet been finalized.

"I'm certain that there are more sitting out there right now that people 
may have picked up and don't necessarily recognize," McCausland said.

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Enjoy...

Regards,
Eric Wichman
Meteorites USA