[meteorite-list] It is a sad day?

[wahlperry at aol.com]

Hi All,

Check this out.

Sonny


http://www.nbmg.unr.edu/infof.htm


METEORITE COLLECTION AND IDENTIFICATION
COLLECTION
Only four authenticated meteorites have been found in Nevada to date, 
and all four are on display there. It is likely many more have either 
been overlooked or collected and not reported. A good book on 
meteorites, written by a former Director of the Fleischmann 
Planetarium, O. Richard Norton, is Rocks From Space, and it can be 
purchased at the Planetarium. The book contains much information on 
types of meteorites and potential areas to look. For more information 
concerning meteorites, one should contact the Fleischmann Planetarium.
When collecting meteorites, it is necessary to notify the land owner of 
any private property you may wish to go on. The State of Nevada has no 
laws per se governing the collection of meteorites. However, meteorites 
on public land fall under the same rules governing fossil and rock and 
mineral collecting; they may be collected for personal use in 
reasonable quantities, but may not be bartered or sold. Also all 
meteorites have some scientific value, and some rare types may come 
under laws dealing with specimens with a very high scientific value. 
For further information, please contact the appropriate Federal agency 
for their rules when collecting on public land such as the U.S. Bureau 
of Land Management or the U.S. Forest Service. The courts have 
determined that meteorites are not locatable under the 1872 Mining Law. 
Collecting meteorites is generally prohibited in National Parks, and 
trespassing and collecting is illegal on Indian Reservations without 
permission from the tribal authorities. Trespassing and collecting is 
both illegal and dangerous on lands controlled by the Military.
IDENTIFICATION
People commonly bring in rocks for identification as possible 
meteorites. This is highly encouraged, though of course, the vast 
majority of such rocks are not meteorites. The most common meteorites 
found are the iron-nickel metallic type, because they just look 
different than the surrounding rocks. The most common type of meteorite 
to fall is the stony type. However, stony meteorites generally look 
similar to the surrounding rocks and are generally overlooked. 
Iron-nickel meteorites generally contain between 7 and 14% nickel, and 
the NBMG Analytical Lab can do these analyses. A nickel analysis 
requires a 100-500 mg (less than 0.02 oz or about the size of a pencil 
eraser) sample. If the rock truly appears to be a meteorite, then the 
Director of the Fleischmann Planetarium) on the University of Nevada, 
Reno campus would be interested in seeing it, and with the collector's 
permission, the meteorite would be sent to an appropriate lab for 
further study and authentication. The collector, of course, would get 
the meteorite back minus a small sample for archiving.