[meteorite-list] Otherworldly? Resident suspects his rock find is from another planet

[Greg Stanley]

Listoids:

Anyone heard of this?

Greg S.


http://www.sourcenewspapers.com/articles/2010/05/13/news/doc4bec031a6ab9b765018531.txt



Otherworldly? Resident suspects his rock find is from another planet

Published: Thursday, May 13, 2010



By LANA MINI

Devan Werner is a pretty productive 14-year-old.

His spare time is spent running track, building award-winning pens out of circuit boards and collecting unique rocks.

Recently, the Shelby Township youth was taking advantage of the warm weather, hunting for rocks near vacant land by his home, when he stumbled upon something that didn't appear as a typical Michigan rock.

"It caught my eye because it was had ripples on it, but some parts of it were smooth and I thought for sure it was a lava rock," Werner said. "But then, I wasn't so sure. So I took it home to my dad, knowing he knows a lot about things like this."

As he walked home, Werner began to suspect the rock wasn't lava.

"I started to wonder if it was a meteorite," he said.

His father, Steven Werner, an avid researcher who has studied meteorites, began to conduct research and so far, every earthly factor has been ruled out.

"The first thing we did wasn't to search for other-worldly markings," Steven Werner said. "We searched for factors to determine if it's from this planet or not."

The 5-pound, charcoal-colored rock has markings that appear to show it traveled through several temperature changes and is denser than typical rocks. It's also magnetic - as are meteorites.

But where did it come from?

"Researchers say that they came from Mars or Jupiter. More testing needs to be done. We need to get this certified to make sure of whatever it is."

Devan Werner hopes it's a meteorite.

"Because I might sell it," he said. Meteorites this size sell for an average of $2,000. Devan Werner said he would use the money toward college or to launch his pen website.

The Eppler Junior High School student has won several state and regional industrial technology awards for his acrylic-, wood- and circuit board-made pens.

"I'm just really good at making them. I like to launch different designs, try different materials to make them ... I've already sold a few."

 		 	   		  
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