[meteorite-list] Ohio-No Finds Yet

Mon Aug 22 19:33:03 EDT 2011

Nothing yet, it appears:

http://www.tribtoday.com/page/content.detail/id/560615/Meteorites-may-have-landed-in-the-region.html?nav=5021

Meteorites may have landed in the region
August 19, 2011
By DAN POMPILI - reporter (dpompili at tribtoday.com) , Tribune Chronicle | 
TribToday.com
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Residents of northeastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania should be on the 
lookout for space rocks.

At 1:22 a.m. Aug. 8, sky cameras belonging to the Southern Ontario Meteor 
Network in Canada recorded a meteor as it entered the Earth's atmosphere 
over Lake Erie, and scientists at NASA say they have "high confidence" that 
pieces of the meteor landed in northern Trumbull County.

The "fireball" entered the atmosphere 54 miles above Lake Erie, traveling 
south-by-southeast at approximately 55,900 mph. Dr. William Cooke, head of 
NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office, said debris created Doppler radar 
echoes west of Hermitage, Pa.

The International Astronomical Union defines a fireball as "a meteorite 
brighter than any of the planets." In essence, the mass and speed of the 
meteor increase its visibility, Cooke said.

Cooke said the fragments are about two to three inches in diameter and 
likely weigh a few ounces.

Patrick Durrell, an astronomy professor at Youngstown State University said 
the fragments can be difficult to identify, but there is at least one 
telltale sign.

"If you pick up a rock that feels a lot heavier than you'd expect for its 
size, that's a good place to start," Durrell said.

Durrell and Cooke both said meteorite landings like this one are highly 
common and occur daily.

Jay Reynolds, research astronomer at Cleveland State University, said 
meteorites like this one are not dangerous, and have no radioactivity but 
are scientifically "very fascinating when you can find them."

Reynolds said denser meteorites are usually the ones that make contact with 
the Earth because they can withstand the pressure of the thicker layers of 
Earth's atmosphere.

He said in this case, the thicker layers caused the meteor to fracture into 
meteorites.

"While you won't see something like this coming into this area every night, 
in and of itself, it's not that uncommon," Durrell said.

Cooke said that while meteorite falls are very common, a given point on 
Earth may only see such a fireball once every couple of decades.

What makes this sighting special, Cooke said, is that the meteor was tracked 
and its trajectory recorded from start to finish.

"Very few meteorites are tracked on their way down, so this would be very 
special," Cooke said.

Reynolds said many of the meteorites that have been found over time are 
composed largely of iron and small amounts of nickel and other metal 
compounds, with carbonaceous cores.

Cooke, however, said the composition of this meteor is unknown and will not 
be determined until a fragment is found and studied.

He said the farthest point of the meteor's orbit corresponds with the outer 
edge of the asteroid belt between the planets of Mars and Jupiter.

Should the National Aeronautics and Space Administration retrieve a piece of 
this meteor, Cooke said, they could determine the compositional differences 
of matter based on distance from the sun.

Of course, that kind of research hinges entirely upon somebody actually 
finding a piece of meteorite, and so far, Cooke said, nobody has reported 
one.

Residents contacted in Kinsman and Gustavus reported no knowledge of finding 
any space rock.

"Nobody mentioned it at lunch today. It's news to me," said Kinsman Township 
Trustee Tony Gates, who dines regularly with residents of Kinsman and 
Gustavus.

Gustavus Trustee Alan Bradford echoed Gates: "I haven't heard anybody say 
anything about it."

Phil Whitmer
7th Earl of Sandwich
Commoners may call me "Ham."
Or sometimes "Meatball."