[meteorite-list] Ensisheim last news

[Zelimir.Gabelica at uha.fr]

G'day List,

It all starts in less than 3 days!
Hope this info can reach some of you who live within our time zone,  
believing that the othyer significant number of our "overseas guests"  
is about to start flying...

1) The sad news came today.
For the first time, our "Grand-Maître", Jean-Marie Blosser (head of  
the Guardians) has to cancel....
Indeed, since this morning he is in hospital for at least one week (if  
all goes well). Serious problems. I'll know more tomorrow as soon as I  
visited him.

Of course, nothing is cancelled and the few of us will "do it for  
him", for better of for worse. (For the best, of course!)

2) We had a new proposal for a lecture, an offer we could not refuse.
Two famous scientists, namely Prof. Vishnu Reddy and Dr. Lucille Le  
Corre, from  Germany will visit us on Friday-Saturday. They are  
primarily looking for HED Fall samples that are not too weathered.  
They are trying to create a spectral database of HED samples to  
analyze Dawn mission data of Vesta....

The exciting title of their lecture is:
"Vesta,Vestoids and HEDS: Waiting for Dawn."

You may want more on the Dawn shortcoming mission ?
Here is a short summary of their talk:

"Vesta is the largest differentiated asteroid that is still mostly intact
today. NASA's Dawn mission will begin a yearlong mapping mission of Vesta
in July 2011. The talk will summarize our current understanding of Vesta based
on telescopic observations, laboratory study of HED meteorites and
compositional study of Vestoids"

Want to know more about the authors ?

Vishnu Reddy is a research faculty at the Department of Space Studies,
University of North Dakota, USA, and a member of the Dawn Framing Camera
team at the Max-Planck Institute for Solar System Research, Germany. His
research interests include compositional study of asteroids and  
asteroid-meteorite link.

Lucille Le Corre also works at Max Planck (Solar System Research). She  
is part of the team of the instrument FC (Framing Camera) Dawn of the  
NASA mission. Her specific research project concerns the study of  
planetary surfaces by remote sensing leading to the analyzis of their  
geology and composition.

This lecture is scheduled on Saturday, 11:00

3) 4 new brothers had to get enthroned this year: Martin Horejsi  
(Pocatello, UT), Fabien Kuntz (Besançon, F) and Guy Verlooven  
(Malonne, B), our other lecturer.
The fourth was our friend Erich Haiderer (Graz, A) but a couple of  
days ago he cancelled his coming. He anounced he can't make it as his  
4x4 landcruiser, following an attempted theft, just had a huge  
differential destruction.

4) I may have some tables free after the withdrawal of Erich and Luc  
Labenne, while Hobein and Ismaily, who use to have their tables  
permanently reserved, desperately remain silent. Current last minutes  
vagaries of every show...

5) On a more pleasent note, more than 90 people from all over the  
world had reserved for the dinner party.
Note that, besides the 3 menus (poultry, beef and...vegetarian), 3  
brands of beer will be served: amber, white, and a special  
lemmon-based, mostly appreciated by women.
For connoisseurs, besides the traditional Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir  
"Meteorite "cold" wines", 2 "specific reds" are proposed: "Château  
Vieux Charon" 1ère côte de Blaye (Bordeaux,...ho Anne ?) and "Calomb &  
Jean Gleizes" (région d'Oc).

6) Weather forecast:
Thu 16th: Max T: 28°C (80 F), sunny (20% chances rain)
Fri 17th: Max T: 24°C (75 F), sunny, light rain late afternoon
Sat 18th: Max T: 23°C (73 F), cloudy, 60% chances scattered showers
Thu 19th: Max T: 22°C (72 F), sunny, 10% chances rain
Mon 20th: Max T: 27°C (78 F), sunny, 0% chances rain

7) Call for unusual or showy NWA samples for the museum display (show  
theme): pieces always wanted. But write first asap with details or  
write your own label.
The display is set up on Friday.

8) Concerning museum and samples.
In a neat future, the Guradians wish to extend their museum (that so  
far contains one single meteorite, though a very famous one (!!)).

A coiple of new windows will soon be set and will be ready to host  
many meteorite samples so as to complete a decent display.

The guardians thought that perhaps the other enthroned  
"brother-guardians" from all around the world might help this by  
providing some extra "surplus" meteorite samples "sleeping in their  
drawers" and wanting to get rid of them....

Medium or long term loan or donation would be highly appreciated.
Donated samples will carry their defnite acknowledged labels with the  
name of the donor mentioned for centuries to come.
Not a requirement, just a "persuasive suggestion"... No hurries  
though, just bear in mind...

That's all folks.

Cause for the next news, you all will be the players!

Still 2 (short) nights to sleep!

My ever friendly wishes to all,

Zelimir