Worden: A Fender Bender Meteorite

Meteorite Times Magazine
Contents
by Editor
Featured Monthly Articles
Accretion Desk by Martin Horejsi
Jim's Fragments by Jim Tobin
Meteorite Market Trends by Michael Blood
Bob's Findings by Robert Verish
IMCA Insights by The IMCA Team
Micro Visions by John Kashuba
Meteorite Calendar by Anne Black
Meteorite of the Month by Editor
Tektite of the Month by Editor
Terms Of Use
Materials contained in and linked to from this website do not necessarily reflect the views or
opinions of The Meteorite Exchange, Inc., nor those of any person connected therewith. In no
event shall The Meteorite Exchange, Inc. be responsible for, nor liable for, exposure to any
such material in any form by any person or persons, whether written, graphic, audio or
otherwise, presented on this or by any other website, web page or other cyber location linked
to from this website. The Meteorite Exchange, Inc. does not endorse, edit nor hold any
copyright interest in any material found on any website, web page or other cyber location
linked to from this website.
The Meteorite Exchange, Inc. shall not be held liable for any misinformation by any author,
dealer and or seller. In no event will The Meteorite Exchange, Inc. be liable for any damages,
including any loss of profits, lost savings, or any other commercial damage, including but not
limited to special, consequential, or other damages arising out of this service.
© Copyright 2002–2011 The Meteorite Exchange, Inc. All rights reserved.
No reproduction of copyrighted material is allowed by any means without prior written
permission of the copyright owner.
Meteorite Times Magazine
August 1997 Witnessed Fall: Worden, Michigan. A “Fender Bender”
Meteorite
by Martin Horejsi
An August 1997 Witnessed Fall: Worden, Michigan USA
Worden: A Fender Bender Meteorite
For a five, Worden is filled with superb round chondrules. This 113g
complete slice captures the essence of what was once a kilo and a half
stone.
Meteorites that land on cars deserve a special place in the subcategory of witnessed falls affectionately
known as hammers. I like the term “Fender Bender” to describe this exclusive class of meteorites.
Three famous Fender Bending meteorites are Benld, Peekskill and Worden. But bending fenders is not
the only thing these stones have in common. They also share fall dates around the same time of year,
and Worden and Benld included garage damage on their résumé in addition to autos, and Worden and
Peekskill both hit red cars.
It is funny to think about a car being dented by a bag of chondrules, but
that’s what happened here. A red 1988 Toyota Celica 2-door sedan had its
roof dented by this cosmic hitchhiker.Some pictures of the damaged car
areposted here…and here
This is other side of the slice. Although it looks like the slice might taper to a
razor’s edge, that’s hardly the case. This thick slice could still do
substantial damage with thrown at another car. Why not the same car?
Apparently the original earthly target, the ’88 Toyota, has long since retired
to the junkyard.
As an L chondrite, it is on the lower end of the free metal spectrum, but that
doesn’t stop Worden from trying.The sidelighting highlights glint the fresh
iron.
Still splattered with Celica blood, the lack of damage of the fusion crust
reminds us that under the fragile color, solid rock is found.
Another side of the thin crust on my thick slice.This edge is not as smooth
as the others. I wonder if there was some orientation during its fall. That
would be my preference, however, more likely the stone broke apart high
up in the atmosphere creating a more jagged but still fully crusted face.
Worden was a meteorite that when it hit the market, I jumped in for the biggest piece I could get. At the
time, this slice was the third largest piece of Worden. I don’t know where it falls in the collection pecking
order today, but like all Fender Bender meteorites, the Worden stone’s fame and value will long outlast
any man-made jalopy.
Until next time….
The Accretion Desk welcomes all comments and feedback. [email protected]
Meteorite Times Magazine
Unclassified Beauty
by Jim Tobin
Middle of the summer is always the time when we stay home and avoid the heat of the dessert. But, have
no fear we will get back out and hunting in the fall. So I have been spending a lot of time cutting meteorites
and that has been great fun.
I had been having a several year long love affair with continuous rim diamond blades but after getting a
very bad batch from a major manufacturer I decided to go back to the blades that have the diamond
pressed under notches made around the rim. I was getting actually only three cuts out of the continuous
rim blades of the last batch I bought. I had used these notched blades years ago and had liked them, but
changed when the continuous rims came out and was happy till this last batch. I am even more delighted
with the notched type so I will be using them for a long while. And at about 35-40 percent of the cost of
continuous rim blade they are a real bargain.
So this month I will be showing off some of the material I have been finding as I cut these unclassified
NWAs. I am always surprised by how plain and even ugly some of them are until you cut them. Then the
OHs and AHs that could be heard when I see the inside. I cut one particularly unattractive stone last week.
One edge was very friable so I had to be pretty careful not to have it crumble too badly in the saw. A
picture of one of the slices is shown below. It has some huge chondrules in it. Many between 3 – 5 mm in
diameter. Most are radial pyroxene and you would be correct to ask how I know. Well, if you cut and lap
meteorites just right, radial chondrules will shine under bright light and you can see the rays spread
across them. And when they are as big as the ones in this meteorite it is really cool to not need more then
a hand lens to enjoy them.
I think many of my readers are familiar with NWA 869. It is really quite a remarkable meteorite. First, it was
available in truly vast amounts. It is still easily available to collectors. It was very challenging to look at and
try to figure out what classification to put it in. Even today the range of the lithologies in it is discussable. I
have it recorded in my database and my specimen cards as L3.8-6. But, I have seen a variety of
descriptions. This stems from it being a very brecciated meteorite. There are bits of nearly anything you
can imagine in it. Well, I came across one in my cutting this last month that was even more interesting
then NWA 869. From its external characteristics of being much fresher with great fusion crust I am
confident it is not NWA869. Yet, when I cut it the brecciation made me think of NWA 869. In our world
today it is unlikely that visual pairing will every be sorted out officially with lab work. My opinion is still that it
is a different meteorite but similar. I offer the following picture that shows breccia as the textbooks
describe it. Angular pieces of other rocks mixed in matrix to form a new rock. Angular is the characteristic
that we often do not see so well. In this stone the sharp corners were prominent.
Now I have written on really ugly meteorites before, how they are always full of surprises. Well, a friend
had some stones for a great price and when I saw them I knew he had told the truth about how ugly they
were. Most of the pieces in the box looked little like meteorite. I am certain I would have passed them by in
the desert when hunting. Others had some relic fusion crust and looked a little better. There were lines of
yellow and green on the sides of some suggesting that they might once have had algae on them. I
expected when I cut them to find a totally weathered metal-free old meteorite. I had put a magnet on a few
pieces and the attraction was quite weak. But, once again you just can not judge a stone from its outside
appearance. There were some that did have just a scattering of tiny sparkles of metal remaining, others
however, had lighter colored matrix with classic H chondrite metal content spread across the cut face.
There were visible chondrules of 1-2 mm in diameter that were not in well defined condition. So perhaps a
type 5-6 would be my guess. I will have plenty of fun working with this material over the next few years.
With a week or so having passed since beginning writing this I put about 200 cuts on the first of those
blades. While doing a hand held cut it pinched up and got slightly dished. So I am on blade number two of
the batch and very delighted by their performance. They cut fast and straight and are not bothered by
metal, though you can tell when you hit big metal by the slight slowing of the cut. The blades are made of
plain steel however, and that means that I have to drain the saw after cutting . So I am using a lot of
coolant water and accumulating a considerable amount of cutting mud which I allow to settle and then dry.
With a stainless steel blade I would not worry so much about draining the saw and the mud would stay in
the saw at the bottom of the coolant tank.
I have not had enough inspiration as to what to do with all the cutting dust that I am recovering. I have not
had time to do some of the experiments that I want to do. But, the list right now includes glaze coloring for
ceramics, pigments in paints and inks and of course I am using it already in my papermaking as a
coloring and magnetic additive. Have not tried to sell the dust but, others are doing that, and we may do
that someday as well. It seems like a shame to just dispose of the cutting dust as if it was from regular
rock.
The cataloguing of my unclassified meteorites continues and I told readers a couple months ago that I
would keep them posted as the database grew. I have numbers painted on 76 stones at this point with
descriptions and weights for them recorded. I have more to do mostly in a display case and then I think I
will have the vast majority of all my meteorites in their respective classified and unclassified databases.
Now my problem of careful storage remains. I have been accumulating wooden boxes; the kind delicate
instruments used to be stored in. I will use them with foam for some of the big specimens and others will
be stored in number order in plastic compartment boxes. Many will continue to be on display. Unlike the
classified and historic specimens in my collection I worry less about exposing these unclassified to the
enviornment. And none has ever shown any effects of being on display.
Well, I guess I will end with one of the nicest unclassified that I have stumbled across in the last few
years. The number of really fine meteorites to be found in every dealer tent in Tucson had dropped to near
zero from a couple years earlier where at least one meteorite was obligatory. On an early morning stroll I
found this one stone remaining in a tent full of craved fossil ashtrays and quartz crystals. As soon as I
saw it my mind screamed El Hammami. I have cut a lot of the real thing in the past and it is quite unique
with its metal veins and dark chondrules. I know I can not list it as El Hammami in my catalogue but its
beautiful fresh fusion crust, abundant metal, dark easy to see chondrules made it a meteorite I wanted to
get. It was a little more money then I wanted to spend on an unclassified stone but really it was only thirty
cents or so a gram. Still a good buy. So here it is for your enjoyment. I could see the metal veins running
through the broken surface, I made a nice window on it after getting home from the show. The total weight
was near 500 grams. The main piece in the photos is still 478 grams. In the photo of the cut face please
note the thickness of the fusion crust and the very straight shock line running through the whole stone.
Well until next month have a great time with your collections and always look for that hidden something
special in even the commonest looking meteorite.
Meteorite-Times Magazine
Meteorite Market Trends
by Michael Blood
Like
3 likes. Sign Up to see what your friends like.
This Month’s
Meteorite Market Trends
by Michael Blood
Please Share and Enjoy:
Meteorite Times Magazine
Ron Hartman – 1935-2011
by Editor
Ron Hartman – 1935-2011
Commemorating the life of our colleague, and my personal friend.
The recent passing of Ron Hartman has prompted me to postpone this month’s article, and instead to
make notice of this sad news.
Due to my being out-of-town when I learned of his passing, and my inablility to access my computer files,
this article will be highly abbreviated in order for it to be included in the September publication of MeteoriteTimes Magazine.
Next month’s issue of Meteorite-Times Magazine will have a more proper tribute to our colleague and my
friend, Ron Hartman.
UPDATE:
Click here to go to “ A Tribute to Ron Hartman” – an extension of this Bob’s Findings Article for
September 2011 – to see an on-going compilation of links regarding the life and passing of Ron
Hartman.
In the meanwhile, feel free to add your Comments below.
REFERENCES:
Search results for internet references to Ron Hartman:
IMCA co-founder
Ron’s website
Lucerne Valley Meteorite
http://www.michaelbloodmeteorites.com/TektiteParty05.html
http://www.meteorite-times.com/index_of_articles/Meteorites_101_Index.htm
My previous articles can be found *HERE*
For for more information, please contact me by email: Bolide*chaser
Meteorite Times Magazine
IMCA Insights – September 2011
by IMCA TEAM
IMCA Insights – September 2011
Brian Mason Award 2011,
by Florian J. Zurfluh
The author in the field
(Photo courtesy of the author)
As recipient of the Brian Mason travel award for the Annual Meeting of the Meteoritical Society 2011,
it is a great pleasure to write some lines about myself. Currently I'm a PhD student at the University of
Bern, Switzerland, and involved in the Omani-Swiss meteorite search and research project. This
includes field work in the hot desert of the Sultanate of Oman followed by investigation of the
returned samples in the laboratory. The main focus of my studies is the weathering and contamination
of ordinary chondrites.
I grew up in the heart of Switzerland surrounded by high mountains. With my family, I often went
hiking in the mountains and occasionally looked for crystals. My favorite mineral was the black variety
of quartz-morion, or smoky quartz. After high school I decided to study geology - I was interested to
learn more about the rocks we live on and was fascinated by the unique blend of classes, fieldtrips,
and labwork this study offers. As a consequence of my interest in dark minerals and rocks, I studied
volcanic rocks for my bachelor's thesis. This work was done with a colleague and we performed
fieldwork for five days in a pit in the Eifel, Germany.
Until this stage of my studies, meteorites were only treated peripherally in some geochemistry or
mineralogy classes. For my master's studies, I took a chance and chose a topic where I could study
these fascinating extraterrestrial rocks in more depth. In 2007 I could joined the field team of the
Omani-Swiss meteorite search project for the first time. I was still looking for dark minerals and rocks,
but now in a completely flat environment: the hot desert of Oman. After the completion of my
master's thesis, I got the chance to do a PhD in the same project. In this context I was back in Oman
for several weeks during the winters 2009 and 2010.
As mentioned above, the topic of our work is mainly the weathering and contamination of ordinary
chondrites. We are interested in the interaction of the environment with the meteorite. The influences
of the local soil composition, climate, and biology on the weathering are studied.
Careful planning of the fieldwork is fundamental. Suitable surfaces for meteorite recovery are selected
using satellite images available from Google Earth. Based on our experience from former campaigns
(the first expedition was performed in 2001), we are able to interpret the satellite images accurately
and to plan our routes along ideal surfaces. During the campaigns in which I was involved, we mainly
followed routes from the coast towards the interior of the country. The idea behind this was to find
meteorites at various distances from the sea in a transect to study the influence of the distance to
the sea on the weathering. The search for meteorites is performed visually by car or on foot. To get
an idea of the find
density, we systematically searched several quarters of a square kilometer on foot.
When a meteorite is found, we record its coordinates by GPS, take a photograph with label, estimate
the degree of burial, collect all fragments, and weigh the five largest fragments and note the total
mass. Samples are wrapped without touching in polypropylene bags to avoid contamination. The
recording of the coordinates is essential for further studies to find density and to answer the
question, which stones are paired, i.e., belonging to the same fall event. In hot deserts, meteorites
usually are found in the place where they have fallen. This allows us to reconstruct meteorite strewn
fields.
When the meteorites reach the Natural History Museum of Bern, we unpack them, again without
touching, clean them with pressurized air, count the number of fragments, and once more take the
weights. I have to note here that we have been loaned the samples just for study: they remain
property of the Sultanate of Oman. After a macroscopic description of weathering features such as
wind ablation, the meteorites are cut and thin sections for classification are produced. The degree of
shock and weathering and the petrologic type of the chondrites are determined individually through
the use of optical microscopy in reflected and transmitted light by at least two persons for
verification. Afterwards I measure the composition of the minerals with the electron microprobe to
assign the group. Most of the meteorites are ordinary chondrites of the groups H or L. After
classification, the pairing of meteorites is determined by comparing meteorites with similar
classifications and close geographical provenance with each other. The whole procedure of
classification and checking for pairing is very time consuming and not a trivial issue, but it is
necessary. We have now collected and analyzed a large number of meteorite samples from a
significant area, which allow us to do statistics on a unique and very significant meteorite population.
The classification by microscopy is one of the most intensive steps, but one is rewarded by the
beautiful colors of olivine and pyroxene under crossed nicols in transmitted light. But most of the
meteorites from Oman are moderately to heavily weathered, resulting in brownish staining and onset
of networks of iron hydroxide veins. One of our goals is to detect which features overprint the pristine
signatures of the meteorites. We do mineral characterization in reflected light by using a scanning
electron microscope with an energy dispersive spectrometer and X-ray diffraction. We determine the
chemical composition with a hand-held X-ray fluorescence device (HHXRF). You can see me using this
instrument in the picture above the article. It allows us to measure the composition of rocks nondestructively, even in the field, which supports a fast classification. While in the field, we were able to
identify the rock I analyzed in the picture as a diogenite, an orthopyroxene-rich rock probably derived
from asteroid 4 Vesta.
In the study I received the award for, we focused on the strontium contamination of ordinary
chondrites found in Oman. We measured a large amount of our collected meteorites for their chemical
composition and observed strontium accumulations up to 200 times the initial value. The Sr content of
unaltered ordinary chondrite is between 9 and 11 ppm. We measured up to 2200 ppm! Inside the
meteorites we measured concentrations up to 888 ppm. It is certain that the Sr is derived from
outside. But from where? To solve this question we performed 87Sr/86Sr ratio analyses of three
meteorites with various distances from the sea. In addition, corresponding soil samples were analyzed.
The results showed the local soil to be the source of the strontium, since the 87Sr/86Sr ratio of the
three soil samples is different for the three geographical localities and is similar to the corresponding
meteorite. With this method we can exclude sea spray as an important source of Sr for the
contamination of meteorites in Oman.
Cut surface of an ordinary chondrite from Oman
with efflorescence of hygroscopic salts (Photo by the author)
The contamination of Sr is a continuous process and it shows a positive correlation to the terrestrial
residence time. My goal is to be able to estimate the terrestrial age of a meteorite from Oman based
on visual weathering effects, the amount of accumulated Sr, and the degree of weathering. For this
purpose we have slightly refined the usually applied weathering scale.
Our work shows that it is worthwhile and important to classify and study every ordinary chondrite and
that recording of the find location is indispensable.
On weekends I'm still often in the mountains hiking and climbing with eyes open for black rocks. So far
I have found several pieces which had impacted on Earth - but unfortunately they all also started
here: they were all of military origin. But nevertheless, I still walk with open eyes on the glaciers and
scree slopes and I hope to one day run across a “Swiss” meteorite. When I have “failed” on the
weekends, I can go during work to the Natural History Museum where, beside some nice quartz
crystals from my place of origin, meteorites from all over the world (including Oman and Switzerland)
are on display.
Finally, I would like to thank some people who helped me during the project: First of all my supervisors
Beda Hofmann, Edwin Gnos, and Urs Eggenberger. Then I acknowledge the effort of Igor Villa, Dea
Vögelin, and Nicolas Greber who made the strontium isotope analyses possible and Tim Jull who
determined the terrestrial ages of the meteorites. Roland Bächli and Marc Dupayrat helped us with the
handling of the Niton HHXRF. I would also like to thank Ali Al-Rajhi from the Ministry of Commerce and
Industry, Sultanate of Oman, who enabled us to work in Oman and loaned the samples for study. My
studies are financed by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF), grant 200020-119937. And
ultimately, I appreciate the IMCA for providing students the Brian Mason travel award.
Florian J. Zurfluh
This article has been edited by Anne Black and Norbert Classen
• IMCA Home Page • IMCA Code of Ethics • IMCA Member List
• Join IMCA • IMCA Meteorite Info
Meteorite Times Magazine
Isheyevo
by John Kashuba
Right now Isheyevo is being called a CH/CBb and might not even be a chondrite in the usual sense of the
term. It is a complex mix of components from different sources. For example, there are two distinct
populations of CAIs. There are two sets of chondrule textures corresponding to two blended lithologies.
And the phyllosilicates found as shells around some chondrules are compositionally different than those
found in hydrated matrix lumps – of which there are three types.
David Weir’s excellent site presents a broad digest of recent work on this member of the CR clan. His
Meteorite Studies site offers both overviews and extensive detail. It presents all credible sides when there
are differing views and it is updated often.
http://www.meteoritestudies.com/protected_ISHEYEVO.HTM
http://www.meteoritestudies.com/
Isheyevo is dominated by a metal-rich lithology with 50% to 60% nickel-iron. Other parts have as little as
7% metal. The following pictures are of metal rich samples.
Looking past the saw marks we see that even within the metal-rich lithology there are variations in silicate
distribution. Here they appear in waves. This part slice is 25 mm tall. Isheyevo CH/CBb
Thin section with light reflecting to highlight metal. Sample is 16 mm wide. Isheyevo CH/CBb
Thin section with transmitted light. Sample is 16 mm wide. Isheyevo CH/CBb
Center section of the same thin section in transmitted cross polarized light (XPL). Isheyevo CH/CBb
Detail of the same thin section. The two largest chondrules appear to have layered forms. XPL. Isheyevo
CH/CBb
The black sectors are metal grains surrounded by silicates. Incident light. Isheyevo CH/CBb
A large chondrule surrounded by metal – the light colored material – and containing metal internally.
Incident light. Isheyevo CH/CBb
Variety of features. XPL. Isheyevo CH/CBb
Variety of features. XPL. Isheyevo CH/CBb
Variety of features. XPL. Isheyevo CH/CBb
Variety of features. XPL. Isheyevo CH/CBb
Meteorite Times Magazine
Meteorite Calendar – September 2011
by Anne Black
Meteorite Times Magazine
Meteorite Crater Study Kit
by Editor
Meteorite Times Magazine
Muong Nong Tektite
by Editor
Thailand Muong Nong weight 1500 grams
Meteorite Times Magazine
Meteorite-Times Sponsors
by Editor
Please support Meteorite-Times by visiting our sponsors websites. Click the bottom of the
banners to open their website in a new tab / window.
Once a few decades ago this opening
was a framed window in the wall
of H. H. Nininger's Home and
Museum building. From this
window he must have many times
pondered the mysteries of
Meteor Crater seen in the distance.
Photo by © 2010 James Tobin