Have Fresh Perseid Meteorite That Struck My Driveway

[peopleunit]

A meteorite (cometary debri fragment?) struck my driveway last Wednesday night/Thursday morning, and I have the fragments. What is the probability that its from the comet Swift-Tuttle associated with the Perseid Meteor Shower?<br /><br />Also, I'm wondering who I might report this to, as from what I have read, FRESH meteor materials are rare, and cometary materials from the Swift-Tuttle comet, this would be a first!!<br /><br />Here is a link to the pics I have, etc.<br /><br />http://peopleunit.bravejournal.com/<br /><br />Let me know what you think...

 

[3488]

Make sure that you make a complete record, your home address preferably latitude & longitude, actual time (Not daylight saving / Summer time, so one hour behind clock time).<br /><br />Yes there is a chance it could be a Perseid. Difficult to know for sure as the timing could just be a chance event. What may help is evidence of direction of travel before impact. <br /><br />Your images do not seem to show that.<br /><br />Yes NASA would be very interested indeed (hence Stardust to Wild 2). <br /><br />If you send a sample, for goodness sake, send it Special Delivery, not just regular mail. Get a receipt & make sure someone authorized signs the delivery note.<br /><br />Make sure you take photographs of what you send. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080">"I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before".</font> <em><strong><font color="#000000">Linda Morabito </font></strong><font color="#800000">on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.</font></em></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://www.launchphotography.com/</font><br /><br /><font size="1" color="#000080">http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearth</font></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://web.me.com/meridianijournal</font></p> </div>

 

[harmonicaman]

Note that meteorites are valuable! It's best that you don't just give them away, you possibly have several hundred dollars worth of Swift-Tuttle there...

 

[jmilsom]

Interesting pics. Thanks for posting. There are many interested in meteorires here - so please keep us all updated. Be interested to hear what the experts think. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[harmonicaman]

Is any of it magnetic?

 

[3488]

Same here. Please keep us informed. Dont just hand over samples to anyone.<br /><br />If these are indeed from Comet Swift Tuttle, then this will be the second known comet, that we have samples from. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080">"I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before".</font> <em><strong><font color="#000000">Linda Morabito </font></strong><font color="#800000">on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.</font></em></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://www.launchphotography.com/</font><br /><br /><font size="1" color="#000080">http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearth</font></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://web.me.com/meridianijournal</font></p> </div>

 

[search]

Nice volcanic rocks pictures...<br /><br />Swift-Tuttle was on the 10 August 2006 closer to Pluto than Earth and unless it found a singularity in space and time its not in your frontyard.<br /><br />Perseids well could be but first look to what you have and I suggest you check this site:<br /><br />http://www.star-bits.com/ID.htm<br /><br />But in case you still have doubts try ask the experts:<br /><br />http://www.imo.net/<br /><br />You could sell it on Ebay but that would not be honest without a confirmation from IMO would it?

 

[MeteorWayne]

It's extremely unlikely that you have a Perseid meteorite.<br />The Perseids are composed of comet dust and never make it to the ground. Even if there were a rocky chuck mixed it it would most likely not survive the incoming trip through the atmosphere due to it's high velocity (~ 130,000 mph). Almost all meteorites recovered are from asteroids that have a much slower incoming speed between 25,000 and 45,000 mph.<br /><br />However, that's not to say it can't be a meteorite, just it's nearly impossible that it is a Perseid.<br /><br />For a good first guess, and to look for other explanations, check this site.<br /> Link <br /><br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080"><em><font color="#000000">But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id.</font></em> </font></p><p><font color="#000080">I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function</font><font color="#000080"> </font></p> </div>

 

[CalliArcale]

<blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr /><p>Swift-Tuttle was on the 10 August 2006 closer to Pluto than Earth and unless it found a singularity in space and time its not in your frontyard. <p><hr /></p></p></blockquote><br /><br />FYI, the Perseids are debris left behind by Comet Swift-Tuttle. <img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" /><br /><br />I, too, would be surprised if this was a Perseid, though. They tend to be extremely small. If it is a meteorite, though, it would be enormously valuable even if it's not a Perseid. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p><font color="#666699"><em>"People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint it's more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly . . . timey wimey . . . stuff."</em>  -- The Tenth Doctor, "Blink"</font></p> </div>

 

[search]

I bow myself to the catch and send you this about it:<br />http://www.serve.com/wh6ef/comets/meteors/showers/perseidhistory.html<br />But the pictures those look like volcanic rock

 

[peopleunit]

Hi again. I know that its still a big question mark, etc. as to how this thing ended up in my driveway, one person suggested that it "might" be a small fragment from a larger impact, so I'll be scouting the area... there's a big field to explore right next to my property, albeit on the other side of my building and driveway.<br /><br />I'm just telling you what I found and what more info I can find out about it. The local newspaper is coming out Wednesday to take some photos, and they told me the Central Arkansas University has an astronomy department that can test it, so I'll be contacting them and probably send them a sample for testing.<br /><br />I left a phone message to some guy with NASA in Houston who has yet to reurn my call... I'll call them again I guess. :-/ <br /><br />Thanks for all the links, I'm taking a look at them...

 

[MeteorWayne]

Good suggestion to contact the local University. They can look and test to see if it is indeed a meteorite.<br />Just don't be disappointed too much if they tell you it's not. Maybe it will be!<br />NASA's got lots of other things on their plate. Meteorite identification isn't really their cup of tea. That's why an acedemic institurion is a much better choice. <br />The link I provided was for Washington Univ of St L. Not too far away for a real find.<br />MW <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080"><em><font color="#000000">But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id.</font></em> </font></p><p><font color="#000080">I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function</font><font color="#000080"> </font></p> </div>

 

[harmonicaman]

Dr. Scott Austin<br />Director of Astronomical Facilities <br />University of Central Arkansas<br />Department of Physics and Astronomy<br /><br />saustin@mail.uca.edu<br /><br />Stephen R. Addison, PhD<br />Professor and Chair<br />Department of Physics and Astronomy<br />University of Central Arkansas<br /><br />saddison@mail.uca.edu<br /><br />I'd go with the University people, note that this isn't the best time to contact them!<br /><br />NASA won't be much help; IMHO... <img src="/images/icons/rolleyes.gif" /><br />

 

[jschaef5]

This gave me a great idea for a prank to pull on someone who is huge into astronomy <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /><br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[MeteorWayne]

Please let us know how it turns out.<br />We always hope for the best!<br />Meteor Wayne <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080"><em><font color="#000000">But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id.</font></em> </font></p><p><font color="#000080">I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function</font><font color="#000080"> </font></p> </div>

 

[MeteorWayne]

Let us know how THAT turns out too. <img src="/images/icons/crazy.gif" /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080"><em><font color="#000000">But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id.</font></em> </font></p><p><font color="#000080">I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function</font><font color="#000080"> </font></p> </div>