Canada Meteor/Meteorite News- Buzzard Coulee Meteorite Hunting Reports 18AUG09

1st Batch - Expedition photos Buzzard Coulee Winter Trip
by McCartney Taylor
This is the first trip taken to Canada after the fall. Once there, we only had 2.25 days to hunt before shutdown snowfall occurred. It was -25 Celcius and the airline lost my luggage, so I'm wearing socks over my hands in some photos. I think I had thin gloves under the socks. At some point, I couldn't photo anymore as the batteries died of cold and our fingers hurt from exposure. Give me desert any day of the week. Most of the photos are in situ. No action, car chases, or things blowing up. Sorry.

http://picasaweb.google.com/mccartneytaylor/BuzzardCouleeMeteoriteExpeditionDecember2008?feat=directlink

I recommend you use the slideshow option and the full screen.

I think we found 6 kg in two days. They stuck out nice in the white thin snow. Then we gave 1/2 to the landowner, and we sold off our half. I kept 100g of small stones for my own collection, awaiting export permit.

I'll upload my Spring trip photos soon. I have many kilos coming to me when the permits clear, also.



2nd Batch - Expedition photos Buzzard Coulee Spring Trip
Date: Thursday, August 13, 2009, 3:16 AM

After I received word that the snow was melting I immediately flew up to Canada to continue the recovery effort. I pushed hard each day to get the most out of each day. I averaged 25-30 finds per day. However, I pushed myself too hard and within 4 days I developed a cough and fever. I laid low for a few days and my fever rose and eventually I had to go to the hospital for help. After some antibiotics to fight some kind of strep, 3 days later I was drugged enough to continue my efforts after losing a week. Still had the cough, though.

http://picasaweb.google.com/mccartneytaylor/BuzzardCouleeMeteoriteExpeditionApril2009?feat=directlink

At some point during the trip, I realized that the time I took to take a photo added up and it would cost me one stone by the end of each day. So I stopped taking photos of in situ finds.

By the end of the trip, I'd found over 200 stones with the smallest being 3g and the largest about 187. I broke the 4 kg mark, and walked away with 2 kg after paying the landowner his half. These will be for sale in a few months once the export permit comes. Several are oriented.

After my return, my cough got worse and I have been treated for it for 4 months. Some expeditions have a higher price to pay than others.

-mt
Website: http://www.outofabluesky.com

Canada Meteor/Meteorite News- Buzzard Coulee Meteorite 10-Tonne Break 26JUL09

Meteorite chunks provide clues for U of C researchers

Calgary Herald - ‎Calgary, Alberta, CA

University of Calgary planetary scientist Alan Hildebrand, with geologist Lynne Maillet, said "pairing" pieces hint at how the 10-tonne meteorite broke up ...

French/Canadian Météorite News- Dr. Alain Carion (video) 20JUN09

Chute de la météorite au Canada en 2008
(Buzzard Coulee, Canada meteorite fall in 2008)
Avec les commentaires d'Alain Carion, Docteur es Sciences et chasseur de météorites
posted by MrValaba on YouTube
17 June 2009

Buzzard Coulee Meteorite Photos Link 1JUN09

Geoff Notkin of www.aerolite.org has posted some photos of his recent meteorite hunt at Buzzard Coulee, Canada.
http://www.aerolite.org/expeditions/bc/buzzard-coulee-meteorite.htm

http://www.aerolite.org/expeditions/bc/buzzard-coulee-meteorite.htm

International Science Society, Sigma Xi Honors Meteorite Professor 27MAY09

Alex Ruzicka, Portland State, Geology Dept.
Winner in Earth Sciences
Daily Vanguard- 27MAY09

When the Buzzard Coulee meteorite fell in Canada last Thanksgiving, Professor Alex Ruzicka was on the case to classify the meteorite.An expert in meteorites, Ruzicka is also the co-founder and director of the Cascadia Meteorite Laboratory, which provides education outreach to people in the area on meteorites. It is the only meteorite laboratory in the Pacific Northwest. ...
http://www.dailyvanguard.com/cutting-edge-research-nationally-recognized-professors-1.1754591

Students search for space rocks
Meridian Booster, Lloydminster
The kids found their first meteorite before the search even started, right by the road while they were lining up in a straight line. (more)...

New insights from Canadian meteorites 22MAY09

American Geophysical Union
2009 Joint Assembly
The Meeting of the Americas
24–27 May 2009
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
http://www.agu.org/meetings/ja09/
Press conference on "New insights from Canadian meteorites" to be held on Sunday, 24 May at 1400h.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-05/agu-aja052109.php

New insights from Canadian meteorites
Meteorites, being rocks from space, are solid samples of places in the Solar System to which we cannot easily go. The study of their physical and mineralogical characteristics provides insights into the diversity of processes involved in their origin. Likewise, the conditions under which they fall to Earth provide links to their asteroid or planetary parent bodies. Speakers will discuss new results regarding detection of organic molecules important for life in the unique Tagish Lake, B.C. meteorite (Herd), special conditions of formation of the 1000-year old Whitecourt, Alberta impact crater (Kofman), and the spectacular November 20, 2008 fireball that resulted in the fall of the Buzzard Coulee, Saskatchewan meteorite (Hildebrand).

Participants:
Alan Hildebrand Canada Research Chair in Planetary Science, Coordinator of the Canadian Fireball Reporting Centre, Department of Geoscience, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada;

Randolf Kofman Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada;

Christopher Herd Associate Professor, Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Sessions: MA11B, MA12A, MA13A, MA13C

Buzzard Coulee, Canada- Meteorite Hunters Return 25APR09

Meteor hunters return
Posted By Graham Mason
Meridian Booster, Lloydminster
24APR09
The search for space rocks continue in Buzzard Coulee at the landing site of the meteorite that flashed across the November sky.
“It turns out that meteorites are easier to find with the snow gone (the weather changed dramatically last week), and the Easter weekend has seen a surprising number of recoveries with dozens found by many different people,” said Dr. Alan Hildebrand with the University of Calgary who has a new meteorite search blog. “The stand out was the recovery on Good Friday of another (approximately) 10 kilogram stone.
“The total mass and total number probably advanced by something like 15 kilogram and 100 stones on the weekend, but exact totals will probably never be known.”
Some of the meteorites found were showing signs of rust from sitting out in the field.
Hildebrand has set up a heated base camp at the site, which includes water, electricity and wireless Internet for people who volunteer their time to help search.
“One of the most fun things about searching (aside from finding a meteorite oneself) is seeing ‘new’ people make their first meteorite find,” said Hildebrand. “(On Saturday) four different people who were volunteering in our search teams had that experience.
Hildebrand hopes to solve the mystery of how the meteorites broke up by finding pieces that fit together.
“Lots of other people have collected meteorites and taken them away, so we may have to organize a ‘Pairing Party’ in the summer or fall, so we can get as many broken pieces as we can together to look for ‘mates’,” said Hildebrand.
Local resident Terry Chaisson described his experience as a volunteer searcher on his blog.
“I eagerly signed up and surprisingly my wife also wanted to give it a try so on my Friday off, my wife and I traveled down to the Marsden area and spent the morning trudging though a farmer’s field looking at the ground for a rock that appears slightly out of place,” wrote Chaisson. “The method used is similar to CSI in that a line of searchers, separated by about four feet, walks back and forth looking straight down.”
Chaisson said some of the other volunteers traveled from as far away as Ontario.
Chaisson found a fragment of the meteorite on a morning when only one piece was found.
“The geologist verified that it was indeed authentic and was also a nice sized meteorite (estimated) to be over a hundred grams and worth over $3,000” said Chaisson. “Unfortunately, we did not get to keep the rock as all rocks found belong to the land owner and university as per some agreement between them.”
“My wife did not have the same enthusiasm so we called it a day at lunch time – just as the team was about to move to a more promising search location.”
Article ID# 1538939
http://www.meridianbooster.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1538939

Information on Two Recent Meteorites Recovered from Falls 17FEB09

People may be interested in two announcements of recent falls in the Meteoritical Bulletin and associated LPSC abstracts:

Buzzard Coulee, Canada (which everybody knows about):
http://tin.er.usgs.gov/meteor/index.php?code=48654http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2009/pdf/1893.pdfhttp://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2009/pdf/2072.pdf

Bunburra Rockhole

31°21.0′S, 129°11.4′E

Nullarbor Region, South Australia, Australia

Fall: 21 July 2007 :
http://tin.er.usgs.gov/meteor/index.php?code=48653http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2009/pdf/1664.pdfhttp://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2009/pdf/1498.pdf

Source: Dr. Jeffrey N. Grossman
phone: (703) 648-6184
US Geological Survey
fax: (703) 648-6383954
National CenterReston, VA 20192, USA