Upcoming International Meteor Conference-Croatia Sep 24-27, 2009

International Meteor Conference
Porec, Croatia, September 24-27, 2009
=====================================
This year, the International Meteor Conference (IMC) will take place from September 24 to 27 in Croatia, at a beautiful location on the coast of the Adriatic Sea, located on the Istrian Peninsula. The IMC is one of the highlights of the meteoric year and a unique opportunity to meet like-minded people from all over the world and to exchange experiences. In particular, you have the opportunity to present your own results or those of your observing group by giving a presentation. In that case, you will see the paper of your presentation published in the proceedings that will be compiled after the event.
Participation in the 2009 IMC costs 160 euro for IMO (International Meteor Organization) members. This sum includes full board in the conference hotel, all sessions, the conference excursion, a 2009 IMC T-shirt, and the conference proceedings. Early registrants get a reduction of 10 euro. You can register by filling out the electronic registration form and paying the registration fee, or making a prepayment of at least 75 euro.
Registration and Conference information: http://www.imo.net/imc2009

Rummager's galactic find turns out to be stolen meteorite 11MAR09

Photo of postcard by Mike Jensen- Jensen Meteorites
http://jensenmeteorites.com/Postcards/CanyonDiablo.htm

Rummager's galactic find turns out to be stolen meteorite
by Jim Stingl
Posted: Mar. 11, 2009
This story begins not in a galaxy far away, but at a Milwaukee rummage sale a few years ago. Tom Lynch paid $10 for an odd hunk of metal he figured might be copper or bronze with potential salvage value.
He had no idea it had dropped from space into the Arizona desert some 50,000 years ago...(more)
http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/41069052.html

Cosmos May Produce Meteors Starting March 12th 11MAR09

COSMOS IS FALLING:
The first fragments of shattered satellite Cosmos 2251 are about to reenter Earth's atmosphere. According to US Strategic Command, fragment 1993-036PX will reenter on March 12th, followed by 1993-036KW on March 28th and 1993-036MC on March 30th. These are probably centimeter-sized pieces that will disintegrate in the atmosphere, posing no threat to people on the ground.

more... http://spaceweather.com/

Mystery in Brazílian Sky Calls Attention of Scientists 11MAR09

Brazílian Sky Calls Attention of Scientists
Brazil
Brasília em Tepo Real 10/03/2009 07h01m
-translation by Babelfish
An identified flying object illuminated for some seconds in the night Saturday in the DF and Goiás. Scientists investigate the phenomenon and they do not discard that a meteorite has entered in the atmosphere.
Scientists try to unmask the mystery around the torch of light in green tone that cut the sky of the capital of the country in the Saturday night. Inhabitants of the Federal District described a flying object not identified (Ovni) with a different brightness and behavior of an airplane.
Astronomers believe to be a meteorite or dissolute piece of the Lulin comet. Equipment of the University of Brasilia (UnB) had not yet registered a north-eastern explained signal of Goiás, where inhabitants also say to have witnessed a phenomenon similar to the testified one for the brasilienses.
More in the Post office


Original story:
Mistério no céu de Brasília chama atenção de cientistas
"Brazílian Sky Calls Attention of Scientists"
Brasilia em Tepo Real
Brasília
10/03/2009 07h01m

Um objeto voador não identificado iluminou por alguns segundos a noite de sábado no DF e em Goiás. Cientistas investigam o fenômeno e não descartam que um meteorito tenha entrado na atmosfera terrestre.
Cientistas tentam desvendar o mistério em torno do facho de luz em tom verde que cortou o céu da capital do país na noite de sábado. Moradores do Distrito Federal viram um objeto voador não identificado (Ovni) com brilho e comportamento bem diferentes de um avião.
Astrônomos acreditam se tratar de um meteorito ou pedaço desgarrado do cometa Lulin. Equipamentos da Universidade de Brasília (UnB) registraram um sinal ainda não explicado no nordeste de Goiás, onde habitantes também dizem ter presenciado um fenômeno parecido com o testemunhado pelos brasilienses.
Leia mais no Correio

http://www.emtemporeal.com.br/index.asp?area=2&dia=10&mes=03&ano=2009&idnoticia=71448

Source: Gabriel, Brazilian Society of Meteorite Study, Brazil
Thank you, Gabriel!

Second Loud Boom in NY 10MAR09

Another mystery boom wakes people in region
A second loud boom may have rattled windows in parts of Rockland County yesterday - and its origin remains as mysterious as the explosive noise that blew through southern Westchester County over the weekend.The Journal News - Mar 10 5:37 PM

Westchester County, New York Meteor? 9MAR09

Doppler image of NY 7MAR09 meteor debris by Marc Fries

Meteorite may have hit Westchester County, NY
Pocono Record
Mon, 09 Mar 2009 11:58 AM PDT
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (AP) -- Thought your neighbor's party was getting way out of hand?

What's that sound? Possible NY Meteorite
News Channel 34
Binghamton
Mon, 09 Mar 2009 07:16 AM PDT
White Plains, N.Y. (AP) - Thought your neighbor's party was getting way out of hand? A loud "boom" heard in Westchester County over the weekend might have been a meteorite.

Big Boom In White Plains May Have Been Meteorite
WCBS-TV
New York
Mon, 09 Mar 2009 06:00 AM PDT
Thought your neighbor's party was getting way out of hand? A loud "boom" heard in Westchester County over the weekend might have been a meteorite. The sound early Saturday has been likened to a window-rattling explosion.

Meteorite May Have Hit Westchester County
WCBS 880
New York
Mon, 09 Mar 2009 05:54 AM PDT
Thought your neighbor's party was getting way out of hand?

Possible meteorite in Westchester County
WRGB
Albany
Mon, 09 Mar 2009 05:52 AM PDT
A loud "boom" heard in Westchester County over the weekend might have been a meteorite. The sound early Saturday has been likened to a window-rattling explosion.

Loud boom over Westchester might have been meteor
The Journal News
Mon, 09 Mar 2009 05:40 AM PDT
The loud boom heard throughout southern Westchester early Saturday morning might have been a meteorite tearing through the atmosphere at thousands of miles per hour.

Meteor? sighting over Fort St. John, B.C.,Canada 9MAR09

Strange sighting in the sky above Fort St. John
Energetic City.CA
Monday, March 2, 2009

There's no official confirmation yet of anything unusual in the area but residents east of Fort St. John report seeing something strange falling from the sky on Saturday afternoon.
Vincent Miller says he saw it at 1:17pm , while travelling north at on road 239...
[Hear audio]
Mr. Miller says it all happened very quickly but it looked like it came down less than five miles away.
However, he's heard no reports of any sitings of debris on the ground.
He puts his farm about 14 miles straight east of Fort St. John, British Columbia, Canada, on the north side of the Beatton River.

Exploring the Pingualuit Impact Crater 7MAR09

Photo by Charles O`Dale for the Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society

April, 9, 2009

Exploring the Pingualuit Impact Crater

by Charles O’Dale, Ottawa Centre (codale0806@rogers.com)

Introduction

The Pingualuit Impact Crater, located in northern Quebec at N 61° 16´ W 73° 40´, was the first structure in Canada for which an impact origin was proposed. The structure is classified as a simple crater, 2.8 km in diameter and 400 m deep. It is slightly larger than the smallest crater on the Moon that is observable from our planet (Meen 1951). The inner slopeof the 3.4-km-diameter rim averages 30° and the outer slope averages 10°. The rim extends to a diameter of ~4.6 km and continues gradually outward to merge with the surrounding terrain at ~6.6 km. The peak of the rim is ~160 m above the inner lake level and 120 - 150 m above the regional terrain. The lake within the crater, with a depth of over 250 m, is one ofthe deepest in North America. It is also one of the clearest in the world with a transparency of over 35 m. Dating using the isotope ratio 40Ar-39Ar (Grieve 2006) gives the impact structurean age of 1.4 ± 0.1 Ma. The Pingualuit Impact Crater was formerly named New Quebec Crater and, previous to that, Chubb Crater.

NOTE: Whole article is to be published soon and I will add more photos later.

West, TX Meteorite hunter donates rare find 6MAR09

Meteorite hunter donates rare find
10:47 AM PST on Friday, March 6, 2009
By KGW Staff
PORTLAND -- A meteorite hunter from Portland is donating part of a recent find to Portland State University.

Video: Fireball during Texas marathon
Meteor fireball in sky
Meteorite donated to PSU

You may have seen the video of the fireball captured during a marathon last month near Austin, Texas.
When Patrick Thompson heard about it, he decided to spend eight days looking for parts of the meteor and he was successful. After searching on foot an average of 25 miles a day, he ended up finding 14 fragments of the meteorite.
For Thompson, it’s a true treasure.
“There's something about it, something about putting your hands on a rock and being the first person to touch it,” he said. “It came from space. These things are floating around up there, every time you see a shooting star, you're kind of reminded of the fact that these things are coming to earth, bombarding us all the time.”
Scientists said because Thompson’s latest meteorite finds are so fresh, the rocks are especially valuable.
Thompson said he plans to sell some of the rocks after donating at least one of them to PSU.

Student`s Science Fair Project on Earth Microbes 6MAR09

Students show off science projects
by Garrett Andrews
Herald Staff Writer
Article Last Updated; Friday, March 06, 2009

Speaking only slightly louder than the buzz of several hundred other student-scientists inside the reverberating concrete walls of the La Plata County Fairgrounds, Pagosa Springs eighth-grader Kendra Schlom explained her answer to the determining question of human existence: How did life on Earth originate?
She was discussing her entry in the San Juan Basin Regional Science Fair, a project that supports the idea that a meteorite could have transported early microbes to Earth.

In her project, titled "Finding the Origin," Kendra located the highest survivable temperatures for several primitive microbes and tested to see if these microbes could survive the temperatures a meteorite sustains when entering the Earth's atmosphere and crashing into the surface. She used basalt tiles to simulate chondrite meteorites.
Kendra and her father, a mechanic at Wolf Creek Ski Area, took an acetylene torch to samples of varying thicknesses, to analyze the time it takes the heat to completely penetrate the samples.
"From this information, I think that microbes could survive, because the temperature never exceeded the limit of what they could survive in," she said. "I believe that even if we went into lower thicknesses, they could survive, as long as the meteor is a quarter inch or thicker."
If she's right, then it's theoretically possible that these lone microbes ignited the evolutionary process that produced all of life as we know it.
Kendra, who hopes to study quantum physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology after high school, was one of 209 entries in this year's fair. About 20 winners will travel to the state science fair in Denver later this month.
Fair coordinator Jeff Hatfield said that as scores in science, technology and math continue to slide, events like science fairs become more important.
"CSAP scores and other assessment data show that we really need to ramp this up a bit. The fair is when you can actually get kids to dedicate their time to an actual science project. They're doing all the learning on their own.
"The bottom line is that we want these kids to be strongly rooted in science and technology," he said.
Not all the other projects had such divine implications as Kendra's, but most reflected hours of original study.
Bayfield eighth-grader Denvir Clarke placed bacteria in petri dishes and studied over time the effects of various germ-killing household cleaning products.
"I found that my hypothesis was wrong," she said near the end of a run-through of her presentation.
"Antibacterial soap is less effective at killing bacteria than regular soap."
Standing near a prototype of his invention was Kolton Miller, an eighth-grader at Mancos Middle School. He rushed through the features of the Bear-icade self-opening bear-proof trash can with the panache of a salesman, eagerly maintaining eye contact and gesturing with his hands, even as he went on bear-related tangents.
"I'm aware there's already a bear-proof trash can on the market today. The difference is, my trash can is more convenient," Kolton said.
With the Bear-icade, there's no more manual locking and unlocking. The device automatically locks after the lid is lifted and closed, and is disengaged by the extending arm of a garbage truck. Best of all, Kolton said, area bears stay safe and out of trouble.
Upstairs, the four judges for the earth sciences category pored over the merits of the nine projects assigned to their section. Consulting geologist Mary Gillam, retired geophysicist James Albright, consulting geotechnical engineer Barb McCall and school psychologist Patrick Callahan were unanimous in supporting Kendra for first place in her division.
Her idea provoked discussion at a table of professionals.
"It was an unusual approach to an ambitious topic," said Gillam.
Said McCall: "It could be the answer to life's biggest question. Right here in Durango."
The contestants each went through two rounds of judging and some were called back. The judges put Kendra on the spot during her presentation, asking about the effects of kinetic energy on the microbes, and she took their questions in stride and admitted when she didn't know.
All of the entries were good, the judges said.
"She was just far more expansive," said Albright.

Parry Sound, Ontario, Canada Meteor of March 5, 2008 One Year Ago

Photo by Univ. of Western Ontario, CAO-RASC (c)2008
Parry Sound, Ontario, Canada Meteor--March 5, 2008 at 10:59 p.m. EST

Anyone have any updates concerning meteorite finds from this meteor? Please comment on this post if you have any information. Thank you.

Western astronomers on hunt for meteor
By Communications Staff Friday, March 7, 2008
Astronomers from The University of Western Ontario have captured rare video of a meteor falling to Earth, and are hoping to enlist the help of local residents in recovering one or more possible meteorites that may have crashed in the Parry Sound area.

Map (Zoom)
Map (Full Version 1)
Map (Full Version 2)
Image
Video File (.avi)
Video File (.mov)

The Physics and Astronomy Department at Western has a network of all-sky cameras in Southern Ontario that scan the sky monitoring for meteors. Associate Professor Peter Brown, who specializes in the study of meteors and meteorites, says that Wednesday evening (March 5) at 10:59 p.m. EST these cameras captured video of a large fireball and the department has also received a number of calls and emails from people who actually saw the light. Brown along with Wayne Edwards, a post doctorate student, are now working to get the word out among interested people who may be willing to see if they can spot any fallen meteorites. “Most meteoroids burn up by the time they hit an altitude of 60 or 70 kilometres from Earth," says Edwards. “We tracked this one to an altitude of about 24 kilometres so we are pretty sure there are at least one, and possibly many meteorites, that made it to the ground." Edwards says the lab can narrow the ground location where the meteorite would have fallen, to about 12 square kilometres and have created a map that may assist in locating the meteorite. The rock, or rocks, would probably weigh a kilogram or slightly more. “We would love to find a recovered meteorite on this one, because we have the video and we have the data and by putting that together with the meteorite, there is a lot to be learned." Wayne Edwards is available for interviews and/or to report finds at 519-850-2385. He can also be reached via email at wedwards@uwo.ca If you would like to receive a 14-mb video file of the meteor in avi format, maps or an image, please reply to this email address.

Reply Comment by Mark Langenfeld:
While I have heard nothing further, the linked maps suggest whatever survived may have splashed into Georgian Bay.

Reply Comment by Patrick Herrmann:
Nothing had been recovered from that fall. The stones fell too far out in Georgian Bay, and the ice was too thin to go by snowmobile. Point-au-Baril is what they ended up calling the potential strewn field.I was trying to get a helicopter lined up to go and look for some stones, but then, about a week or so after the fireball, there was another snowstorm, and that was it.

Tamarind the Australian dog proves Martian life 3MAR09

Australian dog proves Martian life

A dog trained to sniff out sewage-scented meteorites may have found evidence that life once existed on Mars, a discovery that could have saved NASA the expense of sending probes.
The Dingo-Kelpie mongrel picked out the unpleasant aroma of bacteria in mud from Queensland bacteria that matched fossils of primitive organisms in Martian rock that plunged into Antarctica 13,000 years ago.
Known as Tamarind to biophysicist owner Tony Taylor, the Australian dog could have saved NASA the bother of sending probes to the red planet - if only it had sniffed around filth in Moreton Bay sooner.
And NASA scientists who examined the potato-sized meteorite discovery, called ALH84001, agree this may well be proof that life really did exist on Mars.

Well-trained
Taylor said Tamarind came along on all his field trips, so training him to smell out sediments containing specific bacteria was quite easy. "It smells like sewage and she knows the word 'stinky'."
Based at the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation in Sydney, Taylor says he and colleague Professor John Barry have examined 82 different bacteria, retrieved from the area identified by the dog.
"When we say life, we're talking about bacteria, single cell primitive life forms, like we have here on Earth. It'd be underground, we'd have to drill down, so these little rovers that are crawling all over the surface would never find it" Tony Taylor,biophysicist.
They discovered they contained 11 characteristics also found in the Mars fossils, including a structure other scientists claimed could only be formed in intense heat.
"They were a perfect match, absolutely perfect. Eleven features out of 11," said Taylor, whose work, crediting Tamarind, was published on Thursday in the "Journal of Microscopy".
"These fossils are four billion years old. They pre-date the fossil record of life here on Earth."

Imaging technique
The bacteria-studying duo developed an imaging technique that allowed them to examine the bacteria at a much higher resolution - and they were delighted with the findings.
The scientists now believe the combined data warrant a manned mission to Mars to retrieve further samples.
"The results indicate very strongly that life was once there and... that life might still be there," Taylor said. "When we say life, we're talking about bacteria, single cell primitive life forms, like we have here on Earth."
"It'd be underground, we'd have to drill down, so these little rovers that are crawling all over the surface would never find it."
Two US-backed rovers are now exploring the red plant and transmitting unprecedented images of the barren landscape, but may achieve little else.

Source:Reuters
Last modified: 30/01/2004 15:30:59

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Tardigrades Space Travel on Meteorites Might Work 2MAR09

Eight-Legged Tardigrades Space Survivor Gives 'Panspermia' New Life

By Robert Roy Britt

Senior Science Writer
posted: 16 September 200806:54 am ET

The revelation last week that tiny eight-legged animals survived exposure to the harsh environment of space on an Earth-orbiting mission is further support for the idea that simple life forms could travel between planets.

This idea, called panspermia, is not new. It holds that the seeds of life are everywhere, and that microbial life on Earth could have traveled here from Mars or even from another star system, and then evolved into the plethora of species seen today. In essence, we may all be Martians.
In various forms, the panspermia concept was discussed among scientists in the 1700s, again in the 1800s, and then notably when Sir Fed Hoyle and Chandra Wickramasinghe popularized it about 30 years ago. Mainstream scientists often dismissed the hypothesis, however, even into the 1990s.
But new life has been breathed into the idea in the past decade. ...

For the full story:

http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/080916-st-space-life.html

Near Earth Asteroid to Fly By Earth 2MAR09

Space Weather News for March 2, 2009
http://spaceweather.com
ASTEROID FLYBY:
There's no danger of a collision, but newly-discovered asteroid 2009 DD45 will come close enough today when it flies by our planet 72,000 km (0.00048 AU) away. That's only twice the height of a geostationary communications satellite. The asteroid measures 30 to 40 meters across, similar in size to the Tunguska impactor of 1908. Closest approach occurs at approximately 1340 UT (5:40 am PST) on March 2nd. Experienced amateur astronomers may be able to photograph the space rock shining like an 11th magnitude star as it races through the constellations Hydra and Virgo. The timing favors observers in Hawaii, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and east Asia.
Visit http://spaceweather.com for updates and ephemerides.

Tamdakht, Moroc Meteorite Hunting 27FEB09

Tamdakht, Moroc Meteorite Hunting by Philippe Thomas

A meteorite fall occurred near Ouarzazate on December 20th, 2008, specifically around the villages of Tamdakht and Tiguert, located in the mountains northwest of the city. We decided to go there to gather more information on this fall and, eventually, to find some pieces. Departure for Morocco was on Wednesday, February 11th in the afternoon. The road is long, but we arrive in the south of the country on 12 at night, exhausted. Here, a few days of rest are necessary to recover the route and also to enjoy the sun that is so much lacking to us at home. Almost 30 ° C difference ... a pure happiness! We left for Ouarzazate on Monday, February 16th early in the morning. Our Moroccan friend accompanies us, he has toured a lot in the zone of the fall and knows many nomads who live in these mountains. We arrived at the entrance of Ouarzazate in early afternoon and we stop in the first Total gas station to find someone who is waiting for us to guide us to places where stones were found. Our two guides getting into our car and we started. The track which leads in mountains start at the end of a residential area. We see that it is a very used track, it is wide, flat (a real highway) and we can ride rather fast especially in 4x4!... the rest of the story at: http://www.meteoritica.com/tamdakht%20hunting%20trip.html

Photo of Hopper the Meteorite Dog 2MAR09

Photo of Hopper the famous meteorite finding dog with Rob Wesel, West, TX. Hopper found the meteorite in the photo.
Photo courtesy of Mike Bandli; Copyright Rob Wesel, Nakhla Dog Meteorites 2009

Meteor Photographed Over North Central California 27FEB09

QT Movie http://www.geocities.com/stange34@sbcglobal.net/v20090227_003016.92.mov

A 6 second plus Fireball 30 minutes & 17 seconds past midnight PST last night (2/27/09) a georgeous Fireball blazed across the N. Central California Area lasting apprx. 6.5 Seconds.

Photo, video and report by Larry Stange
Yuba City Sentinel

website: http://www.geocities.com/stange34@sbcglobal.net/

Object that fell through roof of Dallas home was part of a tree-mulching machine, police say 27FEB09

http://www.startribune.com/nation/40426837.html
Object that fell through roof of Dallas home was part of a tree-mulching machine, police say
Associated Press
February 27, 2009
DALLAS - Police say a 6-pound chunk of metal that crashed through the roof of a Dallas home was part of a machine that was grinding up an unwanted tree nearby. Sgt. Gil Cerda says: "Mystery solved." So much for the theory it could have been a piece of debris from this month's collision of Russian and U.S. satellites.
Cerda says the metal chunk was a grinding tip of a mulching machine being used by a tree disposal service crew. No one was hurt when it went flying Tuesday. Senior Cpl. Janice Crowther said no charges will be filed against the business because it was an accident.
The satellite debris theory also came up when a fireball streaked across the Texas sky Feb. 15. That turned out to be a meteorite. It also surfaced last week when a piece of metal crashed through a New Jersey warehouse. That was another errant piece of a mulching machine.

West, TX-Meteorite hunters are scouring north McLennan County, frustrating some landowners

Meteorite hunters are scouring north McLennan County, frustrating some landowners
Thursday, February 26, 2009
By Ken Sury
Tribune-Herald staff writer
WEST — Meteorite hunters have descended in droves to the countryside surrounding this farming community, searching for the elusive pieces from a fireball that flared across the daytime sky over Central Texas and then broke apart.
But while the fireball and its accompanying sonic boom Feb. 15 were spectacular, West residents say they’ve got better things to do than hunt for the thousands of fragments that litter the land and might not even be on their property.
Spring planting is a focus for the farmers now. That meteorite hunters from across the country are asking to traipse across their fields looking for stones the size of a pecan or smaller at a crucial time for planting has more than a few farmers and ranchers perturbed. In some cases, people didn’t ask and trespassed.
... continued story, video, and photos:
http://www.wacotrib.com/