Alleged Bosnian "Meteorite" Reported

Alleged Bosnian "Meteorite" Reported

After the Chelyabinsk Airburst, there has been a
noticeable increase in people inquiring about odd
rocks that they have found. It all has been interesting
and a good thing as I have had a good time looking
at rocks and teaching people geology.

In addition, as a result of the Chelyabinsk Airburst,
the below report appeared in the news:

Bosnia 'meteor' intrigues new generation in wake of
Russia strike (A mysterious rock at a quarry in central
Bosnia has seen has a spike in visitors in the wake
of the meteor explosion over Russia last week.)
The Telegraph, February 24, 2103.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/9890814/Bosnia-meteor-intrigues-new-generation-in-wake-of-Russia-strike.html

Is this Bosnia rock a meteorite?
by idoubtit, Doubtful News, February 24, 2013
http://doubtfulnews.com/2013/02/is-this-bosnia-rock-a-meteor/

Meteorite Bosnia: scienziati e scolaresche in pellegrinaggio
alla roccia caduta dal cielo by Davide Mazzocco, Feb. 25, 2013
http://www.ecoblog.it/post/53649/meteorite-bosnia-scienziati-e-scolaresche-in-pellegrinaggio-alla-roccia-caduta-dal-cielo

Judging from the available images, this objects looks
like an meter-scale concretion instead of a meteorite.
In addition, the statement, “It was so hot that it was
impossible to approach..,” is the standard folklore
that is associated all too many meteorwrongs. This
implausible claim raises a rather large red flag
about the validity of other comments about this
object. It still would fun and enlightening for someone
in the neighborhood to take a firsthand look at this
specimen.

Yours,

Paul H.

New Measures to Protect Fossils (China)

New Measures to Protect Fossils (China)

New measures to protect fossils
By WANG QIAN, chinadaily, February 27, 2013
http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2013-02/27/content_16261862.htm

Unfortunately, the article does not say anything
about meteorites.

A compilation of web pages about rock and fossil
collecting for various states and countries is
"Fruitbat's Pdf Library - Fossil Collecting –
Management, Laws And Regulations" at
http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php/topic/18378-fruitbats-pdf-library-fossil-collecting-management-laws-and-regulations/

Paul H.

Russian Fireball Inspires Journey into the World of Meteorites

Russian Fireball Inspires Journey into the World of Meteorites

Russian Fireball Inspires Journey into the World of Meteorites
by Bob King, Universe Today, February 24, 2013
http://www.universetoday.com/100192/russian-fireball-inspires-journey-into-the-world-of-meteorites/

Yours,

Paul H.

Township and Range - Public Land Survey System (PLSS)

Township and Range - Public Land Survey System (PLSS)

In “[Rockhounds] Township and Range - Public Land
Survey System (PLSS)” at
http://lists.drizzle.com/pipermail/rockhounds_lists.drizzle.com/2013-February/000623.html ,
Lanny R wrote;

“The two systems are two different systems, designed
for two different purposes. The PLSS was designed to
describe a piece of land; the GPS system and its
coordinate system was designed to locate a point.
Describing a piece of land with a coordinate system
is cumbersome.”

Also GPS can become complicated even when a person
only uses latitude and longitude. This is because there has
been changes in the North American Datum. For example,
presumably GPS systems currently use either the North
American Datum of 1983 (NAD83) or its close cousin
World Geodetic System 1984 (WGS84) to calculate latitude
and longitude. This might create a problem because a
number of paper USGS Maps use the North American
Datum of 1927 (NAD27). In the western United States, the
difference in location between same latitude and longitude
coordinates in NAD83 and NAD27 can be from 40 to 100 m
on the ground as illustrated in “File:Datum Shift Between
NAD27 and NAD83” at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Datum_Shift_Between_NAD27_and_NAD83.png

Also, see “North American Datum” at;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_Datum

NAD27: What Is It and Why You Should Care by Dane E. Ericksen,
P.E., Hammett & Edison, Inc., Consulting Engineers. 1994 SBE
National Convention and World Media Expo
http://h-e.com/sites/h-e.com/files/tech_docs/de_sbe94.pdf

Fortunately, DGRs (digital versions) of topographic maps
are normally, but not always, georeferenced to NAD83 and
latitude and longitude from a GPS unit should be the same
spot on the map. Still to be precise, a person still needs to
determine whether the GPS unit they are using, the maps
and aerial imagery that they are using; and the coordinates
that they have been given are based on either NAD83,
NAD27, or WGS84. Also, when someone publishes points
using latitude and longitude, they need to specify the datum
(NAD83, NAD27, or WGS84) used by the GPS unit, maps etc.
used to determine the coordinates. Finally, to further confuse
people, a lot of states have their mapping and coordinates in
latitude and longitude in local datums known as State Plane
Coordinate Systems, which are typically based upon NAD27.
Some states have different State Plane Coordinate Systems
for different parts of a states. For example Texas has four
separate state plane coordinate systems and Louisiana has
two of them.

Having worked with archaeologists, I prefer the UTM
coordinate system over latitude and longitude. For
more details, go see “Universal Transverse Mercator
coordinate system” at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UTM_coordinate_system

and “Transverse Mercator projection” at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transverse_Mercator_projection

Other online information.

Projections, Coordinate Systems and Datums explained
http://geospatial.osu.edu/conference/proceedings/workshops/conner.pdf

Datums and Coordinate Systems
http://www.fs.fed.us/database/gps/aboutgps/documents/04_datum.ppt

Projection, Datum, and Map Scale - New Mexico Tech
http://www.nmt.edu/~gjones/Lecture4-5.ppt

Yours,

Paul H.

Copyright Dispute Blocks Dashcam Meteor Videos in Germany

Copyright Dispute Blocks Dashcam Meteor Videos in Germany

Germans can’t see meteorite YouTube videos due
to copyright dispute German rights group wants
$0.005 per stream and Google says nein.
by Cyrus Farivar, Ars technica, February 20, 2013
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/02/germans-cant-see-meteorite-youtube-videos-due-to-copyright-dispute/

Dashcam meteor videos blocked in Germany
because of copyrighted background music
by Adi Robertson, the Verge, February 21, 2013
http://www.theverge.com/2013/2/21/4013172/dashcam-meteor-videos-blocked-in-germany-because-of-copyrighted

Yours,

Paul H.

Township and Range - Public Land Survey System (PLSS)

Township and Range - Public Land Survey System (PLSS)

In “[Rockhounds] Schröckinglerite” at:
http://lists.drizzle.com/pipermail/rockhounds_lists.drizzle.com/2013-February/000610.html ,
J Bryan Kramer wrote

“BTW I found a site that converts Township/Range/
Section to a Lat/Long for the center of the section.
It works for Western States (US) mostly:

http://wefald.com/testtrs2ll.html

A lot of the location information I have is in the worthless
T_R_S format.”

There is a Google Earth application that can be used
either to search for a specific Township and Range in
Google Earth or view the Public Land Survey System
(PLSS) in Google Earth. It can be downloaded from
“PLSS in Google Earth (PLSGE)” at
http://www.metzgerwillard.us/plss/plss.html

Useful information and GIS layers for the PLSS grid
can be found in the web page “Download Public Land
Survey System (PLSS) Data” at:
http://www.geocommunicator.gov/GeoComm/lsis_home/home/
http://www.geocommunicator.gov/ARCGIS/REST/services/PLSS/MapServer
http://www.geocommunicator.gov/GeoComm/lsis_home/townshipdecoder/index.htm
and http://www.geocommunicator.gov/GeoComm/

A commercial web page is “Township and Range –
Public Land Survey System on Google Earth.” at
http://www.earthpoint.us/Townships.aspx

Yours,

Paul H.

Evidence for a "Wet" Early Moon

Evidence for a "Wet" Early Moon

Moon may have always held water, from its formation
by Liat Clark, Wired News, February 10, 2013
http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-02/18/water-on-the-moon

Apollo Moon Rocks Challenge Lunar Water Theory
by Elizabeth Howell, Space.com, February 19, 2013
http://www.space.com/19848-apollo-moon-rocks-water.html

Hui, H., A. H. Peslier, Y. Zhang, and C. R. Neal, 2013,
Water in lunar anorthosites and evidence for a wet
early Moon. Nature Geoscience. Published online
17 February 2013
http://www.nature.com/ngeo/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/ngeo1735.html

Yours,

Paul H.

Infrasound Generated by Chelyabinsk Airburst

Infrasound Generated by Chelyabinsk Airburst

Russia’s Meteorite Explosion Was “Heard” Half-Way
Around the World by Eric Limer, Gizmodo, February 17, 2013
http://gizmodo.com/5984861/russias-meteor-explosion-was-heard-half+way-around-the-world

Russian Meteor Blast's 'Infrasound' Detected Over Vast
Distances by Becky Oskin, Huffington Post, Feb. 17, 2013
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/17/russian-meteor-blast-infrasound-heard-world_n_2706524.html

In Russia, Ruins and Property Spared by Meteor, Side
by Side by A. E. Kramer, New York Times, Feb. 17, 2013
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/18/world/europe/in-russia-property-ruined-and-spared-by-meteor-share-space.html

"…reports came in to local news media over the
weekend of stranger phenomena: behind unshattered
apartment windows, glass jugs were said to explode
into shards, dishes to crack, electronics to die.
Balconies rattled. One man said a bottle broke right
in his hand."

Yours,

Paul H.

Russians Wade Into the Snow to Seek Treasure

Russians Wade Into the Snow to Seek Treasure
From the Sky by Andrew E. Kramer, New York
Times, February 18, 2013
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/19/world/europe/russian-scientists-say-they-found-meteorite-fragments.html?google_editors_picks=true&_r=0&pagewanted=all

Scientists Seek More Information On Meteorite,
Morning Edition, February 18, 2013
http://www.npr.org/2013/02/18/172298071/scientists-seek-more-information-on-meteorite

"….for example, we're in a village where there were
reports yesterday that people had found small black
pebbles in the snow.

And these were holes coated in ice, like an upside
down icicle. And if you dig down into these holes
you find a small black pebble. And they've found
thousands of these in this village. Women would
take them out in their kitchens and show you a
handful. And now it seems that these are, in fact,
meteor shards."

Yours,

Paul H.

"Gold Rush" begins for Fragments of Russian Meteorite 2

"Gold Rush" begins for Fragments of Russian Meteorite 2

In [meteorite-list] "Gold Rush" begins for Fragments of Russian Meteorite at:
http://www.mail-archive.com/meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com/msg110943.html
I wrote,

“Chelyabinsk decided to keep the money in meteorites
Konstantin Panyushkin, February 17, 2013,
http://www.vesti.ru/doc.html?id=1034744&cid=7
http://cdn1.vesti.ru/p/o_740865.jpg “

A rough translation done of the video at
http://www.vesti.ru/only_video.html?vid=486926
was done for me.

From the notes that I took while she translated for me,
the first part of the video is about schools and hospitals
getting their windows repaired and opening tomorrow.
It was followed by a segment about first responders
being taught to cut glass and repair windows.

The next segment is about inhabitants in a village
finding what they believe to me meteorites. The general
gist of the segment is that they believe the stones
came from space. They first noticed distinct holes in the
snow around their village. When they dug up the holes,
they found “pieces of metal” of various shapes and stones
which they had not seen before within the area of the
village. The kids said that they had found 6 or 7 stones
the size of fingernail and one large stone. The segment
states that they have decided to keep the “money in
their stones” and wait to sell their stones when they
can get the best money for them. It was stated that
they will hide their stones from strangers until real buyers
come as they heard on the internet that the stones are
worth real money. Also, they will not think of showing
their stones to scientists.

One of the kids said that his grandfather told him
not to keep the stones at home and not to touch them
with his bare hands. My translator told me that the
grandfather is likely thinking about the Kyshtym
explosion that occurred on Sept. 29, 1957. In this
explosion, a waste tank at the Mayak nuclear weapons
plant, Chelyabinsk region, exploded and contaminated
an area of 15,000 to 20,000 square kilometers with
radioactivity. As a result, the older Russians in the
region are suspicious of massive explosions of any
kind.

Kyshtym disaster
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyshtym_disaster
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayak#Kyshtym_disaster
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ostural-Spur.png

Yours,

Paul H.

Fireball reported across California sky

Fireball reported across California sky

Fireball reported across California sky, Mike Denison, USA TODAY
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/02/16/fireball-calif-sky/1924483/

Watch: Fireball Streaks Across Bay Area Sky by Lori Preuitt
NBC Bay Area, February 16, 2013
http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Fireball-Streaks-Across-Bay-Area-Sky-191503601.html

Fireball Streaks Across California Sky, NBC Southern California
http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Watch-Fireball-Streaks-Across-Bay-Area-Sky-191508391.html

On heels of Russia meteor explosion, Calif. residents report
streak of light, Washington Post, February 16, 2013
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/on-heels-of-russia-meteor-explosion-calif-residents-report-streak-of-light-over-calif-sky/2013/02/16/cd8b0c7e-7851-11e2-b102-948929030e64_story.html

Yours,

Paul H.

Gold Rush begins for Fragments of Russian Meteorite

"Gold Rush" begins for Fragments of Russian Meteorite

The gold rush begins for fragments of Russian meteor
worth more than £10,000 each as astronomers warn
UK had a lucky escape. Mail Online, February 17, 2013,
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2280019/The-gold-rush-begins-fragments-Russian-meteor-worth-10-000-astronomers-warn-UK-lucky-escape.html

Bounty sets off hunt for meteorite pieces by Mark
Franchetti,The Sunday Times (UK) February 18, 2013
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/bounty-sets-off-hunt-for-meteorite-pieces/story-fnb64oi6-1226579823065

Collectors Flock to Central Russia to Hunt Meteor
Gold By Timur Moon, February 17, 2013
http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/articles/436137/20130217/meteor-urals-chelyabinsk-chebarkul.htm

Russia halts search for meteorite, AFP, Sydney
Morning Herald, Febrauary 18, 2013,
http://www.smh.com.au/technology/sci-tech/russia-halts-search-for-meteorite-20130217-2ele5.html

Meteorites: Hunting missiles from outer space
Sunday Morning, CBS News, February 17, 2013
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-3445_162-57569765/meteorites-hunting-missiles-from-outer-space/

Chelyabinsk decided to keep the money in meteorites
Konstantin Panyushkin, February 17, 2013,
http://www.vesti.ru/doc.html?id=1034744&cid=7
http://cdn1.vesti.ru/p/o_740865.jpg

“But there is one place where there was neither MES
nor military. In general, anyone, and it was there,
according to local residents, and all fell. Residents of
a village in the south of Chelyabinsk - the name is not
disclosed specifically - show black stones and believe
that he is the fragments of a meteorite.

"The kids found fresh snow hole and started to get
out of the metal pieces of different shapes," - says
Sergey Turnovsky."

Yours,
Paul H.

2013 THE Year of Meteors, Asteroids, Comets, and MORE!!

Scientist Gets Research Money From Crowd Funding

Scientist Gets Research Money From Crowd Funding

Scientist Gets Research Donations From Crowd Funding
by Joe Palca, Morning Edition, NPR, February 14, 2013
http://www.npr.org/2013/02/14/171975368/scientist-gets-research-donations-from-crowdfunding

Scientists Look To The Internet To Raise Research Funds
by Joe Palca, Morning Edition, NPR, February 15, 2013
http://www.npr.org/2013/02/15/172078619/scientists-look-to-the-internet-to-raise-research-funds

Yours,

Paul H.

Recent Articles About Chelyabinsk Airburst

Recent Articles About Chelyabinsk Airburst

After meteor strike, Russian experts reflect by
Sergei L. Loiko Los Angeles Times, February 16, 2013
http://www.latimes.com/news/world/worldnow/la-wn-fg-chelyabinsk-meteor-lessons-20130216,0,4643856.story

Freezing Russians begin repairing windows
shattered by fiery meteor blast CNN News,
http://edition.cnn.com/2013/02/16/world/europe/russia-meteor-shower/

Russian meteor hit with force of 30 Hiroshima
bombs, The Telegraph, February 16, 2013,
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/space/9874662/Russian-meteor-hit-with-force-of-30-Hiroshima-bombs.html

Details on the meteor in Russia’s Ural Mountain
region, by Brian Vastag, Washington Post, Feb. 15, 2013
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2013/02/15/live-updates-meteor-in-russias-ural-mountain-area/

Meteorites, One More Danger For Russian Drivers
by Kurt Ernst, Motor Authority, February 15, 2013
http://www.motorauthority.com/news/1082354_meteorites-one-more-danger-for-russian-drivers-video

Articles about meteorites in general

Meteorites in the New Yorker by Joshua
Rothman, The New Yorker, February 15, 2013.
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/backissues/2013/02/meteors-in-the-new-yorker.html

Thunderstone: What People Thought About
Meteorites Before Modern Astronomy, by
Megan Garber, The Atlantic, February 15, 2013
http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/02/thunderstone-what-people-thought-about-meteorites-before-modern-astronomy/273220/

Yours,

Paul H.

Cuban Bolide 15FEB2013

Cuban Bolide 15FEB2013

These articles discusses the reported Cuban bolide.

Cuba Town Also Rocked by Celestial Body
International, Havana Times-Feb 15, 2013
http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=87801

Cuba, too, reports powerful meteorite explosion
The Huffington Post,
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20130216/cb-cuba-meteorite/

Cubans, Californians report fireball events less
than a day after Russian meteorite blast
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS February 16, 2013 10:20 AM
http://www.theprovince.com/technology/space/Cubans+Californians+report+fireball+events+less+than/7976073/story.html

Russian meteorite followed by claimed sightings
in Cuba and California, The Guardian
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2013/feb/16/russian-meteorite-sightings-cuba-california

Yours,

Paul

Third Largest Impact Structure Reportedly Found in South Australia

Third Largest Impact Structure Reportedly Found in South Australia

World's third largest asteroid impact zone found in
South Australia by Sunanda Creagh February 15, 2013
http://phys.org/news/2013-02-world-largest-asteroid-impact-zone.html

“An asteroid measuring up to 20km across hit South
Australia up to 360 million years ago and left behind
the one of the largest asteroid impact zones on Earth,
according to new research published today.”

Asteroid impact zone found by Sunanda Creagh,
Science Alert, February 15, 2013
http://www.sciencealert.com.au/news/20131502-24059-2.html+

The paper is:

Glikson, Y. A., I. T. Uysal, J. D. F, Gerald, and E. Saygin,
2013, Geophysical anomalies and quartz microstructures,
Eastern Warburton Basin, North-east South Australia:
Tectonic or impact shock metamorphic origin?
Tectonophysics. Available online 12 January 2013
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0040195113000188

In reference to the Chelyabinsk Airburst, there is:

Sonic boom caused by meteorite hurtling above Russian
town at 33,000mph smashes buildings and injures 1,000
people before the space rock crashes into frozen lake,
Mail Online, February 15, 2013,
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2279020/Russian-meteorite-Moment-meteorite-exploded-doctors-treat-500-people-injured.html

Yours,

Paul H.

Why so Many Dashboard Web Cams of Chelyabinsk Airburst

Why so Many Dashboard Web Cams of Chelyabinsk Airburst

Why so Many Dashboard Web Cams of Bolide

If the list members wonder why there are so
such meteor footage from cameras mounted
on the dashboards of cars, It is explained in:

1. Dash-cams: Russia’s Last Hope For Civility
And Survival On The Road By Marina Galperina,
June 13, 2012, http://www.animalnewyork.com/2012/russian-dashcam/

2. Footage of Russian meteor highlights country’s
dashboard camera obsession (Why do Russians
keep dash-cams in their cars? Because accidents
and con-artists are common, and Russia's
highway cops are corrupt, according to reports.
New York Dailey News, February 15, 2013
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/russian-meteor-highlights-russian-dash-cam-culture-article-1.1265255

3. Russian meteor footage highlights dash cam
culture. CBC News, February 15, 2013
http://www.cbc.ca/news/yourcommunity/2013/02/russian-meteor-footage-highlights-dash-cam-culture.html

Those people going Russia might want to look at
Russian Road Rage and Car Crashes 2012 at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-l4w-DIiXk

Correction

The URL to "Asteroid impact zone found by Sunanda Creagh,
Science Alert, February 15, 2013" contains a "+" that it should not.

The URL should be

http://www.sciencealert.com.au/news/20131502-24059-2.html

Yours,

Paul H.

Asteroid Hits Earth! How the Doomsday Scenario Would Play Out

Asteroid Hits Earth! How the Doomsday Scenario Would Play Out

Asteroid Hits Earth! How the Doomsday Scenario Would
Play Out by Jeffrey Kluger, Time, February 14, 2013
http://science.time.com/2013/02/14/asteroid-hits-earth-how-the-doomsday-scenario-would-play-out/

The Committee to Save the Planet: Who Watches the
Asteroids? by Nina Burleigh, Time, February 12, 2013
http://world.time.com/2013/02/12/the-committee-to-save-the-planet-who-watches-the-asteroids/

Duck! Close Shave with an Asteroid Coming by Jeffrey
Kluger, Time, February 05, 2013
http://science.time.com/2013/02/05/duck-close-shave-with-an-asteroid-coming/

An unrelated article for cat lovers:

How a Kitty Walked 200 Miles Home: The Science of
Your Cat’s Inner Compass by Veronique Greenwood
Time, February 11, 2013
http://science.time.com/2013/02/11/the-mystery-of-the-geolocating-cat/?iid=sci-article-mostpop1

Yours,

Paul H.

Windows Into Mississippi’s Geological Past - Online PDF File

Windows Into Mississippi’s Geological Past - Online PDF File

Dockery, D. T. III, and K. Lightsey, 1997, Windows Into
Mississippi’s Geological Past. Circular no. 6, Mississippi
Office of Geology, Jackson, Mississippi. 68 pp.

PDF file at
http://www.deq.state.ms.us/Mdeq.nsf/pdf/Main_1GeologyBook/$File/1GeologyBook.pdf

or
http://www.deq.state.ms.us/Mdeq.nsf/pdf/Main_1GeologyBook/$File/1GeologyBook.pdf?OpenElement

Link to PDF file at
http://www.deq.state.ms.us/Mdeq.nsf/page/Geology_Circular-WindowsIntoMississippi’sGeologicalPast?OpenDocument

Yours,

Paul H.

Massachusetts Mineral and Fossil Localities

Massachusetts Mineral and Fossil Localities

Gleba, Peter P., 2008, Massachusetts Mineral and Fossil
Localities. Krueger Enterprises, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
117 pp and maps.

PDF File at
http://www.geo.umass.edu/stategeologist/Gleba_Mass_Fossil-Min_Localities.pdf

and its link is in "Fossils and Minerals in Massachusetts" at
http://www.geo.umass.edu/stategeologist/frame_massgeo.htm?massgeo_foss-min.htm

Yours,

Paul H.