Nevada Meteorite Picture of the Day
(for the Month of April 2007)

Explanation:

The Starvation Flat meteorite was first found by Sonny Clary in 2002 April 4th. There are "4 Pieces" to this meteorite according to Meteoritical Bulletin, no. 91, MAPS 42, 413-466 (2007). This particular fragment depicted in the above image was either acquired or found by John Blennert of Tucson, Arizona. It is assumed that the above fragment is one of these original "4 Pieces" called out in Met Bull #91.

[Note: updated information on the definition of "4 Pieces" by the finder HERE.]

In the future, should another meteorite fragment be found in the Starvation Flat area, but not at the same coordinates as the original find, it would be prudent to get a provisional number assigned to it (most likely Starvation Flat 002, but it really should be Starvation Flat 005) particularly if there is no intention to have that find undergo an involved pairing process. In these situations, new finds should not be assumed to be paired to an earlier find, even if it was nearby. There is no problem in having a number assigned to a new find, because even if the new find is classified and eventually found to be paired to an earlier, nearby find, the separate entry of recovery data for the new find, such as coordinates and mass, could be very useful in determining a "trend" which may reveal the existence of a strewn field.

[Note: This web page will be revised should a new find of this meteorite be reported to the Nomenclature Committee of the Meteoritical Society. You don't need to be a member of the Society in order to do this reporting. In fact, the Committee prefers that the finders, themselves, report each of their Nevada meteorite finds. The minimum information they require is 1) Date of find, 2) Mass of find, and 3) Location of find. With this minimal information you can then have a Provisional Name and/or Number assigned to your find. Yes, that's right. Your find doesn't need to be classified in order to get a Provisional name. The NomComm will keep this "information" and the Provisional Name strictly confidential, even after your meteorite is classified, until the meteorite is formally approved for inclusion into the Meteoritical Bulletin.]

For Reference:
After a finder reports their meteorite find to Dr. Harold C. Connolly Jr of the Nomenclature Committee (NomComm), Rhian Jones will assign a provisional name/number. The NomComm will keep this in strictest confidence. In fact, the NomComm will insist that the finder to keep this provisional name confidential until it is formally approved. Here is a paragraph that explains why it is important to report your finds, even if there is little likelihood that they will ever be classified:

UNREPORTED FINDS (WITHOUT NomCom "Provisional" names or numbers):


Meteorite finds (from North America) can now get "Provisional" names or numbers assigned to them.  
These are assigned by the Nomenclature Commmittee (NomComm) of the Meteoritical Society.  
In the past it wasn't always possible to get a "provisional" name, so in the future this may be subject to change.  
But for now, given the glut of meteorite finds and the long delay in getting classifications, it has been recognized that 
it is better to provisionally record a meteorite find (now) than it is to wait for ALL the required information (years later).  


And as is the current trend, where there are more and more important meteorites being found and are in need of being studied, 
it has been recognized that there are even that many more Ordinary Chondrite finds being made, and not only are they going "unstudied", they are going "unrecorded"!  So, in order to not lose this data, the NomComm is accepting recovery information directly from meteorite finders 
and issuing to them "provisional" names and/or numbers.
Clearly this policy is borrowed from the NWA provisional numbering process and is only intended to be a stop-gap measure until the glut of Ordinary Chondrite finds from North America subsides (if ever).   

So, if you have found a new Nevada meteorite and would like to report it and get a "provisional" name, or even easier, 
you have made a find from a known, formally named locality and would like to have a number issued, please contact the 
Editor of the Meteoritical Bulletin, Dr. Harold C. Connolly Jr.

Would you like to see your image displayed here? Feel free to submit your image to the editor's email address below. Any and all submissions of Nevada meteorite images are welcome.