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

Explanation:

The above image was sent to me by the finder (back in 2005). The date-of-find for this meteorite was stated to be in mid 2002, otherwise we wouldn't even have that little bit of information. Hopefully the finder made a record of the recovery information, but it did not accompany this image. In the interim the finders email address has changed and they can no longer be contacted. This image, and the finder's word that it was recovered in Nevada, is all that we have as a record of this Nevada meteorite find. This is the same specimen as was depicted last month, but this is another view (bottom-side) of that same stone. Since this view was decidedly different from the last months image, it was considered prudent that this find be shown again this month. Another deciding factor was the recent success of having the meteorite depicted in the July image properly identified. After doing a little detective work, Rob Matson was able to identify the depicted stone as being Roach Dry Lake 105 (an unclassified but provisionally numbered find by Kim Cathcart).
Motivated by that recent success, it seemed like a good idea to show another image of last months meteorite just for good measure.

This is just one example of how meteorites get found, but end up becoming an undocumented find. Other examples of how meteorites could end up getting "lost to science" are:
Accidental deletion of files and messages,
Hard drive "crash",
Finder changes email address,
Finder moves or loses meteorite,
Procrastination,
and many other reasons, but most could have been averted if more prompt attention were given to (or more frequent backing-up of) data and record files.

It is hoped that by posting this image, the finder will re-establish contact, and that this find can be properly documented, so that it can be officially catalogued with the other Nevada meteorites.

[Note: Should this find eventually be "cataloged", this web page will be revised to reflect this meteorite's change to "official" status.

Now, regarding the finding of any future "new" Nevada meteorites, it is recommended that finders keep their recovery data confidential. More importantly, before "going public" by announcing a "new" meteorite find, it is highly recommended to report this information to the Nomenclature Committee (Nom Comm) of the Meteoritical Society. {See "For Reference:" below}
The reason being is that this "new" find may not really be new, but may be just the lastest of what actually are "very many" finds from a locality that the Nom Comm had been keeping confidential for another finder (or possibly, for many other finders). This is just one example of the confidentiality that the Nom Comm maintains, and it is called, "embargoing" a locality. Typically, this has been done for researchers who are conducting a long-term study of a locality. (The Gold Basin strewn field was studied for ~2 years before it went public.) Who knows what locality is the "next Gold Basin", or worse, is a strewn field that is currently under study. No one wants to be labeled as "the guy who blew the cover and ruined the 'next Gold Basin' strewn field"!

So, it is for this, and several other good reasons, why it is important to report your finds in a timely manner to the Nom Comm. You don't need to be a member of the Meteoritical Society in order to do this reporting. In fact, the Nom Comm 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 - AS THEY ALWAYS HAVE, for every finder that has contacted them.]

(In "close-up" images, the black, hand-made "Cube Scale" is a cubic centimeter.)

For Reference:

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 to be gathered (years later).  


And as is the current trend, where more and more important meteorites are 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.