Meteorite Hunting

Meteorites do not break up on landing as you state. Large meteors are likely to explode in the atmosphere and drop to earth in a number of pieces scattered over a wide area. This is what happened with the Leighlinbridge fireball.

Thanks for the correction.

Ron Elliott, a UK meteorite collector, claims he bought three pieces after he offered cash for any meteorites recovered, one "allegedly" found by a local woman walking along a road into Leighlinbridge.

As the event occurred nearly five years, it is highly unlikely any meteorites will turn up now or be recognisable for what they are. Still, if you want to wander around the fields of Leighlinbridge in your wellies, perhaps don a wetsuit and check the river bottom etc, who are we to stop you! Good luck!

Ok I'm convinced.

there was a bit of a kerfuffle over the brilliant fireball that crossed the country in late-August last year. I, for one, missed it as I was indoors at the time (as you do!) even though we were at John Nooney's observatory for a public Mars-watch. Aaarrrggghhhh . . .

anyway, I heard the following week that the Nenagh Guardian (my local paper) had printed a piece on their front page by one of the reporter's who saw the fireball. But get this, they "helpfully" printed a map of the Silvermines mountains with an "X" marking the spot where the meteorite allegedly landed. Next thing, I learn that TWO busloads of people are out from Limerick combing the mountainsides looking for the object -- especially when the article mentioned a valuation of, oh, a gadzillion euro, to anyone who found it.

I rang them to pooh-pooh the story but they couldn't have been bothered to print any follow-up. Especially when I told them that it more than likely had landed either somewhere just west of Caherciveen or in the Atlantic. It may still be there somewhere in the mountains down southwest but it's a huge area to search.

John "my back won't be turned the next time" Flannery

ZZZoooooommmmm.........2 busloads of Irishastronomy.org'ers head to Caherciveen :lol:

I rang them to pooh-pooh the story but they couldn't have been bothered to print any follow-up. Especially when I told them that it more than likely had landed either somewhere just west of Caherciveen or in the Atlantic. It may still be there somewhere in the mountains down southwest but it's a huge area to search.

John,

Isn't west of Cahirciveen the Atlantic?

I'm off to Derrynane this coming week, which is fairly close to Cahirciveen, so perhaps I'll spend the week combing the countryside!

Gordon

I learn that TWO busloads of people are out from Limerick combing the mountainsides looking for the object -- especially when the article mentioned a valuation of, oh, a gadzillion euro, to anyone who found it. :

From Limerick ??
No one from SAC was in on that, don't suppose anyone on this site was involved with that ??? or is there a secret AI cell in the area

I was down in Caherciveen recently and even if it fell on land down there, with that kind of terrain you wouldn't have a hope in hell of finding it unless you actually saw it land.

There are metal detectors in Argos for not so expensive prices, that might give you some chance (1 in 10 thousand instead of 1 in a billion). :twisted: