AT PRO finds meteorite

[twisttop]

I have posted some pictures on the Meteorite Forum, but wanted to show other AT Pro users what I found along with the short version of the story. I was looking for gold nuggets in dry creek beds and coins dropped by Miners in the Mountains of Washington State. I was using my ATP with Cors Detonation when I came across a a good signal of 47-52. I dug the target and pulled out what appeared to be a hunk of iron. I put it in my pouch to clean up at home. After getting home and clean it up, I expected it to be a large nut, but it did not have a hole in it and was too heavy to be just an ordinary hunk of iron. I thought it could be a Meteorite so I researched on the internet and could not disprove that it was not a meteorite. I ground a window in it to reveal the metal inside, then polished it and revealed the widmanstatten pattern that only happens in Meteorite iron. The Widmanstatten pattern is caused by cooling over millions of years. This Meteorite is older than the Earth, so it is for sure my oldest target that i have found. Here are some pictures. Thanks for looking.

 

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[T.C.]

WOW!! That's an awesome find...it could be worth a lot of money as well!

 

[twisttop]

WOW!! That's an awesome find...it could be worth a lot of money as well!

It is a perfect size to make a nice display. The oriented shape is rare also. I am looking forward to making a nice display case for it.

 

[Kray Gelder]

Twisttop, I can't see the pattern in your photo, but I don't doubt your conclusion. Do you know, there have only been six meteorites found in Washington State, ever? It would be worth your time, perhaps, to take your find to WAZZU, talk to an astronomer, who would be most interested, or a geologist who would be most skeptical. If authentic, RARE would describe your find.

 

[twisttop]

Q

Twisttop, I can't see the pattern in your photo, but I don't doubt your conclusion. Do you know, there have only been six meteorites found in Washington State, ever? It would be worth your time, perhaps, to take your find to WAZZU, talk to an astronomer, who would be most interested, or a geologist who would be most skeptical. If authentic, RARE would describe your find.

Thanks for the advise. The thin dark line that is the most obvious runs 11:30 to 5:30 direction. Others on far right run 11:00 to 5:00. Some in between run 2:00 to 8:00. Gotta kind of zoom in. The lines are thin and dark. I sent an email today to Cascadia Meteorite Labratory at Portland State University in Portland Or. waiting on a reply. You are the second one that has suggested WSU. I will see what they can do if Portland State wants to slice it up.. Central Washington University is my first choice to take it to, since I found it near there. I am a huge fan of Nick Zetner. “Nick on the Rocks” and Mega Flood. CWU has a good geology program. You think it is a mistake to take it somewhere that doesn’t specialize in Meteorites?

 

[Kray Gelder]

I've seen a few of Nick Zetner's presentations. He puts out a lot of good info, and seems really good. I would think any school is going in the right direction, but they get thousands of meteorite requests, and they are ALL not meteorites, so they get jaded, and dismissive. That's why I suggested physically showing it to them to get their attention. With only six found in the state, who is really experienced?

 

[ohp733]

Really cool,rare find. Well done twistop and AT pro!

 

[Al D]

Awesome find, congrats,

 

[Trapper John]

You think it is a mistake to take it somewhere that doesn’t specialize in Meteorites?

Any academic institution worth it's salt will do more than pawn you off on its nearest available lab assistant. Still, I would find out who the Department Chair would be. That professor might be called the head of the Department of Geology, the Department of Earth Sciences, the Center for BlahBlahBlah - you get my drift. Talk directly to that person, always bearing in mind that they may only be your first stop before you surrender anything.

I would be more than happy to PM if you need any more info on this. I am a retired person from Higher Ed and have a bit of perspective here. Regardless of what you ultimately learn about your object you will always have the thrill of the find to remember and a great story to tell! Congrats!

 

[twisttop]

Any academic institution worth it's salt will do more than pawn you off on its nearest available lab assistant. Still, I would find out who the Department Chair would be. That professor might be called the head of the Department of Geology, the Department of Earth Sciences, the Center for BlahBlahBlah - you get my drift. Talk directly to that person, always bearing in mind that they may only be your first stop before you surrender anything.

I would be more than happy to PM if you need any more info on this. I am a retired person from Higher Ed and have a bit of perspective here. Regardless of what you ultimately learn about your object you will always have the thrill of the find to remember and a great story to tell! Congrats!

I was thinking the same thing, I believe you are correct. I have an email written, but have not sent it to Nick Zentner at CWU yet. I am thinking I will etch it and take better photos to send with the email. It was found about 20 miles from CWU, so I hoped they would have more of an interest in it. Thanks for the offer to help. I will keep you in mind if I have questions.

 

[Trapper John]

No prob, my pleasure. And let me add that all of your hard work leading up to the find has rewarded you with . . . more hard work! Enjoy.

 

[U.B.]

That really is something to be proud of. I’m curious about the grinding. On an item that small, did you use a dremel type tool, and did the spark pattern change; the deeper you got?

 

[OldNBroken]

Mind telling what direction you were and what you were looking for when you found it? I'm just curious about what's in the area to hunt. The Ellensburg formation and the blue agates have always peaked my interest.

 

[dhog]

Would love to find something like that

 

[twisttop]

Mind telling what direction you were and what you were looking for when you found it? I'm just curious about what's in the area to hunt. The Ellensburg formation and the blue agates have always peaked my interest.

I was looking for coins or gold nuggets. I wasn't looking for Meteorites. Never thought i would find one. The exact location will be public if I get it classified. I have not had a chance to get back there to look for more.

 

[twisttop]

I cut a sample and sent it to New England Meteoritical Services. Sorry to say I was wrong. They looked at it with a microscope, it is not a meteorite. I have never been so certain about anything before. I am crushed, but oh well. It is hard to believe normal iron would have lines similar to Widmanstatten lines. I sure learned a lot.

 

[Doubter in MD]

I cut a sample and sent it to New England Meteoritical Services. Sorry to say I was wrong. They looked at it with a microscope, it is not a meteorite. I have never been so certain about anything before. I am crushed, but oh well. It is hard to believe normal iron would have lines similar to Widmanstatten lines. I sure learned a lot.

Thank you very much for the update. While I know you're disappointed, it's nice of you update this thread and bring it to a conclusion, even if it wasn't the conclusion you wanted.

 

[Owassokie]

Sorry to hear the conclusion but thank you for updating the thread!

 

[GeoW]

Thanks for efforts made to have it identified!

g

 

[Kray Gelder]

Dang it! I was hoping you had a winner. Thanks for the humble update.