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  • Blog Post: You can own a piece of the sky

    [caption image="http://cs.astronomy.com/cfs-file.ashx/__key/communityserver-blogs-components-weblogfiles/00-00-00-00-51-People/7282.Chloe-Haag-atop-meteorite.jpg" position="right" targeturl="http://cs.astronomy.com/cfs-file.ashx/__key/communityserver-blogs-components-weblogfiles/00-00-00-00-51-People...
  • Blog Post: Here’s meteorite in your eye!

    Peanut butter and jelly. Salt and pepper. Cookies and milk. Heidi Klum and Seal . Excluding that last pair, some things just go together and form a comforting bedrock on which we can rely. [caption image="/cfs-filesystemfile.ashx/__key/CommunityServer.Blogs.Components.WeblogFiles/astronomy.Misc...
  • Blog Post: Falling stars: All about shatter cones

    When sleuthing a potential or known meteorite impact crater, scientists look for clues. One of these clues is a geological feature known as a “shatter cone.” These objects — also called shocked rocks — bear the patterns of high-energy impacts. They are found only in the bedrock...
  • Blog Post: Falling Stars: Harvey Harlow Nininger

    Perhaps the most-famous meteoriticist of all time is Dr. Harvey Harlow Nininger (1887–1986). His fascination with meteorites started when he witnessed a fireball in 1923. Nininger, a biologist, yearned for the opportunity to collect and research meteorites as a full-time endeavor in lieu of his...
  • Blog Post: On the Road: Tunisia, in search of ancient meteorites, Days 5 and 6

    Today’s blog covers the past two days of our Tunisian trip as the Internet at our hotel in Matmata dropped out Thursday night. The Astronomy magazine group is now headquartered at a fine hotel in Tozeur, in western Tunisia, for the next couple of nights and the connection to the outside world seems...
  • Blog Post: On the Road: Tunisia, in search of ancient meteorites, Day 4

    Imagine picking up a piece of the asteroid Vesta from a rocky desert hillside, the first person ever to touch that meteorite in history. That’s exactly what all of the members of Astronomy magazine’s Tunisian tour group got to do around noontime on Wednesday, March 23. We were guests of Aljane...
  • Blog Post: On the Road: Tunisia, in search of ancient meteorites, Day 3

    On Tuesday, March 22, our intrepid tour group of 22 Astronomy magazine readers, accompanied by me, planetary scientist Chris McKay, and Melita Thorpe of MWT Associates, continued our journey through Tunisia. Having stayed overnight in Sfax, one of Tunisia’s largest cities, we paid a visit to the...
  • Blog Post: On the Road: Tunisia, in search of ancient meteorites, Days 1 and 2

    Astronomy magazine’s trip to Tunisia with 22 of our readers, in partnership with Melita Thorpe of MWT Associates, started out fluidly as adventurers came to the African country from the United States and a few other regions on Saturday, March 19. By late Sunday, we were all in Tunis, the nation’s...
  • Blog Post: On the road: Tunisia, in search of ancient meteorites

    On Saturday, March 19, I'll be leaving for Tunisia. Yes, that's leaving for Tunisia. For the most part, the political climate has calmed in that North African country, although the ongoing turmoil in neighboring Libya has flooded the region with refugees. Despite the conflict, I'll be accompanying...
  • Blog Post: Videos from the 2011 Tucson Gem and Mineral Show

    The annual Tucson Gem and Mineral show is a huge event that draws more than 100,000 to the city each year to look at hundreds of thousands of minerals, gems, meteorites, beads, pieces of jewelry, and other items that rock and gem folks just love — and all of it’s for sale. The show is the...
  • Blog Post: Tucson Gem and Mineral Show: February 10, 2011

    Yesterday was a big day for the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show, the world’s biggest event for gem and mineral collectors, meteorite enthusiasts, jewelry buyers, and beaders. The so-called “main show,” held at the Hotel Tucson Convention Center and in its 57th incarnation, cranked up Thursday...
  • Blog Post: Tucson Gem and Mineral Show: February 8–9, 2011

    My father John and I bid farewell to the Granite Gap dedication and to dark-sky observing in New Mexico and, on Tuesday, February 8, 2011, drove northwest to Tucson, Arizona, for the annual Gem and Mineral Show. This huge event draws more than 100,000 to the city each year to look at hundreds of thousands...
  • Blog Post: 2011 Tucson Gem and Mineral Show preview

    Outside my office today, a lake-effect snowstorm is dropping flakes the size of small birds into the Kalmbach Publishing Co. parking lot west of Milwaukee. But if the giant storm that’s set to pound much of the United States tomorrow doesn’t derail my plans, I’ll be heading to the Tucson...
  • Blog Post: Space Rocks!

    Astronomy outreach continues to grow in the United States and elsewhere as professional and amateur astronomers discover the pleasures of sharing their passion with others. In the United States, one major avenue of support for astronomy clubs and societies is the Astronomical Society of the Pacific’s...
  • Blog Post: Photomicrographs of meteorites make nice art!

    I recently acquired a fantastic new toy — Celestron’s Handheld Digital Microscope, Model #44302. I’m amazed by it. Retailing for just $69.95, it is one of the neatest gadgets I’ve seen in a long time. The microscope consists of a small optical tube that rests in a desktop stand...
  • Blog Post: Falling stars: Northeast Astronomy Forum 2010 recap

    Steve Arnold (left) and Geoffrey Notkin, from the Science Channel’s program Meteorite Men , presented a talk at NEAF and later signed autographs. Mike Reynolds photo The 2010 Northeast Astronomy Forum (NEAF) is now history. Organizer Alan Traino and all of his volunteers, from New York’s Rockland Astronomy...
  • Blog Post: Wisconsin meteorites found on the ground

    Scientists at the University of Wisconsin announced today they have studied meteorites recovered at an undisclosed location in western Wisconsin from Wednesday’s night’s super-bright fireball meteor . The streak of light, which ended in an explosion, was one of the brightest fireballs widely observed...
  • Blog Post: Falling stars: NEAF and meteorites

    In 2009, Contributing Editor Mike Reynolds conducted a series of “family meteorite workshops” at Florida State College in Jacksonville, Florida. He will present several more at the North East Astronomy Forum in April. Mike Reynolds photo On April 17 and 18, the North East Astronomy Forum (NEAF) will...
  • Blog Post: Your own personal scanning electron microscope

    Readers of this site (and magazine) may be accustomed to using magnification to look at the very big, very far away. But, apart from any biology or chemistry enthusiasts out there, what about using magnification to look at the very, very small? When’s the last time you looked at that not-so-distant alien...
  • Blog Post: Video: An interview with Michael Farmer of Michael Farmer Meteorites

    The fourth video I shot during my trip to the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show features Mike Farmer of Michael Farmer Meteorites ( meteoriteguy.com or meteoritehunter.com ). Note: When you click the link to the video , you'll find it below the three-part interview with the Meteorite Men. At the show,...
  • Blog Post: Video: An interview with the Science Channel's "Meteorite Men"

    The third video I shot during my trip to the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show features Geoff Notkin and Steve Arnold of Aerolite Meteorites in Tucson . If you’re into meteorites, you know Geoff and Steve (pictured at right) well as the Meteorite Men from the popular TV series currently running on the Science...
  • Blog Post: Video: An interview with Anne Black of Impactika Meteorites

    Last week at the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show, I shot a number of videos with prominent meteorite dealers who were set up at the Tucson Hotel City Center (formerly the InnSuites). The second one I shot features Anne Black of Impactika Meteorites in Denver, whose video is posted here . Anne specializes...
  • Blog Post: Video: An interview with meteorite dealer Luc Labenne

    Last week at the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show, I shot a number of videos with prominent meteorite dealers who were set up at the Tucson Hotel City Center (formerly the InnSuites). First out of the gate was Luc Labenne of Labenne Meteorites in Paris, whose video is posted here . Luc is famous for extraordinary...
  • Blog Post: The 2010 Tucson Gem and Mineral Show, Thursday report

    Each year, the Tucson Gem and Mineral Society presents to the world the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show, an event going on for more than 50 years. The many shows that have sprung up at numerous hotels around the city are really “satellite shows,” sprouting in the wake of the original. The real thing began...
  • Blog Post: The 2010 Tucson Gem and Mineral Show, Wednesday recap

    On Wednesday, we explored the Pueblo Gem and Mineral Show at the Riverpark Inn. We found an interesting array of meteorites, including the dealer “Palladot,” cutting and polishing olivine (peridot) gemstones from pallasite mateorites, “gemstones from outer space.” This concept will certainly catch on...