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Odessa   contributed by Steve Brittenham, IMCA 2184   MetBul Link


Roll Overs:     #1   #2   #3   #4   #5   #6    


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View all entries for   Meteorite (13)   Steve Brittenham (108)


Copyright (c) Steve Brittenham.
  Iron, IAB-MG

TKW 1.6 tons. Fall not observed. Found 1922 near Odessa, TX, USA.


   


Steve writes:
In my prior Odessa submission, I described some history regarding this fall and detailed an oxidized 5.3 kg half individual that I was able to obtain in 2012 and restore. In this submission I present a true "barn find" that I acquired just last year.

Bob Bashford brought this almost 12 pound iron to the Owyhee Gem Club’s annual rock show to sell on behalf of Kathy Smith. Mrs. Smith had purchased her Nampa, Idaho, home from the widow of an old time rock collector and for ten years had left undisturbed the barn-style garage in the back of the property. Then in 2014 her dad was visiting and surprised his daughter by telling her the large, irregularly shaped piece of metal holding closed the garage’s side-swing doors was a meteorite. A year later Mrs. Smith gave it to her friend Bob Bashford, who cut off a small piece and sent it to New England Meteorological Services where it was confirmed as containing sufficient nickel to be a meteorite.

The long exposure to the inclement Idaho weather had caused the siderite, troilite, and graphite inclusions to weather back and much of the fusion crust to oxidize. After two four-hour passes of washing soda and wrapped aluminum stabilization and a subsequent wire-brushing to remove the shale crust from the uncut surface of the meteorite, the cut surface was sanded and re-etched to bring out the Widmanstӓtten lines characteristic of this coarse octahedrite. The result is shown in Photos 1 through 3 (each was taken at a different lighting angle to better show the characteristics of its surface features). It contains a large number of beautiful inclusions, some of which are shown magnified in Photos 4 through 6.
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Found at the arrow (green or red) on the map below


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Steve Brittenham
 5/23/2017 12:56:37 AM
Thanks guys! And I forgot to mention that for some reason, while the front didn't oxidize much, the fusion crust on the back largely flaked off (nowhere near as nice as that on the piece shown yesterday). Still, like Don said, it's interesting if for no other reason than its history . . .
Michael Hofmann
 5/22/2017 11:34:42 PM
Nice !
Dr. Mike Reynolds
 5/22/2017 6:22:58 AM
Nice slice and terrific provenance! That makes it a true collector's keeper.
Don Cracraft
 5/22/2017 2:07:27 AM
I loved the background story, and the description of the restoration. Thank you for sharing. Don 2650
 

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