(It's Free. Ive been filing papers left and right in the Federal District Courts today. The WAR has begun, he wrote a friend. Reed is a tall, anxious man with thinning hair, whose darting eyes are hidden behind a set of tinted bifocals. Below is one of the meteorites recovered from a small asteroid that created a brilliant light show over France on February 13, 2023. (Magnets will be attracted to 95% of all meteorites, so that is a simple preliminary test you can make in the field.). She began her career at Astronomy Magazine, and she has made regular contributions to AstronomyToday and the Sierra Club, among other outlets. Over the next hour, Hunter tiptoed out to a tree and tried to reason with Curry, but Curry insisted that their laws did not apply. Charles Upham Shepard, a professor at South Carolina Medical College in Charleston became the state's first known meteorite expert. While Blaine is the Luddite, who had only recently graduated from a typewriter to a Windows laptop, Blake is the electronics whiz, who carries his soldering iron around like a security blanket. Reed shared those results with Officer Piotrowski. On January 26th, 2012, Piotrowski invited Curry to meet him at the station for a voluntary interview. Im tired, he told the officers. A few weeks later, Ryan Piotrowski, an officer with the Grand Junction Police Department, heard his sergeant joking about a little black rock that had landed on his desk. First, they published wanted ads in the Montrose Daily Press and papered the area with flyers offering $10 for Curry-ites they could analyze. Steven has talked about committing suicide but would not do it himself, the tipster reported. Meteorites are solid interplanetary material, smaller than asteroids and planets, that have survived atmospheric passage and fallen to Earth's surface. Links Only 75lbs, or 35kgs, of the estimated 200lb meteoroid, have been recovered, the card stated. There was a bright light that just hung in the same spot with sparklers trailing off, he recounted shortly afterward. Some museums and universities have paid from $100 to $5,000 per gram for this particular (Allan Hills 840001) specimen, but most iron meteorites are sold or traded by collectors from 10 cents to $1.50 per gram, depending upon their variety, authenticity and size. Just print it out (3 pages) and away you go! On a lower shelf sat a cheesy-looking certificate of authenticity signed by Curry. Do you think you have found a meteorite? Finding one is a little like picking up a winning lottery ticket. Familiarize yourself with your metal detector. Sovereigns in Denver manufactured cop badges for themselves. About Us. Only a handful of meteorites have been seen to fall in New Mexico, but hundreds have been found. No. The crater is 4,000 feet (1,200 metres) in diameter and about 600 feet (180 metres) deep inside its rim, which rises nearly 200 feet (60 . The largest fragment discovered from the meteorite that formed Meteor Crater, exhibited at the tourist center in Meteor Crater, Flagstaff, Arizona. The twins got to work on their plan. In addition to gumming up the legal system with nonsensical filings, they register liens against property owned by public officials, potentially harming their victims credit and tripping them up if they try to sell their land. A breach of that oath can also be treason? the man suggested. The cops delivered Curry to the jail in Alamogordo, New Mexico. Then, there was Currys mirror reality, which revolved around its own axis and could cast off debris that sometimes collided with the real world and lead to peculiar contradictions. For eight seconds, an eerie orange glow lit up the mesas and canyons of western Colorado with the intensity of the full Moon. Scientists, collectors, and dealers in the meteorite community can have a fraught relationship with one another. It wasn't until later, however, when Geoff wrote an amazing . If the rock sticks to the magnet, you might have found a meteorite! Who did Curry think he was challenging his authority, his livelihood? Image by NASA. Survivors will be shot again., Trespassers will be shot. "I met Anne Black and Mike Jensen at a restaurant for breakfast before I led a meteorite hunting trip to find some Johnstown meteorite. As the sky darkened, Currys edge dulled. Some of them may have a fusion crust and be magnetic. He started doing a lot of internet researching and decided the government wasnt really the government, his wife says. Your submission has been received! The only time Blaine Reed ever met Curry in the flesh was during the trial in Grand Junction. There were also, naturally, two Steve Currys. You are sons of bitches, Curry growled, May you burn and rot in hell.. It takes a determined and dedicated person to do this for several weeks each year. Meteor Crater, also called Barringer Meteorite Crater, Coon Butte, Arizona Meteor Crater, or Canyon Diablo, rimmed, bowl-shaped pit produced by a large meteorite in the rolling plain of the Canyon Diablo region, 19 miles (30 km) west of Winslow, Arizona, U.S. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); DesertUSA Newsletter -- We send articles on hiking, camping and places to explore, as well as animals, wildflower reports, plant information and much more. He appointed himself a Superior Judge of Colorado and participated in a weekly conference call where derelict taxpayers, small-time criminals, and cantankerous old men discussed plans to create an armed group of Continental United States Marshals to carry out their work. The data is from the, We have switched off comments on this old version of the site. Meteorites land randomly over the Earth, though most fall in the water that covers over 70% of our planet's surface, and are never recovered. Articles and Photo Gallery No meteorites found . While members of Currys posse have racked up prison sentences as long as 38 years, Curry appears bound for a different fate. New rules for hunting meteorites. Then, he looked Curry in the eye and delivered a stern warning. These pieces of rock or iron (or both) which survive their fiery plunge through our atmosphere can create huge craters like the one near Winslow, Arizona. Im losing one hand, Hunter cried. Although the cold climate is ideal for preserving meteorites, it presents a huge challenge to the researchers who hunt them. The iron meteorite is very hard and heavy compared to the stone meteorite. Meteorites are generally dark, black, or rusty and reddish brown. After reexamination with an electron microscope it was found to have possible fossilized materials believed to have come from the planet Mars. As a larger meteor enters the atmosphere it gets heated by friction and starts to glow white-hot. It was tough hunting and nothing like the West, TX (Ash Creek) meteorite hunt. Instead, Reeds rejection of Currys treasure would become the opening move in a twisted game that transformed Curry in ways neither of them could have imagined. When Piotrowski felt he had pinned down Curry as best he could, he whipped out a summons, charging him with misdemeanor theft and fraud for selling the bogus meteorite to Reed. The photo above shows several specimens collected from the Miller Range icefield by NASA's Antarctic Search for Meteorites. Steve? he said. These zones can cover just a couple of square acres (Holbrook, Arizona) or several thousand square miles (Namibia, Africa). Never mind that Curry had quite possibly contaminated his rudimentary test by double-dipping his Q-tips. A video camera on the roof of Montrose High School, part of a state-wide astronomical network, captured images of the extraterrestrial object as it pierced the atmosphere at a speed of 36,000 miles per hour. You either believe or you dont believe, she says. They have to travel to a remote location where they will live in tents in subzero weather. His supporters in the sovereign community say that whatever happens to him, his name will live on. During presentations, he would sometimes sport a black leather vest and bolo tie, channeling a banker from a John Wayne Western. The two most important reasons why meteorite hunting in some parts of Antarctica is so productive are: 1) ice movements, and, 2) ablation. It is made up of a people who dont want to pay their taxes or have some festering grievance with the government, an employer, a bank, or some entity in a position of power. https://meteorites.asu.edu/buseck-symposium, Pieces of Asteroid 2023 CX1 found in France!!! yes these laws are (to me) illeagle as all get out! This Reed character, who claimed he had been defrauded, actually seemed to know what he was talking about. For Curry, that distinction was critical: it meant that our system had no jurisdiction over him unless he consented to it. Even with Curry locked up, the good people of Montrose still want to believe theyre living in the Meteorite Capital. Meteorite hunters naturally started searching the hillsides above Montrose for debris, but most left empty-handed. A research unit of the School of Earth and Space Exploration. A meteorite can turn up just about anywhere on Earth. My first stop was to try and find where "locatable mineral" is used in actual legal text. Today, hes going to show his viewers how a wet chemistry kit from the internet can identify the presence of nickel in a rock a sign that it could be from outer space. 4 segundos ago. The cartoons showed taxpayers in gallows, beheaded by judges, or boiled up in liberty stew. Now, Curry began devouring the writings of a woman in Alaska named Anna Von Reitz, who believed in an alternative legal system that dates back to the mid-19th century. Sign up for Verge Deals to get deals on products we've tested sent to your inbox daily. He now faced charges in two states. Applications for an Antiquities Act permit will be reviewed by the authorized officer in the BLM State Office with jurisdiction over the Cultural Resources program. Thanks for coming in, Piotrowski said. Some particularly unique meteorite names include, Public Service and However, if your rock has any holes, is porous or has crystals, its not a meteorite. He likes to imagine an alt-universe where that vision came to fruition. Between their homes decked out with solar panels, satellite dishes, and a ham radio antenna sits a dirt runway for their ultralight airplane. Insert image from URL Go to topic listing Recently Browsing 0 members After rubbing a rock with a vinegar-soaked Q-tip, he touches it to a second Q-tip with dimethylglyoxime. As a matter of fact, even gold, diamonds or emeralds are more abundant than rocks from space. maybe a change in our socalled "representatives" in Washington D.C. will correct this problem. The location of the find can also add to the value, he said. It was a Ruger Redhawk, a handgun powerful enough to take down a grizzly. The rabbits scattered as Blaine Reed and his twin brother Blake rumbled onto the gravel drive of their shared property about 15 miles north of Montrose. Luckily, the dog, Rocky, was unharmed. I must admit that I am baffled at some of the 2012 comments in this thread. The twins had just returned from an exhausting week at the September 2011 Denver Gem and Mineral Show, but there was no time to rest. He also donated five specimens to the Montrose County Historical Society, which, according to the receipt he scribbled out, were worth $58,994,500. If you dont have to have nickel in a stony meteorite, then you dont have to have nickel in an iron meteorite., Says you! Piotrowski said. Some of his colleagues thought he should have just kept his head down, and he ultimately resigned from the International Meteorite Collectors Association for fear of entangling them in his legal tussle. Over the next eight years, Curry went from a passionate rockhound with a corny sense of humor to a disturbed man trapped inside a distorted universe of his own making. The field crew thought now that it would weigh eight tons-such a size that would necessitate the use of a large bulldozer at a cost of $100 a day; a crane at $250 a day,with the probable total cost, $10,000. Much of the land looks empty, but is privately owned (like my spread). A half-dozen specimens were dropped off at Mr. In recent years, demand for space stones has come from wealthy Chinese collectors, who seem to want the largest showpiece they can get their hands on, and from tech bros, who pine for the rarest ones. Colorado Meteorites. [See collecting rules from the BLM below. A very small number of meteorites (less than two hundred) have been determined to be pieces of Moon or Mars after careful study. Reed, who is 54, mostly evaluated these rocks as a public service. Heavy and dense Meteorites tend to be dense, and therefore heavier than Earth rocks of the same size. He saw it as a dispute among gentlemen one mans learned opinion against anothers. But decades of experience have given him the gift of identifying specimens at a glance with the certainty of any credentialed scientist. Their possessions were cleared out and piled up at the end of the driveway. Oct 15 2012, 07:16 AM. A court-ordered psychological evaluation concluded that he has delusional disorder, a psychosis afflicting 20 to 30 out of every 100,000 people. Thank you! If it leaves a mark, its probably from Earth. Treason is hanging, Curry replied. MMR Inc. (San Jose, CA) We collect them, look for them, read about them, dream about them you name it, we do it. After arriving at the RV park, Hunter and Sanchez proceeded toward the campsite where a green Subaru with a No Trespassing sign was parked. Smooth dents: Looking at the surface of the rock, you might be able to see smooth indentations, which looks like someone has pressed their thumb into the rock and left an impression, like it was soft clay. Some appeared to be basalts, which are volcanic in origin. THIS LAND HAS BEEN RECLAIMED & RESTORED, NOT AS BANK PROPERTY, GOVERNMENT PROPERTY, OR AS FOREIGN OWNED, BUT AS; PRIVATELY PATENTED, NATURAL, INHABITED LAND, PURSUANT TO THE GUADALUPE HIDALGO TREATY OF 1848, The poster went on to say that the property was debt-free, un-encumbered, non-taxable. Trespassers will be shot. Survivors will be shot again.. While meteorites can exist anywhere in the world, keep in mind that they are one of the rarest minerals you can find. Bottom line: Meteorite hunters find terrain to hike in that is light-colored, with few plants to obscure the ground. A third officer on the scene pressed a taser against Currys chest and shoulder, but pulling the trigger would also send 1,000 volts arcing through Sanchez and Hunter. One of the shop workers opened the case, and Reed picked up the smallest specimen he could find, a 6-gram Curry-ite about the size of a postage stamp. Much information about the formation of our sun and surrounding planets can be derived by scientists, geologists and astronomers studying these visitors from outer space. We try to meet once a month so we can swap stories, have a "show'n'tell" with the goodies that we have acquired (found or purchased), talk about what's going on in the meteorite world and just have a good time with fellow meteorite enthusiasts and friends. Chondrules If you crack your rock open, it should exhibit small balls of stony material while still being densely packed and not porous. He handed out meteorites to people he met like they were party favors. "Meteorite Hunting: How To Find Treasure From Space" is the first and only comprehensive guide to the exciting and sometimes lucrative science of recovering meteorites, written by one of the best-known personalities in the field and host of Science Channel's hit television series "Meteorite Men." It They were locked in a Mexican standoff. It was just one more instance of Currys defiance of the law. If you think you've found a meteorite, three preliminary tests should be performed: If you can answer "yes" to all three questions, there is a chance that you may have a meteorite. It has science, humor, and beauty, resulting in great awe of the solar system." Dr. Arthur J. Ehlmann, emeritus curator, Oscar E. Monnig Meteorite Collection, TCU "In 1997, on our first expedition to Chile's Atacama Desert, I learned that Geoff was a natural at meteorite hunting. The card said that it was a remnant of the Thanksgiving Day bolide from 2002. Mr. Researchers there determined that it was a urelite, the first specimen of its kind recovered in Colorado and the fourth from the US. 2023 All rights Reserved. This meteorite will be recognized as the first of its type to be recovered on US soil.. Photographs and data obtained from the meteorite collection are made available to researchers and the general public through the Antarctic Meteorite Newsletter. A person engaged in the search for meteorites is known as a meteorite hunter. Hunter leaned over and saw the glint of a stainless steel 0.44 magnum revolver. He developed a following, delivering standing room-only talks to adults and schoolchildren at the Montrose library and in churches and museums. On the late afternoon of March 15, 1806, residents [], Up to 300 tons of space dust (including micrometeorites) fall to Earth every day. The North American Deserts Bethany Sciences (New Haven Connecticut) The second is a list of them by classification. Thanks for posting up that article Woody, that's definately something we should all be aware of. Meteorite find: When meteorite hunters find a specimen in the field, it is photographed on-site with a measurement scale and an identification number visible in the background. The asteroid known as Sar2667 and now as 2023 CX1 mostly burned up in our atmosphere, but some pieces made it to the ground as meteorites. None of them made much money. One lucky searcher 18-year-old Los Leblanc, who was part of a French search team found this meteorite. And Robert Stollsteimer still takes walks up to Sunset Mesa, where Curry wanted to establish a meteorite park. Tyler, who suffers from bipolar disorder, refuses to accept Currys diagnosis and says it is just another way that the powers that be have muzzled her husband. The overarching thing in the group is fighting the corruption of our state government, says Steve Keno, a sovereign and a sheepherder who doesnt like the City of Aspen Springs telling him he cant run his animals on the citys property. When a space rock passes through the atmosphere and lands on the ground, its called a meteorite. No, no no. The fact is that most people who think they have a winning lottery ticket probably dont. You never know, he says. Buy a few meteorites for calibrating your detector. In particular the red text in this statement, "there isnt ANY BLM/FS land! Curry panted and cursed under his breath. He shopped around for an expert who would vindicate him, but in the end, he found none. Were going to have Steve tell you a little bit about why hes here.. 5 miles by 4 miles. Currys specimen was what veterans in the business like to call a meteorwrong. It looked like a melted piece of man-made steel. Meteorite hunters may be amateurs who search on the weekends and after work, or professionals who recover meteorites for a living. (Don't buy any meteorite until it has been tested and a written verification has been presented. Does it have a dark brown or black crust. This is a 100% fusion crusted, perfectly oriented individual, and was found only six days after it fell to earth. He was standing at a urinal in the courthouse bathroom, and he looked over and saw a man with a white mustache in the next stall. Sheriff Dunlap received Currys missives almost daily and knew he had trouble on his hands. https://www.imo.net/3-fireballs-3-meteorites-in-a-row/, We announce a special free 1-day symposium on March 9th and excursion to Meteor Crater on March 10th, 2023. Friction, pressure, and chemical interactions with atmospheric gases cause it to begin to burn as it plummets downward. Land use permits are issued by the local BLM office in accordance with the regulations in 43 CFR 2920. Letters for publication should be sent to: Call the main Guardian and Observer switchboard: 2016 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. Well, if you're observant, persistent and a little bit lucky, there may be some bucks waiting out there in the boondocks, just under your noseand literally right out of the blue. The couple, both in their late 60s, were living out their golden years in a green ranch-style home on Dave Wood Road in the hills southwest of Montrose, surrounded by federally owned land. I will defend and protect my wife, my home, my property, my colleagues, and my friends, to the last breath! Curry wrote in a letter to the judge who had presided over the meteorite case. It enumerated nearly 50 public officials that the group had allegedly terrorized. In some areas rock formations block the flow of ice. Your skills will be tested in this cosmic bullseye for rare meteorites. They search by walking or by snowmobile, and which method they use is determined by ice conditions, weather conditions, and the abundance of meteorites present in the area. There are more than 15 known impact craters throughout the U.S. from which fragments are still being found by treasure hunters, hikers and off-road vehicle enthusiasts. Round or rough appearance Meteorites tend to be very irregularly shaped, but their surfaces tend to be smooth and not scratchy due to their descent through the atmosphere. This is a lot of money, Reed exhaled theatrically. COlorado METeorite Society. After you find a rock you suspect is a meteorite, one of the easiest ways to check your candidate is by carrying a magnet. Others were likely breccia, a rock conglomerate that exists on both the Earth and the Moon. I would file a paper for you, if you asked me to do that. Sometime in May or early June, Curry moved on to Montana, where he stayed with Ryan Payne, a sovereign he had crossed paths with at the Bundy Ranch who led a militia called the Oath Keepers. In fact, Antarctica is such a good spot for meteorite hunters that crews of scientists visit every year, searching for these otherworldly rocks, driving around the surface until they spot a lone dark rock on an otherwise unbroken expanse of white. A meteorite can only get to Earths surface by passing through our planets thick atmosphere. The prior discovery by George R. Morrison of the Bear Creek iron meteorite was confirmed on April 18, 1866 when Morrison and James L. Wilson returned to a location approximately 48 km (30 mi) west of Denver on the eastern slope of the Front Range in Jefferson County, deep in a ravine at an elevation of about 2400 m (7875 ft). Montrose Iron/Nickel Meteorites read the label. Although many meteorites have been found in this area, it is not without its hazards. He set his revolver on the ground, but still within reach. We take magnet canes into the field for a reason. The "ravine . Remember that the continent is covered by a glacier. Pencil lead, or graphite, only forms in an oxygen-free environment that is, in space. Later, they analyze the properties of unusual rocks to see if theyve discovered a meteorite. Some claim ignorance of the facts, others simply refuse to abandon their past beliefs. A fishing license . The ice grows thicker in some areas from snow accumulation, then it slowly flows away from those areas under its own weight. It could be a good time to call in the Militia!, Steve Curry stood in front of a hay bale with a jewelers loupe hanging from his neck and a combat veteran cap on his head. Yet other meteorites have the thumbprint depressions and show chondrules when you cut them open. Sometimes meteorites will come to you. The Sahara Desert, or as we often refer to as Northwest Africa, has produced hundreds of thousands of meteorites, including ultra-rare Lunar and Martian meteorites. Meteorite hunting is encouraged, but we cannot stress enough that hunters should refrain from trespassing on private property (such as farmers' fields, which often take up much of a suspected fall zone). Heavenly bodies that fell on the Earth's surface are called meteorites. Reed let out a howl. Play time is over and I mean business! Reed wrote Curry in an email. Id rather go out in a body bag, Curry said. This is a close up of the rocks, which #Cuban scientists confirmed, were fragments from a #meteorite that crashed in the #Viales area of western #Cuba. Some of the best rockhounding sites in West Texas include the west side of the Glass Mountains area, Alpine City area, Agua Fria Ranch, Solitario mines, Seven Hearts gap, Plata Verde Mine, Terlingua Mining District, Bonanza Mine, Sierra Blanc, Lobo Valley, Chinati area mines and dumps, Balmorhea Lake, and many others. 2018-09-19 . He found them everywhere he looked: in streambeds, on hilltops, even at the Sunset Mesa disc golf course south of town. I hope youre picking up the fact that Im pretty educated on meteorites, he said as he took back control of the conversation. He advised caution. Well, get out there and hunt. Once the time and location of a prominent meteor is known, we can search through radar data sets such as weather radar imagery collected by NOAA's nationwide NEXRAD weather radar network. There is however a rather large body of law on the recovery of valuable minerals left by meteorites - we call that, QUOTE (Clay Diggins @ Aug 17 2016, 02:33 PM), 1 User(s) are reading this topic (1 Guests and 0 Anonymous Users), Colorado Prospector - Gem and mineral prospecting and mining forums. A meteoritic or asteroidal deposit of a particular element, and its called magnesium dolomite which is the metallic igniter for jet fuel, rocket fuel. Curry pulled out a small white box, opening it to reveal a metallic rock. . Blaine Reed Meteorites, like all other meteorite dealers, cloak themselves under the banner of SCIENCE, as if meteorites are so incredibly rare, and are, somehow, Scientifically Valuable, he wrote.

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