Second meteorite found near site of first space rockOctober 17, 2009
Mark McNeil
The Hamilton Spectator
GRIMSBY (Oct 17, 2009)
Reference Source - Hamilton Spectator, Canada
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Scientists have discovered a second golf ball-sized meteorite in the western part of this town, and say there could be many more pieces of a Sept. 25 fireball lying around the area.
Yesterday, a media horde descended on a Leawood Drive home where a first meteorite smashed an SUV window, scratched the hood and dented a garage door.
Tony Garchinski, 30, told the media who gathered in his mom's driveway that he came upon the damage to her SUV on the morning of Sept. 26. He assumed it was vandalism. He called the police who took a report and he got the windshield fixed for $220.
Then 1 1/2 weeks later, his mother, Yvonne, heard news reports about the spectacular fireball that lit up the skies above Hamilton and how University of Western Ontario astronomers were trying to find pieces of it in Grimsby.
"I put two and two together and said: 'Oh my gosh, maybe this is what they are looking for.'"
Luckily, Tony kept the rocks he found on the driveway.
Yvonne e-mailed the UWO search team. They came out and were able to determine the black-encrusted rock, which had broken into five pieces, was a meteorite.
Given the timing of the car damage -- and the fact the Garchinskis heard a bang at around 9 p.m. the night before, the time of the fireball -- they are virtually certain it is a piece of the Sept. 25 fireball.
The discovery has meant UWO meteorite chasers were able to narrow their search. Originally, they were trying to cover a 12-square-kilometre area.
On Thursday a small search team came upon the second meteorite, near the neighbourhood where the first rock was found.
Phil McCausland, a post-doctoral fellow at Western's Centre for Planetary Science and Exploration who is leading the search, said the landowner where the second meteorite was found wants anonymity. He would not give further details about the location.
The Garchinskis -- who by law own the first meteorite -- have agreed to lend it to UWO for three months so research can be finished.
After that they say they plan to place it in a safety deposit box until they decide what to do with it.
McCausland says it is impossible to say how much the meteorite would be worth. There are currently dozens of meteorites posted for sale on eBay for a few dollars to a few thousand dollars.
The notoriety of the Grimsby meteorite would likely bid up the price. But the type of meteorite is very common, McCausland said.
For now, though, the Garchinskis are simply in awe of the 46-gram, 4.6 billion-year-old rock. "It's pretty crazy. NASA goes all the way out there spending millions of dollars and we get (a meteorite) dropped off at the house," Tony said.
mmcneil@thespec.com
905-526-4687
Reference Source - Hamilton Spectator, Canada
