Hab trotz Zeitknappheit mal kurz ins Netz geguckt und fand folgenden schönen Bericht von
www.meteoritesaler.com (...wer auch immer das ist):
"The Norton County meteorite fell on 18 February, 1948, a few minutes before 5 p.m. local time. The explosions high in the atmosphere, the smokey trail, and the accompanying sounds convinced knowledgeable observers that a meteorite had fallen, but the winter snow cover hampered the search for meteorites. It wasn't until April 6 that the first specimen was recovered, and identified as an achondrite. Further analyses showed that the Norton County fall is an Aubrite (enstatite achondrite), sufficiently different from other achondrites to form a new classification: Nortonite. If you click here, you will be taken to a website that lists ten minerals identified in Norton samples, three of which were new: caswellsilverite, cronusite, and schollhornite. (I do not know which minerals are present in these specimens.) Snow covering the ground hampered the search for meteorites, and it wasn't until April 6 that the first meteorites were discovered. On May 1, the "McKinley stone", a piece of Norton weighing around 130 pounds, was discovered on the McKinley ranch. On May 4 the McKinley stone was purchased (for $500) by Lincoln LaPaz, who was directing the search team from the Institute of Meteoritics of the University of New Mexico. (The main mass of the Norton fall, which weighed more than a ton, was not discovered until July 3, when a tractor almost fell into the 10-foot-deep impact crater. This record-setting achondrite was purchased from the landowner by the Universities of New Mexico and Nebraska for about $3500. It was carefully removed and transported by truck to the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, where it is now on display.) Almost all of the Norton specimens gathered by the LaPaz team became part of the collection of the Institute of Meteoritics. However, besides the McKinley stone, LaPaz also acquired a number of specimens for his personal collection. Eventually the bulk of the LaPaz collection (including a 53-pound "half" of the McKinley stone, and specimens from about 60 other falls) was acquired by the University of New Mexico. He retained a few specimens, and the samples offered here come from Dr. LaPaz's estate. In the late 40s the McKinley stone was cut in two, with one half kept by LaPaz. He attempted to cut a slice off the cut end, but the friable nature of Norton made this "a futile attempt", as the "slice" broke into pieces during the sawing. The 13.2 gram sample offered here appears to have actually been two fragments which have been joined using some sort of adhesive. The specimen is about 1/4 inch thick. Prior to cutting, a solvent was applied to the surface in an attempt to prevent further fracturing. (This solvent appears to be crust, but I am almost certain that this piece has no crust.) However, to make up for the lack of crust on the larger specimen, I have included a smaller piece that definitely has crust. It also has some metallic inclusions, as evidenced by its magnetism and the presence of some rust spots. Norton specimens have metallic inclusions at random locations; the larger piece offered here is very slightly magnetic at a single location. Click here to see pictures of these specimens. For extreme close ups, place the cursor over an image and click ORIGINAL on the menu that appears. The successful bidder will also receive copies of three scientific papers about the Norton fall, as well as copies of some Norton (city and county) newspaper articles relating to the fall. (The originals of these articles are in the Tricottet Collection,
www.thetricottetcollection.com, and it is with the curator's permission that copies are included in this auction.)."
Zur Kruste des Hauptstücks kann sicher auch unser Forenmitglied MarkV eine gute Aussage machen. Ich fand diesen Link mit sehr schönen Bildern (u. a. auch der in der UoNM aufbewahrten Hauptmasse, einfach nach unten scrollen, aber es lohnt sich, die ganze Fotoserie anzuschauen!) schon damals wirklich sehr sehenswert:
www.westwind.ch/usa09/20090518/20090518.htmlAlex
