I know Superman grew up in Kansas, but now we have indirect scientific evidence of it.
Last year, a man found the largest sample of a Pallasite meteorite ever (1400 pounds!) in Kiowa county, Kansas. Pallasites are not much to look at from the outside: generally rusty orange and brown lumps. But slice them open, and they are the gems of the meteorite world. They’re woven through with iron in a web-like structure, and lodged in the interstices are crystals of olivine, greenish yellow and phenomenally beautiful when help up to the light.
As it so happens, kryptonite is a pallasite. Coincidence?
Well, now it’s come to my attention that the one meteorite found in Kansas isn’t alone: there appears to be a strewn field of meteorites in Kansas. And they’re all pallasites. Don Stimpson and Paul Ross, who found the meteorites, should be pretty happy since pallasites sell for quite a bit of money. Even small ones are commonly $5-10 per gram.
I have no idea how much Lex Luthor would pay for them. Given his history, probably nothing. But I’d keep them under constant guard.
Update: One of my favorite blogs, Thoughts from Kansas, has more info. Looks like there is a brewing storm over meteorites in Kansas.
Tip o’ the Whipple Shield to P Z Myers at Pharyngula, who really should have emailed me this link.
July 3rd, 2006 at 3:47 pm
Cool stuff…they are actually having a “Concert and Meteorite Festival” on July 8th.
http://www.havilandkansas.com/id4.html
You’d think it was a great opportunity for some hands on science education… but this is Kansas. From the above link:
“Dr. Kevin Anderson** and Steve Miller, Creation Research Society
Jackson Hall
Presentations:
3:00 The Privileged Planet
4:00 The Triumph of Design”
Oy. So close and yet so very very far.
Steve Miller will be hosting a satr gazing session later that evening. No doubt it would be highly amusing and probably infuriating to attend - too bad Sacramento is a bit too far from Kansas for a weekend trip.
July 3rd, 2006 at 3:48 pm
D’oh… sorry for the double post! Not sure what happened there!
July 3rd, 2006 at 4:44 pm
Wow,
If he sold it a gram at a time for the max price, he’d get more than 600000 dollars for it.
July 3rd, 2006 at 5:29 pm
1400 lbs, and it’s $5-$10 per gram?
Wow. I’ll have to keep an eye out for these things.
July 3rd, 2006 at 7:29 pm
I was Googling pallasite photos, and this site has some large photos of brilliant pallasites. Very beautiful once they’re polished up.
The site with the largest oriented pallasite found last year near this new one has some other Brenham meteorite pieces for sale (since they won’t chop up the big one), but you have to email them for the price. ~Sigh~ If you have to ask…
July 3rd, 2006 at 9:00 pm
Esquel, from Argentina, are the best. The iron is stable (it doesn’t rust) and the olivine crystals are clear and clean. It is very expensive.
July 4th, 2006 at 5:31 am
Everyone knows that Martha Kent unraveled his blanket into one long thread and re-knit it into the familiar suit (it’s better not to ask about the cape, boots, and color variations).
July 4th, 2006 at 8:30 am
When I was in the Air Force, I received a safety bulletin about a guy who was stabbed by a friend. The reason? The stabee was showing the stabber how strong his bullet-proof vest was. So comic-book stuff aside, a material that can stop bullets may not be able to stop a stabbing weapon:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulletproof_vest
November 9th, 2006 at 1:17 pm
More Kansas Kryptonite found here:
http://www.myfoxkc.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=1394082&version=2&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.2.1
Also, Haviland Meteorite Fest, check for updates:
http://www.havilandkansas.com/
btw, nice website Phil