CHLADNI’S HEIRS field trip to the recent Norwegian Fall.
| Alerted by the reports about the new Norwegian Fall and the promising pictures of the first two recovered stones, Chladni’s Heirs (Stefan Ralew, Andreas Gren, Martin Altmann) decided to commit a delegation to Norway to explore the strewnfield. Here our report:
On Wednesday 19th Andi and Stefan jumped in the plane to Oslo; from there after a short drive of about 100 km they arrived in the late afternoon in the village of Rygge nearby of the town of Moss, where the 42g specimen of the two already known stones was recovered. Immediately first searches on the urban lawns took place. June 20 – at noon Stefan and Andi met Norway’s collector N°1 Morten Bilet, who showed them a small fragment from the Rygge stone.
The interior reveals many small chondrules, tiny white CAI-like spots and a dark grey matrix, - so that the visual impression suggests that the type most probably should be CO. Morten gave friendly guidance in leading Stefan and Andi to the place of find of the larger 752g stone in Moss in a private garden, telling the reports of witnesses he already had collected. Moss is a pretty and dozy small town, situated on the Oslo-fjord. The garden’s owners were on holiday, when the fall occurred; when they returned they were cutting the grass and came across the 752g stone, wich sat in a 10cm wide and 10cm deep hole under a tree. The meteorite had hit the tree, braking off a 3cm thick branch and a smaller one.
Afterwards Morten & Chladni’s heirs headed for the second impact site of the 42g stone. It is located 5km southeastward of the Moss fall – in a garden parcel used for weekend recreation. The stone felt onto a plate lying there, leaving a small dint and fresh scratches and several small pieces were chipped off by that hard impact.
The whole supposed strewnfield of the new fall comprises a densely populated area, as well as a forest with dense ground vegetation. Around Rygge there is a lot of agricultural land, which is at present not yet harvested. Many lakes as old tongues of the Oslo-fjord are found too – all in all the strewnfield is not suitable for hunting meteorites. Most land is private property. Our three hunters went back to Moss and scanned the largest public park, the Nes-Park, there without results. Later on they traced a promising report of an earwitness. An inhabitant of Moss reported, that at the time of the fall he was on a street downtown, when he heard first a thunder and minutes later a loud ping ending in a sound of an impact. He thought that maybe a tile from a roof loosened. One or two days later he heard about the meteorite and searched the area, where he had noticed the noise, but without success. Most probably the street-cleaning had scavenged the stone meanwhile. Stefan, Morten and Andi thoroughly searched the place (streets, parking lots, roofs, courtyards) within a radius of 300m. No fragment was found and finally they continued to hunt in other public open spaces.
June 21 – more public grounds in Moss were examined. Streets, soccer fields, lawns, parking lots, sidewalks, roadsides. In the second half of the day Stefan&Andi went back to Rygge, hunting in the forest and on field paths. June 22 - more hunting in the strewnfield without success. First complaints by the inhabitants about a hunting team arose. Without asking they entered private property and were even searching around in private gardens not to the amusement of the inhabitants and I can tell you, Norwegians people are very friendly and reserved. With this impossible behaviour these "meteorite hunters" casts a more than damning light on the whole meteorite guild. June 24 – travel back to Germany
Our survey: The new Norwegian fall probably wasn’t a shower, but only a few stones felt. Locality and character of the strewnfield and the fact, that in this quite dense populated area not more stones were recovered by the inhabitants, lowers the chance, that a remarkable amount of material will be found in future. The meteorite seems to be a CO type carbonaceous chondrite. The legal situation in Norway as far as we heard: Meteorites belong to the owner of the land. Any removal of a stone from the property of others is theft. If the find is made on public ground, it belongs to the state of Norway. If the state asserts that right, the finder will be compensated. The 752g specimen and the plate with the impact dint of the 42g stone were donated to the museum in Oslo. On Sunday the sale of beer is prohibited in Norway. IMPORTANT for hunters: Don’t foray onto private ground without permission. Ask before! We want to express our cordially thanks to Morten Bilet for the friendly acceptance and guidance. Chladni’s Heirs Stefan Ralew, Andi Gren, Martin Altmann Copyright © 2006 by Chladni`s Heirs. All Rights Reserved |
