Meteorites. Even the name soundscompelling! Just the idea of being able to hold a rock fromanother world in my own hands and feel it's strangely aliensurface just blows me away! As a young child I was alwaysfascinated with space and ever since that first glance throughthe little telescope my Grandmother bought me for my 12thbirthday I knew I just had to get my hands on something,anything, that came from out there.
Well, as with mostanything else, if you look for it long enough, hard enough, andin the right places you can usually find it. Such was the casewith meteorites. I can't describe the excitement I felt when Ifound that for a few dollars I could lay my hands on a piece ofthe giant cosmic bullet that blasted that mile-wide crater out ofthe Arizona desert so many thousands of years ago. I've beencollecting meteorites ever since, because getting my hands on itwas what really got me started! And I'm pretty sure that's whatdid it for the vast majority of folks reading this now.
But as a little timepassed I discovered there were some problems involved withhandling and displaying my meteorites. Rust. Rust from the humidair. Rust from the salty residue of my fingerprints and more rustfrom who knows where. Eventually I got tired of watching mynicest and most highly prized specimens turn to red dust beforemy very eyes, so I cleaned them up, dried and oiled them, and putthem away in an airtight box. They didn't rust any longer, butsuddenly collecting them wasn't nearly as much fun any more. Andthe reason was simple, I wasn't getting them out and getting myhands on them anymore, and with that went most of the enthusiasmI had for collecting meteorites in the first place! Fortunatelythere was a simple solution to the problem and it was right undermy nose.
One of the biggestreasons Meteoritics has begun to flourish as a legitimate science and to expand in it's scope is the tremendous interdisciplinary approach that is used to attack the problems it encounters. For instance, who could have guessed that the evidence compiled by Drs. Louis and Walter Alvarez, two astrophysicists, would totally alter the way paleontologists think about mass-extinction events? Or that planetary scientists and astronomers would need to radically re-think their positions on how often our planet is struck by errant asteroids and comets because of information gathered by DOD spy satellites? The list of contributions to meteoritics from outside and unrelated fields could fill abook, and this seems to be a growing trend.
So, what does allthis have to do with rusty rocks from space? Well, as I mentionedearlier, the solution to that problem was right under my nose butI failed to notice it because it was a solution to a similarproblem but in a totally unrelated field of endeavor. I alsohappen to be a hunter and collector of fine firearms. I like totake my nicest pieces out into the field and enjoy them as theywere intended. But I was always very concerned about the damagethat the elements can inflict on the mirror-polished and bluedfinish of a fine rifle. But I found a product called SHEATH thatis produced by the Birchwood-Casey company and is designedespecially for protecting firearm finishes from inclementweather. This product works exactly as advertised and since I'veapplied the SHEATH treatment to my guns I have never again hadproblems with rust no matter how bad the field conditions were,including heavy rain! I was amazed at how well this productworked and found out later that it actually ionizes with thesurface of the metal, forming a barrier against the effects ofmoisture and mild corrosives without altering the metal itself.It leaves an effective level of protection on the steel evenafter all visible traces are gone.
The idea of usingSHEATH to protect my meteorites suddenly struck me one day and itseemed to make sense, so I gave it a try. As I expected, it worksand works very well. I have yet to see any signs of rust on anyof my irons or pallasites (whole or slices) and they all receiveat least occasional unprotected handling. I have a few wholeirons that I actually encourage my three year-old daughter toplay with! You just can't start teaching kids too young and justlike us big kids, they absolutely must be allowed to get theirhands on those meteorites! So give the SHEATH a try! You may justfind that you will enjoy playing around with those space rocksagain, and for heavens' sake let those little ones enjoy themtoo! SHEATH is available at most sporting goods stores as well asthe larger discount chains that handle hunting and shootingsupplies, such as Wal-Mart, etc.
Meteorites For Sale | Meteorite Dealers | News