THE NEXT GENERATION

Those of us fortunate enough to possess these rarest of rocks on our planet should at least consider expending some level of energy, passion and other resources to introduce children to them. Education, at its highest form, requires a certain degree of inspiration. It is an incredibly moving experience to to hold a rock in your hand that is older than Earth itself, or perhaps a chunk of the moon or Mars, for the first time. A certain percentage of the next generation is bright and driven enough to - given ample inspiration early enough to make certain educational and career decisions - make a fundamental difference in our understanding of our own origins or to make a critical contribution towards our ability to divert an incredible disaster by way of a major cosmic impact. Let's try to find them and maybe provide just the spark it takes to get them moving in a fascinating direction. I only wish at this point that someone would have done this for me many years ago. It is remarkable how little attention is given to meteoritics in most school systems and how little many if not most science teachers seem to know about the subject. This is the nature of a very young field of science, and only those who are knowledgeable in the field can do what it takes to increase awareness. Loaning particularly compelling specimens to museums - in exchange for a commitment to present them in a compelling format - is another great way to help accomplish this objective.

PROVENANCE

There are several point to consider here, but I'll endeavor to keep this short for the moment. I have on several occasions acquired collections from private collectors, and without fail I have run across a small handful of specimens in every collection which are not identified (missing labels, question marks on lists, etc.). It is a shame that, for all practical purposes, those specimens will forever be of unknown origin. Most collectors can provide a detailed live tour of their collection from the memory banks residing in their own head. There are two problems with this: one, our memories are not perfect, and two, it is an unfortunate guarantee that we are all to die. When a specimen sits on a shelf without proper identification or when a collector passes away, it is difficult at best to put the pieces back together after the fact. It doesn't take much effort to properly catalog a collection with common spreadsheet technology, and to either photograph or properly label (or, preferably, both) each of the specimens individually - though the longer one waits the more challenging this might prove to be. I use a spreadsheet with electronic backup and this website to handle this necessity for my own collection. And the resource available at www.encyclopedia-of-meteorites.com is both free and easy to use for all. Along these lines, at a certain stage of collecting it is also important to have some sort of plan in place via a will or other instrument to oversee the proper transition of our collections to the next temporary custodian. In some cases it may be a question of money, but in virtually every case it is a case of keeping our specimens within the meteorite community (one might donate a collection to a local museum, another might sell it to a private collector, yet another might donate the collection to science, etc.). It is always disappointing to see an eBay listing for "my uncles entire meteorite collection... I have no idea what any of these meteorites are but it's all for sale," though it's at least good to see that someone has taken the steps to provide an opportunity for the specimens to get back into appreciated circulation. Lastly, it is absurd that dealers sometimes want to hide the provenance of the material which they sell. Generally speaking, I will not acquire such specimens regardless of the reputation of the seller. That single transaction is virtually meaningless when compared to the ongoing record of provenance of the specimen. For a good look at a private collection curated with exceptional provenance in mind, see www.historicmeteorites.com.

PRESERVATION

Meteorites are among the rarest rocks on our planet, and cutting them is not retroactive. While it is sometimes appropriate to cut meteorite specimens*, I believe that cutting should be minimized and viewed as an absolute last alternative. It is unfortunate that, generally speaking, the smaller a meteoritic sample is the higher per-gram value it will realize in the marketplace for most specific falls or finds. Even when taking cutting loss into consideration, this financial incentive is powerful. This simple fact often leads to the unnecessary destruction of incredibly valuable, historic and otherwise spectacular specimens. However, I must admit to having a lapidary shop and frequently cutting certain types of meteorites (virtually all are weathered NWAs or other NWAs which are intriguing enough to merit classification.) When doing so, I always try to maximize yield and treat even the most weathered and generic specimen with great respect. Several in the meteorite community exercise this approach today, and I hope that many more will do the same over time (though one does have every right to do as they choose when it somes to their own property, to be sure). People obviously have the right do to as they please with their own property; this is just an opinion and my hope is it might generate at least some degree of contemplation before every specimen hits a blade or wire.

* For scientific evaluation and/or repository, because inner beauty far surpasses exterior beauty (which is common with many irons and pallasites, and is particularly notable with highly weathered NWA specimens which can be quite mundane on their terrestrially-affected exteriors but highly educational and completely inspirational on their interiors), perhaps a very low or high quantity of available individuals exists from a particular fall or find, etc.

SCIENCE

I've indirectly hit on the obvious significance of science in several places on the site already, but the point bears some direct attention as well. While it is true that the repercussions of the surge in private collecting have led to a far greater search effort than ever - and thus more material available for public viewing at museums and for study by scientific institutions - it is also true that "20% up to 20 grams" (the required material amount for official classification) often isn't enough to do good science. Depending on the value of the material and the quantity available, there is obviously a lot of gray area for consideration here. But I guess the main point is that without the findings of science there would be no private collector community and there would be no value to the specimens themselves in the first place. Most that have chosen a scientific career path have not done so for economic reasons, and it is also true that many scientists and scientific institutions which have made great contributions in the past (and are therefore capable of doing so again in the future) operate on very slim budgets.  Perhaps in large part because of those of us who make up the private collector community, values of many meteorite specimens have skyrocketed (in spite of the NWA craze, etc.). So perhaps we should all consider that fact, think about what got us here in the first place and contemplate what yet-uncovered wonders await all of us when setting the scales and trim saw blades for repository submissions?

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