Wednesday, April 22, 2009

The Saskatchewan(Buzzard Coulee) Meteorite Search and Recovery


I would like to take this opportunity to thank Ellen and Lynne for organizing the Great Prairie Meteorite search for the University of Calgary, they both did an excellent job.

People from all walks of life across Canada were there hoping to find a piece of the Buzzard Coulee meteorite that fell just south east of Lloydminster Saskatchewan November 20 2008.

The image above is my first ever meteorite find, it was a thrill and an experience I will not soon forget, BTW it is the black stone just below the poop.

My first ever meteorite find documented and bagged.

We all lined up in teams and walked slowly across a field looking for a meteorite, noted astrophotographer and writer Alan Dyer was one of the people on my team.


The above image is my second find, to think it's been sitting there just like that since November 20 last year, you can see it starting to develop rust, the elements taking their toll.

The above image is my third and final meteorite find, again words can't described finding these rare rocks from space.


You are probably wondering why I have a picture of the hood of my car in this post, well it had just been hoofed by a Clydesdale Horse, that's right, try explaining that to your insurance company.

We were out searching for meteorites in a field when one of the team members noticed a gang of Clydesdale Horses, around 25-30 of them congregating around our cars, one of them started kicking the car hoods, who knew they do that sort of thing. So being real smart we started walking towards them, surely they'll disperse and run away, well... they ran alright, right towards us, before we knew it we were surrounded, these are huge animals close up let me tell you.

There were mixed emotions in the group, some were petrified like moi, others were trying to make friendly with the horsesees, hello...... we just saw one attack our cars, I attribute the wanting to make friends to the Stockholm syndrome. Finally we all started slowly walking away from them and they finally left.

I'll leave you with a few short clips I put together of my unforgettable meteorite/ horse encounter adventure.



61 comments:

Daisy said...

How awesome that you found some meteorites!

I'm sorry that your car got hurted, but I would have been very excited to see the Clydesdale horses.

Ivanhoe said...

You found three? That's awesome. I laughed so hard at the pic with the (cow) poop.
I never saw Clydesdale horses, but I'm not sure I would want to after your huffing experience. Sorry about your car.
Cannot view the video, but will try it from home pc later.

Stephanie Barr said...

I'm so happy for you! Not just that you found three meteorites but that you didn't actually have to pluck one OUT of poop.

Clysdales are huge horses; I'm surprised they were so aggressive though. Perhaps your car smelled, um, sexually confusing.

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

OMG!!! PETRIFIED ELK DROPPINGS FROM OUTERSPACE!!! (Sorry about the deletion, but I have a reputation of absolute perfection to protect. For I was too excited to spell "droppings" correctly in my first comment.)

Nancy J. Locke said...

Bob, what an AWESOME post!!! You have made my day with your beautiful humor. Am keeping my fingers crossed I find and recognize a meteorite sample one day soon. Great photos!!!


The hoofed car must have been jolting but boy, that would make a good movie scene. :D

Have had a family member in the hospital. But am catching up with visiting blogs.

Have a super day!!!
Hugs, JJ/Nancy J

Bob Johnson said...

Thanks Daisy, the Clydesdales were very beautiful, yet scary close up, never knew now they were going to behave.\m/\m/

Bob Johnson said...

Thanks Ivanhoe. The horses were very beautiful but they were very intimidating up close.\m/\m/

Bob Johnson said...

Lol Stephanie, actually one person found a meteorite right in some poop, they had to dig it out, glad it wasn't one of mine. As far as the horses go I just think we were invading their territory, so they had to show us who was boss.\m/\m/

Bob Johnson said...

Lol, FishHawk, you even know the type of poop, I'm impressed,lol.\m/\m/

Bob Johnson said...

Thanks Nancy, believe it or not I actually had footage of the attack, but when they came running towards us I closed the camcorder lcd screen before saving the footage and lost it.\m/\m/

Cashmere said...

That is a meteorite? Wow! I wouldn't know it if I do happen to pass one cos it really look like a normal stone to me.. Anyway, congrats on your successful hunt and I'm sorry about your car..

Starving Artist said...

Very interesting. You had quite an adventure with the rusty space rocks, poop, horses and all. I'm quite jealous. I can't wait to see how your trip to China goes.

Swubird said...

Bob:

You always write great posts, but this has to be one of my favorites. I enjoyed everything about it. The horses banging your car - who would have ever guessed? Not me. I never heard of such a thing. And then you actually found three meteorites all by your lonesome. How good is that? You must have been thrilled, especially after having driven all that way. And then to end with a fabulous video that you actually shot on site. How thoughtful.

Well done.

Happy trails.

Bob Johnson said...

Thanks Cashmere, you are so right, around 99% of suspect meteorites found are meteorwrongs, really have to know what to look for.\m/\m/

Bob Johnson said...

Thanks Starving Artist, China will probably be the material for some of my most interesting posts, I can hardly wait as well.\m/\m/

Bob Johnson said...

Thanks swubird, it was a once in a lifetime opportunity and I'm so glad I can share it with others like yourself through the blog, very cool.\m/\m/

Anne Vis said...

Congratulations on your findings and thanks for sharing! I did not know about all the dangers you were facing in the field of astronomy ... Hope you get it sorted with the insurance!

kRiZcPEc said...

hope your car works just fine as it did before. :)

Anonymous said...

Great post. . . that must have been so amazing to find pieces of the meteorite. . (having your car attacked by a horse. . . happens, I am sure, all the time. But a meteorite find!

Thanks for giving me a chance to read this.

Mike said...

Hey - great you found some meteorites and thanks for sharing photos of your adventure. Are you sure the cow poop wasn't a meteorite as well - the aliens could have sent that along as a 'bonus' to show that there are other life forms out there.

Meghann said...

Awesome finds! I was sitting here grinning like an idiot :S
In all my years with horses, I have never had one do that - even Clydesdales. They must have been trying to recreate those Budweiser commercials - you know, pulling cars and all, they just didn't have the opposable thumbs to make it happen ;-)
Sorry your car got hurt in the process of them trying to be tough

Bob Johnson said...

Lol, thanks Anne, just never know what's going to happen I guess when looking for meteorites.\m/\m/

Bob Johnson said...

Hi kRiZ cPEc, car works great, so far,lol.\m/\m/

Bob Johnson said...

Thanks Koe, once in a lifetime opportunity for the meteorite finds, the horses hopefully once in a lifetime as well,lol.\m/\m/

Bob Johnson said...

Lol, good point Mike.\m/\m/

Bob Johnson said...

Lol Meghann, I'm told the horses don't usually bother people, everyone was surprised, even the landowners, thanks for dropping by.\m/\m/

myonlyphoto said...

Bob only only you, lol, your first meteorite beside the poop, lol....and then horses, all you needed was another shot of meteorites falling off the sky on that day! Kidding aside, that sounded like fun trip. BTW how did you know that what you collected was a meteorite, I see you had some tools? Bob you rock \m/. Anna :)

Science So What said...

Hey,

I thing your blog is great. I have linked to it on our frontpage blogroll see: sciencesowhat.blogspot.com

I am blogging on behalf of the UK government's Science: [So What? So Everything] campaign. I try make sure the blog includes astronomy and physics too.

Any chance you could put a link on your blogroll?

Many thanks

ScienceSoWhat
(twitter.com/sciencesowhat)

Bob Johnson said...

Lol Anna, a meteor falling would have been sweet. The meteorites are very dark, and they attract magnets, I carry a magnet with me at all times, and they stand out , being so black and all.\m/\m/

Bob Johnson said...

Thanks a lot Science So What, I will link to you as well.\m/\m/

Marvin said...

That one next to your phone is HUGE, as meteorites go! That's awesome!

A gang of Clydesdales! See, maybe if you'd ignored them, they would have gone away.

Final_Transit said...

Hi Bob!

Lovely post! Congratulations for finding 3 meteorite (nothing less than a treasure for a astronomy enthusiast). It was funny to see the picture next to poop. What if the dump was fresh? That rock would still be an orphan.

The horse thing was funny too. Maybe they didn't like humans or cars intruding into their territory, or maybe they just wanted to see how their shoes looked!

Finally the video was a charm. It was nice to watch the discovery as it happened.

Thanks!

Priyank

PS: So whats your matter with dandelions? The weed grows all over the world, you dont want to fight them do you... hehe

Anonymous said...

I jealous.

Bob Johnson said...

Lol Marvin, maybe, I think it was a gang initiation, new horse in the group had to show his worthiness,lol.\m/\m/

Bob Johnson said...

Thanks Priyank, I'm thinking it was a territory thing as well. Hate dandelions, they are okay by themselves, but they have a tendency to group together to look like weeds.\m/\m/

Bob Johnson said...

Thanks Raymond for dropping by.\m/\m/

AngelBaby said...

Wow, can I have your autograph, I know you are going to be famous! Amazing stuff - loved the movie.
How is you car? ouch! I hope you have been able to get it fixed.

Horses are like that you know, very protective of their home. First the meteorites then the cars, I am sure they were pretty spooked.

I am glad you found your first meteorite.

Love and Blessings,
AngelBaby

Bob Johnson said...

Thanks AngelBaby, no problem, when I get famous you'll be the first for an autograph,lol.

I have an appointment with the insurance people May 1st, runs fine just beat up, but the stories I call tell now,I mean how many other people do you know that had their car hoofed by a horse,lol, according to the insurance adjuster, none she knows.\m/\m/

Don said...

How much fun was that?! That is so cool that you went and actually found three. I think you had one of those lifetime moments.

I think I would consider leaving that hoof damage on the car. How many people will ever have a story like that??!!

Bob Johnson said...

Lol, Don and it was pretty fun. I had though about keeping the car the way it was but there was damage to the windshield and roof and trunk lid, and bumpers and lots of scratches from hoof marks everywhere.\m/\m/

Cruiselife & Co said...

This would have been so fun. I would love to find some meteorites.

MYM said...

So, let me understand ... this isn't poop from space? LOL No?

Only you could do a post about cow poop, meteorites and a car hit by a clydsedale! You are living quite the life there dooood! Very cool!

Bob Johnson said...

Thanks Dr. Lauren, It was quite the experience for sure finding your first meteorite.\m/\m/

Bob Johnson said...

Lol Drowsey no not poop from space, at least as far as I know, I don't think they ever collected any to check for sure though.\m/\m/

RW said...

That so cool Bob! I would love to look for meteorites someday!

Bummer on the car man!

Bob Johnson said...

Thanks Roger, I find out what the damage costs Friday when I take my car in.\m/\m/

Max Coutinho said...

Hey Bob,

How are you doing, man?

Congrats on having found the meteorites :D!

"BTW it is the black stone just below the poop." - LOL LOL LOL LOL you kill me!

This search and find adventure must have been exciting for you! Did you feel like a kid in a candy store?
Whoah! Your car was hoofed? LOL let's hear the story...Awww, these horses are so cute!

"they ran alright, right towards us, before we knew it we were surrounded, these are huge animals close up let me tell you." - ROFL...ROFL...that must have been funny and scary at the same time *nodding*.

"we just saw one attack our cars, I attribute the wanting to make friends to the Stockholm syndrome." - ROFL...ROFL...oh this is way too funny! LOL LOL

Bob, I couldn't see the images for there is an odd code right at the end of your post (I don't know if I am the only one seeing this).

Anyway, I loved your post! It had all the ingredients: astrostuff, humour, information and lovely horses :D!

I wish you a great week, my friend!

Cheers

kml said...

Where the heck did the horses come from - were they wild or just someone's horse roaming around free? Yikes!

What a great find you made. Sounds like you made your trip before tons of others started heading in after the snow melt to find them. Good for you!!

Bob Johnson said...

Lol Max, I am great, and it was like being in a candy shop, just never know what you are going to find, lots and lots of fun.

I can look back at the whole horse thing and laugh about it now, but boy at the time I didn't know what to think.

If you have Internet explorer you probably won't see the video at the bottom, I always use Firefox or Google Chrome, works on both of them just fine, I find IE sucks when it comes to any kind of videos, especially YouTube.

Thanks for dropping by Max and have a great week.\m/\m/

Bob Johnson said...

Hi Kathy, they were the landowners horses, he had no idea as didn't we all that they would do something like that, it is a first, even for the insurance company.

As far as the meteorites go the land has been picked over pretty good, only way you'll find anything now is either luck or a detailed search like we were doing.\m/\m/

Max Coutinho said...

Hey Bob,

No, I use Google Chrome (I have had enough of IE)...but I will try to look at the video today.

You are welcome, Bob :D!

Thanks, and cheers

Peter said...

Hi! With this and China, I think you will have covered most everything there is to do, or do you have some more surprises up your sleeves for us?

Take Care,
Peter

Genie said...

The horses on our place will root through the back of our pickups for feed. I wonder if they thought they might be able to shake some alfalfa out of the cars if they stomped on 'em enough. How often do you get to say a Clydesdale left hoof marks on your car?

Any chance the dog was trained to sniff out meteorites? Seems it would be possible, wouldn't you think?

Congrats on your meteoric finds!

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