Media Alert
Contact: Field Museum PR Department
(312) 665-7100, media@fieldmuseum.org
"Needle in a Haystack" Meteorite will be Presented to Field Museum Friday, Oct. 16
| What: |
Meteorite collector Terry Boudreaux will present The Field Museum with a piece of a very rare meteorite. The meteorite is a fragment of an asteroid and is the first ever recovered after scientists detected the asteroid in space and predicted where it would land on the earth. The story of its recovery was featured on the cover of the March 2009 issue of Nature, along with the headline: "Needle in a Haystack." |
| Where: |
The Pritzker Center for Meteoritics and Polar Studies at
The Field Museum,
1400 S. Lake Shore Drive, Chicago IL |
| When: |
Media are invited to meet Mr. Boudreaux and photograph the meteorite on Friday, Oct. 16 at 11:30 a.m. at The Field Museum. |
| Details: |
On Oct. 2, 2008, a small asteroid named 2008TC3 was discovered as it headed toward Earth. Calculations revealed that it would impact the Nubian Desert of northern Sudan. About 13 hours later, the small asteroid exploded and a brilliant fireball was witnessed by an airline crew and several observers on the ground, as well as by surveillance satellites. Scientists also measured shock waves generated by the explosion. When all data were compiled, scientists predicted a location for finding meteorites — fragments of the asteroid. On Dec. 6, two scientists and a group of students set out to find any traces and over the next several months, they recovered over 280 pieces of this rare type of meteorite called an Ureilite. It was the first time ever that a meteorite had been recovered from an asteroid detected first in space!
Terry Boudreaux acquired two pieces of this very rare meteorite and is donating one to The Field Museum's recently established Pritzker Center for Meteoritics and Polar Studies. Mr. Broudreaux is a supporter of The Field Museum and an avid collector of meteorites. His wife is a National Trustee of The Field Museum. |
| Contact: |
Contact Field Museum PR for additional information and to arrange free parking for the Oct. 16 presentation. Call 312-665-7100 or email media@fieldmuseum.org. |
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