>I received your request for a sample on Friday and removed a piece from =

>my meteorite and sent it to you via Fed Ex. You will have the piece on =

>Monday afternoon. Please read this entire letter before you open the =

>package I have sent you. A copy of this letter has also been sent to =

>Michael Zolensky (zolensky@snmail.jsc.nasa.gov) who also has a sample of =

>this meteorite.

Hello Mike,

Thanks for sending the sample. I was on vacation last week, so I didn't

get to look at it until today. The sample you sent me is definitely not

a meteorite. It lacked a fusion crust which would be expected

in a meteorite that was recovered shortly after it had fallen. Your sample

was not attracted to a magnet either, a strong indication it lacks

any metal. All meteorites have some amount of nickel-iron in them, and

will be attracted to a strong magnet. Even the Martian meteorites are

attracted to a magnet. The sample was very light for its size, and

meteorites are on the heavy side due to their metal content. Also, the

sample was very friable and crumbles easily, a characteristic not

typical of meteorites. The coloring and internal structure also does

not match a typical meteorite, and definitely does not match

up with any of the known Mars meteorites.

Now that I know it is not a meteorite, the next step is to determine more

precisely what kind of rock it is, which I will do next. I'll let you know

what kind of rock it is, hopefully will know within the week.

Regards,

Ron Baalke