A University of Arizona scientist and a collector have teamed up to open a center that will preserve meteorites as well as further research and public education.
Dante Lauretta of the UA Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, and Marvin Killgore, a meteorite collector, said the UA Southwest Meteorite Center will combat what they say is "a vanishing meteorite legacy."
The problem, they say, is that commercial dealers buy meteorites harvested in such places as Africa's Sahara Desert, slice them up and sell them to the highest bidders.
"The whole point of what we're doing is to prevent people from cutting every rare meteorite into tiny little pieces," Killgore said.
Members of the public will be able to take their meteorites to the center for identification, classification and possible sale.
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Killgore has loaned part of his extensive meteorite collection to the center, which is in the laboratory's Phoenix Mission Science Operation Center, 1415 N. Sixth Ave. The Payson resident and Lauretta, who are promoting the center through the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show, also will be among the featured speakers at a Feb. 4 event.
The two will talk about the center and how meteorites are classified and authenticated at 6 p.m. in the VFW Hall, 1150 N. Beverly Ave.
For more information, visit the center's Web site at www.lpl.arizona.edu or call 626-5638.
