As my regular readers know, I spent much of the second half of 2009 working on my new adventure TV series Meteorite Men for Science Channel. Once our initial shooting schedule had been completed, we were sent back out—several times—for additional filming. I was not entirely clear about how much time and effort would be required to film six one-hour episodes in the field, but I certainly am now.

The Logical Lizard (center, laughing) tries out some super hi-tech equipment at the Odessa meteorite crater while filming Meteorite Men the series. Photograph by Suzanne Morrison.

So, after many thousands of miles, a multitude of flights, a remarkable variety of hotels and motels including one diabolical casino in Nevada, a few boat trips, many weird adventures, eleven flat tires, and three stuck vehicles, we actually seem to have completed all the filming and I am back home just in time to start getting ready for the 2010 Tucson gem and mineral shows.

Before that happens, and before I jaunt off to California to do some PR for the new Science Channel series, I am most honored to be hosting the Flandrau Science Center‘s Science Cafe this very evening, at the charming Cushing Street Bar & Restaurant. Science Cafe is a monthly event, organized by the Flandrau, in which a scientist gives a short talk about her/his specialty, in friendly and informal surroundings, followed by a question-and-answer session.

Not this time: More often than not, a suspected meteorite turns out to be a meteor-wrong. In this case a very large and very old tin can. Photograph by Suzanne Morrison.

Readers of this column will already know that I am a great fan of the Flandrau, so it is a privilege indeed to be part of their ongoing series. Admission is free, food and drinks are available for purchase, and the evening begins at 6 pm. I have been informed that “The Science Cafe fills up fast,” so an early arrival is recommended.

I will be talking about meteorites, meteorite hunting, the making of our TV series Meteorite Men, and why the study of rocks from outer space may hold clues to the formation of our Solar System and the origin of life on Earth.

I hope to see you there. Watch the video teaser here.

The annual Leonid meteor shower is one of the night sky’s most exciting events. Our planet is currently passing through a debris trail left behind in space hundreds of years ago by Comet Tempel-Tuttle. As those small fragments of ice and stone hit our atmosphere at thousands of miles per hour they burn up, producing bright trails known as meteors or shooting stars. Fragments that make it to the surface of the Earth are meteorites, but the diminutive particles that generate the Leonids are too small and friable to survive their passage through our atmosphere.

Artist's impression of a meteor shower

Peak meteor activity is expected to occur between midnight and dawn tonight and into Tuesday morning. Bill Cooke of NASA’s Meteoroid Environment Office stated: “We’re predicting 20 to 30 meteors per hour over the Americas.”

The Leonids take their name from Leo, due to an optical illusion that sometimes make it appear as if they emanate from that constellation.

Tucson’s dark skies are ideal viewing for meteor showers, especially for night owls who are happy to stay up into the wee hours. If you’re so inclined, turn off the house lights, mix up some hot chocolate or a favorite tipple, head outside after midnight, park yourself in a spot with an unobstructed view of the heavens and see what transpires. It may be a memorable celestial show.

When a plea from a British school teacher was posted to an international science listserve, Nevada meteorite hunter Ralph “Sonny” Clary made the educator’s seemingly impossible request come true.

In May of 2009, Matthew Smith a teacher in Liverpool, England sent an email to an online forum devoted to meteorites. With a very small acquisitions budget, Mr. Smith was hoping to acquire a few space rocks, to assist with presentations for his students. Sonny Clary, a highly experienced meteorite hunter based in Nevada had just the thing.

Meteorite hunter Ralph "Sonny" Clary takes a compass bearing during a desert expedition

In 2007 Sonny made an extraordinary discovery on an ancient dry lake bed in the American Southwest. While scouting for possible hunting locations he came across a debris field of stone meteorite fragments. He collected numerous pieces and donated representative samples to academia, so the new meteorite could be studied and classified.

After reading Mr. Smith’s request, Sonny packed up more than 90 of the meteorites he’d found, and shipped them to the UK—as a cosmic gift.

More than 90 space rocks donated to a British school by Sonny arrive in the UK

When asked how much the meteorites were worth, Sonny replied: “I feel the true value of these meteorites is being lucky enough to hunt for and find them, and being able to share that excitement with the students by donating to their school and allowing them to experience holding and owning a rock from the asteroid belt. This may help spark the next generation of meteorite enthusiasts.”

He is modest indeed. In total, the meteorite specimens that Sonny donated weighed about five pounds. A conservative estimate would put their retail value at $2,000.

Sonny (left) and his great friend, the late Professor Jim Kriegh planning a desert expedition

Mr. Smith will be writing an article about Sonny’s generous donation for an upcoming issue of Meteorite magazine. The quarterly science journal is published by the Arkansas Center for Space and Planetary Sciences in Fayetteville, but the editorial team, Nancy and Dr. Larry Lebofsky, are Tucson residents.

English school kids showing off their new space rocks

Looking at the photographs of the enthralled English schoolchildren holding their new meteorites reminded me of something Alexis R. Faust, educator and executive director of the Flandrau Science Center said to me during a recent visit: “It gives you a different perspective on the world when you see it through the eyes of children. It’s rejuvenating.”

The author, looking very haggard (above left) and Sonny after a particularly grueling expedition. Sonny is an expert camper and outdoorsman and I've learned a lot from him.

Sonny Clary is a great example of how one individual can get a classrom full of children excited about science. Those look like some happy kids to me, and I can only imagine how amazed I would have been—when I was a school boy in England back in the 1970s—if an American adventurer had mailed me a space rock.

My compliments to Sonny.