Introduction : Galactic Stone

Greetings Folks!

I joined Steemit because I am intrigued with the concept behind this venue and it will be interesting to see how far it goes. I hope to bring some informative and entertaining material regarding science with a focus on the planetary sciences. By trade, I am a meteorite dealer, but I also deal in fossils, minerals, amber, trinitite, and exotic natural artifacts.

I was a lifelong collector of rocks and minerals before I discovered meteorites. In the many years since then, I have amassed a large collection of meteorites from every corner of the world. I am a collector first and a dealer second, so I look for specimens that I would put into my own collection - if it's not worthy of my personal collection, then it will never be offered for sale.

In addition to being a rockhound, I am also a long-time amateur astronomer with a keen interest in planetary science. I have the utmost respect for science and the scientists who conduct the research that unlocks the mysteries of our universe. Because of this, I observe strict curation protocols for all of my specimens. They are handled with gloves and stored in a humidity-controlled environment. When cutting meteorites, I use only distilled water during slicing and I hand-sand all pieces to avoid potential contamination. All of my specimens are carefully weighed, photographed, labeled, and inventoried. I also keep detailed records of provenance and chain of custody for all meteorites I offer.

Every meteorite is special and we are only temporary caretakers for these cosmic relics from the birth of the solar system. It is a pleasure to offer these space rocks to collectors so they can be enjoyed by as many people as possible. Whenever possible, I donate specimens to schools and institutions so they may inspire young minds to study the sciences. By providing meteorites to scientists, I feel I am helping out in a small indirect way with their research. Galactic Stone and Ironworks will always work to offer interesting and rare types of specimen to any buyer - collectors, scientists, or other dealers.

In addition to past membership in the Meteoritical Society, I have been an active member of the meteorite community for almost ten years. I have written articles for Meteorite Times, Cloudy Nights, and Astronomy Technology Today. I have done exchanges or sales with several institutions and universities, including : Penn State, UCLA, Utah State, NASA, UC Riverside, Nevada Desert Research Institute, Cornell University, Northern Arizona University, Arizona State, Indiana Geological Survey, Colorado State, University of Alaska, Kent State, University of Toronto, University of Warsaw, Texas Tech, and others. One of my meteorites (NWA 6696) resides in the UCLA research collection, and my specimens have been the subject of two academic research papers. I have also provided meteorites and other specimens for educational/outreach use to schools around the world. I observe strict curation protocols for all of my specimens and they are suitable for scientific study unless otherwise noted. I offer a generous discount on prices for specimens that will be used for research or educational purposes.

In the coming days I will be testing the waters here on Steemit. I will post some original articles and gauge the reaction to science education here. Hopefully, this is the beginning of something fun and engaging.

Stay tuned! :)

Photo : Brenham pallasite, stony-iron meteorite. Etched and polished slice showing olivine crystals.