Western Daily Press (Saturday)
Meteorite couple’s society honour is out of this world
ACOUPLE from Gloucestershire will be able to hobnob with the brightest and best scientists investigating the universe.
Rob and Cathryn Wilcock are to be made honorary Fellows of the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) for helping expand our understanding of the universe after a meteorite landed on the drive of their house in Winchcombe in February last year.
When they found the lump of space debris outside their house in the morning, the Wilcocks contacted scientists from the UK Fireball Alliance, and, crucially, collected fragments of the meteorite.
According to the RAS’s citation for making Rob and Cathryn honorary Fellows: “Not only was this the first recovered meteorite from the UK in 30 years, but it is also the UK’s first carbonaceous chondrite.
“The Wilcock family recovered fragments, making it also the quickest collected carbonaceous chondrite ever.
“This is significant as these types of meteorites quickly alter and degrade if they are not carefully and rapidly collected and curated.”
It adds: “Rob and Cathryn Wilcock provided great support to the researchers from UKFAll who visited Winchcombe and vicinity to hunt for fragments and in publicising the official recovery efforts in the local area.”
The society points out Rob and Cathryn could have made money from their happy discovery, but chose instead to advance scientific knowledge: “Meteorites are highly collectible objects and because of its pristine nature, its unusual type and the story associated with its landing, the Winchcombe meteorite has become a meteorite of legend and a highly desirable specimen for both public and private collections.
“Rob and Cathryn were always firmly of the opinion that they should donate their meteorite to the Natural History Museum, to be used for scientific research and for outreach by the UK and international scientific community.
“Rob and Cathryn have also led efforts in the local community involving schools and other groups in planetary science education and outreach.
“For these reasons Rob and Cathryn Wilcock are awarded the Honorary Fellowships of the Royal Astronomical Society.