Official Meteorite Men Episode Guide
101) PILOT (Alpha and Brenham)
Original broadcast date: May 10, 2009
In the pilot episode of Meteorite Men, professional meteorite hunters Geoff Notkin and Steve Arnold journey to their top secret site — code named "Alpha" — to search for pallasite meteorites. Later, they travel to the legendary Brenham, Kansas strewnfield and make a truly amazing discovery. Their expedition ends at the Gemological Institute of America in California, where the guys learn that their finds contain something rare and valuable, and never before seen in a meteorite.
SEASON 1
102) BUZZARD COULEE & WHITECOURT CRATER
Original broadcast date: January 20, 2010
Steve and Geoff head to the Great White North and investigate the Buzzard Coulee fireball which dropped hundreds of stone meteorites across Saskatchewan, Canada. As winter approaches, an unexpected snowstorm forces a sudden change in plan. They move on to northern Alberta and receive a VIP invitation to explore the newly-discovered Whitecourt iron meteorite crater. Later, a visit with Dr. Chris Herd at the University of Alberta in Edmonton confirms the significance of their cold-weather finds.
103) ODESSA CRATER
Original broadcast date: January 27, 2010
Geoff and Steve arrive at the famous 63,000-year-old meteorite crater near Odessa, Texas with a dazzling array of the very latest hunting equipment: ground penetrating radar, a military bomb detector, and the mighty Rockhound — a go-anywhere amphibious tracked ride that gives new meaning to the phrase "all terrain vehicle." Braving temperatures in excess of 105 degrees, the guys use every trick and tactic in their search for space rocks, and stumble upon a most surprising and unexpected discovery.
104) THE TUCSON RING MYSTERY
Original broadcast date: February 3, 2010
The Meteorite Men head south to Geoff's home state of Arizona and dig into the legend of the mysterious Tucson Ring — a giant iron meteorite found in the 1800s. Local lore insists that the Ring was only one of many meteorites hidden in the remote and dangerous Santa Rita Mountains. After encounters with scorpions, unexploded ammunition and savage heat, the guys visit Dr. Laurence Garvie at the Center For Meteorite Studies at ASU and attempt to solve this most enduring of all meteorite enigmas.
105) GOLD BASIN
Original broadcast date: February 10, 2010
Gold Basin, Arizona is one of the world's most famous meteorite strewnfields. For a decade Geoff and Steve have dreamed of exploring the nearly inaccessible northern end of the zone. To reach it, the Meteorite Men must take to the water and follow a secret treasure map bequeathed to them by their late friend and mentor, Professor Jim Kriegh, discoverer of the Gold Basin meteorite. The National Park Service pitch in and grant a special permit to hunt in a dangerous Federal preserve that is off-limits to the public.
106) THE DRY LAKE BED
Original broadcast date: February 17, 2010
Steve and Geoff team up with maverick meteorite hunter Sonny Clary for an unforgettable adventure in the Great Basin. Sonny and his dog Brix lead them to the site of a puzzling discovery, and the Meteorite Men come home with more than they bargained for. Also: The Alamo Breccia where, 370 million years ago, a gigantic meteorite devastated what is now central Nevada. A close call with Area 51 and an enlightening lab visit with Dr. Garvie round out this fan-favorite episode.
107) ASH CREEK FIREBALL
Original broadcast date: February 24, 2010
While Steve investigates an office-smashing meteorite in Virginia, Geoff and his Aerolite team track an elusive fireball in heat-ravaged Arizona. Later, the Meteorite Men rendezvous in central Texas at the fall site of the daytime Ash Creek fireball, with fellow hunter Ruben Garcia and Hopper the Meteorite Dog. This action-packed episode ends with a trip to the world famous Tucson gem and mineral show, where the guys consider selling some finds to fund future expeditions.
SEASON 2
201) ALPHA GEMSTONES
Original broadcast date: November 2, 2010
In the Season Two opener Geoff and Steve return to their confidential "Alpha" site, but this time they have a new secret weapon. During a research and development visit to Orange County Choppers in New York, they help plan a monster meteorite hunting motorcycle, which is delivered to them by American Chopper star Paul Senior. With the help of their off-road bike and experimental metal detectors, the guys follow the old Santa Fe trail and uncover a gemstone-laden monster space rock that dwarfs their previous Alpha finds.
202) HIDDEN ATACAMA DESERT GEMS, CHILE
Original broadcast date: November 9, 2010
In the first-ever overseas Meteorite Men episode Steve and Geoff revisit the site where their hunting partnership began back in 1997: the Imilac pallasite strewnfield high in Chile's Atacama Desert. It is winter at 11,000 feet in the driest desert on the planet, but with new equipment and grim determination, the guys persevere through the harshest of conditions and — on the desolate plains of Vaca Muerta — make one of the most significant discoveries of their careers. Also: Steve meets some jumping sheep and Geoff accidentally frightens a hotel manager.
203) MONTURAQUI CRATER & SAN JUAN, CHILE
Original broadcast date: November 16, 2010
Geoff's "meteorite dream" comes true during this second Chile episode when the guys find their way to the Atacama Desert's remote and rarely visited Monturaqui Crater, and camp overnight on the floor of the stunning 100,000 year-old impact site. After a personal tour of the spectacular mountaintop telescopes at the European Southern Observatory in Paranal, the guys throw down with the puzzling San Juan strewnfield — a site that seems to have produced more meteorites per square mile than any other location on Earth.
204) DUGWAY PROVING GROUND, UTAH
Original broadcast date: November 23, 2010
When hundreds of people witness a dazzling night time fireball over Salt Lake City, Steve and Geoff drop everything and race to Utah. After days of searching and communicating with their Doppler radar expert, Rob Matson, the guys are horrified to conclude that any surviving meteorites must have landed on the top secret Dugway Proving Ground — an area so hush-hush it is nicknamed Area 52. Geoff and Steve must go all the way to the Pentagon in an attempt to gain access to the classified military facility.
205) WISCONSIN FIREBALL
Original broadcast date: December 7, 2010
The guys are on their way to the Northeast Astronomy Forum in New York for a personal appearance, when a large fireball is seen over rural Wisconsin. Geoff heads on to NEAF to hold down the fort, while Steve begins an all-night drive to the fall site. Later, Geoff takes their Orange County Chopper bike to meet Steve and, together, they attempt to solve the mystery of the Mifflin meteorite fall. Locals turn out in droves to try and find their own space rocks, and the guys begin training the next generation of meteorite hunters.
206) SWEDISH METEOR BALLS
Original broadcast date: December 14, 2010
Geoff and Steve cross the Arctic Circle and head north on one of their most daring expeditions yet. With the help of a brilliant Swedish meteorite hunting family the guys will attempt to uncover ancient space rocks that were transported by glaciers during the last Ice Age, and which have remained hidden and buried for at least 60,000 years. As the Arctic winter approaches they have only a few days to test new equipment, explore the mysterious forests of Lapland, and try to solve the enigmatic puzzle of the Muonionalusta strewnfield.
207) MUNDRABILLA, AUSTRALIA
Original broadcast date: December 21, 2010
Steve and Geoff head "Downunder" on the most ambitious expedition of their careers. On the far side of the world, they cross the Nullarbor Plain — one of the most desolate locations on Earth — and reach the remote Mundrabilla strewnfield. The guys team up with Australian meteorite specialist Dr. Andy Tomkins and discover that their isolated campsite is right in the middle of the fall zone. With limited time and an enormous area to cover, the guys use every trick they know to locateexamples of the strange and beautiful Mundrabilla iron.
208) HENBURY CRATERS, AUSTRALIA
Original broadcast date: December 28, 2010
In the Season Two finale Geoff and Steve journey to one of the most remarkable meteorite sites on the planet — the Henbury Crater field in central Australia. During the expedition, the region receives its heaviest rainfall in 35 years and the guys have to overcome flooded roads, stranded vehicles, and other hazards as they search for remnants of the alluring Henbury iron meteorite that — 4,600 years ago — blasted 15 craters out of the stark and captivating red sand desert.
SEASON 2
301) MORASKO
Original broadcast date: November 28, 2011
In the exciting Season Three opener Steve and Geoff head into uncharted territory as they explore the eerie 5,000 year-old Morasko Crater Field in western Poland. With a three-day hunting permit from the local university and new top-of-the-line metal detectors, the guys must sift through the buried wreckage of two world wars if they are to locate a record-breaking meteorite that could still lie deep underground. Meanwhile, Geoff is enthralled by a birds nest, and discovers that Steve may have a metal plate in his head.
302) RETURN TO SWEDEN
Original broadcast date: December 5, 2011
During a previous expedition, Geoff and Steve made four impressive meteorite finds totaling 175 pounds in Sweden's Muonionalusta strewnfield, north of the Arctic Circle. Now, the guys return to the Land of the Midnight Sun and once again go up against Muononionalusta's endless forests, marshes, and relentless mosquitoes, with new and improved meteorite hunting equipment. But will they be able to repeat the successes of the first Arctic expedition? Also: Steve sleeps next to a polar bear and Geoff gets annoyed at some dirt.
303) RETURN TO WHITECOURT
Original broadcast date: December 12, 2011
Geoff imagines he has become part of his favorite childhood TV series Thunderbirds after an urgent call from the University of Alberta. Respected scientist, Dr. Chris Herd, asks the Meteorite Men to fly to the rescue of Whitecourt Crater and recover irreplaceable specimens before they are stolen by meteorite poachers. Forming an unusual partnership, the Meteorite Men and Canadian academia team up in a race against time to record priceless scientific data before it is lost forever. Also: Steve loses his magnets and Geoff unveils a new detector.
304) DRONINO, RUSSIA
Original broadcast date: December 19, 2011
Geoff's paternal grandparents were born near Minsk and he is thrilled at the opportunity to return to Mother Russia for the first time in many years. Once they reach the strewnfield, he and Steve must contend with giant biting flies, heaps of buried trash, and the 24-Hour Party People (AKA the Russian meteorite hunting team), while searching for an extremely rare type of iron meteorite. Also: Geoff blathers on about his hero, Yuri Gagarin, and Steve stays up all night drinking vodka with the Russians in a forest.
305) MOJAVE
Original broadcast date: December 26, 2011
The guys return to Geoff's adopted home state of Arizona, taking their go-anywhere meteorite hunting machine "The Mule" down historic Route 66 and give themselves a nearly impossible challenge: Can they find meteorites in two different strewnfields in one state on a single expedition? Steve and Geoff kick it old school and search primarily by eye while hiking into some of the roughest terrain in the Southwest. All at 107 degrees F! Also: Steve uses a freight train as a sunshade, Geoff makes friends with some ants, and fellow hunter Sonny Clary and Nate Ditto join
the team.
306) SAHUARITA
Original broadcast date: March 14, 2012
When a friend of Geoff's accidentally discovers a remarkable, and previously unknown, stone meteorite near the Mexican border, the guys head back to southern Arizona to investigate the new find. Local hunters, Greg and Wendy, join the MM in the field, as does Arizona State University space rock researcher Dr. Laurence Garvie. A piece of the new meteorite goes through the exacting process of examination and classification in the ASU lab. Also, Geoff takes time out from the hunt to chat with a horned toad, and Steve learns the perils of riding a mountain bike in the Arizona desert.
307) HOMESTEAD
Original broadcast date: March 14, 2012
In America's heartland Steve and Geoff explore the most inaccessible corners of the strewnfield in Homestead, Iowa, where numerous large meteorites fell in 1875. The Hydratrek "Rockhound" returns, and the guys go marine as they use it to motor up and down the Iowa River. Geoff and Steve have an argument about a strange rock, and then make a stop at their secret Alpha Site in Kansas, where Steve unveils his most bizarre meteorite hunting invention yet.
308) PULTUSK
Original broadcast date: March 14, 2012
In the season finale Geoff and Steve return to Poland where, along with their friend Marcin, they investigate the Pultusk meteorite fall from 1868 — one of the largest recorded falls in history. The ground is littered with debris from two world wars, and it seems that only a vintage Polish metal detector may be able to help them hunt in the trash-filled and waterlogged landscape. Later, the guys head to NASA's Dryden facility in California. After a tour of the amazing SOFIA airborne telescope, they discuss with NASA experts how the study of meteorites helped guide the American space program.