Puente-Ladron is an ordinary (L6) chondrite found in Socorro County, New Mexico by Harvey H. Nininger.
On May 17, 1944, H.H. Nininger stopped for a bit of lunch on a lonely stretch of New Mexico highway and, as was his habit, scanned the area around him for meteorites while eating.
“I started on, but turned again. The exposed area of the stone was no larger than a thumbnail and appeared so much like malpai that my interest waned. I took another step toward the car, then, chiding my flagging spirit, I stepped back and stooped over to pick up the little pebble. When I pried it loose from the soil and had a closer view, I knew that it was no mere pebble but a genuine stony meteorite! Twenty years are not too long to wait for the thrill that here at last I had made a brand-new meteorite discovery alone and unaided in a region far removed from that of any known fall.”
H.H. Nininger. 1944. The Puente-Ladron, Socorro County, New Mexico, Aerolite. Popular Astronomy. Vol. 52, p. 407.
Only one piece of this meteorite was ever found, and it is currently housed at the ASU Buseck Center for Meteorite Studies.
Photo © L. Garvie/CMS/SESE/ASU
