In either case, youneed to go to the next test. A freshly fallen Oum Dreyga (Amgala) H3-5 Chondrite showing a light colored matrix filled with iron-nickel flecks. Note the black fusion crust and light interior. If your rock has fusion crust, that is goodnews. Photo of a freshly fallen Oum Dreyga Chondrite. Here are some meteorites where the fusion crusthas weathered:īe warned, some things that look likefusion crust are not fusion crust. Shiny black crust covered with mineral mud. Click on photo to see a larger photo.Ĭrust on a freshly fallen iron meteorite. Here is black crust on a black meteorite. Be aware that the chances you have found a meteorite are extremely low, particularly a meteorite from Mars or the Moon. Here a black crust is covered with oxide and mineral. Step 1: Learn more about how to identify meteorites and about materials that are commonly mistaken for meteorites. Note the texture and the left edge where it is broken. Note the cracks and leather-like appearance. The glass coating very often quicklycrumbles and falls off. Meteorites that have been on earth for a whileare a different story. Iron meteorites and stone meteorites canhave fustion crust, but a few-very few-freshly fallenmeteorites have none at all. It will usually have small cracks and atexture like leather. But sometimes it is brown orgreenish or even clear. Please refer to their site for additional information. Take a couple of well-lit (indirect natural light is best), sharply focused, high resolution photos. These tips for identifying a meteorite were adapted from a guide from the University of New Mexico Meteorite Museum. Usually, fusion crust is blackbecause of iron in the meteorite. A dense rock that leaves a black or red streak probably contains the iron minerals magnetite or hematite, respectively, neither of which are typically found in meteorites. Rocks and minerals-including potential meteorites-must be examined in person for proper identification.(The surface: Does it have Fusion Crust?)įusion crust is a thin (1 to 2 mm) coating ofglass that covers the outside of a freshly fallen meteorite. Please refer to their site for additional information. These tips for identifying a meteorite were adapted from a guide from the University of New Mexico Meteorite Museum. A dense rock that leaves a black or red streak probably contains the iron minerals magnetite or hematite, respectively, neither of which are typically found in meteorites. Streak: if you scratch a meteorite on an unglazed ceramic surface, it should not leave a streak.Bubbles: volcanic rocks or metallic slag on Earth often have bubbles or vesicles in them, but meteorites do not. identification of rock- forming phases and estimation of their abundances, compositions, and other data which are indicative of the nature of genetic. The 60-tonne, 2.7 m-long (8.9 ft) long Hoba meteorite in Namibia is the largest known intact meteorite.A meteorite is a solid piece of debris from an object, such as a comet, asteroid, or meteoroid, that originates in outer space and survives its passage through the atmosphere to reach the surface of a planet or moon.Light-colored crystals: Quartz is a common, light-colored crystal in Earth’s crust, but it is not found on other bodies in the solar system.Fusion crust: stony meteorites typically have a thin crust on their surface where it melted as it passed through the atmosphere. Examples recovered shortly after the meteorite shower exhibit a rich black fusion crust more recent finds are somewhat oxidized, and have an attractive ochre patina.Instead, they have an irregular shape with unusual pits like finger prints in their surface called “regmaglypts.” Unusual shape: iron-nickel meteorites are rarely rounded.For “stony” meteorites, a magnet might not stick, but if you hang the magnet by a string, it will be attracted. Think youve found a meteorite Professor Chris Herd in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences is also curator of the University of Alberta Meteori. Magnetic: Since most meteorites contain metallic iron, a magnet will often stick to them.Density: Meteorites are usually quite heavy for their size, since they contain metallic iron and dense minerals.The pictures in the gallery show this spectrum of possibilities. It may be porphyritic containing larger crystals in a fine matrix, or vesicular, or frothy scoria. Meteorites are all shapes and sizes and come in many colors. It is usually fine-grained due to rapid cooling of lava on the Earths surface. The USGS doesn't verify meteorites, but they have several properties that help distinguish them from other rocks: From Wikipedia: 'Basalt is a common gray to black volcanic rock. They are very rare, but many people find unusual rocks or pieces of metal and wonder if they might have found a meteorite. Meteorites are fragments of rock or metal that fall to Earth from space.
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