Please refer to their site for additional information.Īlways keep in mind that rocks and minerals must be examined in person for proper identification. These tips for identifying a meteorite were adapted from this excellent 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.Pallasites are known to have olivine crystals embedded within an iron. 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. This particular meteorite is a pallasite, which is a class of stony-iron meteorites.Fusion crust: stony meteorites typically have a thin crust on their surface where it melted as it passed through the atmosphere.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. 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.Meteorites have several properties that help distinguish them from other rocks: A meteorite crashed through the roof of a home in New Jersey Monday (May 8). 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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