kellyj
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since December 2013
Posts: 100
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Post by kellyj on Dec 22, 2013 19:44:03 GMT -5
Hello all,
I found this rock one day by the river. It has all the features of a meteorite: My strong magnet stuck like glue to it -even on the white part-, melting pattern, and its very heavy.
I wanted to see what you all thought of it and get some advice on it.
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Post by rockpickerforever on Dec 22, 2013 19:46:22 GMT -5
Meteorites do not have quartz in them. You can also see some banding on the left side, something a meteorite would not have. It's some kind of iron ore or hematite. I've found lots of that in the Quartzsite area.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
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Post by Deleted on Dec 22, 2013 20:13:17 GMT -5
meteorites aren't cracked and re-filled either. At least those I have seen.
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kellyj
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since December 2013
Posts: 100
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Post by kellyj on Dec 22, 2013 20:44:40 GMT -5
Now I feel like a total air-head . I only know the very basics (from Meteorite men) but I see I still have a lot to learn. Also I have more photos from a friend's collection - he knows a lot more about meteorites than I do and from everything that he described on how to identify them it seems he has the real thing.....Should I post the photos?
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Post by vegasjames on Dec 22, 2013 23:58:03 GMT -5
Hello all,
I found this rock one day by the river. It has all the features of a meteorite: My strong magnet stuck like glue to it -even on the white part-, melting pattern, and its very heavy.
I wanted to see what you all thought of it and get some advice on it.
Identifying meteorites is generally no easy task. They can vary quite bit in composition and some very closely resemble terrestrial rocks. Even some of the "experts" cannot agree. I have one stone that is very magnetic and full of olivine and iron-nickel in the center. I sent a large chunk to a well known meteorite hunter and he wrote me back claiming that it was not a meteorite because it was not magnetic. First of all not all meteorites are magnetic. In this case though I had already examined it quite thoroughly and had it checked for magnetism a number of times, and it attracted a magnet easily and strongly. So I have no idea how he came up with that. When I tried to get it sent back he had already thrown it away. Another stone I have had checked by various experts. One who examined it for a while thought it could be a Martian meteorite. One looked at a photo and claimed it was terrestrial due to the rings around some of the inclusions show that it was formed on Earth. Apparently this guy never heard of reaction rings found in meteorites. Scary thing is that he classifies meteorites. Another lab simply glanced at it and said it was terrestrial. The lab that is actually doing the testing has had the samples for nearly 7 years. And testing done so far apparently shows it is a meteorite. They cannot do classification though until the oxygen isotope analysis test is completed, which is taking a while. I have seen other stones first classified to be meteorites by labs then later found to be terrestrial and others that had to be reclassified after being classified. So again, it is not always an easy task so don't feel like an "air-head". Even some of the "experts" are air-heads when it comes to identifying meteorites. Your stone though is definitely not a meteorite. The layered banding is the biggest give-a-way. Quartz can be found in meteorites, but it is rare and it is only found in very small amounts. Small enough that you would not see it with the naked eye. What it appears to me that you have is magnetite, which is commonly mistaken for meteorites. A good site to post your pics is meteoritejunction.com that have people well versed in meteorites and can help you with learning how to identify meteorites as well. They will ask that the sample be cut and polished a little so the inside can be seen or a window ground in to the stone. This allows us to look for features such as flakes of iron-nickel and chondrules, which are found in the most common meteorites.
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kellyj
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since December 2013
Posts: 100
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Post by kellyj on Dec 23, 2013 10:38:14 GMT -5
Thanks, James, that was very helpful and puts my mind at ease .
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Deleted
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Member since January 1970
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Dec 23, 2013 17:38:34 GMT -5
I sent a large chunk to a well known meteorite hunter and he wrote me back claiming that it was not a meteorite because it was not magnetic. First of all not all meteorites are magnetic. In this case though I had already examined it quite thoroughly and had it checked for magnetism a number of times, and it attracted a magnet easily and strongly. So I have no idea how he came up with that. When I tried to get it sent back he had already thrown it away. That sir, sounds more like theft than a mere mis-identification. When I had my reptile store we hatched eggs for customers as a courtesy and so we could buy the babies for our showroom. Another store 6 miles away did the same. Over time we ran into a dozen clients that brought us eggs to be amazed when they hatched. These clients were surprised because they never hatched at the other store. They were told the eggs were not good the parents must be sterile (a very rare occurrence). It never occurred to me to lie to the client and take the babies for free. HA!!
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Post by vegasjames on Dec 23, 2013 20:56:41 GMT -5
I sent a large chunk to a well known meteorite hunter and he wrote me back claiming that it was not a meteorite because it was not magnetic. First of all not all meteorites are magnetic. In this case though I had already examined it quite thoroughly and had it checked for magnetism a number of times, and it attracted a magnet easily and strongly. So I have no idea how he came up with that. When I tried to get it sent back he had already thrown it away. That sir, sounds more like theft than a mere mis-identification. When I had my reptile store we hatched eggs for customers as a courtesy and so we could buy the babies for our showroom. Another store 6 miles away did the same. Over time we ran into a dozen clients that brought us eggs to be amazed when they hatched. These clients were surprised because they never hatched at the other store. They were told the eggs were not good the parents must be sterile (a very rare occurrence). It never occurred to me to lie to the client and take the babies for free. HA!! Possibly, but without classification it really is not worth much of anything if it is a meteorite. Classified it could be worth quite a bit of money, especially since it would not be classified as a common chondrite. If a meteorite between $5-10 unclassified. If classified it would likely be over $1,000. He cannot get it classified though without having the total known weight and most labs will not classify unless the finding coordinated are given, which he also does not have. I still do find it extremely weird though that someone who handles and identifies meteorites so often could make such as major mistake and thinking that a stone with very clear magnetic properties is non-magnetic. So all I can think of is that confused my stone with someone else's stone after getting distracted and therefore threw it away. I still have the res of the stone and if I can figure out where I put it i intend to send it off to the lab one of these days for a professional analysis. It just is not a priority stone right now as I have some larger NWA meteorites I want to send off first. A few appear to be rarer forms of chondrites. Since most labs only take one sample at a time and it can take quite a while to get an answer I want to focus on stones that I already know for 100% are meteorites.
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Post by vegasjames on Dec 23, 2013 21:18:06 GMT -5
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