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MeteoritesLarge (?) meteorite

18th Apr 2010 19:17 UTCTex lang

I've found a (comparitively) large (+/-5 lb meteorite) in my back yard (western Nevada) and am wondering if it has value. It is

1. roughly 128mm wide x 137mm tall x 76mm thick;

2. has distinct, scalloped regmaglypts on the main face and other faces to some extent;

3. has a smooth, almost shiny metallic black patina/ crust all over it with some very slight rust (oxidation) showing;

4. is magnetic and affects a compass passed around it;

5. is quite heavy/dense for its size (not porous at all).


I'm pretty sure it is not from this property as the previous owner was quite the rockhound.


Do I get lab tests run and what kind? Thin slices? I have no idea what to do with this thing but, by all the stuff I've seen for sale, it is VERY unique indeed.

18th Apr 2010 19:35 UTCTex lang

-- moved topic --

18th Apr 2010 20:26 UTCDonald Vaughn

picture plus there are forums dedicated to meteorites http://www.meteoritesusa.com/skyrockcafe-meteorite-forum/

who may be of more assistance

18th Apr 2010 21:03 UTCJolyon Ralph Founder

Firstly, very unique? as opposed to just slightly unique? :)


Ok. 99.9% of things people think are meteorites end up being something very terrestrial. You really need to get it examined by someone to identify it properly. Absolutely no point discussing value until that's done.


No, it's not going to help much sending a photo. Take it to a museum.


Jolyon

19th Apr 2010 02:49 UTCTex lang

Well...it's bigger than your average grapefruit, weighs 6-1/4 lbs, has marks in it like somebody dragged their fingers through wet clay so it's kinda special around this house. heh heh heh... Thanks for the help tho. Have some feelers out already for some testing and expert help on the matter.

Tex

24th Apr 2010 22:21 UTCAnonymous User

found rock greenish with melted iron flow out of center. Melted round hole in rock also.

25th Apr 2010 04:52 UTCJames Christopher

Would need to post a picture at the very least.

26th Apr 2010 07:18 UTCMatteo Chinellato Expert

the 99,99% of " I think its a meteorite " I have control in at 12 years I work on meteorites its result hematite, marcasite, slags, limonite etc... only in 2 case its confirmed the meteorite origin

29th Jun 2010 21:05 UTCteresa soler.(terita)

eso pienso yo tambiem,siempre deseamos lo que no tenemos,y en eso estamos,´´ pensando,´´ que lo que parece, es en realidad lo que no tenemos.un meteorito.

29th Jun 2010 21:07 UTCMatteo Chinellato Expert

for me its a fusion slag

30th Jun 2010 15:18 UTCUwe Kolitsch Manager

Yes, slag.

30th Jun 2010 16:47 UTCMike Jensen

Hi Tex


you wrote

is magnetic and affects a compass passed around it


That to me that indicates magnetite. So to find out for sure do a streak test. Just take a piece of white unglazed porcelain and scratch the piece on it. It should give you a very diagnostic colored streak. It will be steel gray if it is magnetite. If you don't have a piece of porcelain just use the back side of your toilet bowl lid. If yours is not white then go to your local hardware store and buy a cheap white bathroom/kitchen tile.


For best results you might try to streak a "fresh" interior piece. Because one of the mineralogical components of fusion crust is magnetite.



Let us know the results.

10th Feb 2011 19:51 UTCJason Evans

I'm no meteorite expert but I have a small collection and the picture does not resemble a meteorite to me, the regmaglypts you mentioned dont look like the regmaglypts ive seen on other photos of meteorites, and the ones on my sikhote alin, also i see what looks like some kind of vesicle, like a popped bubble, i dont think these are seen in meteorites, but are certtainy visible in pieces of slag, there can be lots of types of slag, some are glassy and some are metallic so that would explain the magnetism.

When i was younger i used to find lots of this weird shaped heavy metallic stuff and was convinced it was meteorites, the fact that where i live was built around the railway industry and i always used to find it near the railworks sort of slipped my attention, i was young and excited about my "meteorites" but soon discovered it was just slag!

I say i am not an expert but i do know a little bit more than the average person who doesnt collect meteorites, I was able to confidently id a meteor"wrong" for a freind of a freind, he was conviced he had a meteorite and i took one look at it and told him its a pyrite (or marcasite) nodule, they are found in chalk in my area, i didnt mention that at first and waited to see what he said, he was still convinced he had a meteorite so i said, i bet you found this in chalk didnt you and he said "uh yeah, how did you know?" I told him if he broke it open he would see rays of greenish brassy pyrite radiating out from the centre, i dont know if he did that but he certianly quit insisting it was a meteorite after i said that.

not that I took any enjoyment in telling him he doesnt have a meteorite, i know from my slag experience what ist liek to be disapointed when you find out you dont have what you think you have!, but he wanted to know, and I wasnt going to lie about it just to make him happy!
 
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