Stone and iron meteorites... For thousands of years, these stones falling from the sky were considered something inexplicable, mystical and even divine. Until the end of the 18th century, European scientists considered the assumption that meteorites fell from the sky to be nothing more than a delusion.

Ancient people observed shooting stars and subsequently found unusual stones, sometimes not yet cooled down. These were the gifts of the spirits, which laid the foundation for many religious cults that worshiped the Heavenly Stones.

Meteorites are nothing but fragments of other worlds. Most of them come from the asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter and were formed at the beginning of the solar system. That is why we learned most of the information about the age, history and chemical composition of the solar system from a detailed study of meteorites.

There are three main categories of meteorites: stony, stony-iron, and iron. Meteoritic scientists have divided meteorites into even more types, and from this they have reconstructed an amazingly detailed history of the origin of the solar system.

iron meteorites

Hanbury possesses many regmaglipts. The specimen is ~26 cm long.

Iron meteorites are the easiest to recognize. Since even a superficial examination suggests that this is not an ordinary stone. As a rule, such meteorites are often found in collections. However, they are rare in space. Quite heavy, covered with a thin crust (traces of melting during the passage of the earth's atmosphere), they are metal in appearance and content. The chemical composition is mainly iron with a few percent nickel and cobalt. If it is sawn in half and polished, the so-called Widmanstätten figures will be visible (see the figure on the left). These figures are formed as a result of a long period of cooling under high pressure. Iron meteorites were once part of the cores of large celestial bodies, most likely asteroids. Iron-stony meteorites formed between the core and the mantle, stony meteorites - closer to the mantle. Collisions in the asteroid belt destroy them and push debris into the solar system. From time to time some of them fall in the form of meteorites to the Earth.

In ancient times, when they had not yet learned how to smelt iron from ores, iron from meteorites was very rare and valued much more valuable than gold. Jewelry was smelted from it, weapons were made for the nobility, and luxury items. The Hittites were considered recognized masters in the processing of meteoric iron, making it, as they would say now, an export item. For example, Egypt supplied the Hittite kingdom with bread, and the Hittites imported into Egypt, including iron.

stone meteorites

These are the most common meteorites that fall to Earth. Many of them are from the outer part of asteroids that were destroyed in the collision, some may have once been part of a larger celestial body. stone meteorites differ from each other in appearance, some of them are light, others are dark, coarse-grained and fine-grained. The chemical composition is also diverse, but it clearly indicates that the meteorite is of unearthly origin. Their diversity and the fact that they look like ordinary stones to the untrained eye makes them problematic to detect. Therefore, although stony meteorites are the most common type in space, they are rarer than iron meteorites in terrestrial collections.

Iron-stone meteorites

These are very rare meteorites (less than 1% of all meteorites found). They look like iron interspersed with stone or vice versa. I can't help but dwell on one of the types - this is pallasite. It is an iron-nickel frame interspersed with olivine crystals. There is also such a variety as mesosiderites - these are meteorites in which metal inclusions are in a silicate matrix, that is, vice versa, with respect to the first type. It is difficult not to note that pallasite looks more beautiful than its relative and is more valued - to evaluate the appearance of this iron-stone meteorite you can in the photo on the left.

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When a suspicious stone or piece of iron is found, many are immediately interested in how to identify a meteorite. To really make sure that you have an object in front of you that is of extraterrestrial origin, you need to figure out what they are like at all. Another parameter that the lucky ones who were lucky enough to find a meteorite want to know about is its cost. But it is not so easy to determine it at home. How much a meteorite costs can depend on many factors, some of which are not so obvious at first glance.

Flight of the meteorite

meteorite definition

Meteorites are divided into three categories: stony, iron and mixed. Since iron is found in most meteorites, the first thing to do is to check if the found stone has magnetic properties. In addition, meteorites are usually heavier than rock and have a higher concentration of nickel than any terrestrial rock.

Goba is considered the largest meteorite found; according to some sources, its weight was about 60 tons.

The most difficult question to answer is how to recognize a meteorite at home if you come across a sample of a mixed structure. Usually the ratio of iron and silicate materials is 1 to 1. And there are two types of them: pallasite and mesosiderite. The latter are rare.

The most common are stone meteorites, they make up to 95% of all finds. Iron meteorites come across in 5% of cases.

This is what a meteorite looks like

If you look at the meteorite under a magnifying glass, you can find spots of iron inside it, but in addition, there are still mineral inclusions that have a spherical shape and are called chondrules.

The material surrounding such patches of iron and chondra is called the matrix. Chondrules are formed in a vacuum environment and at zero gravity, therefore they have such a shape.

On the surface of a meteorite, one can notice what is called the meteorite melting crust. It is a thin veneer of black material and is formed during the entry of a meteoroid into the earth's atmosphere. Outwardly, it is very similar to coal, and if the meteorite is of the stone type, then it has an outer part that looks like concrete.

Another important indicator that helps at home to attribute the find to a meteorite is regmaglipts. These are structures formed during the passage of the atmosphere by a meteorite. They may take the form of recesses, buckets, ridges or depressions on the surface. Such structures are formed where the surface was less dense and melted under the action of high temperatures. Such notches have another name - fingerprints. They were given this name because usually the finger fits well into such structures.

If the meteorite is sawn, then inside it will be possible to notice widmanshtet structures. This is a kind of metallographic structure of alloys, which has the correct arrangement of elements in the form of plates, polygons or needles. They form an alloy of crystalline structures. Such patterns arise when, under the influence of low temperatures in space, different elements of crystalline structures are unable to mix.

Other factors that will help distinguish a meteorite at home are:

• The thickness of the melting crust should not exceed 1 mm. If it has a large thickness, then it is an earth stone.
• Meteorites that fell not so long ago should not have cavities. However, if the sample has been stored in the ground for a long time, it may have them due to corrosion of metal inclusions.
• So far, stratified meteorites have not been found, any find that has such a structure is of terrestrial origin.
• A sample that has inclusions of blue or red is not a meteorite.
• If a stone is similar in structure to metal and at the same time does not magnetize at all, then this is not a meteorite. Of course, there are non-magnetic metals, but they have not yet fallen from the sky.
• Meteorites have a characteristic shape. It is difficult to describe it, but having some experience in this, it will be very difficult to confuse a meteorite with an earthly stone.

These are characteristics that indicate that you have a meteorite in your hands. If you still doubt the origin of your find, then you should contact the professionals. There are entire communities that are engaged in the search and study of meteorites. People interested in this are called meteorite hunters.

Any meteorites after the search must be examined and registered. This is done to help scientists in their study. After registering them in the scientific community, documents confirming the authenticity of the find will be issued for the meteorite. So when buying, you can require such documents.

Sikhote-Alin meteorite

meteorite price

As with other collectibles, its price can be determined by various factors. Among them: the type, rarity of the find, the history associated with its fall, aesthetic appeal, weight, and many others.

• The cost of most stone meteorites is low. Unclassified stone chondrites will have a price of about half a dollar per gram. For some meteorites, which have a more attractive appearance, it can be 2 or 3 times more.
• Iron meteorites are somewhat more expensive. For example, the Sikhote-Alin meteorite, which fell in 1947 on the territory of the Soviet Union and was found in the form of whole fragments, costs approximately 2-3 dollars per gram. It is highly prized among collectors for its sculptural qualities.
• Pallasites - one of the subspecies of iron-stone meteorites - are much more expensive. Firstly, because they are rarer, and secondly, because of the content of precious metals in them. They are much more beautiful, and when processed, they have excellent qualities - strength and resistance to destruction. Specimens of such an extraterrestrial rock are estimated at $ 20-40 per gram.
• Particularly rare meteorites are those that are of lunar or Martian origin. They cost even more. The price of such meteorites exceeds the price of the most popular precious metal - gold - 40 times, and reaches $ 1,000 per gram.

One of the criteria for evaluating a meteorite is the unusual nature of its origin. For example, a meteorite can be valued dearly, which, when falling, destroyed someone's apartment or car. It will affect the assessment of the meteorite and whether it was seen, or even better - filmed on a photo or video camera during the fall. Interestingly, some collectors are looking for just such a meteorite that fell on some significant date for them. A stone that will be described in the scientific literature will be more expensive.

Sometimes the largest museums in the world are engaged in buying meteorites from hunters or sales dealers. Such purchases subsequently have a label or museum number, which can also significantly affect their value. Meteorites from the American Museum of Natural History in the City of New York or the Natural History Museum in London are especially prized.

Some of the most famous meteorite collectors were Harvey Nieninger and Glenn Goose. They had a large collection. If such a well-known collection contained and referred to any meteorite specimen, then the rest of that meteorite specimen immediately became much more expensive.

One day in 1992, a meteorite fell on the luggage compartment of a car in Kuntukki. The weight of this meteorite was a little more than twelve kilograms, but he himself belonged to unremarkable chondrites. The meteorite was named Peekskill. However, its origin makes it unique and desirable for collectors all over the world. If a regular stone meteorite can be purchased for as little as 0.5-1 dollar per gram, then a Peekskill sample can be purchased for 100-200 times more, and finding someone to sell it to you will not be easy.

Another important point that can significantly increase the value of the found meteorite is its unusual shape. Basically, it is iron meteorites that have especially beautiful forms. Some collectors are so attracted to them that they are willing to pay rather big sums for them. This form is acquired by a meteorite during fiery processing - the passage of the densest layers of the atmosphere. Such a red-hot iron meteorite, as it flies, can acquire rather unusual sculptural, aesthetic forms.

If you want to buy a meteorite

When buying, it is important to remember that since meteorites are a very expensive commodity, the reputation of the seller here comes first. In the world, a large number of fake meteorites are sold and bought daily, so be careful.

Meteorite lots at the largest auctions in the world are often full of such ads: "a meteorite of excellent museum quality" and so on. But this is hypocrisy at best. Very often this turns out to be just a scam. There are very few samples of this quality meteorites in the world. Before making a purchase, carefully study the seller's rating and reviews, and do not hesitate to ask questions about the origin of the meteorite and its accompanying documents.

Sites that sell meteorites and give true information about it have the IMCA logo. This logo signifies that the seller is a member of an international meteorite collectors organization and follows its code. Such an organization ensures that its conditions are met, primarily the reliability of information about the sample being sold. Such a logo will be a guarantee that you will not part with your money in vain.

Finding a real meteorite is not so easy. Every day, 5-6 tons of such objects fall on the ground, which is approximately 2 thousand tons per year. Most meteorites that fall to Earth weigh from a few grams to several kilograms. It is important to contact only trusted dealers, and you can find them by coordinates on the communities of collectors. You can check the authenticity of the meteorite at home, but it is better to contact a specialist.

The Chelyabinsk meteorite is an ordinary chondrite, which contains metallic iron, olivine and sulfites, and a melting crust is also present. Received the name Chebarkul.

The meteorite raised from the bottom of Lake Chebarkul will be examined and then transferred for storage to the Chelyabinsk Regional Museum of Local Lore. The lifting of the celestial body from the water will be carried out by the Aleut company from Yekaterinburg. The divers managed to calculate the coordinates of the place where the meteorite is located and its approximate dimensions. A meteorite measuring 50x90 centimeters is located at a depth of nine meters.

The Chelyabinsk meteorite is a chondrite. Carbonaceous chondrites are "loose" meteorites of a silicate composition that is part of the core of ice comets. The Tunguska meteorite was just such a comet - a giant ball of dirty ice with dust and stones. The destruction of a celestial body over Nevada and California in 2012, the Chelyabinsk meteorite, are phenomena of the same order.

“The Chelyabinsk meteorite became an almost complete copy of the Tunguska meteorite and largely explained its phenomenon to scientists,” said Vitaly Romeiko, Moscow astronomer, head of the Zvenigorod observatory, leader of 24 Tunguska expeditions. - The analogy is direct. And here and there the explosion occurred several kilometers above the surface of the Earth. Both celestial bodies flew at the same time of day - early in the morning. Both of them ended up in the same geographical region - in Siberia. The whole complex of atmospheric phenomena - the flight of a superbolide, the glow of which was brighter than the sun, the white condensation trail in the sky, the hissing, crackling that accompanied the fall - the description of the explosion is very similar.

Kunashak is a stone meteorite-chondrite with a total weight of 200 kg (about 20 fragments) that fell on July 11, 1949 on the territory of the Kunashaksky district of the Chelyabinsk region. It was named after the village of Kunashak, the district center of the Chelyabinsk region, near which it was found.

Pervomaisky meteorite.
A chondrite meteorite weighing 49,000 grams fell on December 26, 1933 in the Yuryev-Polsky district of the Ivanovo region, in Pervomaisky village. “According to eyewitnesses, at six o’clock in the evening on December 26, 1933, a huge, moon-sized, utterly dazzling fireball with lightning speed swept across the sky from the southeast to the northwest almost through the entire Ivanovo region, crumbled behind the Yuryev-Polsky fireworks cascade sparks and went out, breaking out for tens of kilometers around with thunderous peals and a long-lasting rumble. Glass rang, huts shuddered, panic seized the population ... "L.A. Kulik, 1934

Part of the Mill Sutter meteorite weighing 17.7 grams.
"A bright east-west moving fireball was spotted on April 22, 2012 in California and Nevada at 7:51 am local daylight saving time. Mill Sutter is an unusual type of carbonaceous chondrite.

Chinese tektite, 1905 Tektites are formed as a result of the melting of the earth's crust during a powerful impact of a meteorite, and then scatter from the crater over long distances.

Stone meteorite Pultusk, type - Chondrite H5. Weight 11 gr.
The fall occurred on January 30, 1868 at 7:00 pm near the town of Pultusk, about 60 kilometers northeast of Warsaw. Thousands of people witnessed the fall of a large fireball, followed by a detonation and a "shower" of small debris falling on ice, land and houses over an area of ​​​​about 127 square kilometers. The estimated number of fragments was 68,780.
The total mass of meteorites is 8863 kg. The vast majority of fragments were small, (a few grams), now known as Pultusk peas.

Stone meteorite Gujba, a plate of the rarest meteorite weighing 41.39 grams.
The Gujba meteorite is a carbonaceous chondrite, bencubbinite type. A meteorite weighing about 100 kg was broken by local residents.
Fall: April 3, 1984 Yobe, Nigeria

The Ellersley meteorite hit the roof of a house in South Auckland in May 2004. It was chipped from falling on the iron roof.

Antarctic meteorite.
Thin section of crystalline chondrite with olivine-orthopyroxene content

Plainview meteorite. Stone meteorite that fell in 1917 in Texas

Plainview meteorite

Kirbyville (Eucrite) meteorite fell in Texas, USA, on November 12, 1906. The total mass is 97.7 g. It is an achondrite.

Portales Valley, Roosevelt County, New Mexico, USA Fall: 1998 Jun 13 7:30 AM MDT
Ordinary chondritis (H6). During the fall, explosions were heard and a smoky streak was visible in the sky.

Middlesbrough meteorite, England. Fell March 14, 1881. Weight 1.5 kg.
The meteorite belongs to the category of chondrites. Its age is approximately 4500 million years
3D scanning of the object was carried out by NASA specialists in 2010.

Pasamonte Fall year: 1933, USA Weight: 5.1 kg Achondrite

H5 Dar Bou Nali South Morocco

Chondrite. Italy, 1910

Carbonate chondrite

GaoGuenie Meteorite

Iron, ironstone and achondrites. iron meteorites.

Most iron meteorites, when sawn, polished, and etched with acid, show a lattice-like pattern on the treated surfaces, which are called Widmanstatt figures. Such a pattern occurs if, when the temperature is lowered, the two crystallizing minerals can no longer completely mix in solid form.

Let us suppose that the atoms of two elements are similar but not identical (for example, the atoms of iron and nickel), and therefore they, individually, form crystal lattices slightly different from each other. At high temperatures, these two types of atoms can freely exchange in the crystal due to the loose packing in the expanded crystal lattice. But as the temperature decreases, the difference between atoms of different types becomes noticeable.

There comes a time when the energy of the entire system can be reduced by distributing the atoms into two different lattices with a predominance of different elements, even if this does not result in a good coincidence of boundaries at the junctions of the lattices.

To minimize the mismatch, new lattices grow in the parent lattice along the prevailing directions in the form of plates of exsolution (decomposition of a solid solution). An example familiar to petrologists is the perthite structure in alkali feldspars.

Consider a mixture containing, say, 10% nickel in iron, at an initial temperature of 1000°C

Consider a mixture containing, say, 10% nickel in iron, at an initial temperature of 1000°C. At this temperature, both elements are completely miscible in solid solution, but when the temperature drops to point B, this is no longer the case. Below point B, inside the taenite lattice (y-phase of nickel iron), kamacite (a-phase of nickel iron) is formed, which has the composition Bx. Further cooling to point C increases the dissimilarity of the two crystal lattices, although the proportions of Ci and C2 should be such that the total composition is 10% Ni and 90% Fe.

Kamacite forms inside taenite along certain planes

Kamacite is formed inside taenite along certain planes corresponding to the surfaces of the octahedron; therefore, the name "octahedrite" is sometimes used for such meteorites. The surfaces of the octahedron (consisting of two pyramids adjoining the bases) belong to only four planes, since the opposite faces are parallel, and various Widmanstatt figures appear on random cuts through the crystal, similar, however, to the patterns that are visible in Fig.
For full development of the exsolution plates, it is necessary that the atoms have enough time to redistribute by diffusion in the solid state, and since diffusion slows down with decreasing temperature, eventually the composition of the crystal lattices is "frozen". The faster the cooling occurs, the higher the diffusion stagnation temperature. A detailed study of the composition of exsolution plates in a number of iron ones gives values ​​of the order of 1-10°C per million years for the cooling rate.

This slow cooling is best explained by assuming that each such meteorite was part of a hot body that cooled slowly due to its size, as well as due to the insulating effect of the "mantle" composed of silicates. Calculations show that the diameter of such a body should be on the order of several hundred kilometers, which is comparable to the size of large asteroids.

Meteorites, super category of finds with a metal detector. Expensive and replenished regularly. The only problem is how to distinguish a meteorite... Finds that look like a stone and give a response from a metal detector are not uncommon on detecting. At first, he tried to rub it against the blade of a shovel, and over time, he collected in his head the characteristic differences between celestial meteorites and earthly shmurdyak.

How to distinguish a meteorite from an artifact of terrestrial origin. Plus photos from the search engine forum, finds of meteorites and similar ones.

The good news is that 5000-6000 kilograms of meteorites fall on the earth in 24 hours. It is a pity that most of them go under water, but there are enough of them in the ground.

How to distinguish a meteorite

Two important properties. A meteorite never has an internal horizontal structure (layers). The meteorite does not look like a river stone.

Melted surface. If there is, that's a good sign. But if the meteorite lay in the ground or on the surface, the surface may lose its glaze (by the way, it is most often thin 1-2 mm).

The form. A meteorite can have any shape, even square. But if it's a regular ball or sphere, it's most likely not a meteorite.

magnetize. Almost all meteorites (about 90%) stick to any magnet. But the earth is full of natural stones with the same properties. If you see that it is metal, and it does not stick to a magnet, this find is most likely of terrestrial origin.

Appearance. Meteorites in 99% do not have inclusions of quartz and there are no "bubbles" in them. But often there is a grain structure. A good sign is "plastic dents", something like fingerprints in plasticine (the scientific name for such a surface is Regmaglipty). Meteorites most often contain iron, which, once on the ground, begins to oxidize, it looks like a rusty stone))

Photos of finds

There are a lot of photos of meteorites on the Internet ... I'm only interested in those that were found with a metal detector by ordinary people. Found and doubt whether it is a meteorite or not. Forum thread (bourgeois).

The usual expert advice is something like this ... Pay attention to the surface of this stone - the surface will definitely have dents. A real meteorite flies through the atmosphere, while it heats up very much and its surface “boils”. The upper layers of meteorites always retain traces of high temperature. Characteristic dents, similar to bursting bubbles, are the first characteristic feature of a meteorite.

You can try the stone for magnetic properties. Simply put, bring a magnet to it and move it over it. Find out if the magnet sticks to your stone. If the magnet sticks, then there is a suspicion that you really became the owner of a piece of a real celestial body. This type of meteorites is called iron. It happens that the meteorite does not magnetize too strongly, only in some fragments. Then it's probably a stony-iron meteorite.

There is also a type of meteorites - stone. It is possible to detect them, but it is difficult to determine that this is a meteorite. Here you can not do without chemical analysis. A feature of meteorites is the presence of rare earth metals. And it also has melting bark on it. Therefore, the meteorite is usually very dark in color. But there are also white ones.

Debris lying on the surface is not considered subsurface. You are not breaking any laws. The only thing that may sometimes be required is to obtain the opinion of the Committee on Meteorites of the Academy of Sciences, they must conduct research, assign a class to the meteorite. But this is if the find is very impressive, and it is difficult to sell it without a conclusion.

At the same time, it is impossible to argue that the search and sale of meteorites is an insanely profitable business. Meteorites are not bread, queues do not line up behind them. You can sell a piece of the "heavenly wanderer" more profitably abroad.

There are certain rules for the export of meteorite material. First you need to write an application to the Protection of Culture. There you will be sent to an expert who will write a conclusion whether the stone is subject to export. Usually, if it is a registered meteorite, there are no problems. You pay a state duty - 5-10% of the cost of the meteorite. And forward to foreign collectors.