Identification of a genuine meteorite takes a practiced eye, but there are a number of simple tests that can help hopeful rock hounds determine if they have stumbled across a rare space rock, or just a common earthbound stone. Meteorites tend to look different from the ordinary terrestrial rocks around them.

Meteorites are fragments of rock or metal that fall to Earth from space. They are very rare, but many people find unusual rocks or pieces of metal and wonder if they might have found a meteorite. The USGS doesn't verify meteorites, but they have several properties that help distinguish them from other rocks:

2024年8月9日 · To gauge whether a rock might be a meteorite, you can begin by assessing its weight in your hand. If it feels notably heavier for its size, it could be a promising candidate. To conduct a more precise density test, measure the rock’s mass using a scale and determine its volume using an appropriate method, such as the water displacement method.

Stone meteorites often have grains of nickel-iron in them. Metallic iron in rocks from the Earth is very rare. The moist atmosphere of the Earth has turned almost all native iron to some other chemical form of iron long ago.

There are three classes of meteorites: stony, iron, and stony-iron. A meteorite is heavier than an ordinary rock and will be attracted to a magnet. The condition of a meteorite can range from fresh to very weathered. Fresh meteorites have fusion crust, an aerodynamic shape and possibly thumbprints (regmaglypts).

Stony meteorites known as chondrites are by far the most common type of meteorite found. Some characteristics of chondrite meteorites — fusion crust, flowlines, and regmaglypts — weather away quickly and are usually found only on stones that haven't been on Earth for very long.

If you would like to learn more about meteorite identification, and discover how to perform some other simple tests at home, please visit The Aerolite Guide to Meteorite Identification. Meteorites are very valuable both to the scientific community and to enthusiastic collectors.

You’ve found a dark rock that looks different from all the others nearby. You press on it; you smell it; you look closely at it. It is definitely… a rock. But could it be a meteorite? How can you tell? Here are three points to get you started on identifying meteorites.

To effectively identify meteorites, one must first categorize them. Each type exhibits specific physical properties. The classification system often involves identifying their mineral content and structure, such as: Stony meteorites: Composed mainly of silicate minerals.

Stony Meteorites. The stone type of meteorite is almost completely rocky material and are also the most common type. There are dozens of subgroups in this family. The simplest breakdown of the stony group is, Chondrites, Achondrites, and the Planetary meteorites containing the achondrites that have unique origins. Chondrites