Personal opinions please Lunar/martian meteorites or not?

[ETsmyhomeboy]

TL;DR Summary

Are these lunar/Martian meteorites??

Hello I have some awesome rocks that I have a strong gut feeling could possibly be of some value. Pennies for your thoughts please

 

[davenn]

Hi there
welcome to PF and a Happy Easter to you and family.
Hope you are staying safe at home

Summary:: Are these lunar/Martian meteorites??

Hello I have some awesome rocks that I have a strong gut feeling could possibly be of some value. Pennies for your thoughts please

Having both Lunar and Mars meteorites in my collection and having seen many others,
the light coloured ones are not ones that jump out at me as being from either source
They look terrestrial

Now, that is in contrast to the 3 grey ones in the lower part of the last photo,
but you didn't do closeups of them. ... Please do so and post them

Lunar meteorites are typically breccias and also typically a grey colour like
this one of mine ...

NOTE: that meteorites from either source are relatively rare.

A fresh cut and wet surface of the one or more of the lighter ones would
help to identify its/their composition

regards
Dave

 

[davenn]

Here's a typical Mars meteorite

They are always stony meteorites of the Achondrite class ( no chondrules present)
Their metal content is very low, typically less than 2.5%. This sample is ~ 2cm wide
Like Lunar meteorites, ones from Mars are typically always breccias as well.
Breccia type rocks can be identified by the broken rough particles within the sample

 

[ETsmyhomeboy]

hi davenn and happy Easter to you as well thank you so much for showing me your cool meteorites! I took closer pics for you. Also I was wondering about this pink one and light color frosted looking one ( i know it's probably quartz but i know the moon has itty bitty diamond fragments in it and thought"oohhmy that'd be super wicked")

 

[ETsmyhomeboy]

And as for the light colored ones, they have a pearl grayish look and smooth feel and the powder when I sand/brush it is light brown and smells like a super old attic or like my great grandmas house . if that makes sense

 

[davenn]

These below are breccias, note the angular shape to the clasts ( pieces inside the mass)
The unknown question is what is their source ?
The two natural sources of breccia rocks on Earth are volcanic and sedimentary ( water -
marine or fresh water) deposits. In sedimentary - water deposited - material, the
coarseness of the clasts tells you something about how far they have traveled from the source.
The smoother/rounder, the further they have travelled.

So, my question to you now is, where did you get these from ?
be reasonably specific so that the identity of the rocks/ geology of that area can be determined.
That way we can possibly determine if they are part of the local geology or not.

The tricky part is, I have seen lumps of broken up concrete that looks like this.
And there is a remote possibility that they are not natural samples, rather they are
the dumped remains of a demolished building etcDave

 

[davenn]

These 3 all look sedimentary

I like that last one, it looks like a quartzite / sandstone. The little shiny flecks in it
are probably small flakes of mica.

 

[davenn]

Summary:: Are these lunar/Martian meteorites??

Hello I have some awesome rocks

In all my ramblings, I forgot one important factor. Virtually all meteorites, regardless of their source
will have a fusion crust. Rare with iron meteorites but not on stony-irons or stony meteorites.
Aboput the only time the fusion crust will not be seen is when the meteorite has been on Earth a very
long time and it has eroded off and in cases like that, weathering will be very obvious with the outer
part of the meteorite being quite crumbly.

Fusion crusts form on a meteor as it is coming through the atmosphere and an outer layer melts with
the entry heat and forms a (usually) black thin crust, ~ 1mm, on the outside of the landed meteorite

here's some examples of fusion crusts

one from my own collection

and some others
a cross-section showing the thin fusion crust...

Even if the meteorite has suffered significant weathering there is still likely to be some
fusion crust visible ...

As you can see from your rocks, there is a total lack of crust on any of them which on it's own,
without any chemical composition analysis, negates them from being meteorites.cheers
Dave

 

[ETsmyhomeboy]

Thank you so much! I appreciate an informative response so much. The three "breccia" rocks were gathered in a west va forest. Pretty much all my rocks were. Same woods just different parts. Oh and one field. I've got a rack of them tho I love finding cool rocks. Like if they're not "valuable" I don't care I still think they're special I legit have have pieces of shale rock because they look like they have some picture on

 

[ETsmyhomeboy]

Hmm. My reply has to inboxed to you lol

 

[davenn]

Thank you so much! I appreciate an informative response so much.

You are welcome

The three "breccia" rocks were gathered in a west va forest. Pretty much all my rocks were. Same woods just different parts.

OK thanks for that

Oh and one field. I've got a rack of them tho I love finding cool rocks. Like if they're not "valuable" I don't care I still think they're special I legit have have pieces of shale rock because they look like they have some picture on

Cool I have been collecting rocks, minerals and fossils since I was ~ 8 yrs old. Am over 60 yrs old now.
I got my first meteorites about 15 years ago when in the USA and I visited Meteor Crater in Arizona.
Since them have been building up the collection and now have over 60 samples from many parts of the world.

Meteorites are just an extension of my rock and mineral collecting. It's very cool to hang onto a rock that has
zoomed through space for up to several billion years before collidingf with the Earth.

Do some good reading on the subject, if you are on facebook, there are a number of very good meteorite
groups. On the www in general, there is so much good info from universities, museums and trustworthy
private collectors/sellers.

Above all, have fun cheers
from Sydney, Australia
Dave

 

[pleeb]

Has anyone mentioned the standard test of a simple magnet?

 

[ETsmyhomeboy]

Has anyone mentioned the standard test of a simple magnet?

Yes but I believe this to be lunar Martian which seldomly have iron in them.

 

[ETsmyhomeboy]

You are welcome
OK thanks for that
Cool I have been collecting rocks, minerals and fossils since I was ~ 8 yrs old. Am over 60 yrs old now.
I got my first meteorites about 15 years ago when in the USA and I visited Meteor Crater in Arizona.
Since them have been building up the collection and now have over 60 samples from many parts of the world.

Meteorites are just an extension of my rock and mineral collecting. It's very cool to hang onto a rock that has
zoomed through space for up to several billion years before collidingf with the Earth.

Do some good reading on the subject, if you are on facebook, there are a number of very good meteorite
groups. On the www in general, there is so much good info from universities, museums and trustworthy
private collectors/sellers.

Above all, have fun cheers
from Sydney, Australia
Dave

Wow your house must be stocked with awesome finds! I just started like 4 years ago on and off. And currently i am not affiliated with any social media but I'm sure they have some great groups.

Continuing from our message replies though,
These are some meteorites that resemble some of the pieces that I have which is why I kind of pushed the dense impact crust thought to the side.

Also check out these super cool fossils that are in one of my rocks(last pic) What do you think those can be from? I think I know how they got there but I just want your opinion.
Thanks !

 

[davenn]

No No No ... it's a scam.
I have 2 pieces of that meteorite and it's an Iron type not a stone
There has been 230kg in total recovered. The largest piece is 15kg
so that 100kg rock in that photo is a fake ... well it's a rock, just not that meteorite

...

Looks like the real thing, I have a piece of the Sericho, it's one of those beautiful Pallasite
meteorites, you can even see a little bit if fusion crust on the one in that photo
and that is what a raw Pallasite looks like on the outside

.....

I strongly doubt the authenticity of those 3
looks like a lumps of quartz or similar. Don't look like any typical stone meteorite
without any certificate of authenticity, their value is nothing
I would strongly suggest a con job.

......

yup, some nice marine fossils in this piece

Dave

 

[ETsmyhomeboy]

View attachment 260630

No No No ... it's a scam.
I have 2 pieces of that meteorite and it's an Iron type not a stone
There has been 230kg in total recovered. The largest piece is 15kg
so that 100kg rock in that photo is a fake ... well it's a rock, just not that meteorite

View attachment 260621

...

Looks like the real thing, I have a piece of the Sericho, it's one of those beautiful Pallasite
meteorites, you can even see a little bit if fusion crust on the one in that photo
and that is what a raw Pallasite looks like on the outside
View attachment 260624

.....

I strongly doubt the authenticity of those 3
looks like a lumps of quartz or similar. Don't look like any typical stone meteorite
without any certificate of authenticity, their value is nothing
I would strongly suggest a con job.

View attachment 260625
View attachment 260627
View attachment 260628
......

yup, some nice marine fossils in this piece

View attachment 260629Dave

Ohhh ok. I never really trust eBay or etsy anywayYea that's what I thought too ! They look straight quartz ! And that's an awesome pallasite! How long does it take for a crust to get weathered off a lunar martian or stone? I mean if you think about it there's probably sooooo many undiscovered pieces of meteor from the dinosaur extinction that haven't been found, and from then, til they actually started documenting the landings (thank you sumerians ) you know?
And that piece of rock with fossils was found in a completely dry forest for miles and miles near my bfs deer stand. Its odd too because I see that same fossil imprint on some other rocks i found in totally dry wooded areas.

 

[pleeb]

Yes but I believe this to be lunar Martian which seldomly have iron in them.

As far as my research shows you'd need electron microscopy analysis of the minerals. It looks like a job for a lab. Even then it would speculation. Kaidun would have to be present because Phobos and Deimos are captured asteroids themselves. Good luck.

 

[davenn]

……………………….
And that piece of rock with fossils was found in a completely dry forest for miles and miles near my bfs deer stand. Its odd too because I see that same fossil imprint on some other rocks i found in totally dry wooded areas.

Being found in a dry wooded area isn't really relevant. The fact that you have marine fossils
in that area tells you that when that sediment and marine life was laid down ( millions of years
ago), it was all under water

Marine fossils can be found on mountain tops. Those mountains were once seafloor and have
been uplifted due to tectonics

Dave

 

[ETsmyhomeboy]

Being found in a dry wooded area isn't really relevant. The fact that you have marine fossils
in that area tells you that when that sediment and marine life was laid down ( millions of years
ago), it was all under water

Marine fossils can be found on mountain tops. Those mountains were once seafloor and have
been uplifted due to tectonics

Dave

Ohhh ok gotcha. that's so cool!