A new space rock to my collection

[davenn]

I just love space rocks

The latest addition to my meteorite collection

NAME (LOCALITY): Huckitta, Huckitta cattle station, NT, Australia

FALL DATE: Unknown, found 1924 (TKW 2300kg)

CLASS: Pallasite, PMG-an
WEIGHT g: 220.1g
METEORITICAL BULLETIN: Never published in the Meteoritical Bulletin

https://www.lpi.usra.edu/meteor/metbull.php?code=11922

Interesting meteorite, it isn't like any of the other "normal" looking Pallasites I have or have seen.
It doesn't have the obvious Olivine "lumps" in it, rather the "stony bits are highly fractured with
fine lines of iron.
A nice end-cut piece.

front and back views

cheers
Dave

 

[berkeman]

Very cool, Dave. You've probably mentioned it before on the PF, but how do you store them, and do you wear gloves when you handle them? Do you do any presentations at local school science clubs or similar? I'm sure that kids would get pretty excited to actually see and hold them (with or without gloves).

 

[Klystron]

The largest meteorite I have seen in person was exhibited in the de Young Museum where it meets the Asian American Arts Museum in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. Cannot locate pictures online. While attending university, I volunteered as a docent at the museum and visited 'my' meteorite at every opportunity. If memory serves the meteorite was dark green, brown and black about the size of an early VW bug large enough for children to climb on it.

 

[davenn]

Very cool, Dave. You've probably mentioned it before on the PF, but how do you store them, and do you wear gloves when you handle them?

Thanks
this is one of 3 storage cases for my meteorites ( I use them for the smaller rock and mineral samples as well) ...

Yes, cotton gloves do help with the more "delicate" ones. But just not touching them much
is the best for them. Those whose surfaces will oxidise in the air usually already come varnished.

Do you do any presentations at local school science clubs or similar? I'm sure that kids would get pretty excited to actually see and hold them (with or without gloves)

A couple of local schools ... It's very difficult to get into schools these days with all the regulations and
child safety stuff.

 

[davenn]

The largest meteorite I have seen in person was exhibited in the de Young Museum where it meets the Asian American Arts Museum in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park.

ohhh cool, didn't know about that one, was last in San Francisco in 2006.

The largest one I have seen and touched, is the one on display at Meteor Crater, Arizona, USA.
Have been there twice once on my own in 1999 and again with wife in 2006 ...

The Holsinger Meteorite , weighing 639 kilograms (1,409 lb) and about 1.5 m long

Dave

 

[sophiecentaur]

@davenn Your hobby really rocks!

 

[Vanadium 50]

Pallasite

Pallasite? From Pallas? I know that there are HED types from Vesta (and SNC from Mars), but how can someone tell a C-type was from Pallas and not somewhere else?

 

[davenn]

Pallasite? From Pallas? I know that there are HED types from Vesta (and SNC from Mars), but how can someone tell a C-type was from Pallas and not somewhere else?

no, a German guy ….
from wiki

Pallasite

Meteorite is a fantastic Meteorite in which metals and minerals intertwine. It is a kind of "Stony-Iron Meteorite". The half is an alloy of "Iron" and "Nickel". The other half is made of Peridot etc. It was named in the 1700s by "P. Pallas", German scholar. It is often simply called "Pallasite".

 

[Vanadium 50]

Thanks. (So why did they name the asteroid after him, then? )

 

[Ibix]

Thanks. (So why did they name the asteroid after him, then? )

Athenek it's named after someone else...

 

[diogenesNY]

Pallas is another name for the Greek goddess Athena.

diogenesNY

 

[sophiecentaur]

I just love space rocks

The latest addition to my meteorite collection

It all appeals to me but I always wonder about cost and provenance. Is it a hobby that would potentially leave me very poor / scammed?

 

[davenn]

It all appeals to me but I always wonder about cost and provenance. Is it a hobby that would potentially leave me very poor / scammed?

The costs can be huge for meteorites that have very little material available or are rare types

Avg meteorites typically go for US$1 - 2 / gram, rare or difficult to get ones can sell for up to
US$25 / gram

I'm careful where I buy from as are most of us collectors and the resellers. There's quite a number
of long time and well trusted sellers out there..

The wonderful thing is that they are a good investment, will likely never drop in priceDave

 

[Vanadium 50]

The wonderful thing is that they are a good investment, will likely never drop in price

I'm a bit puzzled by that statement. New meteors are found all the time.* I would imagine the prices vary by interest. Just looking around on the web "Martian" meteorites go for a lot more than SNCs. *Taking the canonical 5 tons per day and $1/gram, that's $5M worth per day. (That's a joke...apparently I need to identify them now)

 

[davenn]

I'm a bit puzzled by that statement. New meteors are found all the time.*

very little of that 5t/day are ever found

order of value, high to low
Martian -- I have the tiniest piece
Lunar -- still on the to acquire list
( those 2 almost swappable)

Carbonaceous Chondrites - quite rare, the Murchison, Australia is one
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murchison_meteorite
Achrondrites
Pallasites -- from memory only 51(52) known falls -- I have samples from 5 of them
Irons --
Stony Irons ( High Fe content Chondrite) --
Ordinary Chondrites ( OC's) -- the most commonI think I need to do an insight article on meteorite

I would imagine the prices vary by interest

By type and quantity available for sale.

….lot more than SNCs.

SNC ?cheers
Dave

 

[davenn]

NWA4734 (NWA = NW Africa) this is of Lunar origin
5.094g, US$5000

The wooden cube is 1cm³

Out of my price range but all his other ones have sold
I need to win the lottery How do we know it's from the Moon ? …..
https://sites.wustl.edu/meteoritesite/items/how-do-we-know-that-its-a-rock-from-the-moon/Dave

 

[davenn]

Thanks. (So why did they name the asteroid after him, then? )

I thought I responded to this the other day ? I don't see my post, sorry

No, the asteroid Pallas is named after
from Wiki …..

Pallas

, third largest asteroid in the asteroid belt and the second such object to be discovered, by the German astronomer and physician Wilhelm Olbers on March 28, 1802, following the discovery of Ceres the year before. It is named after Pallas Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom.

 

[Vanadium 50]

SNC ?

Shergottites, Nakhlites, Chassignites. i.e. Martian.

It's just funny that there are places that charge an outrageous price for "Martian" meteorites charge a slightly less outrageous price for SNCs.

HED = Howardite, Eucrite, Diogenite , i.e. from 4 Vesta

 

[davenn]

Shergottites, Nakhlites, Chassignites. i.e. Martian.

familiar with those, just hadn't seen them abbreviated to SNC's ... learned something

The little bit of the Martian one I have is a Shergottite

HED = Howardite, Eucrite, Diogenite , i.e. from 4 Vesta

familiar with the HED abbr. tho
Don't think I have a Howardite, have a Eucrite, definitely don't have a Diogenite

It's an interesting hobby. Different collectors aim for different goals
all from a particular country,
all types of pallasites,
all the different chondrites etc

Till recently, I was aiming for just getting a wide variety from worldwide places.
Now I am considering specialising a little more. Maybe get a few more of those 50 odd
Pallasites and possibly increase that existing 5 to around 10 or 15 different locations

One sub-goal is still trying to get as many from my home country of Australia.
That one in the OP was the latest addition to the "Australian family"Dave