Identify if a Meteorite? Fusion Crust, Magnetic, Olivine

  • Thread starter Het Patel
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In summary: Metal flakes are a good indicator of a meteorite. You can see all the little flakes of metal through the sample.
  • #1
Het Patel
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Can someone help me to identify weather it is a meteroite or not? It has fusion crust,it is magnetic,it has metal flakes,it has meteorite crystal orange olivine and I may have rub 2 times that too hard to obtain the streak.
 
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  • #2
Hi Het. Welcome.

PF tries to keep intros separate from science questions. Better to post your question in the Astro forum.
Also, if you can add a pic of your rock as an attachment, that'd prolly be a huge help.
 
  • #3
A good one for @davenn
 
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  • #4
Looks to me like, rather than a meteorite, a meteor that burnt up in the atmosphere.
 
  • #5
Het Patel said:
It has fusion crust
How do you know? It may have a crust, but how do you know it is a fusion crust?

Het Patel said:
t has meteorite crystal orange olivine
How do you know it's olivine?
 
  • #6
Het Patel said:
How did you find PF?: Google search

Can someone help me to identify weather it is a meteroite or not? It has fusion crust,it is magnetic,it has metal flakes,it has meteorite crystal orange olivine and I may have rub 2 times that too hard . Actually this rock has very aerodynamic !

Vanadium 50 said:
How do you know? It may have a crust, but how do you know it is a fusion crust?How do you know it's olivine?
Because the crust looks like egg shell and interior is lighter then crust.
 
  • #7
Het Patel said:
How did you find PF?: Google search

Can someone help me to identify weather it is a meteroite or not? It has fusion crust,it is magnetic,it has metal flakes,it has meteorite crystal orange olivine and I may have rub 2 times that too hard to obtain the streak.

so where is the rock ?? there is no photo ...
 
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  • #8
Het Patel said:
Because the crust looks like egg shell and interior is lighter then crust.
If it looks like egg shell, that's quite light colored, and if the interior is lighter still, why do you think its olivine?

You really need to post a photo. There is a reason people keep asking you.
 
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  • #9
If we cannot get a photo, we cannot help. Period. I will check back tomorrow. No photo means we close the thread. Thank you.
 
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  • #10
256bits said:
Looks to me like, rather than a meteorite, a meteor that burnt up in the atmosphere.
Wait, was this a joke??

(It must have been one that evaporated before it went over our heads.)
 
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  • #11
20210622_085922.jpg
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  • #12
20210622_122937.jpg
20210622_123058.jpg
 
  • #13
The pictures are well done!
 
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  • #14
Do you think this is a meteorite?
 
  • #15
256bits said:
The pictures are well done!
Thanks!
 
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  • #16
Hi you Het Patel
welcome to PF :smile:

Het Patel said:
Do you think this is a meteorite?

No definitely not, there are zero observable signs that one would expect for a meteorite
It does not have a fusion crust. ... it looks like an Earth rock, maybe a greywacke or similar

I collect meteorites and have ~ 250 of them from all over the world
This is what a fusion crust looks like...
Chelyabinsk Feb. 2013 -- very fresh crust
#066 Chelyabinsk Russia OC LL5 b.jpg


or
A Northwest Africa meteorite somewhat older crust
NWA 1.5kg a.jpg


Here's a www site that will make a good reading place for you
https://meteoritegallery.com/what-do-meteorites-look-like/
 
  • #17
It looks like Earth rock because it may be stony meteorites??
16243520628898904504711075655635.jpg
its fusion crust looks somewhat similar to 2nd one
 
  • #18
davenn said:
Hi you Het Patel
welcome to PF :smile:
No definitely not, there are zero observable signs that one would expect for a meteorite
It does not have a fusion crust. ... it looks like an Earth rock, maybe a greywacke or similar

I collect meteorites and have ~ 250 of them from all over the world
This is what a fusion crust looks like...
Chelyabinsk Feb. 2013 -- very fresh crust
View attachment 284855

or
A Northwest Africa meteorite somewhat older crust
View attachment 284856

Here's a www site that will make a good reading place for you
https://meteoritegallery.com/what-do-meteorites-look-like/
It may not look like crust but it is . And my camera quality is not that great
 
  • #19
davenn said:
Hi you Het Patel
welcome to PF :smile:
No definitely not, there are zero observable signs that one would expect for a meteorite
It does not have a fusion crust. ... it looks like an Earth rock, maybe a greywacke or similar

I collect meteorites and have ~ 250 of them from all over the world
This is what a fusion crust looks like...
Chelyabinsk Feb. 2013 -- very fresh crust
View attachment 284855

or
A Northwest Africa meteorite somewhat older crust
View attachment 284856

Here's a www site that will make a good reading place for you
https://meteoritegallery.com/what-do-meteorites-look-like/
Anyways thanks for your reply
 
  • #20
Het Patel said:
has meteorite crystal orange olivine

I don't see any obvious yellow - green olivine crystals
This is what they typically look like in a meteorite, normally a pallasite which also has lots of metal
Again, from my collection ...
The Sericho Pallasite from Kenya
#170 Sericho Kenya b.jpg
Het Patel said:
it has metal flakes

Again, I don't see any obvious metal flakes. Stony meteorites often have metal flakes, this is a feature that is non-existent
in Earth rocks and is a good indicator of a meteorite, this is what it commonly looks like in a chondrite meteorite ...
Tenham, Queensland, Australia
#152 Tenham L6 QLD Australia b.jpg


You can see all the little flakes of metal through the sample, this just doesn't happen with Earth rocks

Het Patel said:
it is magnetic

Irons, Pallasites and Chondrites are all attracted to a magnet with their varying amounts of iron and nickel that is present
Achondrite meteorites have near to zero metal and are rarely attracted to a magnet. Examples are ...
Lunar and Martian breccias and the H.E.D series of asteroid achondrites.
You need to remember that many Earth rocks are also attracted to a magnet including the two most mis-identified ones,
volcanic basalts and andesites

regards
Dave
 
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  • #21
davenn said:
I don't see any obvious yellow - green olivine crystals
This is what they typically look like in a meteorite, normally a pallasite which also has lots of metal
Again, from my collection ...
The Sericho Pallasite from Kenya
View attachment 284858

Again, I don't see any obvious metal flakes. Stony meteorites often have metal flakes, this is a feature that is non-existent
in Earth rocks and is a good indicator of a meteorite, this is what it commonly looks like in a chondrite meteorite ...
Tenham, Queensland, Australia
View attachment 284859

You can see all the little flakes of metal through the sample, this just doesn't happen with Earth rocks
Irons, Pallasites and Chondrites are all attracted to a magnet with their varying amounts of iron and nickel that is present
Achondrite meteorites have near to zero metal and are rarely attracted to a magnet. Examples are ...
Lunar and Martian breccias and the H.E.D series of asteroid achondrites.
You need to remember that many Earth rocks are also attracted to a magnet including the two most mis-identified ones,
volcanic basalts and andesites

regards
Dave
This is because I have have not grinded window yet and secondly my camera quality is dull😖
 
  • #22
Sorry you were not able to see an obvious olivine because my camera couldn't capture that clearly
 
  • #23
Het Patel said:
Sorry you were not able to see an obvious olivine because my camera couldn't capture that clearly

20210622_145327.jpg
in my stone it somewhat looks like this.
 
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  • #24
Het Patel said:
It may not look like crust but it is . And my camera quality is not that great

It's a weathering crust NOT a meteoritic fusion crust

You are talking to some one who has been doing meteorite collecting/studying for 30 years
If you want to learn, listen to me!
I have given you good advice, since you refuse to listen to it, that is your loss :frown:
 
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  • #25
Het Patel said:
This is because I have have not grinded window yet and secondly my camera quality is dull😖

you didnt need to ... it was obvious without doing that :smile:
 
  • #26
It looks to me like it was water worn, and has developed a patina during long exposure.
I want to know exactly where it was found. Latitude and longitude ?
Was it found in a riverbed, on a beach, in a desert, or maybe in an agricultural field ?
 
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  • #27
It sounds like you don't want us to tell you if it is a meteorite; you want us to tell you that it is a meteorite.
 
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  • #28
Het Patel said:
It looks like Earth rock because it may be stony meteorites?? View attachment 284860its fusion crust looks somewhat similar to 2nd one

Again, There is NO fusion crust. You need to learn what a fusion crust looks like
I have given you a couple of examples. There are many more in that link I gave you

Also, meteorites are pretty much never egg shaped as you rocks are
look at my pic's I posted earlier, they are chunky/blocky rocks
as are these ones ...

DSCN1968.jpg


met1.jpg
Dave
 
  • #29
The surface patina shows pits due to rapid chemical weathering of some minor mineral component. Around here those pits are typical of diabase (dolerite) water worn river pebbles.

When the hot meteorite slows down and begins to cool in the lower atmosphere, the surface shrinks first, opening cooling cracks in the surface. Then the inside cools and shrinks which partly closes the surface cracks. I see no cooling cracks in the OP's pictures.
 
  • #30
Baluncore said:
I see no cooling cracks in the OP's pictures.
That, as I have said several times, is, because it isn't a meteorite :wink: :wink: :smile:
 
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  • #31
Het Patel -
Like the others, overall it does not strike one as meteoric origin.
Looks more like a dense basalt that's been river tumbled into the shape it now has.
Basalt can be magnetic since it's rich in iron.
It can also have olivine crystals which colors can vary.
A local university with a decent geology department should be able to thin section it and put it on a petrographic microscope which will definitively answer the question.
 
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  • #32
Baluncore said:
When the hot meteorite slows down and begins to cool in the lower atmosphere, the surface shrinks first, opening cooling cracks in the surface. Then the inside cools and shrinks which partly closes the surface cracks.
Actually, I will clarify that comment. I should have done so when I first read it.
Not all stone meteorites end up with a cracked fusion crust. Some are, most are not. See the examples I posted from my collection
near the start of the thread.

Contraction cracking is caused the strong cooling high in the atmosphere, 15 - 20 km or so. This can be as it passes through particularly
cool layers of the atmosphere. A fellow collector who does indepth meteorite studies commented that frost can form on the fusion crust
causing the cracks and in extreme cases a layer of ice can form, making those cracks even more pronounced.

Surprisingly, the inside of the meteoroid doesn't heat up overly much. Rock is a very good heat insulator.

My favourite cracked crust meteorite's is Ghadamis from NW Africa, Algeria, from memory.
This is a 1.45kg sample.

Brett Joseph 1.45kg Ghadamis2.jpg
 

1. How can I tell if a rock is a meteorite?

One way to identify a meteorite is by its fusion crust, which is a thin, dark layer that forms on the surface as it enters Earth's atmosphere. This crust is caused by the intense heat and friction of the meteorite passing through the atmosphere.

2. Is a meteorite always magnetic?

No, not all meteorites are magnetic. Some meteorites contain iron and nickel, which are magnetic, but others do not. The presence of a magnetic field can help identify a meteorite, but it is not a definitive test.

3. What is the significance of olivine in identifying a meteorite?

Olivine is a mineral that is commonly found in meteorites, particularly in stony meteorites. It has a distinct green color and can help distinguish a meteorite from a terrestrial rock. However, not all meteorites contain olivine, so it should not be the only factor considered in identification.

4. Can a meteorite be identified without specialized equipment?

Yes, it is possible to identify a meteorite without specialized equipment. Some characteristics, such as the fusion crust and magnetic properties, can be observed with the naked eye. However, for a more accurate identification, it is recommended to consult with a professional or use specialized equipment.

5. Are there any other factors to consider when identifying a meteorite?

Yes, there are several other factors to consider when identifying a meteorite. These include the presence of chondrules (small, round grains) in stony meteorites, the presence of regmaglypts (thumbprint-like indentations) in iron meteorites, and the overall shape and texture of the meteorite. It is important to consider multiple characteristics when trying to identify a meteorite.

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