Search results
Results from the Tech24 Deals Content Network
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 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.
Bottom Line. 1st Identification Test: Gauge Its Density. Meteorites typically exhibit a significantly higher density compared to most terrestrial rocks. Terrestrial rocks tend to have a density around 3 grams per milliliter (g/mL), whereas iron meteorites, in particular, can have a density around 8 g/mL.
Learn to identify meteorites with our comprehensive guide, covering visual inspections, fusion crust, and regmaglypts. Get tips on field testing, handling, and proper storage to preserve their scientific and monetary value.
How to identify a meteorite. 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.
Meteorites are “fragments of rock or iron from a meteoroid, asteroid, or possibly a comet that pass through a planet or moon's atmosphere and survive the impact on the surface” (1). Meteoroids are what meteorites are called while still in space (5).
Meteorite, any fairly small natural object from interplanetary space—i.e., a meteoroid—that survives its passage through Earth’s atmosphere and lands on the surface. In modern usage the term is broadly applied to similar objects that land on the surface of other comparatively large bodies.