Wet sand hunt gives up a .......Meteorite?

[TheInspector]

I needed a MDn fix so I went to hunt the wet sand at low tide. A howling 20-30 mph wind from the north pushed the tide out pretty good. The SandShark and I collected a bunch of bottle caps and other junk along with a burnt looking rock that the detector located. I was about a foot deep in the sand, and below the normal tide line.
After washing it off with a hose I started wondering about meteorites and started researching.
Very heavy for size.
Regular magnet does stick, but not as firmly as it would to carbon steel.
Fusion crust.

I have access to an Niton XL3t alloy analyzer due to my profession.
The readings varied depending on the location shot.
This shot with Ti and Cr, in addition to Al and Fe was taken on what I believe to be fusion crust.

I could be wrong, but this may be a lunar meteorite.

 

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[Fitzwilk]

Very interesting. Those alloy analyzers are incredibly expensive. If it is a lunar meteorite, I would imagine it is the find of a lifetime and very valuable. Have you posted this in any of the other forum categories?

 

[sponge]

I misplaced my alloy analyzer. Untill I realized I have never owned one but would like to.

sent from a sending device.

 

[TheInspector]

Very interesting. Those alloy analyzers are incredibly expensive. If it is a lunar meteorite, I would imagine it is the find of a lifetime and very valuable. Have you posted this in any of the other forum categories?

No Fitzwilk, this is the only location I have posted so far.
Maybe the Moderator will move it if they think they should.

Thanks for the interest.

 

[dewcon4414]

Most meteorites are found where a known one went down or states know for them. Are you located near volcanic activity? It appears to be Hematite by color... salt water could cause the darker crust. If you have a university close you might take it to them.

 

[TheInspector]

Most meteorites are found where a known one went down or states know for them. Are you located near volcanic activity? It appears to be Hematite by color... salt water could cause the darker crust. If you have a university close you might take it to them.

Found on Texas Gulf Coast. No volcanic activity I know of.
I live in SpaceCity (Houston), so I am sure there are opportunities to have it looked at, but first I am waiting for someone knowledgeable to confirm I am not out of my mind.

 

[meMiner]

For sure what you found is very cool. It is atypical for a meteorite, which are normally either stony meteorites (composed of silicate minerals), iron meteorites (composed of metallic iron-nickel) or stony-iron meteorites (both). I believe all contain some amount of Nickel, which is not showing up on your analysis at all. So what is it? Based on the composition, one might consider something melted from a rocket? Let us know what you find out.

 

[ARC]

MAN O MAN !!!!
IF.... I repeat IF....
That is a meteorite...
You just hit a HOME RUN !

BUT !!!
Could be cannonball
if that turns out to be the real deal... you are looking at som SERIOUS money.

 

[ARC]

Do not break it... like chisel it at all... leave just the way it is...
Guy I knew years ago found one the size of basketball ...
was appraised by science guys in like 1990 for $360,000 or some crap.

 

[signal]

It doesn't "look" like a meteorite to me, but one thing you can do is bring it to a University and find someone there that can examine it for you, they may be able to give you a good answer. If it is a meteorite, they are more valuable than gold, it would be a fantastic find.

 

[MTJosh]

Are you near where space craft or aircraft have gone down (in flames). I would guess meterorite with that high of Al would have Ca or Si with it. The Fe Ti and V I would guess aerospace alloy mixed in with the over 90% Al.

Hope it is a meterorite. But could be blob from man made metal. Just a wild guess on my part.

 

[Rob Wesel]

Cool find but I've been in the meteorite business for 20+ years and this one is not a meteorite. Low % iron, no nickel, almost entirely aluminum. It's not the recipe for any meteorite types. Wish I could tell you what it is.

Rob Wesel
Nakhla Dog Meteorites, Meteorites for Sale

 

[TheInspector]

Cool find but I've been in the meteorite business for 20+ years and this one is not a meteorite. Low % iron, no nickel, almost entirely aluminum. It's not the recipe for any meteorite types. Wish I could tell you what it is.

Rob Wesel
Nakhla Dog Meteorites, Meteorites for Sale

Rob, if you are in the business I am sure you know better than me, but the the analyzer was reading a single point on the surface. That shot was on what I am calling the fusion crust, but in reality I have no clue if that is really what it is. If I used the analyzer on the whitish area, I could get up to 99% Al, but other areas 92% AL and 7% Fe. Again its only reading the surface. The object is very heavy for its size and is definitely not 90% + Al. In the research I have done in the past couple of days, I have seen that lunar meteorites have a 20 - 30% Al composition. That is what led me to say it was possibly a lunar meteorite. If you look at the cutaway samples of meteorites you see nodules of the various metallic components inside. I theorize the the rock melted and eroded away on entry to the atmosphere, exposing some of these metallic components as seen in the shiny black substance adhered to the fusion crust. I realize I must be out of my mind. I never intended or expected to find a meteorite and I know the odds are very long that I did.
Look at the Lunar Meteorite on this page. It appears to be very similar.
Lunar meteorite - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

If this is not a meteorite, this is what it is-
An object that look similar to a stone, but weighs at least twice as much as a similar sized stone.
An object that looks like a stone but is magnetic.
An object that was found with a metal detector 1 foot beneath the sand in a spot that is underwater almost any other day of the year.
An object that has a partial black crust that does not come off with a waterhose and light rubbing.
An object that has a partial black crust that has a burnt smell a day after retrieval. I know that sounds implausible, but its true.
An object that shows Al, Ti, Cr, Fe, Zr, and V when the surface is analyzed with an alloy analyzer. I only tried a few shots due to the number of people in the office.
An object that appears to be a rock with a partially burnt away surface.

Thats what it is.

 

[TheInspector]

Additional Photos.
Thanks for looking.

 

[AMorgan]

Aluminum does not exist in nature in this pure of a state... This is definitely NOT a meteorite

This is most likely the remains of someone's bonfire (beer cans) with trace elements from sand and seawater fused to the crust of it...

 

[ARC]

LOL !! from the first pics the thing looked as big as large cannonball... heh
Just went through posts and agree with AMorgan

 

[FragFox]

I misplaced my alloy analyzer. Untill I realized I have never owned one but would like to.

sent from a sending device.

It is always important to have your alloy analyzer on you at all times. At least a pocket version.

 

[Higgy]

Aluminum does not exist in nature in this pure of a state... This is definitely NOT a meteorite

This is most likely the remains of someone's bonfire (beer cans) with trace elements from sand and seawater fused to the crust of it...

I'm going with this explanation. The magnet sticks because there's a bottle cap fused into it somewhere.

 

[TheInspector]

Aluminum does not exist in nature in this pure of a state... This is definitely NOT a meteorite

This is most likely the remains of someone's bonfire (beer cans) with trace elements from sand and seawater fused to the crust of it...

As I have stated have previously stated, I do not know if this is a meterorite.

Thanks for the interest, but your answer is too simplistic.

A melted beer can on a rock in a fire would not produce surface readings of Aluminum, Titanium, Chromium, Vanadium and Iron.
I agree meteorites shold have Nickel, which my limited testing did not locate.
The Zirconium is likely from some sand on it.
Not to mention it weighs about as much as a ball bearing of that size would weigh.
Looks like a rock.
Is magnetic, but to a lesser degree than a piece of carbon steel would be. (And no I dont believe an old steel beer can was in that same fire)

The chances are it is not a meteorite, because what are the chances of finding a meteorite?

But you know, I never expected to find multi-carat diamond rings underwater either.

 

[AMorgan]

I didn't know you expected me to write a thesis to defend my position... Firstly, the traces of chromium, titanium and vanadium are exactly that... traces. I would not get too excited over 0.02 percent of any element. If anything is too simplistic, it is the assumption that a beer can is the only thing thrown into a fire... Bottle caps, labels, staples from boxes may contain traces of many metals.... Pair that up with heat and seawater and the ionic interaction of metals of highly varied oxidative states and you will find that trace elements will precipitate as the aluminum and iron oxidize. The crust you see is not from fusion, it is from oxidation. When referencing aluminum to meteorite composition, that aluminum is in the form of aluminum oxides or aluminum silicates... Not metallic aluminum... Metallic aluminum does not exist anywhere naturally.


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