A friend found this rock and looks like a meteorite ?

[Roger Mn.]

A friend found this and it looks like a meteorite. Half of the pointed end and one side looks like it was real hot and melted and the other three sides look like it was sheared off maybe from bulldozer moving dirt around. He is going to send in a piece and have it checked out.

 

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[TerryC]

Nope. An extraterrestrial rock that size would be a rare find, indeed! Test for nickle. The test is very easily done. Buy the book Field Guide to Meteors and Meteorites and follow the instructions. O.Richard Norton. TTC

 

[Tuberale]

Wish I could agree with TerryC. I'm not so certain.

If the stone has iron in it, test with a magnet first. If magnetic, then next strike it with a hammer. If you get a ringing sound like you've just struck a bell, it might be.

Broken portion does not look metallic, but might have broken off while just above the earth a mile or two, and not have enough air time to form regmaglympts. Or, might have been broken after it hit the earth. In either case, another important test would be to use a carbon-steel file, and file a small cm-squared window into the rock, and examine under a hand lens. Might still be something esoteric, like a carbonaceous chondrite, even if it didn't have any metal per se.

Another suggestion? Try using a stiff nylon brush, as for kitchen scrubbing or car scrubbing (not steel wool, please). See if the surface near the cone, after vigorous brushing, doesn't produce something resembling a fusion crust. If you don't know what a fusion crust is, check for it on-line.

All of these are just suggestions. Even if all proven correct (i.e. magnetic, rings like a bell, regmaglympts near cone, other colored interior after filing, different colored interior than exterior, fusion crust) it still needs to be examined by a meteoritical scientist, and they are pretty hard to get to see.

Keep in mind that even the "experts" are sometimes wrong. Identification of meteorites is no longer a cut-and-dried process.

Good Luck!

 

[distimpson]

Nope. An extraterrestrial rock that size would be a rare find, indeed! Test for nickle. The test is very easily done. Buy the book Field Guide to Meteors and Meteorites and follow the instructions. O.Richard Norton. TTC

have to agree, nickel test is what we rely on, but be sure to run positive and negative controls (just in case it is not mentioned, i havent read that part of nortons book). shouldn't have any trouble getting someone to look but if so, send a piece about the size of a quarter to the address on the web page, we do preliminary testing for free. best wishes, don

http://www.kansasmeteorite.com

 

[TerryC]

Nope. An extraterrestrial rock that size would be a rare find, indeed! Test for nickle. The test is very easily done. Buy the book Field Guide to Meteors and Meteorites and follow the instructions. O.Richard Norton. TTC

have to agree, nickel test is what we rely on, but be sure to run positive and negative controls (just in case it is not mentioned, i havent read that part of nortons book). shouldn't have any trouble getting someone to look but if so, send a piece about the size of a quarter to the address on the web page, we do preliminary testing for free. best wishes, don

http://www.kansasmeteorite.com

Stimpson.... Brenham,KS? Wow! You're sitting on one of the more famous strewn fields. For those readers who are not aware, the iron/nickel test is very important as that combo of minerals is virtually nonexistent in earth rocks. A test for Widmanstaten structure would (if positive) be nice! Keep us posted, Roger. TTC

 

[Roger Mn.]

I talked to my friend and he will get it tested for nickel and go from there.
Thanks everyone for the replies and when he finds out I'll let you know.
roger

 

[mankind]

Looks like volcanic ejecta. Needs to be checked though !

 

[Roger Mn.]

It turned out to be Iron . Not a meteorite.

 

[chkn]

That is really an unusual rock. Maybe this belongs under the signs and symbols!!!

 

[TerryC]

Roger, go out and buy some small meteorites. Test them for nickle. Do this to gain practical experience. Put the nickle test kit together and you will be READY for the next rock you find in the field! Happy hunting! TTC