meteorite or common earth rock?

[Michigan Badger]

A friend found this in his yard and I told him I'd run it by you experts.

It's magnetic and he's wondering if there's a far out chance it could be a real meteorite.

Personally I doubt it.

What do you think?

 

[savant365]

No clue but I'm tagging along to see if it turns out to be the real deal

 

[EDDE]

meteor-wrong

 

[extractor]

meteor-wrong

 

[PChammer]

I disagree, I think it is possible and without careful inspection none of us will be able to say for sure and definitely not from a picture. There are numerous types of meteorites, this I know from researching a couple I felt were meteorites, quite small in comparison to the one you posted "if it is one". Some can be quite round and mistaken for regular stones, yours looks to have a crust from entry and reminds me of a chondrite. Regardless, I would urge you to study it further A site to go to is here...

Found A Meteorite


I found this to be a great place to ask if you have any doubts and read what they state about possible meteors and how to identify them, if still unsure, contact them.

Paul

 

[chipveres]

May I ask, what's the thing sticking out of the rock in the first picture? Casting a square shadow?

Chip V.

 

[ScottinNJ]

That small thing sticking out appears to be a magnet........showing that it is magnetic.

 

[GopherDaGold]

The 'meteor wrong' camp should think about providing an explanation rather than posting drive-by, one word opinions.

 

[IronSpike]

If not a meteorite it may be magnetite.

http://www.meteoritemarket.com/magnetiteA.jpg

 

[Michigan Badger]

If not a meteorite it may be magnetite.

http://www.meteoritemarket.com/magnetiteA.jpg

Thanks.

It appears not to be a magnetite due to it's different surface and the fact it's not super sensitive to a rare earth magnet. Magnetites, as I understand, are almost like a hunk of iron. Meteorites will attract a rare earth magnet but generally not those cheap regular magnets.

Personally I'm still not convinced it's a real Meteorite but things do look more encouraging at this point.

Again, thanks for the reply.

badger

 

[Michigan Badger]

I disagree, I think it is possible and without careful inspection none of us will be able to say for sure and definitely not from a picture. There are numerous types of meteorites, this I know from researching a couple I felt were meteorites, quite small in comparison to the one you posted "if it is one". Some can be quite round and mistaken for regular stones, yours looks to have a crust from entry and reminds me of a chondrite. Regardless, I would urge you to study it further A site to go to is here...

Found A Meteorite


I found this to be a great place to ask if you have any doubts and read what they state about possible meteors and how to identify them, if still unsure, contact them.

Paul

Thanks for the link and info on the chondrite. I'll be looking into this.

badger

 

[Michigan Badger]

May I ask, what's the thing sticking out of the rock in the first picture? Casting a square shadow?

Chip V.

As the poster wrote above, it's a rare earth magnet. I saw online where this is one test used to determine if it's a real meteorite and the magnet responds exactly as it should. Real meteorites are not too magnetic, this is ONE REASON why rare earth magnets are used to find them.

Thanks

 

[IronSpike]

You might want to post it in the Meteorites forum here on Tnet.

There's a good advise in this thread:

http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,335982.0.html

 

[Michigan Badger]

You might want to post it in the Meteorites forum here on Tnet.

There's a good advise in this thread:

http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,335982.0.html

Thanks, I only have a few treasure categories selected for viewing on my monitor so I didn't realize we even have a Meteorite thread here.

 

[Got_4by4]

I think it is just a water weathered piece of magnetite.

http://nevada-outback-gems.com/mineral_information/magnetite_mineral_info.htm

Steve

 

[Michigan Badger]

I think it is just a water weathered piece of magnetite.

http://nevada-outback-gems.com/mineral_information/magnetite_mineral_info.htm

Steve

I'm leaning your way, Steve.

See my next post.

 

[Michigan Badger]

I'm not really into meteorites but I do find them very interesting.
The original post in this thread was to ascertain if my friend's backyard find is indeed a real meteorite.

After reading some very promising websites, I decided to just go out into my own backyard and swing a couple rare earth magnets over a rock pile by our building.

Out of about 12 rocks I checked, 3 passed the magnetic test exactly the same way meteorites do (most that is).

Note: the rock in the top photo got some concrete on it from a recent renovation of the building.

Here's some pictures.

 

[savant365]

Is that a rare earth magnet on a rope? Those things are a lot of fun but don't get your finger between it and anything magnetic (I learned the hard way).

HH Charlie

 

[Michigan Badger]

Is that a rare earth magnet on a rope? Those things are a lot of fun but don't get your finger between it and anything magnetic (I learned the hard way).

HH Charlie

Yup, it's a 250 lb pull rare earth mag.

It makes a pretty nice lake hunter for iron relics.

badger

 

[extractor]

The 'meteor wrong' camp should think about providing an explanation rather than posting drive-by, one word opinions.

Ok , I'll chime back in. IMO The possible Meteorite in question does not appear to be a meteorite to me. The outside of the rock is smooth and rounded as if it has been rolling around in river water or glacier till. Meteorites are generally irregular in shape due to coming through the atmosphere, it's also referred to as thumbprints which this rock is lacking. The outside discoloration on this rock looks as if it has picked up soil mineralization as it has been laying around on the ground. When a meterorite has a burnt fusion crust it is generally a lot harsher burnt appearance than this rock has.