Meteor is the scientific name for a shooting star: the light emitted as fragments-usually rather small-of cosmic material which we sometimes see at night, burning high up in the earth's atmosphere. Understand the difference between meteors and meteorites. In order to appreciate the humor inherent in this sentence we must first Iįrequently receive emails which contain an amusing but impossible statementĪlong the lines of: "I think I've found a meteor." That an unusual or out-of-place rock they have found is a meteorite. What are Meteors?Įvery year hundreds of hopeful people contact me because they believe Photo copyright Aerolite Meteorites / Geoffrey Notkin. The impact is believed to have occurred approximately 25,000 years ago, and this specimen is in as-found condition and displays an orange/ochre patina, caused by long term weathering and oxidation in a desert environment. Such pieces are described as "sculptural" because of their attractive, aesthetic shapes, and are highly sought after by meteorite collectors. This specimen is a twisted fragment - its interesting shape a result of the tremendous impact and explosion which made the crater. Unfortunately meteorite hunting is not allowed at the privately owned site, but specimens of this historic meteorite are sometimes available from old collectors and prospectors who hunted at the site decades ago. The crater is erroneously named - craters are formed by meteorites, not meteors - but it is spectacular nonetheless: the best preserved impact crater in the world and something of a mecca for meteorite enthusiasts. I hope to share my enthusiasm for these amazing visitors from deepĬanyon Diablo Iron Meteorite: A 1,179-gram specimen of the Canyon Diablo iron meteorite, found at the famous impact site, Meteor Crater, near Winslow, Arizona. Valuable to science and collectors, and even how to find and identify King's and in the months ahead I willĭiscuss the origins of meteorites, what they are made of, why they are The History Channel, and the Travel Channel. I haveĪlso made documentaries about meteorite hunting for PBS, National Geographic, I travel the world looking for actual rocks from outer space, and I writeĪbout my adventures for both scientific and popular magazines. I am a science writer, photographer, and professional meteorite hunter. Welcome to the first edition of Meteorwritings. Sikhote-Alin is a coarsest octahedrite iron in the group IIB, and is comprised of approximately 93% iron, 6% nickel and 1% trace elements. Regmaglypts are one of the key surface features used to identify meteorites. Note the abundant overlapping regmaglypts (thumbprints) caused by surface melting as the meteorite flew through our atmosphere. This meteorite is described as an individual, as it is a complete mass (rather than an exploded shrapnel fragment) which fell to earth on its own. Sikhote-Alin Iron Meteorite: A fine example of a Sikhote-Alin iron meteorite, weighing 409.9 grams, which was seen to fall in eastern Russia in February of 1947.
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