How to find a meteorite?

1. How to find a meteorite? Vishnu Reddy

2. Overview • Where to start? Books, websites, tools • Starting a collection • Buying vs. Searching • Planning your collection • Market trends • Investing in Meteorites • Ethics of collecting meteorites

3. Warning • Owning a meteorite in India is considered illegal due to some ancient British laws that need to be changed. • Please file RTI petitions to change this law. • Yes, its illegal even for scientists who study them to have them!

4. Where to start? • Books: • The Art of Collecting Meteorites • Meteorites and Their Parent Bodies • Rocks from Space • Cambridge Encyclopedia of Meteorites • Meteorite Magazine

5. Websites • Meteorite Central: Meteorite Mailing List • Meteorite Times Magazine • Meteorite Knowledge Base: U of Ottawa • International Meteorite Collectors Association (IMCA) • Meteoritical Society

6. Plan of Action • Read as much as you can and learn the science behind meteorites. • Basic knowledge of how meteorites look and types will be helpful in buying or finding your first meteorite. • Once you have a small collection try and trade with other collectors. • Learn how you appraise a meteorite’s value.

7. Meteorite Terms • Main Mass • Total Known Weight (TKW) • North West Africa (NWA) • Oriented • HEDs • SNCs

8. Starting a Collection • Classes of meteorites • Whole Individuals • Slices • Fragments • End pieces • Micro mounts

9. Whole Individual Almost 100% fusion crust. Some end chips. Could be main mass or smaller individuals. Gao H5 Chondrite, West Africa 1960

10. Slices Diamond cut slice typically less than 5 mm thick . Shows texture of the minerals. Best way to trade rare Meteorites. Both sides may be polished to show mineral grains and metal. Gao H5 Chondrite, West Africa 1960

11. Fragments Roughly chipped or smashed pieces. No fusion crust. Poor way to trade a specimen. Los Angles, Martian Meteorite.

12. End Pieces Sawed off end of a meteorite. Some fusion crust. Cut face is usually polished to show mineral grains and metal. Campo Sales L5 Chondrite, Brazil

13. Micro mounts Generally weigh up to 1 gram. Best way to get high cost meteorites. Easy to store and handle. NWA 032 Lunar Meteorite

14. Geometric Shapes Usually Iron meteorites cut and polished into geometric shapes. Square blocks, spheres and sometimes ear rings! Polished and etched surface shows mineral structure. Gibeon, Iron meteorite, Namibia

15. Buying vs. Searching • On an average at least 1 meteorite falls per square mile once a year. So we should have a lot of meteorites around! • Most meteorites fall in the ocean! Simply because there is more water! • A lot of meteorites are quickly eroded by terrestrial weathering. • So your best bet is to buy a few to start with.

16. Buying Meteorites • Always buy from IMCA member dealers. • Mostly sold on eBay. • Check reviews of the seller before buying. • Compare pictures posted by the seller to images on the internet. • Ask the seller questions before buying. • Mostly common sense.

17. Famous eBay Ads! • This meteorite is from Halley's comet!! • This meteorite contains emeralds! • This meteorite contains the dead bodies of insects from Mars! • If you buy this meteorite (or tektite) from me, peace, love joy and happiness will flow from itand fill your body with cosmic goodness!

18. Beginner Collection • Iron Meteorites: • Gibeon, Namibia (Etched) • Cape York, Greenland (Largest Meteorite) • Henbury, Australia • Canyon Diablo, Arizona (Meteor Crater) • Campo del Cielo, Argentina (cheap, pretty) • Sikhote-Alin, Russia (Beautiful individuals)

19. Iron Meteorites Campo del Cielo, Argentina

20. Beginner Collection • Chondrites: • Gao, Burkina Faso (H5) • Bensour, Morocco (LL6) • Allende, Mexico (CV3) • Many unclassified specimens from North West Africa (NWA).

21. Chondrites Pueblito de Allende, Mexico

22. Beginner Collection • Achondrites: • Millbillillie, Australia (Eucrite) • Tatahouine, Tunisia (Diogenite) • Sayh al Uhaynur 005/008, Oman (Martian) • Many specimens from North West Africa (NWA).

23. Achondrites Shergotty, India

24. Beginner Collection • Stony Irons • Imilac, Chile (Pallasite) • Brahin, Belorussia (Pallasite) • Vaca Muerta, Chile (Mesosiderite)

25. Stony Irons Imilac, Chile (Pallasite)

26. Market Trends • Fresh Falls are more expensive than finds. • Antarctic meteorites are most expensive. • NWA Unclassified are cheapest. • Per gram Irons, Ordinary Chondrites are cheaper than Stony Irons and Achondrites. • Larger the meteorite lower the per gram value.

27. Investing in Meteorites • Rare meteorites command top dollar on the international market and mineral shows. • Martian meteorites go for $300-$1000/gram. • Surprisingly Lunar meteorites are more expensive sometimes going for as much as $1000-$1500/gram

28. Ethics • Always be willing to share part of your sample for science. • Never smash a fragment with a hammer! • Best way to trade is to make slices of your specimen. • Try and donate specimens to your local museum or university for research when possible.

29. Searching Meteorites • Tools • Magnet on a stick! • Jeweler's loupe • Camera • GPS (Optional) • Metal Detector (Optional) • Best places to search: Dry lake beds, deserts.

30. Identifying Meteorites • Does it have a glassy fusion crust? • Doest it attract a magnet? • If it’s a chipped piece, does it show any chondrules? • Is it heavier than surrounding rocks? • Meteorites usually don’t have tiny holes like volcanic rocks.

31. Which is a meteorite?

32. Answer! • The one on the Right is the meteorite. • It is a 67 gram stone from Juanchang, China. • The one on the left is a piece of asphalt from the road.

33. Which is a meteorite?

34. Answer! None • The specimen at the left is hematite (iron ore) from Ishpeming, Michigan. • The right specimen is chromite from Red Lodge, Montana.

35. Which is a meteorite?

36. Answer! • The one on the left is a piece of shrapnel from the Sikhote-Alin fall of 1947. • The one on the right is a piece of slag (interesting looking, but not a meteorite)!

37. Which is a meteorite?

38. Answer! None • The specimen at the lower left is magnetite (magnetic iron ore - not as common as hematite) from Llano, Texas. • The specimen at the lower right is limonite (commonly found near the surface in iron ore deposits) from Daingerfield, Texas

39. Acknowledgement • International Meteorite Collectors Association. • Thank You