Let the Stars Fall Into Your Pocket

Image Gallery The pallasite (stony-iron) type is the rarest of all the meteorites.

Article Tools

Image Gallery

Print

E-mail

Comments

RSS

They're lured from their orbits in the asteroid belt between Jupiter and Mars by the gravitational pull of the Sun . . . and some of them are then attracted to the earth.

When they arrive at night, their descent into our planet's atmosphere is marked by bright streaks of light . . . sometimes white and sometimes a . . . variety of other colors which—usually—end in red (the changes are a direct indication of temperature and velocity). Daytime arrivals are traced by what appear to be trails of smoke or dust.

These displays of aerial "fireworks" and "skywriting" are frequently accompanied by thunder-like rumbles and/or an explosion . . . occasionally a buzzing, hissing, or crackling noise . . . and, once in a while, seemingly no sound at all.

Some of these meteorites or meteors or meteoroids—colloquially called "falling stars"—burn up in our atmosphere and never reach the earth at all. Many others (thousands annually!) . . . do . . . make it all the way to the planet's surface, however . . . . . . . . . and that fact should be of more than passing interest to you. Why? Because a number of individuals and institutions are eager to . . . buy . . . these "rocks that fall from the sky". You'll never get rich catering to the market, of course, but you can pick up some extra bucks collecting meteorites. Besides, this is one "fun" treasure hunt that . . . everybody . . . can get in on!

METEORITES COME IN
. . . THREE MAJOR CLASSES

All told, there are approximately 80 known varieties of meteorites, and they're generally lumped into three categories: stony, iron, and stony-iron.

The most common of the three are the stony meteors, which—as the name implies—are composed either entirely or mainly of stony minerals. The average stony also contains between five and 15 percent nickel-iron, and some go as high as 25 percent.

Iron meteoroids—the second most common type of "falling star"—are almost 100 percent nickel-iron. And the rarest meteorites of all—the stony-irons-are about 50/50 nickel-iron and stony material.

HOW TO IDENTIFY . . . A METEORITE

Almost all freshly fallen meteoroids are covered by a thin black or dark gray (or, in the case of an iron, slightly bluish) crust. If the meteor is left in the soil several years, this crust can change to a rusty-brown color. (The change, which starts at the surface, sometimes penetrates the whole meteorite.)

Stony meteoroids generally lack sharp edges or corners and tend to be angular or rounded (but not completely round) in shape. Irons and stony-irons, on the other hand, are usually irregularly round and have thumbprint-like impressions on them.

RSS | Comments | E-mail | Print