Those of you that have met us know that we have a real enthusiasm for most everything in the store. Most of the minerals, fossils, and even "Objets D'Art" are items that we have investigated for quite some time. Meteorites are among our newest "enthusiasms".
The technological advances of the last couple decades have greatly expanded the availability of nearly all collectibles. That is to say that the internet has broadened the knowledge of collectors, and notified others of the "collect-ability" of items they own or can obtain. This prompts more hunters and pickers, and stimulates new businesses. This is especially true of meteorites.
Stony meteorites are estimated by scientists to be the most common form of meteorite to actually reach the Earth. More than 85% of meteorites are thought to be of the stony variety. BUT, they are really difficult to find and identify, because for-the-most-part, they look like rocks. Even chipped stony meteorites, examined under magnification, look like a rock to the untrained person. For this reason, we do not offer stony meteorites at
Crystal Moon Gallery. An
article at Geology.com gives some more detailed information regarding the types of meteorites.
Iron meteorites are generally thought to account for less than 6% of meteorite falls. The meteorites that we offer are all of the Iron (aka Iron/Nickel) variety. And, as of this writing are all from
Campo Del Cielo in Argentina. These are arguably the most affordable of all iron meteorites. As you will see in the linked widipedia article, many tons of "Campos" have been recovered and are now on the market. This
article at Geology.com gives more information on authenticating an iron meteorite.
Physical (external) features that one may find on iron meteorites include magnetic attraction, Regmaglypts, flow lines and high density (heavy for its size). The American Museum of Natural History has a good, brief,
article about these features.
Virtually all meteorites will attract a magnet. This is due to them containing elemental iron. Iron compounds frequently found on the surface of the Earth will not attract a magnet. Hematite (the primary ore of iron), Iron Carbonates, Iron Sulfides (e.g. Pyrite), and most other common iron-bearing Earth rocks do not attract a magnet. Obviously, Magnetite (lodestone) is an exception, but Magnetite rarely looks like a meteorite.
Regmaglypts are concavities in the surface of a meteorite that look very much like a child's thumb-prints in a piece of clay. Regmaglypts are the feature most people look-for in a meteorite. They are the result of molten metal being "blown away" during travel through the air.
Flow lines resemble candle-wax that has melted and dripped down a candle. They are the result of the outer surface of a meteorite melting and flowing from the trip through our atmosphere. Curiously, meteorites begin to cool as they travel in the lower part of our atmosphere. That, combined with being essentially frozen on the inside (from eons in the cold of space), allows the flow lines to harden before contact with the ground.
Density is a tough subject to write-about. But, once you handle a meteorite (or an iron cannonball, or a piece of steel plate, etc), you will understand the concept of a rock seeming too-heavy-for-its-size. Our, when you visit our store, ask to handle our etched Campo. Each half is only about 3-and-a-half pounds, but the density surprises most everybody.
A lot of people have never seen a meteorite. Most have never touched one. Campo Del Cielo meteorites allow one to have and hold a genuine meteorite from a distant asteroid or planet, at an affordable price.
