hmmm... how do i say this.....
last week my frens n i went to a space exhibition...
most of the infos there were 'bout meteors
n there was this gift shop at the end of it
they sell REAL meteorites (or so they say), but small ones of course. i buy a small one by a medium price. and the question is:
- how do i know if the thing is REAL or NOT?
2007-07-05 02:27:13 · 6 answers · asked by The13Cats 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
you wont. unless you take it to a lab and see what materials it is made of. i am not sure if there is any other way of knowing. rocks from space are usually burned when they enter the atmosphere, so they should be like ash, but hard like rock. unless an astronaut brought it back from the moon or something, which is very unlikely. i doubt astronauts search for meteoroids when they go to the moon.
2007-07-05 02:37:59 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
If it is an iron meteorite it can be sectioned, pollished, and etched to reveal the Widmanstätten pattern re amacite and taenite,
http://www.meteorlab.com/METEORLAB2001dev/images/gib10.jpg
If it is a stony meteorite then petrography must observe characteristic minerals and their expected distribution. False objects are called "meteorwrongs."
Google
meteorwrongs 600 hits
2007-07-05 03:47:04 · answer #2 · answered by Uncle Al 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
A geologist would have to examine it to confirm it is really a meteorite. I would say the small ones in the gift shop were probably real. Small ones are not that rare. Somewhat rare, but not extremely rare.
2007-07-05 02:57:47 · answer #3 · answered by campbelp2002 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You didn't buy one that came with a recognized laboratory certificate of analysis?
Without the certificate, I wouldn't buy one from the Barringer Crater gift shop.
Are you sure this was a "space exhibition"? Maybe it was a flea market, huh.
2007-07-05 04:47:46 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
If it is an iron meteorite it can be sectioned, polished, and etched to reveal the Widmanstätten pattern re amacite and taenite,
http://www.meteorlab.com/meteorlab2001de...
If it is a stony meteorite then petrography must observe characteristic minerals and their expected distribution. False objects are called "meteorwrongs."
Google
meteorwrongs 600 hits
Source(s):
http://www.meteorlab.com/
2007-07-05 03:54:23 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 3⤋
It's supposed to be certified and authenticted.
But let's get down to brass tacks. ROCKS ARE ROCKS. The ONLY thing that makes THAT ROCK have meritis is that it didn't originate on the EARTH it came from SPACE.
2007-07-05 05:03:09 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋