Many stone meteorites-particularly those that have been The largest group of meteorites is the stones, and they once formed part of the outerĬrust of a planet or asteroid. An iron with very narrow bands, less than 1 mm, wouldīe a 'fine octahedrite' and those with wide bands would be called 'coarse octahedrites.' Process are measured and the average bandwidth is used to subdivide iron meteorites intoĪ number of structural classes. Is normally only visible when iron meteorites are cut into slabs, polished, and thenĮtched with a mild solution of nitric acid. This remarkable lattice-like arrangement can be very beautiful and Widmanstätten Pattern, after Count Alois von Beckh Widmanstätten who described the phenomenon These alloys grow into a complex interlocking crystalline pattern known as the Structural classes are determinedīy studying their two component iron-nickel alloys: kamacite and taenite.

Iron meteorites are subdivided intoĬlasses both by chemical composition and structure. Remainder comprised of nickel and trace elements. In most specimens of this group, the iron content is approximately 90 to 95% with the Up a cannon ball or a slab of iron or steel, you'll get the idea. Iron meteorites are far heavier than most earth rocks-if you've ever lifted They are among the densest materials on earth and will stick very strongly to a powerful Iron meteorites were once part of the core of a long-vanished planet or large asteroidĪnd are believed to have originated within the Asteroid Belt between Mars and Jupiter. Much of meteorite classification is based, in fact, on how much iron a Rocks, we usually discount anything that does not contain significant amounts of Rare that when we are asked for help and advice on identifying possible space Almost all meteorites containĮxtraterrestrial nickel and iron, and those that contain no iron at all are so Three main groups: irons, stones and stony-irons. The Three Main Types of MeteoritesĪlthough there are a large number of sub classes, meteorites are divided into Photo by Geoffrey Notkin, copyright Aerolite Meteorites. The Sikhote-Alin shower was the largest recorded witnessed meteorite fall in history. Its surface is covered with scores of small regmaglypts, or thumbprints, created by melting during flight. This fine specimen is described as a complete individual, as it flew through the atmosphere in one piece, without fragmenting. Iron Meteorite: A superb 1,363-gram complete iron meteorite from the Sikhote-Alin meteorite shower which occurred in a remote part of eastern Siberia in the winter of 1947.

Ffxi meteorite