![]() Number of itemsġ4000 specimens of 750 distinct meteorites. Meteorite names are approved before publication by the Nomenclature Committee of the international Meteoritical Society. Meteorites take the name of the geographical locality where they fell or were found. Meteorites found in Western Australia are held under a statutory obligation laid down in Section 45 of the Museum Act (1969 as amended in 1973), whereby meteorites from Western Australia belong to the State, and ownership is vested in the Trustees of the Western Australian Museum. As samples from minor planets, meteorites are a unique source of information about a wide variety of events that occurred very early in the history of the Solar System. Meteorites have extremely old formation ages (around 4.56 billion years) and many have remained essentially unaltered since their formation. The available evidence and research suggests that meteorites originate within the Solar System, and most appear to be fragments of asteroids that are in solar orbits between Mars and Jupiter. This material is used extensively to research the birth and early evolution of the Solar System. These specimens represent most of the 46 known groups of meteorites, plus a number of anomalous and unique meteorites.Īround 500 meteorites recently collected from the Nullarbor region in south-east Western Australia, remain to be classified, and might ultimately double the number of distinct meteorites known from Australia. The collection contains around 14000 specimens from 750 distinct and described meteorites. Martian meteorite image by Jon Taylor.The Meteorite Collection at the Western Australian Museum is recognised internationally as one of the most significant in the southern hemisphere. The rock in the mystery image is, indeed, a meteorite, from Mars. Want to know more? Visit ASU's in-depth meteorite identification page.Īdditional images via Wikimedia Commons. If you scratch them across the bottom of a ceramic mug, those magnetic minerals on Earth (magnetite, hematite) will leave a reddish brown or grayish-black streak or mark. ![]() If your rock is magnetic, is there a way to tell if it holds minerals from Earth, or if it’s actually a meteorite? There is. There are also some minerals (magnetite, hematite) on Earth that are magnetic.ģ) The magnetic scratch test. Some meteorites, like those from the Moon which are only made up of rocky minerals, will not be attracted to a magnet. But be careful-not all meteorites attract magnets only the meteorites that are rich in iron (such as iron or stony-iron meteorites) will attract magnets. You could carry a magnet and check if a rock is magnetic. So, the first hint that a rock could actually be a meteorite is whether it has a fusion crust.Ģ) Many meteorites are magnetic. This outer dark surface is called the ‘fusion crust’ which is very different from how the meteorites actually looks inside. But could it be a meteorite? How can you tell? Here are three points to get you started on identifying meteorites.ġ) When a meteorite passes through the Earth’s atmosphere before it hits the land, its outer surface gets ‘cooked’ due to frictional heat. Ordinary chondrites contain iron-nickel metal and, consequently, will attract even a cheap magnet. The brightest materials in each photo are metal grains (veins in Richarton). Below are some photos of sawn faces of ordinary chondrites. You press on it you smell it you look closely at it. Most (88) stony meteorites are ordinary chondrites. You’ve found a dark rock that looks different from all the others nearby.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |