Meteorites, what to do with them?

40now · 26-09-2018 11:04am #1

Hi there, last week my son and I found what we believe to be a meteorite broken into 10 pieces in Dublin, sizes range from about 6cm to 1cm we have done some research into them and we believe they are iron meteorites, they have what appears to be little craters on them, are burned a bit, one side is smooth and rounded, they look black, have silver or metal flecks through them, they are magnetic and they probably weigh a bit more than regular stones of that size, could you please advise us what we need to do with them, we havent got a clue, i have tried to attatch a few photos of one piece of it but cant seem to do it on my phone, thank you for your time and any advice given.

djmcsc · 28-09-2018 1:26pm

Hi there. Sounds promising but pictures would help. If you can't load them here can you try send me a private message of the images. If not could you email them to meteorites.ie@gmail.com

I'm a meteorite collector and seller so would be able to help out on an identification.

nc6000 · 28-09-2018 2:07pm

Just out of interest how common are finds like this?

I found something odd in my garden a few years back and assumed it was something one of the dogs dug up as we had a large area which was unfinished so didn't think much of it and binned it. It was only a few days later after the wheelie bin had been emptied that I heard reports of meteorites in the area around the same time.

djmcsc · 28-09-2018 5:30pm

Seems my last reply didn't go through. Very rare. None found since 1999. Last ones before that in the 17 and 18 hundreds.

http://www.bimsociety.org/bim3.shtml

nc6000 · 28-09-2018 10:51pm

djmcsc wrote: »

Seems my last reply didn't go through. Very rare. None found since 1999. Last ones before that in the 17 and 18 hundreds.

http://www.bimsociety.org/bim3.shtml

I think that probably rules out something landing in my garden then.

40now · 29-09-2018 8:48am

djmcsc wrote: »

Hi there. Sounds promising but pictures would help. If you can't load them here can you try send me a private message of the images. If not could you email them to meteorites.ie@gmail.com

I'm a meteorite collector and seller so would be able to help out on an identification.

Hi there and thank you for the reply, I have sent you some photos to the email address you supplied, thanks for your help.

BArra · 29-09-2018 1:42pm

djmcsc can you upload them and put the link here to the images?

djmcsc · 29-09-2018 10:34pm

40now wrote: »

Hi there and thank you for the reply, I have sent you some photos to the email address you supplied, thanks for your help.

Hi, got that and I've sent a mail back

djmcsc · 29-09-2018 10:36pm

BArra wrote: »

djmcsc can you upload them and put the link here to the images?

Hi, just waiting for some more clearer images to come through from 40now

djmcsc · 29-09-2018 10:41pm

nc6000 wrote: »

I think that probably rules out something landing in my garden then.

They have to land somewhere. The 1999 one in Leighlinbridge Co. Carlow was found by a grandmother out walking her dog.

Better if in your garden though

BArra · 05-10-2018 8:52pm

any update on the pics?

Thargor · 05-10-2018 9:15pm

Can you tell us more about where/how you found it? What brought it to your attention?

djmcsc · 07-10-2018 8:56pm

BArra wrote: »

any update on the pics?

I didn't get any clearer pics sent though yet. If nothing comes though in the next day or so I'll load up what I have Wednesday night. It was several images of the same piece showing different sides.

djmcsc · 10-10-2018 10:09pm

Hi all,
These are the original images received of one piece from 40now. If I do get clearer images I'll load them up as well. But to me, this piece does not look like a meteorite.

Reply below is to 40now re what I can see on those images.

"Thanks for the pics. But unfortunately they are a bit blurry and hard to say for sure. Clearer images would make the determination easier. But I'll give some opinion now based on the current images. For the first two images they do look like craters or what are known as thumbprints or regmaglypts which are thumbprint like depressions, but still hard to tell. The third pic I can see what looks like shiny metal you speak of but I can also see a part in the bottom left of it that seems to have broken off like an outer layer. The last two resemble what's called slag, a by product of smelting ore to retrieve the metal."

Thargor · 10-10-2018 10:36pm

Classic meteorite in my completely amateur opinion anyway.

mickmackey1 · 11-10-2018 11:08am

Those are not regmaglypts, they are vesicles from industrial slag. No meteorites.

djmcsc · 11-10-2018 8:50pm

mickmackey1 wrote: »

Those are not regmaglypts, they are vesicles from industrial slag. No meteorites.

Hi mickmackey1,

Without clear pictures it's hard to see what they are but I would agree they are not regmaglypts considering the latter images indicate slag. I used the term to correctly describe what those "little craters" would be in a meteorite for 40now. Probably should have said they could be vesicles also. And these images all relate to the same single piece. Most likely the rest of those found by 40now and his son are the same.

"For the first two images they do look like craters or what are known as thumbprints or regmaglypts which are thumbprint like depressions, but still hard to tell."

djmcsc · 11-10-2018 8:55pm

For anyone interested in what vesicles are and some images, check the link below. Essentially it's a gas bubble inside molten material such as volcanic rock or in slag.

http://meteorites.wustl.edu/id/vesicles.htm

This link can be used to find out more info and images for slag
http://meteorites.wustl.edu/id/slag.htm

All the best

Rubecula · 12-10-2018 4:43am

curious about the price of meteorites on the open market djmcsc could you enlighten us a bit?

Capt'n Midnight · 18-10-2018 6:14pm

Rubecula wrote: »

curious about the price of meteorites on the open market djmcsc could you enlighten us a bit?

‘Platinum’ asteroid potentially worth $5.4 trillion :pac:

djmcsc · 21-10-2018 9:29pm

Rubecula wrote: »

curious about the price of meteorites on the open market djmcsc could you enlighten us a bit?

Hi Rubecula,
It's always a hard one to give people. But for anyone starting out you can easily pick some up very cheap. Fresh falls are always the dearest. The amount available also impacts the price and then what type it is.

An example to start with would be an unclassified stony meteorite. These can be picked up for as low as 30c. Classified ones such as NWA 869 from 50c per gram. So a golf ball sized piece might set you back around 25.00 euro.

But you can got a lot of different types under 50 euro.

Lunar meteorites have plummeted recently. Prices are now as low as 100 euro a gram compared to some years back and these would have gone for several hundred. At a recent auction a 5.5kg piece went for $612,500.00!!! Add auction fees and that hits $735,000.00. About $133 per gram. Not bad for the owners though. Here's a link to a site with a report on that sale.
https://www.liveauctioneers.com/news/auctions/auction-results/lunar-meteorite-sells-for-612500-at-rr-auction/

This link below is also a good reference point for the various types and prices. But dealing directly with dealers and other sites you can get these for up to 20% less than some of the stated prices on that site.

http://www.meteoritemarket.com/buyint.htm

And ignore the story that appears in the Irish newspapers of a meteorite worth 40 or 50 times the price of gold every time a fireball occurs over Ireland...not a hope.

Hope the above helps.
All the best.

Rubecula · 22-10-2018 1:01am

hi djmcsc

thank you very much for the information

take care

Rubes

mickmackey1 · 23-10-2018 11:46am

djmcsc wrote: »

Fresh falls are always the dearest.

That can depend on the size of the fall though; I got my Chelyabinsk pebble for a few dollars per gram, which isn't bad at all as there was a lot to go round.

Some of the historic falls however are as rare as hen's teeth and you can certainly end up paying a king's ransom for whatever fragments become available.

djmcsc · 25-10-2018 1:59pm

So true Mickmackey1. And quite a few factors can influence the price.

But the more that falls like the Chelyabinsk, the better the chance of owning some for a small price.

MeteoritesEire · 05-11-2018 2:15pm

agree with the slag comments

also would recommend buying from established dealers or IMCA members as there are a lot of fakes being sold right now

caveat emptor

IMCA member 2424

Meteorites, what to do with them?

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