811 570 Grams Chondrite With Iron Meteorite with many features of fusion, thumbprints and dimpling from entering earth atmosphere
811 - 570 grams chondrite with iron meteorite with many features of fusion, thumbprints and dimpling from entering earth atmosphere. Chondrite: the largest group of meteorites is the stones with iron, that were formed as part of the outer crust of a planet or asteroid. Many stone meteorites-particularly those that have been on the surface of our planet for an extended period of time-frequently look much like terrestrial rocks, and it can take a skilled eye to spot them when meteorite hunting in the field. Freshly fallen stones will exhibit a black fusion crust, created as the surface literally burned during flight, and the vast majority of stony meteorites contain enough iron for them to easily adhere to a powerful magnet.
Some stone meteorites contain small, colorful, grain-like inclusions known as "chondrules". These tiny grains originated in the solar nebula, and therefore pre-date the formation of our planet and the rest of the solar system, making them the oldest known matter available to us for study.
Stone meteorites that contain these chondrules are known as "chondrites". Space rocks without chondrites are known as achondrites. These are volcanic rocks from space that formed from igneous activity within their parent bodies where melting and recrystallization eradicated all trace of ancient chondrules. Achondrites contain little or no extraterrestrial iron, making them much more difficult to find than most other meteorites, though specimens often display a remarkable glossy fusion crust that looks almost like enamel paint. A chondrite meteorite is a rock from space that contains small spherical structures called chondrules.
These are droplets of melted rock that cooled in microgravity into tiny spheres. The chondrules clumped up and through accretion formed into larger masses, finally becoming asteroid-size bodies from which broken off chunks have made it to earth. All meteorites contain the same elements as here on earth but new minerals form because the processes of rock creation in space are quite different from those on earth. The elements are able to combine to form some minerals not found in terrestrial rocks.
However, most of the minerals in meteorites are those that make up terrestrial rocks as well. Most chondrites have nickel-iron metal in them. The metal can be as little as a few percent to as much as twenty-five percent or more.The tiny chondrules of chondrites hold together by finer grain particles that form a matrix. Heat from various sources has liquefied the chondrules and particles into rock, and heat can also alter the meteorite's character over time. This item is made of stony and iron meteorite and size of a desk paperweight, demands attention by all whoo see it, popular spot in my collection.