Meteorite-Times Magazine Current Issue

Friendly Fire from Space: Berlanguillas, Spain

Friendly Fire from Space: Berlanguillas, Spain   Berlanguillas fell 200 years ago on July 8, 1811 adding to the earth’s pile of L6 chondrites. But while the classification is not too exciting, the arrival of Berlanguillas did scare soldiers and draw crowds in anticipation of a battle. The following translations were kindly provided by Bernd [...]

Tucson Gem Show Memories

In a few days it will again be time for the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show. I will be off to find treasures from beyond the Earth. If memory serves correctly this will be my twentieth Tucson Gem Show. Often I have used the January issue of my article as a time to remember the [...]

Meteorite Market Trends

This Month’s Meteorite Market Trends by Michael Blood

Winter Drought of 2011-2012 in SW US – But not for meteorite finds.

  Winter Drought of 2011-2012 in SW US But not for meteorite finds. There won’t be a “Bob’s Findings” article this month because it happens that Mother Nature has given a gift to all of us meteorite hunters, in the form of a VERY dry and mild winter, here in the Southwestern United States. This [...]

Sikhote Alin Meteorite Stolen from the University of New Mexico

One of our museum display specimens was stolen out of its case — most likely just before Christmas break, during opening hours. The specimen is a “Sikhote Alin” weighing 9490 grams. I would like to alert the meteorite collector community to be on the look-out for this specimen, it is unique and easily identifiable as [...]

IMCA Insights – Meteorite Men, the Morasko Episode – Science after Filming

Metal-troilite Intergrowths

Sometimes melt rock in meteorites contains blebs of metal-troiliteA common mineral found in all types of meteorites. Troilite is chemically FeS and is related to Pyrrhotite which is found on Earth. It is bronze in color and only 4.6 in hardness. Dis-solvable in a nitric acid solution it will stain the surface of iron meteorites [...]

Meteorite Calendar – January 2012

Please click on the meteorite calendar to view a larger image.

Seymchan

Our Meteorite of the Month is kindly provided by Tucson Meteorites who hosts The Meteorite Picture of the Day. 4711 gram end-cut. PallasiteA class of meteorites characterized by a mixture of large olivineA magnesium-iron silicate mineral commonly found in meteorites. It occurs as microscopic crystal grains in chondrites and as large often well formed crystals [...]

Skeletal Remnant of a Hollow Indochinite

   

Meteorites For Sale

Gao Meteorite For Sale

Gao officially named Gao-Guenie was a witnessed fall on March 5 1960. We have some nice affordable Gao meteorites for sale on our website. There was initially some confusion as to whether there had been two distinct falls a month apart in Burkina Faso, but specimens collected using both names are exactly the same material. It is now officially considered to be one fall and has the combined name. Thousands of stones have been found and continue to be recovered from the area. It is an H5 chondrite.

Meteorite Jewelry

We feature meteorite jewelry for sale handcrafted by Ian Barrett.  Ian fashions his handmade pieces of jewelery using unique specimens of meteorite.

Allende Meteorites For Sale

Vist our website to view our Allende meteorites for sale . Every collection should have a representative specimen of Allende. Carbonaceous chondrites are believed to be one of the earliest forms of matter in space. Allende is rich in large chondrules and scattered through the matrix are irregular masses called Calcium Aluminum Inclusions or CAIs. Allende also contains microscopic diamonds that are among the oldest particles ever discovered.

Moon Rocks | Lunar Meteorites For Sale

View our Moon Rock Lunar Meteorites for sale on our website. These quality lunar meteorite display boxes make nice additions to your meteorite collections as well as wonderful and unique gift items. Each display box contains a genuine specimen of Moon Meteorite NWA 4881.

Mars Rocks – Mars Meteorites

We still have a supply of Mars Rock Martian Meteorites for sale on our website.These quality martian meteorite display boxes make nice additions to your meteorite collections as well as wonderful and unique gift items. Each display box contains a genuine specimen of Mars Meteorite NWA 4925.

Bediasite Tektites

Our online store has Bediasite Tektites For Sale. Bediasite tektites are found in a small region of eastern Texas. As increased exploration has been done for them the area in which they are found has grown eastward. They are generally a very dark black color and often a little abraded from natural weathering.  Many of our specimens are labeled specimens from the Darryl Futrell Collection of Tektites.

Libyan Desert Glass

Please vist our site to see our Libyan Desert Glass for sale. Libyan Desert Glass is generally yellow in color. It can be very clear or it can be a milky, even bubbly light yellow. Some fragments have dark bands and swirls of brownish material. It is in these dark areas that some of the melted comic body is believed by some to be preserved. Libyan Desert Glass was used in ancient times as a gem stone for the Pharaohs and remains a highly prized impact glass for collectors today.

Tagish Lake Meteorite

We have 3 sizes of small fragments of Tagish Lake Meteorite for sale available in our online store.

On January 18, 2000 at 8:43 in the morning a tremendous fireball was seen over the Yukon Territory. Loud explosions were soon heard. Some days later a local resident found the first of many fragments on the surface of Tagish Lake in British Columbia, Canada. During the following months while the area was still frozen several hundred meteorites were recovered. Classified as a C2 ungrouped it is a Carbonaceous Chondrite. Since its discovery it has become one of the most researched meteorites of recent time.

Mount Padbury Meteorite

The Mount Padbury meteorite was found in 1964 in Western Australia. Mount Padbury is a mesosiderite and has been the topic of much scientific research. Like all mesosiderites it is a mixture of metal and silicate minerals. The specimen we offer are in as found condition with their beautiful orange-brown patinas. They will feel rather heavy for their size because of the rich amount of iron they contain.

NWA 1109 Meteorite

We have some nice part slices of NWA 1109 meteorite for sale on our website. The NWA 1109 Meteorite is a polymict eucrite breccia. It has no free metal, but is rich in light and dark mineral clasts with a beautiful honey color matrix.

Carancas Meteorite

We have small fragments of Carancas meteorite for sale in our online store.  The Carancas meteorite was a witnessed fall at Puno, Peru on September 15, 2007.  This meteorite is classified as a chondrite H4-5.

On September 15, 2007 a meteoroid entered the atmosphere over Lake Titicaca near the border of Peru and Bolivia. But, this was a most unusual event even for meteoroids. Normally a body the size of this one would detonate from the stresses of its tremendous velocity and the air pressure against it. This body however, appears to have been traveling at a strangely slow speed for a cosmic body. It reached the ground intact and created a crater something not normally done by chondrite meteorites. In doing so it destroyed itself into only small pieces. Carancas is a H4-5 type and quite friable. This crumbliness is also hard to explain for a body that reached the ground in one piece. This crater forming chondrite is certainly one of the most interesting new meteorites available for collectors.

Buzzard Coulee Meteorite

The Buzzard Coulee Meteorite is a H4 Chondrite.  The meteorite fall occured on November 20, 2008.  A bright fireball was observed traveling across Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba and was captured on various video cameras including the all-sky camera. Researchers and meteorite hunters began the meteorite hunt which resulted in a few hundred Buzzard Coulee Meteorites being found.  Our Buzzard Coulee Meteorites were legally exported from Canada under the Cultural Property Export Permit Reference No. 106783 issued on March 29, 2010.

Canyon Diablo Meteorite

The Canyon Diablo meteorite is named after the river gorge near Meteor Crater.  They are among the most historically significant meteorites available to collectors.

Canyon Diable meteorites are made of nickel-iron with inclusions of graphite and other minerals and classified as a coarse octahedrite iron meteorite. Many of the smaller fragments show the effects of being torn apart by the tremendous crater-forming explosion.

Richfield (LL3.7)

Richfield (LL3.7) 5.2g Partial Slice — Richfield is arguably the most beautiful LL chondrite known, however there is very little of this space rock available to collectors. Most of the total mass recovered is exhibited in museums and a few private collections. This partial slice displays dozens of 2 mm diameter chondrules with amazingly diverse crystal structures, plus the very large 3 and 4 mm diameter pyroxene chondrules seen in the photo. (SR0116)

Sahara 97040 (L4)

Sahara 97040 (L4) 20.5g Complete Slice — Sahara 97040 contains countless well defined chondrules. Many dozens of these chondrules are ~1mm in diameter and several are greater than 1mm in diameter. A large number of the pyroxene chondrules present still have their crystal structure extremely well preserved. This complete slice shows essentially 100% fusion crust on its exterior edge. Sahara 97040 is a heavily weathered space rock, but nonetheless, a gorgeous example of an L4 chondrite. (SR0144)

NWA 4664 (Diogenite)

NWA 4664 (Diogenite) 4.4g Partial Slice — NWA 4664 is thought to be a sample of mantle material from the asteroid 4 Vesta. However, it is not a typical monomict Diogenite achondrite. The characteristic broken pyroxene crystals of all sizes are present, but this very unusual polymict breccia Diogenite also contains countless small clasts of dark magnesium-rich olivine and plagioclase feldspar. These unusual breccia features can easily be seen with the naked eye, but a hand lens or low power microscope reveals a totally spectacular view! (SR0156)

NWA 2977 (Lunar Gabbro)

NWA 2977 (Lunar Gabbro) 0.8g Partial Slice — Laboratory analysis determined this space rock is an olivine-rich cumulate Gabbro. It is thought to be a large Gabbro clast that was part of a larger polymict regolith breccia before it fragmented into many separate pieces during its entry into the Earth's atmosphere. NWA 2977 is most likely a sample of lunar bedrock.

This small piece of the Moon is a gorgeous sight with only the naked eye, but a hand lens or low power microscope will reveal a spectacular scene of yellowish green olivine crystals, grayish white pyroxene crystals, white plagioclase feldspar crystals, and veins of black impact shock glass. The view is absolutely breathtaking and a truly awesome experience! (SR0163)

 

Tatahouine (Diogenite)

Tatahouine (Diogenite) 5.2g Fragment — Tatahouine is thought to be a sample of mantle material from the asteroid 4 Vesta. However, it is not a typical Diogenite. The huge pyroxene crystals seen in this particular achondrite illustrate the characteristic Diogenite mineralogy, but Tatahouine is the only Diogenite known that is not brecciated. No samples of Tatahouine exhibiting fusion crust have been reported. (SR0120)

Meteor Crater – Third Edition

Our site has Jim's Meteor Crater Book, Meteor Crater - Third Edition, the much expanded edition of James Tobin's history of the first hundred years of investigations at Meteor Crater.

Included in the volume are narrative tours of the sites on the crater rim and slopes, as well as a narrative hike of all the historic locations on the floor of the crater.

The second half of his Meteor Crater Book is devoted to historical paper by several of the earliest investigators. These papers are presented close to their original form with all their photographs if they had them.

Commentary by James is limited to before and after these early works to not alter their form. Reading this work is as close to visiting the crater as can be done with a book. Please visit our site to purchase.

Brenham Siderite Meteorites For Sale

We have some nice Brenham Siderite meteorites for sale on our shopping site.  The Brenham Meteorite is classified as a Pallasite but some specimens are all iron and are called Brenham Siderite. This meteorite was found in 1882 in Kiowa County, Kansas.   This Brenham Siderite meteorite has a beautiful Widmanstatten pattern when etched.

Toluca Meteorite For Sale

We have nice slices of Toluca meteorite for sale.  Toluca meteorites is an inclusion-rich Coarese Octahedrite iron meteorite. It was first recognized as a meteorite around 1776. Toluca meteorite displays a very attractive and interesting Widmanstatten pattern when polished and etched. Its rich history and beautiful appearance make it a nice addition to any collection.

Moldavite Jewelry

All of our Moldavite Jewelry is handmade with beautiful specimens of moldavite tektite.  Each moldavite pendant is unique and will never look exactly like another.  Please visit our website to see more.

Moldavites

We have a nice selection of Moldavites For sale. Moldavite tektites are found in an area called the Central European strewnfield. Moldavites are green over most of the dispersed strewnfield though rare brown types are found in some areas.

Sikhote-Alin Meteorite

Please visit our Sikhote-Alin Meteorites For Sale page to see our specimens for sale.  Sikhote-Alin meteorites have thumbprints or regmaglyphs what make iron meteorites look so distinctive in museums. Sikhote Alin individuals have this characteristic in miniature and make impressive collection specimens. Naturally sculptured by their passage through the atmosphere these iron meteorites are real beauties.

NWA 869 Meteorite

We have NWA 869 Meteorites in slices and end pieces. It is a brecciated stone with clasts of many different types incorporated into its makeup. slices can contain large metal grains, troilite inclusions, giant chondrules, armored chondrules and almost anything else seen in stone meteorites.

Silkhote-Alin Meteorite Shrapnel

We have a nice supply of Sikhote-Alin Shrapnel For Sale. These pieces of torn and twisted nickel-iron metal were ripped apart by tremendous force when the comic body hit the Earth.

Seymchan Siderite Meteorite For Sale

We have a nice selction of Seymchan Siderite meteorite for sale with it's very attractive etching. The Seymchan meteorite was found in 1967 in Magadanskaya oblast', Russia. The original two pieces discovered were sequestered in museums. Explorations of the find area have resulted in a signification number of additional masses being found. While many masses have olivine crystals characteristic of it's Pallasite classification, other pieces such as these are nearly solid metal.