Stealthmode
Newbie
- Nov 17, 2023
- 2
- 1
I found this rock in the western side of Algerian Sahara I asked few people and they all said this is a shergotit from Mars, magnetic field is weak And it weighs 30 grams
Anyone can confirm if this is a shergotit metroite
- Thread starter Stealthmode
- Start date
Red-Coat
Gold Member
Welcome to Tnet.
There ain't nobody who can identify a Shergottite just by looking at the exterior... or even from visual examination of the interior. Martian rocks have many similarities to terrestrial volcanic equivalents and you would need analysis for elemental abundance ratios and/or detailed mineralogical and petrological assessment to distinguish Martian material from terrestrial material.
Sandy desserts which are essentially devoid of rocks are good places for finding meteorites in general since there is a high probability that a small isolated rock in a sea of sand will be a meteorite of some kind. Can you describe more fully the environment in which you found this specimen? There's not much that can be said from your pictures, even though they're sharp and good quality, except that there's nothing which resembles a fusion crust.
Also, are you actually living in Africa? Apart from approaching a museum, I only know of suitably accredited laboratories who could perform such analyses outside of Africa.
There ain't nobody who can identify a Shergottite just by looking at the exterior... or even from visual examination of the interior. Martian rocks have many similarities to terrestrial volcanic equivalents and you would need analysis for elemental abundance ratios and/or detailed mineralogical and petrological assessment to distinguish Martian material from terrestrial material.
Sandy desserts which are essentially devoid of rocks are good places for finding meteorites in general since there is a high probability that a small isolated rock in a sea of sand will be a meteorite of some kind. Can you describe more fully the environment in which you found this specimen? There's not much that can be said from your pictures, even though they're sharp and good quality, except that there's nothing which resembles a fusion crust.
Also, are you actually living in Africa? Apart from approaching a museum, I only know of suitably accredited laboratories who could perform such analyses outside of Africa.
Last edited:
Stealthmode
Newbie
- Nov 17, 2023
- 2
- 1
- Thread starter
- #3
Thank you so much for the reply, yes I live in the western southern part of Algerian Sahara near Morocco , and I found this rock in a very sandy part it immediately stood out because it was very different from the small yellow surrounding rocks, I would love to do an analysis on it, can you recommend some of the lab's you talked about,
Thanks in advance
Thanks in advance
Red-Coat
Gold Member
You're welcome.
The fact that there are at least some other rocks in the area (even if they don't appear to be similar) greatly reduces the probability that you have found a meteorite... coupled with the absence of a fusion crust.
If you want to progress to testing, my best recommendation would be New England Meteoritical Services in the USA. They will test it (non destructively), email the results, and return it to you.
Details here, and by following the hotlinks:
Note that they charge a mere US$30 which is a subsidised price as part of an educational outreach programme. That includes return postage in the USA. For International mailings, you will need to contact them because the return postal fees will be push the price up a little. They'll need to know the weight of what you are sending and the destination country to quote a price. Their email is:
[email protected]
The fact that there are at least some other rocks in the area (even if they don't appear to be similar) greatly reduces the probability that you have found a meteorite... coupled with the absence of a fusion crust.
If you want to progress to testing, my best recommendation would be New England Meteoritical Services in the USA. They will test it (non destructively), email the results, and return it to you.
Details here, and by following the hotlinks:
Note that they charge a mere US$30 which is a subsidised price as part of an educational outreach programme. That includes return postage in the USA. For International mailings, you will need to contact them because the return postal fees will be push the price up a little. They'll need to know the weight of what you are sending and the destination country to quote a price. Their email is:
[email protected]
Lonewanderer
Tenderfoot
- Nov 18, 2017
- 6
- 2
- Primary Interest:
- All Treasure Hunting
Hello. I can help you identify the stone if you send me 20%. This will go towards testing. I would also be interested in helping you find a buyer for the remaining piece. Let me know 🙂
