wirelessworldinc
Sr. Member
Thinking it is Murchison.
Found in houston Texas
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wirelessworldinc
Sr. Member
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Found this on the internet: Classified as a carbonaceous chondrite, type II (CM2), this meteorite
is suspected of possibly being cometary origin due to its high water content of 12%. This
very rare meteorite surprised scientists when it was discovered that Murchison contained
amino acids which are not present on Earth. Amino acids are "the building blocks of life."
An abundance of amino acids found within this meteorite has led to intense study by
researchers as to its origins. More than 92 different amino acids have been identified
within the Murchison meteorite to date. Only nineteen of these are found on Earth. The
remaining amino acids have no apparent terrestrial source. The Murchison meteorite is
one of the most studied meteorites ever, many feeling it proves life on earth was "seeded"
via meteorites.
is suspected of possibly being cometary origin due to its high water content of 12%. This
very rare meteorite surprised scientists when it was discovered that Murchison contained
amino acids which are not present on Earth. Amino acids are "the building blocks of life."
An abundance of amino acids found within this meteorite has led to intense study by
researchers as to its origins. More than 92 different amino acids have been identified
within the Murchison meteorite to date. Only nineteen of these are found on Earth. The
remaining amino acids have no apparent terrestrial source. The Murchison meteorite is
one of the most studied meteorites ever, many feeling it proves life on earth was "seeded"
via meteorites.
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Tuberale
Gold Member
Regarding Murchison: every meteorite is identified by the name of the nearest community or other identifiable geographic feature it was first found near. The 100kg Murchison identified in the Meteoritical Bulletin was found in 1969 in Australia.
Some meteorites break up shortly after hitting the Earth's atmosphere, producing a strewn field with several to thousands of pieces being found. It would be extremely unlikely that a 100kg meteorite which fell near Victoria, Australia would also produce a fragment that fell in the U.S.
That said, there are several things to do to identify or rule out meteorites:
1) Most recent falls (within the last 10,000 years or so) have black or dark brown fusion crusts. This crust in rocks will look rather glossy, similar to a nodule of weathered obsidian.
2) Most meteorites are magnetic. If a magnet is not attracted to it, it probably isn't a meteorite.
3) Most meteorites are extremely heavy for their size. How much does your specimen weigh? How many cubic centimeters of water does it displace?
4) Many (but not all) meteorites have ablation blisters caused by the friction of air against the stone at high speed. These are called regmaglympts. I don't see any in this stone.
Some meteorites break up shortly after hitting the Earth's atmosphere, producing a strewn field with several to thousands of pieces being found. It would be extremely unlikely that a 100kg meteorite which fell near Victoria, Australia would also produce a fragment that fell in the U.S.
That said, there are several things to do to identify or rule out meteorites:
1) Most recent falls (within the last 10,000 years or so) have black or dark brown fusion crusts. This crust in rocks will look rather glossy, similar to a nodule of weathered obsidian.
2) Most meteorites are magnetic. If a magnet is not attracted to it, it probably isn't a meteorite.
3) Most meteorites are extremely heavy for their size. How much does your specimen weigh? How many cubic centimeters of water does it displace?
4) Many (but not all) meteorites have ablation blisters caused by the friction of air against the stone at high speed. These are called regmaglympts. I don't see any in this stone.
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