Wet sand hunt gives up a .......Meteorite?

[TheInspector]

I needed a MDn fix so I went to hunt the wet sand at low tide. A howling 20-30 mph wind from the north pushed the tide out pretty good. The SandShark and I collected a bunch of bottle caps and other junk along with a burnt looking rock that the detector located. I was about a foot deep in the sand, and below the normal tide line.
After washing it off with a hose I started wondering about meteorites and started researching.
Very heavy for size.
Regular magnet does stick, but not as firmly as it would to carbon steel.
Fusion crust.

I have access to an Niton XL3t alloy analyzer due to my profession.
The readings varied depending on the location shot.
This shot with Ti and Cr, in addition to Al and Fe was taken on what I believe to be fusion crust.

I could be wrong, but this may be a lunar meteorite.

 

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[TheInspector]

I didn't know you expected me to write a thesis to defend my position... Firstly, the traces of chromium, titanium and vanadium are exactly that... traces. I would not get too excited over 0.02 percent of any element. If anything is too simplistic, it is the assumption that a beer can is the only thing thrown into a fire... Bottle caps, labels, staples from boxes may contain traces of many metals.... Pair that up with heat and seawater and the ionic interaction of metals of highly varied oxidative states and you will find that trace elements will precipitate as the aluminum and iron oxidize. The crust you see is not from fusion, it is from oxidation. When referencing aluminum to meteorite composition, that aluminum is in the form of aluminum oxides or aluminum silicates... Not metallic aluminum... Metallic aluminum does not exist anywhere naturally.


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Again chances are it's not a meteorite.



Thanks for better explaining your position.
Beer can in the fire came from you.
As I understand it, your position is,
A beer can melted in a fire over a magnetic stone and someone threw in some Titanium staples for good measure.

If your interested please see http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2008/pdf/1374.pdfThis site discusses an analysis on fusion crust on a Lunar Meteorite. They analyized 141 points to come up with their info. By the way, it included Aluminum, Titanium, Chromium, and Iron plus many other things.
I only took a couple of shots.


Thanks again for the interest.

 

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[AMorgan]

I'd say there is absolutely zero chance this is a meteorite... I don't know why you insist on playing down my theory as I would bet my life savings on it being a mix of metals melted in a fire. Aluminum in rocks versus aluminum metal are two entirely different things... You keep wanting to link your minute traces of common industrial elements to being of lunar origin...


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[AMorgan]

If you really want to know what it is, saw it in half and examine the unoxidized interior.... As a geologist, I was trained to ignore weathered or oxidized surfaces if you wanted to find out what is inside...


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[AMorgan]

Lunar meteorites are stony meteorites.... They won't stick to a magnet and the fusion crust will be a slick dimpled surface that appears burnt. The trace elements will be similar to that of mafic igneous rocks found on earth.


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[AMorgan]

Perhaps you should follow Occam's razor.... The simplest possible explanation is often the correct one...


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[meMiner]

Perhaps you should follow Occam's razor.... The simplest possible explanation is often the correct one...


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Ah, so the answer is Alien spaceship crash debris. I knew it! LOL

Now to be serious, for sure don't saw it in half. I understand what is done on a suspected meteorite is "opening a window", which means filing a little bit off the outside to look at what is inside. FYI - I have found lots of melted beer cans in fresh water detecting. They look like big ol silver nuggets. I guess what you found could be melted junk from a hot bond fire that was later affected by the sea water. On the other hand, I am hoping that you found something more special than that.

 

[roninrus1]

Ain't getting into the argument of what it is because I don't know and I am not in anyway trained in that geology, etc.
The only comment I would add is the beaches on Texas coast had a huge seaweed problem this past year.
Lots of it was piled, dried out and then burnt with all kinds of garbage from the beaches mixed in to feed the fires.
In the last couple of months they have been scraping this and mounds other stuff out onto the beaches to let it settle and deteriorate.
This COULD have created something like this. Have found some BIG chunks of melted aluminum mixed with sand and everything else lately.
Thanks for posting it, good luck and keep up us to date on what you find out.

 

[jyt2017]

Its a hunk of primarily aluminum metal. Bonfire. Beer. Bottle caps, cans. Time. Ocean and weathering...corrosion. And then you have what you have. Usually the simplest explanation is the correct one. Thanks for the interesting thread. -Joe

 

[TheInspector]

Its a hunk of primarily aluminum metal. Bonfire. Beer. Bottle caps, cans. Time. Ocean and weathering...corrosion. And then you have what you have. Usually the simplest explanation is the correct one. Thanks for the interesting thread. -Joe

As I said in the first post, I might have found a meteorite.
Conversely, I might not have found a meteorite.

Trust me, I have had quite a few beach party bonfires, so this possibility of melted can has been on my mind from the start.
But there are issues such as -
Location - foot deep, well below tide line. This area did receive beach replenishment after Hurricane IKE.
The response from my detector is muted when compared to Aluminum objects.
Extra heavy weight when compared to other rocks.
Attracted by a magnet.
I had questions about this object before using the analyzer on it.
I guess I need to use the alloy analyzer on an aluminum can to see if trace Ti and Cr show up.
Kind of doubt it.

I did consult an expert who after looking at the pictures, replied that he thought the crust looked too granular and the only meteorites with Al are lunar meteorites. He did state he did not believe it is a meteorite for those reasons. I did inquire whether or not stoney lunar meteorites could be attracted by a magnet, as I have seen conflicting info but have not yet received a reply.

I will have it cut someday one way or the other. If it were a meteorite, to get the highest price you have to have a better analysis to have it officially named.

Thanks for the interest.

 

[ChampFerguson/TN]

Industrial slag probably. Meteorites don't have visible large cracks such as the one visible in the last pic.

 

[TheInspector]

Industrial slag probably. Meteorites don't have visible large cracks such as the one visible in the last pic.

I do not think they are cracks, but anythings possible.

 

[NEBeachcomber]

TheInspector... if I found that and I thought it might be an actual meteorite I would be wearing out my shoes trying to find someone who could examine it and give me a definite answer rather than fooling around on the forum trying to get opinions.

 

[TheInspector]

TheInspector... if I found that and I thought it might be an actual meteorite I would be wearing out my shoes trying to find someone who could examine it and give me a definite answer rather than fooling around on the forum trying to get opinions.

I agree with you, but life gets in the way. I am now in the middle of a turnaround at the chemical plant I work in. Working 13 hour night shift and driving almost 2 hours a day. I just got home. I have a lot of questions about what I found, but the chances are I am wrong. The odds are astronomical. Its put up and I plan on looking for someone to look at it. I have read that to get a meteorite certified, you have to donate 25% of it to be studied, so I may get a hunk cut so I can see what is inside.

Thanks for the interest.

 

[Boatlode]

Regular magnet does stick, but not as firmly as it would to carbon steel.

Not an expert, but all the real meteorites I have seen are extremely magnetic.

You asked for opinions, and it appears to me you received some very educated ones. Yet you argue with them as if to prove to yourself you have a meteorite. I agree with the earlier poster - instead of arguing, go get it analyzed.

 

[NEBeachcomber]

I agree with you, but life gets in the way. I am now in the middle of a turnaround at the chemical plant I work in. Working 13 hour night shift and driving almost 2 hours a day. I just got home. I have a lot of questions about what I found, but the chances are I am wrong. The odds are astronomical. Its put up and I plan on looking for someone to look at it. I have read that to get a meteorite certified, you have to donate 25% of it to be studied, so I may get a hunk cut so I can see what is inside.

Thanks for the interest.

I look forward to hearing the end results and I wish you the best of luck in learning that "it is" a meteorite.

 

[TheInspector]

I have felt guilty for never updating this thread.
Basically, I was wrong.
After a couple of months of no resolution , I took a hammer to it and discovered it was sandstone with a small, corroded, piece of cylindrical carbon steel at its core. Likely it was in a fire at the beach at some point and contaminated with aluminum on the outside.
It really had me going for a while.

My next thread I update was my very first, and has a happy ending.
It should have been posted in Beach and Shallow Water Forum, as it was found in a lake.

Good Hunting to all....

I needed a MDn fix so I went to hunt the wet sand at low tide. A howling 20-30 mph wind from the north pushed the tide out pretty good. The SandShark and I collected a bunch of bottle caps and other junk along with a burnt looking rock that the detector located. I was about a foot deep in the sand, and below the normal tide line.
After washing it off with a hose I started wondering about meteorites and started researching.
Very heavy for size.
Regular magnet does stick, but not as firmly as it would to carbon steel.
Fusion crust.

I have access to an Niton XL3t alloy analyzer due to my profession.
The readings varied depending on the location shot.
This shot with Ti and Cr, in addition to Al and Fe was taken on what I believe to be fusion crust.

I could be wrong, but this may be a lunar meteorite.

View attachment 1102665View attachment 1102666View attachment 1102667View attachment 1102669

 

[ChampFerguson/TN]

Thanks for following up! I always wondered if you had it analyzed by a college Geology Dept or something.