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Meteorite Identification

Meteorite Identification Contact

Alan Whittington, Assistant Professor
email: whittingtona@missouri.edu
phone: 573-884-7625
fax: 573-882-5458

Earthquakes Contact

Eric Sandvol, Assistant Professor
email: sandvole@missouri.edu
phone: 573-884-9616
fax: 573-882-5458

Meteorite Identification

Meteorites fall to Earth more often than you might think, but most rocks that get brought in to us are not meteorites. If you have an unusual rock, it might be a meteorite if:

It is really dense. However, many ore minerals are also quite dense, and Missouri is rich in ore minerals.
It is magnetic. This suggests the presence of metallic iron, although the iron oxide mineral magnetite is also magnetic.
It is solid with no hollow pores. (Meteorites may be fractured, but no meteorites contain pores.)
If a corner of the sample is ground slightly, the interior should be, or at least contain, areas that are metallic and silvery.
If a sample passes tests (1) through (4), it is possible that you have an iron or stony-iron meteorite. There are also some kinds of meteorites that are almost indistinguishable from igneous rocks formed on Earth, and these often go unnoticed. The best supporting evidence that you have a meteorite is that you saw it fall from the sky and collected it from the large crater it made when it landed.


Picture (1) shows a sliced iron meteorite. This sample is smaller than a softball but weighs over a pound.	Picture (2) shows another slice of iron meteorite. This sample has been polished and etched, to show the "Widmanstatten" crystalline pattern that is a unique characteristic of meteorites. The sample is a little over 1 inch across.

Picture (3) shows a lump of hematite (iron oxide, a common mineral in Missouri). This is non-magnetic and, when a corner is sawn off, the interior is non-metallic. This is not a meteorite.	Picture (4) shows a polished slab of petrified wood. This is an example of a "meteor-wrong."

For more pictures of meteorites, and "meteor-wrongs," see the following:

Meteorite photo gallery from Arizona State University

Photo gallery of "meteor-wrongs" from Washington University in St. Louis.

To find out a bit more about how meteorites form, follow these links:

Introduction to meteorites from Dr. Angela Speck, MU Department of Physics & Astronomy.

Introduction to Meteorites by Dr. Monica Grady, Natural History Museum, London, author of the official Catalogue of Meteorites.

The NASA guide to meteoritical mysteries.

Meteorite page hosted by the University of Arizona that also includes tests for suspected meteorites.

The Meteoritical Society.

To date, twenty-two meteorites have been found in Missouri. Washington University in St. Louis has a page devoted to Missouri meteorites.

Department of Geological Sciences | 101 Geology Building | Columbia, MO 65211-1380
Phone: 573-882-6785 | Fax: 573-882-5458 | General inquiries: ThompsonAE@missouri.edu

Department of Geological Sciences | College of Arts and Science | University of Missouri
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Last modified: November 2009