Is this a meteorite?

[NostalgicMeditations]

I just found what I think is a meteorite. On my Nautilus it has a narrow sound (almost like a coin which is odd for its size)- unlike iron and does set off the discriminate tone (although so does some thin iron on this setting). The discrimintation setting is 55 and the ground balance 66. There are two pieces. One weighs 4.8 and the other 7.2. they do have some rust so there is iron in it. It seems also to be rather heavy for its size. They do fit together. The larger one is 8x4x5 and the smaller 6x4x5 inches (lxwxh). Also how much are they worth and how/ where could I verify it if it is probably one? Sorry if this is the wrong forum- I'm not sure where else I should post it. I can't say that I purchased the detector to look for meteorites. I was looking for coins and found it where I used to play years ago as a kid. At least I didn't have to dig to find it- it was just sitting there. Its the rusty iron I end up digging it seems. Hopefully I'll get better before the yard looks like we have gophers.
Thanks. Robert

 

[taz42o]

Hi nostalgic, my guess would be it is not because of the holes but thats just a guess.
Here is link to a good meteorite site.

http://www.meteorites.com.au/found.html

 

[NostalgicMeditations]

Thanks for the link. I did some checking and from what I understand some of the real old meteorites may have some pitting (the fusion crust eroded off/ crumbles). It seems that only meteorites have chondrules and unless I am mistaken it is very possible that is what the white spots are in this rock. I did happen to check that site before posting and some of the samples also have some heavy pits. This one has some iron in it and when filed they appear silver (at least to me- its sort of hard to tell). If that is the case then it seems to be native iron which is rarely found in terrestial rocks but often in meteorites- from what I read today. However, I'm definitely not an expert. Oh- it was found in upstate NY. If it is one it probably came down well before colonial times as the size of it would have created quite a sight. Thanks for the help.
Robert

 

[taz42o]

Somewhere on the site I sent link to is another link to contact the owner of that site and send them a pic they will give you their opinion . I hope you have a meteorite, Let us know if you find out.

 

[1859large]

That is a dead ringer for amygdaloidal basalt. Yup! The spell check says it is spelled wrong but it is spelled right.

Basalt is a low gas volcanic rock that only bubbles when either emplaced very shallow or in lava flows. Gas forms small bubbles and they later fill with calcite or quartz, depending on the "flavour" of the water that permeates the rock. If it was chilled at depth it would not have had enough pressure to form bubbles in the liquid rock as it chilled. Basalt is your generic lava flow like what is seen in Hawaii and is found throughout the US, ie not everywhere but in many places.

The fact that your specimen is very round indicates it has been rolled around a while and it may have traveled some distance from where it came out of bedrock. If you found it in a creek it may have originated upstream.

Sorry to burst your bubble but I have walked over many miles of basalts in my career.

Meteorites are darn nice finds but are very rare, especially ones that are non-magnetic.

HH

1859

 

[GoGoGopher]

looks like some Rose Quartz in there too...I was thinking Malakite due to the green color...

HH,