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Re: Meteorite Weight
Laura,
What I believe the answer you want is, at what average weight are
meteorites that survive entry. While thousands of TONS of meteoroids
make their way to Earth's atmosphere only a hand full of them actually
become metorites. I'm sure some of the very small stuff (sand-sized) may
actually hit the earth but most are the meteor showers (shooting stars)
that you see. Within the realm of meteorites (actual impacts) a 1 1/2
pound stone would certainly be capable of surviving entry. However,
chances are it would be part of a larger piece that broke up into
fragments upon entry.
Now for the other answer if the specimen is about baseball size that
would be to large for an iron nickle/iron meteorite but would be about
right for an aubrite ( stony, much lighter meteorite).
You said that it seems to be very heavy so I can assume it is small for
its weight, i.e. a rock in the yard of the same size is much lighter. In
that case, if it is about the size of a golf-ball to the size of a small
potato depending on pits/craters, spaces/gaps, missing areas. That would
put it in the range of an iron meteorite.
I would like to have more infomation about this object. Is it metallic,
is it magnetic, does it have, what appears to be smooth rust or a glossy
external material on it? If the Geology Dept. wasn't sure maybe it is
because most terrestrial objects are easier to identify.
Good luck on your find, hope it turns out to be exterrestrial.
Dan
P.S. Was there a hole in the roof where it entered, or was it placed in
the attic? (Just a thought)
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