[meteorite-list] Re: [meteorite-list] TEKTITES!!  ....METEORITES OR JUST GLASS ???? Discuss..........

From: Starbits_at_aol.com <Starbits_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 10:08:30 2004
Message-ID: <4F61C41A.5405B833.00848CE4_at_aol.com>

<There seems to be many- often hazy attempts to explain them and there are a lot for sale on Ebay, yet when you go to sellers personal sale sites they just aren't offered.
  I've already been looking out for what I consider meteoritical booby prizes like Faeton ! and I'm keen not to waste money on rubbish. Am I right to be cautious or are they genuinely interesting and valuable additions to a
  collection ????>

   Tektites are melted earth rock. There is a very small number of people who believe they are from the moon, but the vast majority of the scientific community believe that is highly improbable. The biggest question is how you take rock, melt it into a clear glass, and quench it fairly quickly with out having it full of gas bubbles. They are different from impact glasses, such as aouelloul and darwin glasses, which have a frothy bubbly texture.
   Tektites are interesting in their own right with numerous shapes, flight markings and other oddities. The best web site for tektites is Norm Lehrman's site http://tektitesource.com/
   
 <Also where does moldavite come into this discussion? Is that also a tektite but cloaked in arty mystery?>

   Moldavites are also tektites. The biggest differences are the color, a lovely green, instead of black, and neat pointy delicate shapes, like hedgehogs on some of them. As a result they are jewelry grade tektites which expands the interest in them beyond meteorite collectors. They are also sold as power stones to the gullible who believe that sort of thing.

   I do carry moldavites on my site, but not other tektites. That is more because I haven't gotten around to making up a page than that they are not worthy. I do have a number of tektites in my collection and I am sure many meteorite collectors do also.

Eric Olson
http://www.star-bits.com
Received on Mon 23 Sep 2002 02:02:05 PM PDT