[meteorite-list] Magnetite/Glass Meteorite Balls

From: Sterling K. Webb <sterling_k_webb_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu, 12 Jul 2007 21:23:45 -0500
Message-ID: <004301c7c4f4$d81c5bf0$3d53e146_at_ATARIENGINE>

Hi, Mike, List,

    The Seller believes this material to be "Jurassic"
in origin because he finds it in sand produced from
Jurassic strata, but while he's wrong about that, he
may be right about it being meteoritic!

    When a meteorite ablates in the atmosphere, the
majority of its mass is turned into a dust of tiny fused
droplets. Eventually, that meteoritic dust will fall to
earth; some will land on water, sink to the stream and
lake bottoms and become incorporated in the sand
(or mud).

    Meteoritic dust or cosmic dust: put a flat white
plastic pan or small "splash pool" of water out away
from the trees on the peak night of a meteor shower,
and in the morning you will be rewarded with a black
dust on the bottom of the pool, that could well be
interpreted as:
    "Meteorite balls, glass balls, zircons, garnet, magnetite
and some other minerals... The balls are magnetite balls.
Somethimes with the white transparents glass balls you
can find some green balls that look like moldavite or
olivina fused samples..."

    Much more fun to collect your own than to
buy it on eBay, though.


Sterling K. Webb
--------------------------------------------------------------------
----- Original Message -----
From: "Mike Groetz" <mpg444 at yahoo.com>
To: "Meteorite List" <meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
Sent: Thursday, July 12, 2007 6:48 PM
Subject: [meteorite-list] Magnetite/Glass Meteorite Balls


   Anybody know or want to guess what the "meteoritic
jurassic balls" (as the lister call them) are in this
auction?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Meteorite-balls-sand-concentrate-microscope-rare-sample_W0QQitemZ200126606038QQihZ010QQcategoryZ3239QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

   I'm not trying to be funny or sarcastic; the photo
with the auction is pretty interesting. Would sand
actually round and polish itself this well in a stream
bed?
   I believe this is not meteorite related- but what
really is this material?

Thank You
Mike


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Received on Thu 12 Jul 2007 10:23:45 PM PDT