[meteorite-list] "How Do You Know It's A Meteorite"?

From: Anita D. Westlake <libawc_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Mon, 7 Apr 2008 13:50:58 -0400
Message-ID: <00f301c898d7$ef8f0fa0$cead2ee0$_at_edu>

I usually get that question when I'm talking about Lunar or Martian
meteorites. I tell them "We know it's lunar because we've been there. We can
compare what we've found on earth with what was collected on the moon."

For Martian meteorites it's not as simple. I tell them "We're 98% sure it's
Martian because we've sent up space probes that have chemically analyzed the
Martian atmosphere. These rocks match those chemical isotopes. A terrestrial
rock would not match. That seems to silence even the loudest argument.

Anita

-----Original Message-----
From: meteorite-list-bounces at meteoritecentral.com
[mailto:meteorite-list-bounces at meteoritecentral.com] On Behalf Of Bob King
Sent: Monday, April 07, 2008 1:39 PM
To: Meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] "How Do You Know It's A Meteorite"?

Hi all,
I always tell people that a particular found meteorite has the same
characteristics and chemical makeup as the hundreds of witnessed falls
that have been carefully studied by science. We know those came from
outer space. "And this one in my hand matches those."
Bob

On Mon, Apr 7, 2008 at 11:06 AM, Mark Ford <mark.ford at ssl.gb.com> wrote:
> >> "How do you know it's a meteorite"?
>
> Something like
>
> - Because it meets some or all of the criteria that have been established
over many decades to indicate it is of meteoritic origin. Such as having a
fusion crust, possible presence of Nickel, and chemical or physical
structure that places it amongst the other rocks of identical composition
(and thus origin).
>
>
>
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Received on Mon 07 Apr 2008 01:50:58 PM PDT