[meteorite-list] Rock testing...best place

From: cdtucson at cox.net <cdtucson_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Tue, 15 Jun 2010 16:07:00 -0400
Message-ID: <20100615160700.QZCFP.777756.imail_at_fed1rmwml33>

Barry,
Sorry if this posted twice.
You may have a Lunar but, without a really good visible black shiny fusion crust
nobody will want to test it.
briefly , let me explain why.
First of all there is little reason to believe it is anything more than an
igneous rock.
They are found everywhere. Especially in the western USA. And your rock lacks
the exact contents of the pictured rock you are showing it with. Yours lacks the larger crystals.
Secondly, it has No fusion crust or even visible shock veins inside. Lacking both of
those features gives no reason to believe it was ever in space.
If you find someone with access to a scanning electron microprobe they could
tell you exactly what it is. That said. Based on certain elemental ratios they
could only rule out lunar origin but, they still could not confirm without more testing. Nearly 100 % of all
Lunar's must have O-isotopes that match Earth. This is only ever tested for on rocks
that they already know are Lunar's and largely just for confirmation because
every Earth rock is also going to have Earth O-isotopes.
So I agree with Phil. Even if it is Lunar, Until there becomes a lab that will
check, you are SOL.
Ted Bunch is our Lunar expert but, if he won't help you then keep looking
for other stones that actually look like they have once been in space and forget about this one.
Even Mike farmer has been fooled. And trust me. If anybody can tell a Lunar by
sight it is Mike. Period. If mike says no. It is a NO.
Try sending him a picture but don't mention me. He is the
best at identifying all meteorites on sight alone.
Cutting to the chase here. Lunar Meteorites tend to retain their crusts for a
very long time. After all it is glassy and glass is very durable in terms of weathering.
So, again . A lack of crust and shock veins means most likely an Earth rock. Sorry. Carl

--
Carl or Debbie Esparza
Meteoritemax
---- Barry Hughes <bhughes at sneezy.com> wrote: 
> I've already taken to the geology dept at Dodd Hall, Ohio State.  The
> guy there said he couldn't tell me it wasn't and to have it checked
> out.
> I've heard it's not a meteorite several times from several people with
> the uncanny ability to tell from a picture, or possibly the odds of it
> not being makes it so reassuring to do so.
> 
> Barry
> 
> On Tue, Jun 15, 2010 at 11:39 AM, JoshuaTreeMuseum
> <joshuatreemuseum at embarqmail.com> wrote:
> > Barry,
> > I hate to rain on your parade, but this is not a lunar and it's not a
> > meteorite. ?You don't have to pay to have it identified, just take it to the
> > closest university geology professor, and he'll tell you what it is. ?At
> > least once ?a month, someone comes in the museum with their new lunar find.
> > After I look at it and see it's not a meteorite, (it never is), I then tell
> > them that the chances of them being the first person to ever find a lunar
> > meteorite in all of North America, South America, Europe, and Asia is very
> > close to zero. ?Whatever the smallest increment above zero is, that's your
> > chance of being the first.
> >
> > If I'm wrong, you'll be the toast of the international meteorite community,
> > as well as being featured on the cover of Nature, National Geographic, Time
> > and Newsweek. ?You will also get to meet the President as you present your
> > find to the Smithsonian.
> >
> > Good luck, I could be wrong, but don't get your hopes up.
> >
> > Phil Whitmer
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Received on Tue 15 Jun 2010 04:07:00 PM PDT