Coming events
The
Melbourne Orchid Spectacular 2008
Gem
Clearance
Nov 16, 17 & 18 2007
Department
Links
Link to our new Gem and Fossil site
Crystal-world.com
Iron Meteorites
These pages are brought to you by Collectors Corner
Back to Meteorites Main Page What are Meteorites Glass Meteorites
Stone Meteorites Jewellery from Meteorites Links to other Meteorite Sites
Iron Meteorites are the second most common of all Meteorites and come in a range of types.
The Main Groups are
1. Nickel Iron, these are formed inside the molten core of an asteroid or moon. Being very heavy these metals are drawn to the centre of a molten mass and eventually solidify. When hardened in Zero gravity the metal crystallizes and forms unique octahedrite crystals that can easily bee seen when the face of a meteorite is etched. The term given to this pattern is the Whidmanstatten pattern. Another pattern that may occur is the Newman lines which form hexadrite patterns.
2. Silicated Iron Meteorites, these are iron meteorites that also contain Silicates and hence have pockets of iron and silicate bearing minerals making a mosaic. These meteorites are still mostly metal and are quite heavy but not as heavy as nickel-iron meteorites.
3. Stony Iron Meteorites, these are a combination of stone and iron meteorites looking similar to Silicated Iron meteorites. There are many forms of these with Pallasites being the most famous being the Esquel Pallasite from Argentina showing beautiful semi clear olivine nodules throughout the specimen.
Meteorite Sales Pages will be added at a later date
Copyright © Collectors Corner 2004
