Found - small impact crater an meteorite?

I'm not an expert by any means on this subject but I'm hoping someone here is. This may be nothing, but I'm extremely curious about this.

I was inspecting a house this afternoon and noticed a fresh hole in the ground in the back yard. It had just rained 2 days ago so the ground is still quite moist. The hole appeared to be about 2 inches wide, 3-4 inches deep and went downward at about a 45 degree angle. The hole appeared pushed in, not dug out. Laying to the side was this small rock (?) that was completely out of place. I searched the rest of the yard, front and back and found no other rocks like it. As a matter of fact, the only thing on top of the rest of the grass were a couple of cigarette butts and an empty soda bottle in the front yard. There were no rocks in the landscaping at the house or the neighboring ones.

Here's a couple of pics. Am I looking at just a rock?
More images and full resolutions can be seen HERE.




















[edit on 6-3-2008 by AnnunakiX]

It looks like quartz mixed in with the rock, not that it means anything, just an observation.

Kinda looks like a meteor though.

Also you said the rock was laying by the side, wouldnt it be in the hole?
Maybe even buried, im not sure, just asking.

Interesting, thanks.

[edit on 6-3-2008 by earth2]

I am no expert on Meteorites, but it sure doesn't look like one to
me at all. The ones I have seen are much darker in nature simply
because of the extreme heat generated when entering Earth's
atmosphere. This looks more like a "rock". It doesn't look as if it
contains any iron at all. Most meteorites are black in color and are
made of iron and are very heavy. Maybe your neighbor flung a rock
across the fence. If you could do so, have the rock cut in half and take
a look at the inside of this thing. Also, you can run a metal detector
across it and you should get a "ping" because of the iron content.
If you don't get any hits, it is probably just a rock.

ZOOMER

Originally posted by earth2
Also you said the rock was laying by the side, wouldnt it be in the hole?

Yeah, I would think so too. It's just that the hole was a bit out of the ordinary, and the rock was out of place just sitting right next to it. One side of the rock has a bit of mud in it, while the other side looked as if it has darker material, maybe burned or something.

My first thought is that it may have hit the earth and somehow bounced out. Well, actually my first thought was, why is there a hole here and why is this odd gray rock sitting next to it.

---

ZOOMER,

I don't have access to a metal detector, but will try to get hold of one.

I have been looking through some websites dedicated to meteorites, but it is slow work going through them. Hence, the reason I ask here.

[edit on 6-3-2008 by AnnunakiX]

boy you got a good eye.
Some characteristics of some Meteorites
Fusion crust: glassy coating
Regmaglypts : they look like thumb prints, but I think that they are on larger ones.
Density: high density, made of iron and nickle
Magnetic
Chondrules: grainy

your photos look like they have small bertrandite crystals. If that is the case it wouldn't be a metorite. But then, it does look grainy like some metorites are. But I am no expert, I just have a rock garden.
Is the rock heavier then it would seem to supose to be? Is it magnetic?
regardless, cool rock

reply to post by starskipper


Heavier? No. It is actually lighter than I would expect...not being an expert in geology that is.

Magnetic? I don't think so. Though I only tried with ordinary refrigerator magnets. My neodymium magnets got pocketed by a relative a few years ago.

I'm sure this is most likely nothing, but the combo of the odd hole and out of place stone got me really curious.

[edit on 6-3-2008 by AnnunakiX]

meteorites.wustl.edu...

epswww.unm.edu...

These websites might help you out.

It could very well be a meteorite:

the odds are over 99 percent that there is an undiscovered smaller "Stoney" meteorite on the ground within 1 mile of you right now. Although it is very challenging to recognize and authenticate a small stoney meteorite ( many of them look just like Earth rocks & gravel ), ... it is much easier to do so for an Iron meteorite.

Stoney Meteorites are very difficult to tell from any other rock you find, you’d have to send it into a lab to determine if that is in fact what it is. Here is the best link I can find on determining if it’s a meteor or not:
World trading Meteor Book

reply to post by MountainStar
and
reply to post by defcon5


Excellent links. I'll take a look around. I noticed one of the sites said that there were only 24 confirmed meteorites found in GA. Wow.

Thanks

I have no idea where you are but the rock is neat. Is there or was there a copper smelter or glassworks in your hometown? It sort of looks like slag but the wide variety of different textures, crystallines and coloration in the cross-section view wouldn't make me think meterorite as a source. Slags are relatively light. Most meterorites I've seen (only a few) are quite heavy for their volume. There's lots of photos around the net. Iron survives re-entry no problem. The one at the Science Centeris pretty burnt looking without much like bubble scale like this one. Is there a sandcasting place around?

It has attributes of igneous, metamorphic and sorta at first blush sedimentary rock. That's why I ask about the glass and casting works... blue... copper smelter, cobalt blue glass? Is it heavy? Put it near an AM radio antenna and see if the radio signal gets static (have it between stations). Cool.

UFO's have according to some "spit out" mass... didn't look like that though.

Cheers,

Vic


[edit on 6-3-2008 by V Kaminski]

Well, so far as I can tell from these websites, the stony meteorites should have a fusion crust that tends to melt the exterior a bit during entry into the atmosphere. Also, it was stated that it looks as if there is quartz in this specimen...and I would agree. The Washington University website states that quartz is rarely found in meteorites, and if it does, it is difficult to see without special tools.

So, this is probably just a rock, coincidentally out of place next to a hole that is also out of place.

It was worth a shot.

Thanks all.

To AnnunakiX,



I bought this Gibeon Meteorite off ebay. I've been looking out here in the desert with my metal detector and magnet, but no luck yet. Not many falls in Nevada. I'm hoping one may have strayed away from California.

I did find this rock tho. Not exactly sure what it is?



I do better with fossils. This one is a large crinoid fossil or sea lily.



Good luck with your rock

Interesting find. Some types of meteorites are worth major bucks. Might want to look at this guys site. I think he also might help you to identify it. Rocks fall from the sky daily, and there have even been people killed by them. Talk about odds.

www.novaspace.com...