Did you know you can buy, sell, trade, collect, hunt and own meteorites? Real rocks from space!
Meteorites are higly valuable collectible rocks from space, you can own one and they are readily available on the market. Best of all, you don’t have to be a astronomer or scientist to get your hands on them. Many people around the world collect, study and hunt for these elusive and rare extraterrestrial treasures. Governments, space programs, scientists, and museum curators aren’t the only groups of people in the world with access to meteorites. There are literally millions of space rocks just waiting to be purchased from any number of mineral and meteorite dealers from around the world by people just like you. Do a search on Google for Meteorites For Sale and you’ll find hundreds of sites selling all kinds of meteorites from meteorite falls all over the world. Some of the really rare space rocks come from the Moon and Mars.
Can I really own a meteorite?
Of course you can. It’s a rock, not just an ordinary rock, but a rock nonetheless. Just as minerals like gold, diamonds, rubies and saphires are sold by mineral dealers all around the world, so to are meteorites sold to all kinds of people from every walk of life.
Asteroid Belt
Where do meteorites come from?
Scientists believe that most meteorites come from the asteroid belt that lies between Mars and Jupiter. In rare cases meteorites sometimes come from Mars and the Moon. Simply put, meteorites are rocks that originate from within our solar sytem.
How do rocks from the Moon & Mars get to Earth?
Anyone who has ever viewed the Moon has seen that it’s pock-marked with craters all over it’s surface. These craters are formed by impacts of meteoroids onto the Moon’s surface over millions of years. Sometimes these impacts are so powerful they expel lunar material out into space. This is relatively easy to do on the Moon when compared to Earth as the Moon has no atmosphere and very little gravity.
Blast Off!
So when a larger sized meteoroid impacts the Moon, material is blasted out into space at thousands of mile per hour. This material can float around in space and find an orbit around the Sun. Sometimes this material crosses the path of Earth’s orbit and if the Earth is there when it does the meteoroid then enters the Earth atmosphere thereby becoming a meteor. If the meteor survives impact with the ground then it becomes a meteorite. This goes for ALL meteorite on Earth.
Asteroid Ida
How do meteorites from the asteroid belt impact Earth?
Meteorites from the asteroid belt take a similar path but their origin is slightly different. The asteroid belt lies between the planets Jupiter and Mars and surrounds the Sun in a never ending belt of space debris. This debris consists of billions upon billions of asteroids and meteoroids orbiting around the Sun like a wheel around a hub. Within this belt, space rocks are flying around at thousands of miles per hour and sometimes they bump and crash into one another. This changes their orbit around the sun and chunks of meteoroids can be sent into Earth’s orbital path. Sometimes when this happens it produces meteorites on the ground. Not all meteors turn into meteorites. Most burn up in the sky during entry. A meteoroid (a rock floating in space) turns into a meteor when it enters Earth’s atmosphere. It must survive the extreme heat and pressures exerted on it during atmospheric entry, to impact the ground and therefore become a meteorite.
Meteorite With Fresh Black Fusion Crust
What do meteorites look like?
They look like rocks on fire! No really, they look like you would expect them to look after being subject to the intense heat of flying at thousands of mile an hour through our atmosphere. Meteorites look like they’ve been burned, and usually resemble a piece of charcoal right after they fall.
Fusion Crust
This outer black crust is called Fusion Crust. This black crust is a thin layer of oxidised iron and other minerals which gives it it’s black color. Meteorites also exhibit what’s called in the scientific world as Regmaglypts, or thumbprints as seen here.
Fusion crust is usually black or very darm brown in color. Over time a meteorites fusion crust can change color or disappear completely depending on the type of meteorite it is. This is caused by weathering and the erosion of the outer surface of the stone when rain wind, sand and other inclement
Flow Lines
If you look closely at this photo you’ll see little lines radiating outward from the center of the meteorite. These are formed from molten material “flowing” along the surface of the meteor toward the outer edges and are called flow lines .
Sikhote Alin Iron Meteorite with very nice Regmaglypts. "Thumbprints"
Oriented Meteorites
This particular meteorite is “oriented”, in that it entered our atmosphere and stayed in one position during most of it’s flight rather than tumbling through the air until it impacted the ground. Oriented meteorites are especially collectible within the meteorite community and are highly prized by collectors and scientists alike due to their rarity.
Meteorites For Sale
Meteorites USA ( http://www.meteoritesusa.com ) has a large selection of very collectible iron and stone chondrite meteorites for sale from many falls around the world, and one of the largest inventories of NWA or UNWA (Northwest Africa) unclassified meteorites on the web. More than 90% of our stock is not listed online. Take a looks below at some of the fine meteorites we have available.
Below you will find some quick links to our meteorites for sale.
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