Jim in Idaho Posted December 10, 2017 Share Posted December 10, 2017 I guess I'm as big a moron as all the other meteorite wannabees, but here it is. I found this hunk of metal out in the Idaho desert. It was in the vicinity of an old railroad stop. That railroad dates back to the late 1800's, and that stop was abandoned long ago. I figured the rock had something to do with the railroad, but looking at it the other day, I started wondering. I had it checked at a local scrapyard a couple of years ago, and the gun showed it had +/- 10% nickel. It will cause a round magnet to roll around. It's about 2" across at the widest point. What say you experts? Everything I know about meteorites could be written on the back of a postage stamp, with room left over. The closeup pic is a small broken face. We ground a flat spot on one side so the xrf gun could get a reading. Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GB_Amateur Posted December 10, 2017 Share Posted December 10, 2017 http://meteorites.wustl.edu/realities.htm Don't be put off by the 'commentary'. This seems like a pretty good DiY meteorite identifier site. A ton of info including lots of photos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fredmason Posted December 10, 2017 Share Posted December 10, 2017 Most likely ballast, slag or some type of basalt....the holes tend toward terrestrial rather than extra-terrestrial .... their is all kinds of rocks around rr stops and along the tracks. fred Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim in Idaho Posted December 10, 2017 Author Share Posted December 10, 2017 It's not actually rock, Fred.....it's solid metal, though I am definitely not arguing that it's a meteorite....I have no idea what it is. Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fredmason Posted December 10, 2017 Share Posted December 10, 2017 I hear you...very unlikely to be meteoric... fred Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim in Idaho Posted December 10, 2017 Author Share Posted December 10, 2017 Yeah...I hadn't even thought of that, but the wife mentioned it while looking at it last night. So, I naturally thought.."I know just where to ask"...LOL. I first thought it was from the firebox of a locomotive, but there's no way that would be hot enough to melt iron or steel. It was found about 100 yards from the tracks. There is quite a bit of junk laying around that area. I think that stop was sort of a track maintenance place. There are cinders along the track there for a ways. There's no water available there. That track originally ran up to the town of Mackay where there was a substantial copper mine, and also serviced the gold and silver mines in Montana, and the Idaho area around Salmon. Now it runs out to the Idaho Engineering Laboratory. Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fredmason Posted December 11, 2017 Share Posted December 11, 2017 There always the chance someone high-graded a nice lump of silver/gold/copper.... fred Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim in Idaho Posted December 11, 2017 Author Share Posted December 11, 2017 Ya know, that's something I hadn't even considered. I appreciate that idea. It sorta looks like it was formed in rock. I guess I should do a specific gravity test on it to start with. Right now, though, all my time is spoken for. But, that's something I should do this winter. It's also too big to weigh on my little Gem Pro 250 scale, too. Jim 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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