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Meteorite Or Rock?


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Meteorite or rock?

Found this today kind of looks like possibly a Chromite meteorite but not sure so hoping some one could help. Browsed some pictures of
small Chromite meteorites on google images and seen some similar.

Dimension is about 1.5" diameter and about 40 grams heavy.

Not magnetic checked with magnet and my Garrett Pro-Pointer II detects nothing

Found in London, Ontario, Canada

Any help would be great
Thanks
John



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It is rare for any meteorite to not be attracted by a magnet.  Non-terrestrial Chromite is usually (but not always) associated with iron-nickel meteorites.  So the fact that it is not attracted by a magnet makes it unlikely to be a meteorite and certainly unlikely to be a chromite meteorite.  See below for more information on helping to ID a possible meteorite.

https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/i-think-i-found-a-meteorite-how-can-i-tell-sure?qt-news_science_products=0#qt-news_science_products

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5 hours ago, Johny said:

Not magnetic checked with magnet and my Garrett Pro-Pointer II detects nothing

I don't know what it is (Chase gave you a better idea than I can) but it is not like any meteorite that I have found.  

Here is a search of meteorites found:

 

21 records found for meteorites from Canada with places that are exactly "Ontario"
(click on a name for more information; click in header to sort)
Blithfield Official   1910 Ontario, Canada EL6 1830 g   Google Earth   
Brent ** Crater   >453 Ma Ontario, Canada Impact Crater     Google Earth  From EIDB 
De Cewsville Official Y 1887

Ontario,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Canada

H6 340 g   Google Earth   
Dresden (Ontario) Official Y 1939 Ontario, Canada H6 47.7 kg   Google Earth   
Grimsby ** Official Y 2009 Ontario, Canada H5 215 g 97 Google Earth   
Hagersville ** Official   1999 Ontario, Canada Iron, IAB complex 30 kg 86 Google Earth   
Holleford ** Crater   550 ± 100 Ma Ontario, Canada Impact Crater     Google Earth  From EIDB 
Kitchener ** Official Y 1998 Ontario, Canada L6 203 g 84 Google Earth   
Madoc Official   1854 Ontario, Canada Iron, IIIAB 168 kg   Google Earth   
Manitouwabing ** Official   1962 Ontario, Canada Iron, IIIAB 39 kg 26 Google Earth   
Midland ** Official   1960 Ontario, Canada Iron 34 g 50 Google Earth   
Osseo Official   1931 Ontario, Canada Iron, IAB complex 46.3 kg   Google Earth   
Rainy River ** Official   2000 Ontario, Canada Iron, IAB complex 3.26 kg 104 Google Earth   
Shelburne Official Y 1904 Ontario, Canada L5 18.6 kg   Google Earth   
Slate Islands ** Crater   ~450 Ma Ontario, Canada Impact Crater     Google Earth  From EIDB 
Southampton ** Official   2001 Ontario, Canada Pallasite 3.58 kg 87 Google Earth   
Sudbury ** Crater   1850 ± 3 Ma Ontario, Canada Impact Crater     Google Earth  From EIDB 
Thurlow Official   1888 Ontario, Canada Iron, IIIAB 5.5 kg   Google Earth   
Wanapitei ** Crater   37.2 ± 1.2 Ma Ontario, Canada Impact Crater     Google Earth  From EIDB 
Welland Official   1888 Ontario, Canada Iron, IIIAB 8.2 kg   Google Earth   
Wood Lake Official   2003 Ontario, Canada H4 350 g 97 Google Earth   

Observed falls documented prior to 2015 have a Y in the fall column.

** Click on the meteorite's name to see the full initial description.

 

There are no meteorites with London and Canada in their name.

New meteorites are found all the time but one way to first check if you have a meteorite or not is to see if you have a piece of an already identified meteorite.  You can also look at Google Earth and find that location for a meteorite and if it is on searchable land recover a piece for yourself.

Are any of the falls near London?

 

 

 

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Thanks for the feedback guys.

mn90403 Of the Falls you posted Kitchener is the closest one to London about 80km's away.

 

I found a website called American Meteor Society https://www.amsmeteors.org/ and found a recent large meteor event in my

area Feb 27, 2021  here is the Link with a Map path: https://fireball.amsmeteors.org/members/imo_view/event/2021/1160

I might send the photos to our local University (UWO) they have a department that might be able to help me.

Thanks

John 

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I performed the following Streak test and it passed so I think my next step is to send the photos to the UWO (University of Western Ontario) professor.

Iron ore is the most common meteor-wrong. Magnetite especially is very magnetic (hence its name) and hematite may or may not be mildly magnetic. Both these minerals may possibly be distinguished from meteoritic material by a characteristic known as 'streak'. You can test the streak very simply. If you take a common ceramic tile, such as a bathroom or kitchen tile, it has a smooth glazed slide and an unfinished dull side which is stuck to the floor/wall when installed. Take the sample which you think is a meteorite and scratch it quite vigorously on the unglazed side of the tile.

If it leaves a black/gray streak (like a soft leaded pencil) the sample is likely magnetite, and if it leaves a vivid red to brown streak it is likely hematite. A stone meteorite, unless it is very heavily weathered will not normally leave a streak on the tile.
  

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Most Universities are going to want to see the sample, not a photo.  Just my experience in the past.  GaryC/Oregon Coast

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Ok thanks Gary, they are local so should not be a problem if I get that far.

They have an online form I just filled out and summitted pictures, will report back what they say.

John

 

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Johny - that streak test usually applies to differentiate an iron-nickel meteorite from magnetite or hematite AFTER you have determined the prospective meteorite is attracted by a magnet.  You said in your original post that it was not attracted by a magnet, so set your expectations accordingly.  Good luck.

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Chase after much research online I found out that pure Hematite is usually not magnetic or if it is only very weakly so.

So based on this I wanted to confirm that the find was not Hematite or any other non-magnetic terrestrial mineral that marksThe streak test confirmed this for me as it left no markings.

UWO has a flow chart that I have attached to help me in determining if my find is possibly a meteorite, I followed it and assuming the find is lighter in color once I cut a section off it might... just might be a Non-magnetic Meteorite. (Maybe the find is weakly magnetic? and the magnet I'm using is just not strong enough, I'm using a hard drive magnet)

Flow chart answers:

Is a magnet attracted to it?  NO

Is it heavier than other rocks ?  NO  (of the same size I presume)

Does it have a dark, thin crust on the outside?  YES

Does it have a lighter color on the inside?  YES (well maybe under very bright light looks like it might be but I need to cut a piece off to really see and will wait for UWO to respond before I do that)

Cheers

John 

 

flow-chart-2.2-1-1024x710.png

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If you are on the right side of the chart and it turns out to be a meteorite then you are finding a very rare type of stony meteorite specimen (and finding a meteorite of any type is rare in and of itself).  Good luck.  BTW your pics do not really give a view that does justice to the crust you say you are observing.

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