Are there any Meteorite Men out there ?

The other day, sufing the tube and came across, one of the "Meteorite Men" shows, and it occurred to me how most detectorists spend their time trying to bypass all the "iron" that these guys spend countless hours looking for, just because it comes from space, something so common here can easily be worth many times more than the gold and silver that so many seek. Ironic, yet , similar. I did notice they are using Fisher metal detectors and on this particular episode , stated that during the formation of the earth a large portion of the nickel that was on the surface migrated down into the earth's center, where as the iron stayed on the surface, HOWEVER, the rare iron/nickel meteorites , seem to have nickel and iron in proportions not found in terrestrial iron. Appears they have go-to-guys for validity testing and always carry a rare earth magnet as step one for testing in the field....Anyway anyone found a meteorite out there.....?

Not a "meteorite man" but I found a rock about 4 weeks ago lying on top of the ground that nulled my threshold out on MXT. Never had a rock null my machine, possibly the discrimination settings nulled it out. I picked it up, felt unusually heavy for it's size, took it home and it passed the first test with the magnet. Posted it and some say it is and some say it is not. I have not gone any further analyzing it but with the many hours we put into walking the fields I'm sure many detectorists have swung there coil over a few and not taken notice that they infact have found a meteorite. Meteorites are an interesting subject!

treasure/meteorite hunter in the summer bigfoot researcher in winter!Hey Tom you seen the skunk ape on any of your adventures?

Hi Guys,

Personally, I have found quite a few meteorites, with most found at Gold Basin AZ back before most people hunting the area knew they were meteorites. At that time is was very common to be able to find several every time out. Today, it is tough to find even one in the same area.

Now, as for a rock that "nulls" the MXT, this is most likely a typical "negative" hotrock and not a meteorite. Normally, this rock is a piece of magnetite which is a very common form of iron ore. As a general rule, if your detector is properly ground balanced, a meteorite will still cause a positive signal when checking while in the all metal mode. I have yet to find any place where the ground signal was such that a meteorite caused a negative response on a properly ground balanced detector.

One way to tell is to do a streak test using the back side of a piece of ceramic tile. Simply rub the rock on the tile and look for a colored streak. Hematite will generally streak red while magnetite streaks black. Normally, a meteorite will not leave a streak. Here is a link discussing what I mean.

[meteorites.wustl.edu]

The most common meteorite to be found is the stony type. It is estimated that about 95% or so of all meteorites found are stony type. They can respond in the all metal mode as a weak to fairly strong positive audio signal depending upon the exact type of meteorite it is. Stony types can vary quite dramatically in the amount of nickel and/or olivine they contain. In fact, they are classified that way. So, some of these stony type meteorites will have a weak but distinct attraction to a super magnet while others will stick like glue.

This same positive signal condition holds true for simple volcanic basalt also, but typical basalt is non magnetic. In the case of basalt, it will sound off like a positive hotrock and, like stony meteorites, will generate a positive signal on a properly ground balanced detector. So, basalt is often mistaken for meteorites.

Other meteorite types such as the iron or stony iron varieties will sound off and act about like what a piece of iron would do and that is, the signal will be a very strong response in the all metal mode plus the meteorite will slam hard to a strong magnet. Normally, a cut and polishing has to be done to see the special cross hash pattern that is found in the iron meteorites.

Reg

I think the one we to concetrate on Mars Rocks. The last I recall hearing there only a dozen or so ever found. Someone out in Arizona had a couple he found but didn't know what they were. He threw them in one of his many buckets of unidentified objects.After a serious discussion with his wife he decided he had to throw most of them away. He luckily held on to those two as "need to find out" items. University confirmed them as Mars rocks, Value estimated at $250,000.00 for baseball sized rock.

Wally

Reg...........Your definition/explanation has helped me narrow down a lump of metal (that I have taken lightly.....and is in my 'junk' pile).....and may indeed be a meteorite. Fairly strong/positive iron signal to detector...........yet, hardly magnetic to a rare-earth magnet (high nickel....low iron content). Hardness: '7' approx. --- Weighs 102.4-Gm. Ping-Pong ball size. Conductivity: nearly a dead short across entire (opposite sides) rock. One corner of rock polished.....and is exceptionally bright metal. Have not performed 'back of tile' test yet.

Hmmmmmmmmmmm. . . . Further testing will ensue.

Thanks for your explanation and link.

Tom

Reg, thanks for the informative reply, Now I think you have everyone looking through their "junk pile" of rocks....going hmmmmm.

BTW, Steve Arnold (one of the meteorite men) found a 1400 lb. meteorite in Kansas in 2005 , note it was 7.5 feet underground....yes with a metal detector. Tri


check out the link: [www.worldrecordmeteorite.com]

Wow ! I wonder when it hit the earth and if man was around when it hit. How big was it before it came through our atmosphere ? Anyone have info ?

I was checking out a rock I suspected was from space after reading this info and links. I think it is ((H Chondrite)). The one on link was from NW Africa which would make some sense to it being here in central VA as this was once part of NW Africa.

[meteorites.wustl.edu]


And here's an ad I had not seen previously for the F75 and Gold Bug (( I found mine last Dec with the LTD))

[www.meteoritemen.com]


Good stuff



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/23/2010 03:20AM by jamt225.

You know the V3 and V3i have a Meteorite program. I've never used it because I am so ignorant of meteorites... but from what I hear they are worth more by weight than gold.. I should educate myself.

I guess what puts me off is that those "meteorite men" are always going to some site where a meteorite is known to have hit... but I hear also that they can be anywhere. I'd think they would be hard to find and ID in ground with iron ore present... but anyway i'd sure like to find a big one.

Julien

Hi Guys and Gals,

O. Richard Norton wrote a few books about meteorites and what they look like. If you get a chance, his books are worth reading, as are other books on the subject. In fact, in Norton's Rocks from Space, he mentions something like there have been enough meteorites hit the Earth that he estimated there should be an average of approximately 100 per square mile.

The nice thing about meteorites is the fact, they can be found anywhere. Unlike gold that normally has tell tale indicators to help point the way, meteorites have no obvious indicators in most cases. Take for example the large number of meteorites found at Gold Basin that now, I suspect would be more than 20,000 or so in total count, was initially estimated to produce maybe 2000 or so. More importantly, this huge strewn field wasn't discovered until the 90's even though it was hunted for many years before for the nuggets that were found there with detectors.

Now, most meteorites do not leave craters, but larger ones do. So, anyone want to guess how many obvious craters are in the U.S. alone? How about ones in your state? Well, here is a link to give you some idea of what I am talking about.

[www.touristinformationdirectory.com]

Keep in mind, the above information is just for the most obvious with many still to be found. Strewn fields may not have a crater at all. In other words, anywhere can be potential site to find meteorites. I suspect, hundreds are passed over on a daily or at least on a weekly basis because no one knows what they are.

Reg


P.S. I wouldn't rely on any meteorite program on any detector. Anyone who has spent a lot of time studying meteorite characteristics should know, they can range from a very weak positive rock signal to one that mimics a piece of iron metal and anything in between.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/26/2010 12:42AM by Reg.

Good info once again. Thanks Reg!

Would the cz-3d be ok for meteorite detecting or is it better to have a detector with higher frequency?

Reg:

Wow! What a cool set of links and great information. Thank you!

rogmey

Are the "hot rocks" we find detecting, indeed meteorites? I know very little on this subject but find it fascinating.

Most hot rocks are natural Earth subjects. And yes, a higher freq unit would be a bit better for meteorites......as they are lower conductor iron/nickel primary base.

....and if anyone comes across a small piece of what they think is dark colored glass you may very well have found what is known as a Tektite. VERY RARE. The state of Georgia has been known to produce a few and a local Florida native, Hal Povenmire, is an expert on such visitors from space. They too can be found ANYWHERE and folks will pay a very nice price to have one. Check out this link for an interesting story and picture:

[www.onlineathens.com]

Always interesting......and another thing to keep an eye out for.