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What is an Iron Meteorite?
A meteorite is the name given to the remains of a meteor after they have passed through the Earth’s atmosphere and landed on the ground. Virtually all meteorites contain some amount of iron and nickel. Meteorites are classified according to how much iron they contain. Iron meteorites contain the most, followed by stony iron meteorites and stone meteorites.
Iron meteorites originate from the core of extraterrestrial planets, as opposed to the crust, which gives up stone meteorites. Some theories suggest they may also originate from supernovas, because iron is produced by nuclear fusion. They are composed of more than 90 percent iron, with the remaining percentage being mainly nickel. This composition makes an iron meteorite deceptively heavy for its size and highly magnetic. While they represent approximately 10 percent of the number of meteorites recovered, their iron makes them account for 90 percent of the mass.
An iron meteorite is classified by one of two methods: chemical composition or structure. Classification by chemical composition looks at the amount of trace elements present — everything that is not iron or nickel. These are normally elements such as gallium, iridium, and germanium. Based on the relative abundance of these, the iron meteorite is placed into one of 13 groups. A 14th group exists for iron meteorites that do not fit into any of the 13 standard groups.
Structural classification is done by examining the two iron-nickel alloys — kamacite and taenite — that are present in all iron meteorites. The iron meteorite is etched with a mild acid that leaves a distinct lattice arrangement of kamacite and taenite known as a Widmanstatten pattern. By measuring the width of the kamacite lines, the structural class is determined. There are eight standard structural classes. A ninth exists for iron meteorites that do not fit into a standard class.
Some famous iron meteorites include Canyon Diablo, which fell in northern Arizona in the United States approximately 25,000 years ago and was the size of a building. Most of the meteorite was vaporized when it hit the ground, but it left a hole almost 1 mile (1.6 km) wide and 600 feet (183 meters) deep. The 15-ton (13,600-kg) Willamette iron meteorite was discovered in 1902 in Oregon in the United States and is widely thought to be one of the most beautiful iron meteorites in the world. Sikhote-Alin fell in 1947 in eastern Siberia, leaving a crater field with 99 distinct impact zones. The fragments from Sikhote-Alin melted in an unusual way when passing through the Earth’s atmosphere, making them highly sought after by collectors.
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![Some amount of iron exists in virtually all meteorites.]()
By: nuttaponggSome amount of iron exists in virtually all meteorites. -
![It is theorized that iron meteorites may originate from supernovas.]()
By: satoriIt is theorized that iron meteorites may originate from supernovas. -
![The Tunguska event, a meteor explosion, is thought to have occurred over a desolate area of Siberia.]()
By: simanovskiyThe Tunguska event, a meteor explosion, is thought to have occurred over a desolate area of Siberia.
Discussion Comments
@MrsPramm - They are fairly common, in the sense that there are a lot of them out there to be found. A few probably strike the Earth every week, but remember that that has been every week for the last few billion years, and people haven't taken much interest in them until recently. So there are probably still thousands and thousands of meteorites out there to be found.
Although many of them are probably fairly small, as large ones would make an impact when they hit the ground.
Apparently the easiest way to determine whether a rock is a meteorite is to try sticking it to a magnet. If it will stick, then it could be one. If it won't, then it almost definitely is not a meteorite. In fact, people who go hunting for meteorites will usually take special magnets with them to test the rocks they find.
@Fa5t3r - I don't think meteorites are all that rare. Maybe some types or compositions of them are rare, but as it says in the article, iron is very common in meteorites and I'm sure scientists get their pick of pieces before they get made into meteorite jewelry or paperweights.
I've seen them for sale in crystal stores for less than $100 and I'm sure that if they were that rare they wouldn't be available to the public for that amount of money.
I can definitely see why the iron meteorite fragments from the Sikhote-Alin meteorite are so sought after. If you look at pictures of them on a search engine they are quite pretty looking, with a sort of smooth fluidity compared with the chunky crystalline appearance of other iron meteorites.
Although I'm not a big fan of people collecting things like this solely based on their looks when they could potentially be a mine of information for scientists.
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