Physical methods are the first step in the identification of meteorites, and up to 80% of accurate and reliable results can be obtained by using them

Physical methods are the first step in the identification of meteorites, and up to 80% of accurate and reliable results can be obtained by using them. Also, you can first know which Stones cannot be meteorites in terms of appearance. The mineralogical, physical and Chemical characteristics of meteorites can help us to a great extent in identifying these heavenly bodies, but their definitive diagnosis requires detailed analysis and new methods. The possibility of finding meteorites, especially iron meteorites, is high in deserts due to their different gender compared to the surrounding rocks. Every year thousands of strange stones are found by ranchers, hunters and other people. All of them think that the stones they found are meteorites! But the fact is that less than 1% and only 1% of them can be meteorites.
The properties of Meteorite are:
- Density: Meteorites are usually very heavy for their size, because they contain iron Metal and dense minerals.
- Magnetism: Since most meteorites contain iron metal, a magnet will often stick to them. Of course, in the case of stone-type meteorites, a magnet may not stick to them, but if you hang a magnet with a string, it will be attracted to the meteorite.
- Unusual shape: iron-nickel meteorites rarely have a round appearance; Instead, they have an irregular shape with unusual fingerprint-like holes on their surface, which is called Regmaglypt.
- Molten crust: Rocky meteorites usually have a thin crust on their surface that has melted while passing through the atmosphere.
Meteorites do not have many holes in them, but volcanic Rocks have many holes in them due to the presence of gas. According to this issue, meteorites can be separated from volcanic rocks. Most meteorites contain at least some metal. Do you see the spark of metal on the broken surface of the stone? If you can see it, you've probably found a meteorite.