Why this rock is probably not a meteorite:
1) The crust is much thicker (up to 4 mm) than a meteorite fusion
crust (much less than 1 mm).
2) The apparent fusion crust is reddish, just the color of iron oxide
(hematite). Real fusion crusts aren't this red.
3) Up close, the whitish stuff appears to be sandstone.
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What is it?
The finder of this rock thought that it looked like lunar meteorite
ALHA 81005. Superficially,
it does, and it's almost the same size.
This one is my fault, in part, because the the photo the finder used
to compare was one that used to be at the top of the lunar
meteorites home page. That scan (reproduced here at lower middle)
was too red; the fusion crust of ALHA 81005 is actually greenish (lower
left).
The rock appears to be a sandstone with an iron oxide cement.
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| ALHA 81005
~correct color
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ALHA 81005
too red |
mystery rock
reddish from hematite |
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