Class: Indochinite
Found: China, Laos, Thailand
Tektites are commonly confused with meteorites - but they aren't. They are what results when a large meteor impacts the Earth and throws a lot of molten earth rock into the air - which then cools and hardens as it falls back to Earth.
Some tektites are translucent at the edges and allow some light through to show a nice amber color - like a dark glass. These are formed in place from the pressure of the impacting body.
Class: Impactite
Found: Sudbury Basin, Canada
Impactites are a class of objects formed from the impact of a meteorite on the Earth. Suevite is a kind of impactite that is a combination of molten rock and rock fragments (brecchia). Many say that this material is a kind of "glass" formed by the heat of impact.
This specimen is from the Sudbury Basin in Ontario - the second largest known astrobleme (literally, "star wound" - an eroded impact structure) on Earth.
Non-meteorites are formed from material on the surface of the Earth that is melted or otherwise changed during a meteorite impact.
Class: Impactite
Found: Libya
These crystal-like specimens are similar to the glass-like tektites but are formed when a body impacts desert sand and are nearly colorless. Some specks of sand can be observed on the surface.
Class: Magnetite
Found: Arizona
This is the type of rock that is most likely to be confused with a meteorite. It is very heavy, and a key iron ore. Many magnetites, but not all, are magnetic and will attract other meteorites. Meteorites are not magnetic, as they didn't form in a magnetic field in space. This example is paramagnetic. It isn't magnetic and it's not attracted to a magnet - but it becomes magnetic when it is in another magnetic field. It had to have been highly heated for this to occur.
Note: All meteorite photographs include a 1 cm scaling cube for sizing reference. Click on the image to expand.
Class: Impactite
Found: Czech Republic
Moldavites come mostly from the Czech republic. They are formed under the same process as tektites, but from soil with a higher silicate content (sandier). Moldavites are widely marketed as stones with special powers.
Class: Impactite
Found: Steinheim, Germany
Shatter cones are very interesting. They are formed when shock waves from a meteor impact travel through rock and change the rock's structure. No melting is involved, but the shock gets focused and a top-down cone structure is formed. You can see parts of the cone structure as lines that radiate down the stone. These are pieces of much rarer complete cones.
