Found Two Meteorites

[budwzr]

Hey, does anybody out there know if these are real? I cut into the small one and it was silver.

[Tommyknocker]

Hard to really say. They say a good rule thumb is that potential meteorites are unusually heavy to be just an ordinary rock. But since your signature say you may be in Los Angeles, I would go over to their science department and ask them. They would be more than happy to look into it for you.

[budwzr]

Yeah, they're heavy for their size.

[TreeTops]

And where did you find those Bud?

[budwzr]

And where did you find those Bud?

I found them pressed into the ground, and visible, near an abandoned RR track.

[yoda313]

Neat find. Keep us updated please

[intracube]

Sure it's not just a hunk of rusty metal?

[budwzr]

I'm starting to think it's "slag".

It meets ALL the criteria for a meteorite, except I sanded off a small flat part and tried to etch it and it doesn't react to the acid.

[TreeTops]

Yes, it could be slag. The railroad may have used crushed slag for their roadbed instead of gravel. Or maybe they used a portion of slag mixed with gravel. Remember, there was once a big steel mill not too far from you located in Fontana, CA. They produced tons of slag.

[budwzr]

Yep, BUT!

My rocks are extremely hard to cut. Wears out the metal sawzall blade. Very dense. Hang on, let me show you the latest picture.....

I didn't set the WB. There's no green on the rocks at all. Only black and brown(rusty).






Is This black stuff "Fusion Crust"? This WILL flake off if I use a knife. It actually is a crust, not a coloration.

[Tommyknocker]

I still think it just may be a meteorite. If I were you, I would take that puppy down to the UCLA Science Department and ask them to run some tests and THEN get back to TreeTops and the rest of us.

[olyteddy]

I grew up in an industrial kind of town (Electro-Chemical mostly) and the railroad tracks near my house used all kinds of weird looking rock for ballast. I recall a lot of what they used was slag and clinkers from that chemical industry and finding rocks like that wasn't uncommon. Those are good looking rocks though, and if there's a museum or college nearby you might have someone take a look.