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Collecting Meteorites for Beginners

Meteorite collecting and selling is legal in the United States. If no one makes claims to a land or the meteorite found on that parcel, the meteorite belongs to whoever finds it. Collecting meteorites can be an entertaining hobby for some people. How to obtain meteorites to collect is interesting in itself. There are several ways. Meteorites can be collected as a whole piece meaning it is not broken or in pieces. Slices can be retrieved in the formation of loaves or flat like pieces. In slices, usually one side is the outside and the other is the inside of the meteorite. Another form to collect meteorites is in fragments. This is basically pieces, usually crushed and not a whole but a mixture of the inside and outside of the meteorite. A person who collects these particles do so by purchasing the items. Since it can be costly, getting micromounts can be cost effective for the collector. Other positive factors of micromounts are they weigh less and are easier to store. Interesting part of meteorites is determining whether you have found a meteorite or not. Certain types of this rock look much like the rocks found in asphalt and in the natural dirt makeup.

Doing some research on what to look for and perhaps even having an expert examine what you have collected will help determine what is a meteorite. Meteorites come in dark colors like a black rock but certain characteristics set the particle apart from an actual rock. A couple of tips to keep in mind is when collecting, using a metal detector or magnet may most likely pick up meteorites since they are metallic in nature. In searching for meteorites, knowing the areas where the rocks can be found is helpful. For instance, dry, undisturbed land can be a good resource for potential meteorite findings. Sometimes there is barren dirt and no signs of plant life in meteorite sightings. Also the color of land is lighter or a different color than meteorites. These clues help a collector pick out a good area to search.
To summarize a process of collecting meteorites or parts of for the person who has an interest please read the following for a very simple method for kids to gain interest:
Get a magnet and white piece of paper; proceed to the area of interest and collect a good amount of the ground; wait a few hours before examining the findings; take the collected material and move to center of paper/plastic; take the magnet and place it under the paper/plastic, tilting it to the left or right slightly; at this point, if anything remains in the center by the magnet, there is a small possibility of discovery of meteorites or pieces of the matter. Many people think to find or collect a meteorite is hard or impossible but actually, this particle is common to the Earth and parts of this rock fall to the ground almost daily. To decipher what is and what is not a meteorite is the most challenging part of the collection regimen but with the helpful tips listed, the process should not be off to a good start.
 

Contributed by Mike Champion