Mesosiderite
Meteorite, tektite, or impactite
Take care.
- Breaks down in damp air: Keep it dry and in steady humidity; some crumble or rot as they take on moisture.
About it
Breccia of roughly equal parts metal and basaltic or pyroxene-rich rock, giving cut faces a patchy silver-and-grey look. Rarer than pallasites; Vaca Muerta from the Atacama Desert of Chile is a well-known example.
- Type
- Meteorite, tektite, or impactite (stony-iron)
- Group
- Stony-iron meteorite, mesosiderite
- Lustre
- metallic, dull
- Colours
- dark grey, silvery metal patches, brown when weathered
- Transparency
- opaque
- Magnetic
- Strongly
Typical values: real specimens vary. For more, see mindat.org.