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If you want to be a "meteorite hunter", let's take a look at this introductory knowledge first
china-meteorite2026-01-14 10:21:21Meteorite News46Source: china meteorite
Recently, a piece of news spread on various news platforms: there are many "meteorite hunters" in Zhumadian and other places in Henan. According to these "meteorite hunters", they "have a dream of getting rich overnight", and people everywhere in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou have them.
In addition to the "attribute of getting rich", what scientific knowledge is hidden behind meteorites?
Meteorites are mainly divided into 3 categories: iron meteorites, stone iron meteorites and stone meteorites. The difference between different types of meteorites is mainly manifested in the different iron and nickel contents.
Iron meteorites are mainly composed of iron, nickel, and small amounts of sulfides and carbides. Most of the iron meteorites are thought to have originated from the core of an asteroid that melted early in the solar system. During the decay of radioactive elements in the early solar system, many asteroids melted, and the iron they contained was dense and sank to the center of the celestial body to form a metal core.
Stone iron meteorites are composed of almost equal amounts of iron, nickel and silicate minerals. Stone iron meteorites are considered one of the most beautiful meteorites, and there are two different types: olive meteorites and medium iron meteorites.
Stone meteorites are primarily composed of silicate minerals and come in two main types: chondrites (some of the oldest materials in the solar system) and chondrites (including meteorites from asteroids, Mars, and the Moon). Depending on the composition, structure, and minerals they contain, chondrites and chondrites are further divided into many subgroups.
Since you want to get rich overnight by "encountering" meteorites, you must first know how to distinguish meteorites from other rocks.
First, meteorites usually contain metallic iron and dense minerals, so they will be heavier. Second, since most meteorites contain iron, they are often magnetic. For some stone meteorites, the magnetic manifestation may not be obvious, but if the smaller magnets are hung with a rope and close to the meteorite, they are attracted to them. Again, iron meteorites are rarely round, they have irregular shapes, and there are unusual pits on the surface, such as air imprints (holes that melt after entering the earth at high speed, are blown out by air currents and remain on the surface of the meteorite). Finally, stone meteorites often have a thin crust on their surface, as they melt as they pass through the atmosphere.
The price of meteorites has an international quote price. The price of common iron meteorites is generally between $0.5 and $5 per gram, followed by rarer stone meteorites, which cost between $2 and $20 per gram. Due to the high density of meteorites, a high-quality meteorite the size of a small dinner plate can be worth thousands of dollars. High-quality meteorites can easily sell for $50 a gram, while rare lunar and Martian meteorites can sell for $1,000 per gram or more, almost 40 times the current price of gold. The rarest meteorites are stone iron meteorites, such as the meteorite NWA 12691, found in the Sahara Desert, weighing about 13.6 kg and worth more than $2.5 million.
Finally, it must be emphasized that the chance of getting rich by looking for extraterrestrial meteorites is actually lower than winning the lottery jackpot.
Further reading
Crater: Traces of meteorites left on Earth
When it comes to meteorites, craters naturally come to mind. As the name suggests, craters are ring-shaped craters formed when meteorites hit planets, moons, asteroids, or other celestial bodies. Craters are usually circular, which is due to the explosion that occurs on impact causing material to fly in all directions, rather than the meteorite hitting the ground itself having a spherical shape. In fact, most meteorites are not spherical. Craters are the most common surface feature on many solid planets and moons, and both Mercury and the Moon are dotted with craters. So, what structures are there in craters?
The bottom of a crater is flat or bowl-shaped, usually below the surrounding ground, and may contain marbled rock. The crater from which large meteorites come out is so large that after impact, the material inside the crater is pushed backwards to form a central mountain. It is formed on a principle similar to a column of water that bounces off water droplets after it drips onto the surface. The inside of the crater is usually steep and may have large stepped structures that are formed by gravity causing the inner walls to collapse. The edges of the crater will be higher than the surrounding terrain because the impact force pushes the material inside the crater upwards when the meteorite hits. This material is dispersed outward from the crater's edges, and the farther away from the crater, the less material there is. Meteorite impacts sometimes produce distinct ray-like trails that extend far outward from the crater and consist of rocky material ejected from the crater area.
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