Iron Meteorite
Image: <a href="//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Wikitarisch" title="User:Wikitarisch">Wikitarisch</a> (CC BY 4.0)
Mineral NameIron Meteorite
Chemical Formula(Fe,Ni)
Mohs Hardness4
Crystal Systemcubic
Lustermetallic
Streak Colorgray to grayish-black
Cleavagepoor to indistinct
Fracturehackly
Specific Gravity7.8
Colorssilvery-gray, steel-gray, brownish-red (oxidized)
Transparencyopaque
Type Localityextraterrestrial origin, found worldwide
Mineral GroupNative Elements (alloys)
Usesscientific study, collector, jewelry, art
Associated Mineralskamacite, taenite, troilite, schreibersite, cohenite
Rarityuncommon
Description
The image displays a polished and etched surface of an iron meteorite, clearly showing the characteristic Widmanstätten pattern of intergrown kamacite and taenite crystals. The surface is predominantly silvery-gray with some areas exhibiting a reddish-brown hue due to oxidation.
Geological Context
Iron meteorites are fragments of the cores of differentiated asteroids that formed in the early solar system. Their distinctive Widmanstätten pattern is a result of extremely slow cooling (over millions of years) in the vacuum of space, allowing the iron-nickel alloys to crystallize into large, intergrown structures.
