A local resident of Whiteford MD supposedly found a piece of the meteorite that was dropped by the July 6th Fireball over PA and northern MD. A local paper did a lengthy story on it and unfortunately it looks as if the rock is just that. A rock! Or more affectionately what we in the meteorite world call a meteor wrong.

Here’s an enlargement and short photo analysis.

Reasons why this is NOT a meteorite.

Too Red – Caused by oxidation of iron minerals in the stone. An indication of oxidation and time.
Weathered – Stones show much weathering and wearing away of outer surface. This happens over a prolonged exposure to the elements.
Vesicles – Meteorite typically DO NOT have vesicles. Vesicle are tiny little holes in the surface of a stones which are caused by escaping gases during the cooling of the molten rock.
No Fusion Crust – Crust on underside of the stone is NOT black like a freshly fallen meteorite would have. Look at the West Texas meteorite photo below for an example of black fusion crust.

West Texas (Ash Creek) Meteorite Note The Fresh Black Fusion Crust

Unfortunately this is not a piece of the much sought after and increasingly elusive meteorite that dropped from the PA fireball earlier this month.

Meteorite hunters from all around are still hot on the PA Fireballs trail! We’re in close contact with hunters on the ground in the area and they have new leads in the investigation. The search continues…

For more information on this artilce and to keep up to date on the latest PA Fireball information. Please visit our friends at Mike’s Astro Photos

Read Mike’s Post here: PA Fireball Meteorite Possibly Found

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