METEORITE DETECTING: Meteorite Classification, page 2
Types of Meteorites: Stone, Stony Iron and Iron
There are three meteorite types: Stone, Stony Iron (Stone-and-Iron) and Iron. Stone Meteorites are the most common type, referred to as Ordinary Chondrites.
Chondrite meteorites make up about 80% of all meteorites found on earth. There are other stone type meteorites such as achondrites, carbonaceous chondrites, lunars, martian meteorites, etc.
Stone Meteorite
Stony Iron type includes Mesosiderites and Pallasite meteorites. Mesosiderites consist of about 50% iron and 50% silicate materials. Mesosiderites scatter tiny particles of a silver-white color on the break.
Stony Iron Meteorite
One of the most rare types are Pallasites, meteorites that consist of spectacular and translucent crystals of olivine, the semi-precious gemstone peridot, suspended in a nickel-iron matrix. They account for only about 1% of all known meteorites.
Pallasite Meteorite
Iron type meteorites are also rare, but not as rare as Pallasites, and make up only 5% of all known finds. It is almost impossible to tell iron meteorites from usual stones because very often their surface is completely fused and has a grayish or brownish color.
Iron Meteorite
Another type of meteorites sought after by collectors for their beauty and rarity are oriented meteorites. When meteorites hit the Earth's atmosphere, they may be traveling at speeds as high as 17 miles per second. Some meteorites break up under the force of atmospheric pressure, others spin as they approach the earth's surface.
A very few meteorites maintain the same orientation as they burn through our atmosphere and acquire a conical, rounded or bullet-shape as a result of melting and ablation. These shield or rocket nose-shaped meteorites are called oriented meteorites.
Oriented Meteorite
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