Iron Meteorites
Iron meteorites form as a result of differentiation of molten material on their parent bodies. They are therefore not as primitive as chondrites, but instead represent magmatic geologic processes that occurred on a large asteroid or small planetoid early in the Solar System’s history.
Sikhote-Alin
These are pieces of a magmatic iron meteorite that fell in Russia in 1947. Notice the two types of shapes exhibited here. The example in the middle has smooth dimples called regmaglypts that formed as hot material was ablated away during its flight through the atmosphere. This type of fragment is called an individual. The other pieces in this specimen tray display jagged twisted features and are examples of shrapnel that formed when the meteoroid exploded.
Campo del Cielo
This iron meteorite fell over four thousand years ago in what is now Argentina.
Canyon Diablo
These iron meteorites come from the world-famous Meteor Crater in Arizona. They are fragments of the asteroid that struck the earth 50 thousand years ago producing a crater nearly three quarters of a mile wide.
