Where to send a suspected meteorite for testing
After doing a preliminary analysis of your specimen and having determined that it could be a meteorite, you can then send a fragment of it to any of the following labs for positive identification. There is no need to send the whole specimen, unless of course the entire specimen is very small, or if it is difficult to remove a fragment. There is no charge for this I.D. service, and your sample will be returned to you (it's best if you request it ahead of time, but they will usually do this automatically). Be sure to include return postage when you send them your sample.
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Dr. Carleton Moore
Meteorite Lab
Box 872504
Tempe Az, 85287-2504
USA
1-480-965-3461
or, 1-480-965-3576
cmoore@asu.edu
CALL OR E-MAIL FIRST before sending them a sample
Call: 1-480-965-3461 or, 1-480-965-3576 (ask the receptionist about Dr. Moore's program, and what you must do to get a sample tested).
This is a program of Arizona State University
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Dr. Derek Sears
Cosmochemistry Group
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
University of Arkansas
Fayetteville, AR 72701
USA
cosmo@cavern.uark.edu
Visit their web page for other info
CALL OR WRITE BEFORE SENDING HIM A SAMPLE.
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David A. Kring
Lunar and Planetary Sciences
The University of Arizona
1629 E. University Blvd.
Tucson, Arizona 85721-0092
USA
(520) 621-2024
Web page
CALL OR WRITE BEFORE SENDING A SAMPLE.
Take this quick and easy test
If even one or two of the answers to these questions are "YES", then you may have a meteorite.
1) Is the sample attracted by a strong magnet?
2) Does the sample appear to have a thin, DARK-colored crust, or a thin, RUSTY-colored crust, or a thin GLOSSY crust?
3) If the sample looks like it is mostly ROCKY, does the INTERIOR of the sample contain small BB-sized spheres?
4) If the sample looks like it is mostly ROCKY, does the INTERIOR contain shiny speckles that look like tiny pieces of metal?
5) Does the EXTERIOR of the sample have indentations that look like someone pressed their thumb into a piece of modeling clay?
6) If the sample is NOT rocky, does the sample appear to be all or mostly metal?
7) Was the sample detected by a metal detector [particularly when the detector is set in "ferric mode"]?
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