| Why this rock is probably not a meteorite:
1) Most of the rock is too rough and angular. The smooth coating on
top is not a fusion crust,
it is a chill skin where the volcanic magma was exposed to air. Note
that it is flat, not coating a rounded rock.
2) The density is too low for a meteorite because it is very porous.
3) It's too rust colored. The iron in the rock has mostly been
oxided to ferric iron (Fe3+). When they fall, stony meteorites
are not so highly oxidized and are not rust colored. All iron
is metallic (Fe0) and ferrous iron (Fe2+, which
is not red). A highly weathered meteorite, one that fell a long time
ago and has been buried in the ground, might be this color, however.
|What is it?
This is another basalt (solidified lava), one that is so vesicular
that it (1) has a very low density for a rock (it's light in weight)
and (2) is known by other names, either pumice (very
low density) or scoria (not so low). Such rocks
are often sold as "lava rocks"
in barbeque grills and are used for landscaping. See also no.