Space rocks can fetch high prices, and the meteorite that plowed into Russia on Friday, Feb. 15 is already attracting bidders. One piece of the meteorite is being auctioned on eBay, and the bidding has reached $1,051.
The meteorite that broke up and exploded in the sky over Chelyabinsk, in the Ural Region of southern Russia, was about 45 feet in diameter and weighed about 11 tons. The collision released about 300,000 kiltotons of energy, about 18 times as much as the bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945. The energy of the collision smashed thousands of windows and injured over 1,200 people (mostly a result of the shattering windows).
Want a piece of the meteorite? As with any collectible item, counterfeits are bound to show up, and phony space rocks are no exception. Since it's not hard to fake a meteor fragment (paint any rock you find), make sure to do your homework before dropping thousands on a space rock.
How can you tell if the rock you're buying actually came from space?
"The first thing to look for is the 'fusion crust'," Dr. Natalie Starkey, a cosmochemist from the Open University in the UK told The Guardian.
"Think of what the crust on baked bread looks like. The exterior of the meteorite will be shiny, smooth and black. The heat generated by entering our atmosphere causes the rock's exterior to melt like glass. This appearance is a good indicator that it's a meteorite, but, sadly, it isn't definitive. Ultimately, it will need forensic examination by an expert."
"The only way to tell for sure is to look at the specimen under a microscope," said Starkey. "Some minerals, such as biotite, only form on Earth. A specialist will be able to identify those and then rule out whether it's a meteorite. The only truly definitive test, though, is to examine the specimen for oxygen isotopes. Anything that originated on Earth will fall within a particular range of isotopes. Anything outside this range will mean it is extra-terrestrial in origin."
Want some authentic space material but don't want to drop thousands of dollars? "Black sand from near the fall of the meteorite" also is up for auction. Bidding for the space dirt is currently at $23.50 (but the shipping is $35).
