Where to Buy a Real Meteorite for a Gift?

Some people collect antique spoons, others hunt for rare books. But you can become the owner of something absolutely unique and literally unearthly - fragments of a meteorite several million years old that traveled to Earth from space. Owning such a thing - It's like receiving a piece of eternity as a gift, it's truly priceless.

What are meteorites?

Parts of asteroids or comets moving in outer space are called meteorites when they enter the orbit of a planet or other cosmic bodies and fall on them. When such objects enter the Earth's atmosphere, due to chemical reactions and pressure, they look like glowing balls. And we call this phenomenon a meteor shower or a shooting star.

Of course, the remains of celestial bodies that fell to the Moon will also be meteorites, but, unfortunately, astronauts choose other activities than searching for interesting stones in space. But on Earth, the conditions for such expeditions are somewhat simpler, although successes are not as frequent.

According to observations and findings, more than 1,000 meteorites have fallen to Earth to this day in the sight of witnesses, and about 40,000 have been found unexpectedly. According to these calculations, about 500 meteorites fall to our planet every year, but not all of them are found.

The largest meteorite on Earth was found in Namibia in 1920 - the Goba meteorite weighing about 60 tons, which fell according to scientists' hypotheses 80 thousand years ago. Many smaller fragments of space travelers have been found all over the world, and especially many finds have been made in deserts and Antarctica. This is explained by the fact that the age and composition of most meteorites cause easy destruction due to climatic influences. And the dry desert climate - and Antarctica is also a desert, only snowy - preserves meteorites in good condition.

It is interesting that perhaps the most popular meteorite in the post-Soviet space - the Tunguska meteorite - did not leave any fragments, a crater, and may not even have been a meteorite as such. Due to the power of the explosion, the object was completely destroyed, as was a huge area of ​​forest at the scene.

Diversity of space travelers

At first glance, any meteorite will seem to be approximately the same piece of rock with some impurities, differing only in shape. But you only have to look closely (sometimes very carefully and with the help of microscopes and other laboratory equipment), and you can understand that these space aliens have a wide variety and, in fact, each - a unique composition. What are meteorites?

Very generally, meteorites are divided into three types - stony, iron and iron-stony. It all depends on the proportions of the content of iron and its alloys with nickel and rocks similar to terrestrial rocks. On Earth, the most found meteorites are stony, followed by iron, and fewer others - iron-stone meteorites.

For the most curious, we will tell you that each type is divided into smaller subspecies. Thus, stony meteorites are divided into chondrites and achondrites, iron-stone meteorites – into pallasites and mesosiderites, and iron ones have subspecies depending on the formula of the alloy with nickel.

Who needs a meteorite?

It would be logical to ask, but who else, besides scientists, might be interested in such details? Of course, collectors. Due to the fact that the places of meteorite fall are usually found by ordinary people, and only later – researchers, and not all specimens are transferred to museums, there is a meteorite market where space fans or simply connoisseurs of rare things are looking to replenish their collections.

It is not surprising that the most interesting specimens are sold for crazy money at auctions and are the object of hunting for planetariums and private owners. The most expensive was a fragment of the Fukan meteorite, sold for 1.7 million euros. This price is explained by a combination of several advantages:

• The age of the meteorite is about 4.5 billion years
• The fragment belongs to the type of pallasites, which are only about 1% of all meteorites
• It is simply beautiful. While most meteorites look like rocks, this specimen is studded with green crystals and looks truly cosmic.

From this example, it is clear that the price is affected by the age, composition and type of the meteorite, its rarity and appearance. Some look for certain patterns or similarities to earthly objects in specific fragments.

In the online elite gift store Fama you can find interesting specimens of  meteorites in an elegant design and with a certificate of authenticity. A meteorite as a gift will be a truly unique and unforgettable gesture of attention to a person dear to you.