Morlock 1,766 Posted January 17 Share Posted January 17 I'm assuming that's a tektite from Australia. Nice one. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mila 30 Posted January 17 Author Share Posted January 17 1 hour ago, Morlock said: I'm assuming that's a tektite from Australia. Nice one. Thank you! Yes, it is a tektite from Australia, Australite. This is one of the rarest shapes (a disk). It is only 1 cm. in diameter. This image was taken with a microscope. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mila 30 Posted January 18 Author Share Posted January 18 Here is the opposite side 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Morlock 1,766 Posted January 18 Share Posted January 18 9 hours ago, Mila said: Here is the opposite side Did you find it yourself? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mila 30 Posted January 18 Author Share Posted January 18 18 minutes ago, Morlock said: Did you find it yourself? I wish. No, I bought it from a reputable place and it came with a certificate signed by Tom Kapitany who is a Managing Director of Natural History Museum in Melbourne. https://naturalhistorymuseum.com.au Quote Link to post Share on other sites
hardtimehermit 525 Posted January 18 Share Posted January 18 That's interesting and beautiful. I think it is curious how the bubbles are so round and not elongated. I don't know lots about tektites, but i thought due to the speed at which they are formed that those bubbles would look a bit different, but what do i know besides it is an awesome looking specimen. Any idea why the color is golden? ht Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mila 30 Posted January 18 Author Share Posted January 18 (edited) 2 hours ago, hardtimehermit said: That's interesting and beautiful. I think it is curious how the bubbles are so round and not elongated. I don't know lots about tektites, but i thought due to the speed at which they are formed that those bubbles would look a bit different, but what do i know besides it is an awesome looking specimen. Any idea why the color is golden? ht The color of it is black, but it is so thin that you could see through it. So I took these images when it was lit from behind. Here is an article that describes this and similar shapes http://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/1963Metic...2...36B Edited January 18 by Mila 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Morlock 1,766 Posted January 19 Share Posted January 19 On 1/18/2021 at 8:20 AM, Morlock said: Did you find it yourself? Do you know if one can still find these in the field? Are these found in one specific location or does Australite refer to any tektite found in Australia. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mila 30 Posted January 20 Author Share Posted January 20 (edited) 21 hours ago, Morlock said: Do you know if one can still find these in the field? Are these found in one specific location or does Australite refer to any tektite found in Australia. All tektites that are found in Australia are called australites. Could you still find one? I believe you could, but it will not be easy. Probably the most prized shape of australites is flanged button. I was not able to find any complete one for sale. Here is a recent article that you might find interesting https://www.pnas.org/content/117/3/1346 BTW if you would like to buy one beware of fakes https://www.meteorite-times.com/aussie-flanged-button/ Edited January 20 by Mila Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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