1 hr ago
Michigan Farm Doorstop Identified as Iron Meteorite
A family farm had a heavy rock that people used to hold a door open.
It had been found in 1939, but nobody knew it came from space.
After another meteorite fell in Michigan in 2018, the farm’s owners wondered if their rock might also be a meteorite.
They brought it to Central Michigan University to be studied.
Scientists examined its shape, outer layer, and a slice from inside.
They found patterns and materials that matched an iron meteorite.
The rock was classified as part of the IIIAB group.
In 2019, it was officially recognized and named Edmore, Michigan.
A rock found on an Edmore farm in 1939 was used as a doorstop for decades.
Its later owners reconsidered the specimen after a meteorite fell near Hamburg, Michigan, in January 2018.
They took the 10.22-kilogram rock to Central Michigan University for examination.
Analysis identified it as a medium octahedrite iron meteorite in the IIIAB group.
The specimen was officially recognized as Edmore, Michigan, and listed in the Meteoritical Bulletin in 2019.
- Who
- The later owners of an Edmore farm and researchers at Central Michigan University examined the rock.
- What
- A rock used as a doorstop was identified and officially recognized as an iron meteorite.
- Where
- An Edmore farm in Michigan; examination took place at Central Michigan University in Mt. Pleasant.
- When
- Found in 1939; examined after a January 2018 meteorite fall; officially recognized in 2019.
- Why
- A meteorite fall near Hamburg, Michigan, prompted the owners to question whether their inherited rock was also a meteorite.
Key facts
- Found
- 1939
- Mass
- 10.22 kilograms
- Dimensions
- Approximately 17 × 20 × 23 centimetres
- Examination
- Central Michigan University, Mt. Pleasant
- Meteorite type
- Iron, medium octahedrite
- Group
- IIIAB
- Official recognition
- Listed as Edmore, Michigan, in 2019
Sources
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