Galactic Stone & Ironwork has announced that it has a large supply of meteorites available for the holiday season including unique gift items such Canyon Diablo Crater Geology Kits and Moon Rock Disc Displays. These would make an ideal stocking stuffer for the space enthusiast, astrophotographer, backyard stargazer, or any astronomy fan.
About the collection, Galactic Stone & Ironwork owner Mike Gilmer comments, “I was a lifelong collector of rocks and minerals before I discovered meteorites. In the many years since then, I have amassed a large collection of meteorites from every corner of the world. I am primarily a collector, so I look for specimens that I would put into my own collection – if it’s not worthy of my personal collection, then it will never be offered for sale. The specimens I sell on this website are from my collection and the proceeds go to offset the costs of building that collection.”
Canyon Diablo Crater Geology Kit, Boxed Set of Specimens
This boxed set of specimens features representatives of four distinct zones of the world-famous impact crater structure near Winslow Arizona. This massive crater is also known as “Canyon Diablo Crater”, “Barringer Crater”, and “Meteor Crater”. It is over a mile wide and represents the world’s best preserved impact crater. The interior and immediate surroundings of the crater were used by NASA to simulate off-world missions to places like the Moon and Mars.
In this set you get four specimens: iron meteorite, Kaibab dolomite, Moenkopi mudstone, and Coconino limestone. Each represents a different layer of the crater and period of time. Each specimen is thumbnail-sized and large enough for study.
Each specimen comes in its own individually labeled Gem Jar storage case. An informational key to the specimens is affixed to the inside lid of the storage box.
Moon Rock Disc Display
This display is a round acrylic case that holds a genuine piece of our nearest celestial neighbor, the Moon. The case can be opened and the sample removed for study. The front of the display shows a photo of the full moon and a cutout with a sample of lunar meteorite. The reverse side has information about the specimen and the locality where it was found.
This display is about the size of a US “silver dollar”, or approx. 1.57 inches in diameter (40mm) and is a nice palm-sized presentation of the Moon that you can carry in your pocket. The moon rock specimen is a micromount fragment that weighs approx. 20-25mg (.020 to .025g).
Witnessed Falls Meteorite Collection, 36 Different Specimens and Display Case
This is a collection of 36 witnessed fall meteorite specimens.
As Gilmer notes, “These meteorites were selected from my personal collection. As a dealer, I try to offer a wide variety of types and localities for collectors. Each collector has their own area of interest, and my personal interest is witnessed falls. I collect witnessed falls because they are well-documented and often have human interest stories attached to them. Over time, I have tried to acquire as many witnessed falls as possible, with a focus on historical falls and “hammer falls” that struck manmade objects.”
Meteorites included: You will get 36 (thirty-six) meteorite specimens from 36 different witnessed falls. These specimens will cover a wide range in time from old historical falls to recent falls that just happened in the last year. Some of these will be from “hammer” falls that struck manmade objects and some will be from obscure or very rare localities that are difficult to acquire. The specimens included will be selected from Gilmer’s stock of localities available on this site in the “Micromounts” category and some taken from my personal collection.
A Wide Variety of Other Meteorites
Galactic Stone & Ironwork also has a wide variety of meteorites. Here is a rundown of just a few of the available offerings:
– Premium uNWA meteorites: Galactic Stone & Ironwork’s UNWA (Unclassified Stone Meteorites) are much higher quality than what is typically offered on the market today. These have fresh black crust, aerodynamic shapes and other aesthetic features.
– Junction City Georgia meteorites: The Junction City Georgia meteorite is one of the most recent as it fell on Sept. 26, 2022. As Gilmer notes, “It’s amazing to think that this rock was zipping through space just a short time ago.”
– Gao Guenie meteorites: On March 5th, 1960, a bright fireball exploded over the largely rural area of Burkina Faso. Local villagers witnessed the fall, and many kilograms of stones were recovered. Later analysis proved the stones were H5 chondrites. Some specimens show an alternate impact melt breccia lithology.
– Tsarev meteorites: The Tsarev meteorite is tied to a fall event that occurred on December 6, 1922. Meteorites were not recovered until 1968, when a local farmer found the first specimens. The heavy rocks were not recognized as meteorites until 1979. Samples were eventually analyzed, and it was classified as a L5 chondrite.
– Ghadamis meteorites: These are from August 26, 2018 over a remote part of the Libyan desert. As Gilmer notes, “Due to the chaotic situation on the ground in Libya, this one was classified as HaH 346 and cataloged as a find, although it is definitely a fall.”
– Sidi el Habib meteorites: This is another recent fall on December 20, 2020 that was ultimately classified as a find. As Gilmer notes, “What makes this meteorite interesting is the presence of salt crystals. It is one of only three meteorites known to contain halide extra-terrestrial salt crystals (Zag and Monahans being the other two).
– Several other recent localities and types: NWA 14420 (CVox3), NWA 5415 (How/Meso), NWA 13758 (Rumuruti), NWA 14930 (IMB), Sericho (rare etched siderite).
– Micromounts and displays: Micromounts and displays are available including Murchison, Smokey Spring, and Berduc.
In addition to meteorites Galactic Stone & Ironwork offers rocks, minerals, crystals, gemstones, and semi-precious stones; fossil flora, fauna, and amber specimens; exotic natural materials and artifacts; and Genuine Trinitite (also known as atomsite, Alamogordo glass or atom bomb glass).
You can learn more here.
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