Iron meteorite. Hand holding a sectioned iron meteorite, or siderite. Meteorites are bodies which fall to Earth from space. This meteorite has been se
Iron meteorite. Hand holding a sectioned iron meteorite, or siderite. Meteorites are bodies which fall to Earth from space. This meteorite has been sectioned to reveal the Widmanstatten pattern found in some iron meteorites. This is seen as the regular array of lines on the silver side of the meteorite. This pattern is a crystal structure formed by the slow cooling of the meteorite since its creation with the solar system some billion years ago. Iron meteorites are those composed almost entirely of iron and nickel. These exist mainly as the alloys kamacite and taenite. The proportion of these alloys determines the form of the Widmanstatten pattern.
Size: 4662px × 3086px
Photo credit: © PASCAL GOETGHELUCK/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: astronomy, cosmology, crystal, hand, iron, kamacite, meteori, meteorite, pattern, siderite, structure, taenite, widmanstatten
