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Re: Tektite meteorite

Hi, list:

Some of you may remember last week's discussion of an ad for a "tektite
meteorite" that mentioned that the items also sold at the "Houston Space
Museum," which I suspected really meant Space Center Houston near JSC.

By coincidence, I was scheduled to take a field trip group over there
this past Saturday, so I checked on tektites.  The sales people I talked
to had no idea what I was talking about, but did a commendable search to
find it for me.  Finally someone remembered that all but one of the
"tektite meteorites" had sold out, and it was in the other gift shop.

The one I found there was not quite spherical, about an inch long and
3/4 inch thick.  The surface was covered with small pits, most of which
contained a brown material (OK, tektite experts, is that a particular
type of tektite, or a sign of poor sample preparation?).  The weekend
sales people had no idea what tektites were, and couldn't tell me what
type of tektite it was, although one said she thought it was "some kind
of titanium or something."  The certificate of authenticity came from a
collectibles shop, and the short explanation of tektites that came with
the sample said they were extraterrestrial material mixed with
terrestrial ejecta during an impact (comments, Lou?).  The price was
$150, which seemed steep so I left it for someone else.

Dave Hostetter

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