So you think you've found a meteorite...

Over the years we've gotten a fair number of calls and emails about rocks that people think might be meteorites. We don't have a meteorite specialist in the astronomy department, so here are the steps that we recommend you take to get your rock identified.

If you are in Texas:

The Texas Science & Natural History Museum (formerly the Texas Memorial Museum) has a meteorite collection on display which you might want to visit to see some examples of meteorites for comparison. Also, keep an eye on the Museum Events page for when the museum will host an Identification Day.

Also check the outreach information at the Jackson School of Geosciences.

Monnig Meteorite Gallery at TCU in Ft. Worth - See their I Think I Found A Meteorite page for information on how to schedule an appointment to have your sample examined by an expert.

Other meteorite identification services:

The Robert A. Pritzker Center for Meteoritics and Polar Studies (The Field Museum, Chicago)

Some additional helpful links:

Meteorite information - Washington University in St. Louis Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences

The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History's Department of Mineral Sciences and the Arizona State University Center for Meteorite Studies are not currently doing examinations or testing of specimens from the general public, but check the websites in case their policies have changed.