If you think you have a meteorite

1) Check out the rest of this web site.  You should look through "How to identify a meteorite",  "Meteor-wrongs", and our "Interactive meteorite identification exercise".  Keep in mind that meteorites are rare, so your sample is most likely a "meteor-wrong".

2) If you still believe you have a meteorite, please contact one of the members of CML.  You can reach either Alex Ruzicka [(503) 725-3372] or Dick Pugh [(503) 287-6733] by phone. You can e-mail Melinda Hutson at mhutson@pdx.edu or Alex Ruzicka at ruzickaa@pdx.edu. You can send a letter to the address below.  Please do not contact more than one of us at a time.
 

We will be happy to look at digital images, or arrange to meet with you to look at your sample.  If you send digital images, please try to get one or more images that are fairly close-up (while still showing the whole sample) and in focus.  If your sample is dark, you should photograph it against a medium-colored background (such as cardboard), not against a bright background. 

What we will do

1) We will examine your sample by visual inspection for free.  For most samples, we can determine whether the sample is a meteorite or not by visual inspection alone.  For a few samples, the only way for us to make a determination is to do a more detailed analysis of the sample.

2) If we determine that a sample is a new meteorite, we are equipped to classify the sample at no cost.  However, we will need detailed information about the sample (as given on the classification form of the Meteoritical Society).  We will also require a donation to CML/Portland State University of sufficient sample to fulfill the minimum requirements of the Nomenclature Committee of the Meteoritical Society. These requirements are clearly stated on their classification form:

                "20% of the total mass or 20 g, whichever is less, must be deposited in a 
                  museum or other institutional collection that routinely makes material 
                  available for scholarly research. Meteorites lacking type specimens will 
                  NOT be approved by the Nomenclature Committee." 
 

What we won't do

1) We do not provide "Certificates of Authenticity".  We will send you a letter on our letterhead stating our opinion of your sample and describing any analytical results. 

2) We will not spend time analyzing a sample that we believe to be a terrestrial (Earth) rock.

3) We cannot appraise samples for monetary value (meteorite or not).

4) If your sample is not a meteorite, we will not return it, unless you provide postage.  We receive far too many "meteor-wrongs" to mail them all back at no charge.