Metallic spherules

Part of Hall of Meteorites.

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Look closely

More than 80 percent of the Canyon Diablo meteorite that formed Meteor Crater vaporized into a hot mushroom cloud of meteoritic metal, which later condensed to form these spherical bits of iron. Meteorite specialist Harvey Nininger discovered them in 1946 by attaching a magnet to the end of a cane and sweeping it around the crater. Spheres like these help to prove that a given crater formed from an iron meteorite explosion.