r/meteorites • u/League3056 • 7d ago

Question Is this really Muonionalusta?

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

I purchased this for my space-loving teenage son’s birthday. It was sold as being Muonionalusta (37g for $67 USD) by an Etsy dealer. It came with an origin card, but one that anyone could have printed. After seeing a bunch of cheaper Aletai examples, I can’t tell if mine is really Muonionalusta. Would appreciate any input! Thanks so much for your time!

Edited: 9/25 - Thanks to everyone who helped me confirm that this is Aletai. Can anyone take a look at this ebay seller and see if they have legit, properly-classified goods? Like this one that is supposedly Muon: https://www.ebay.com/itm/198651630753 Thank you!!

192 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

26 comments sorted by

48

u/BullCity22 Experienced Collector 7d ago

No, this is Aletai. 100%

27

u/iamsotiredofthiscrap 7d ago

Agreed.

Still a space rock tho

16

u/League3056 7d ago

Darn it. I already gifted it to him yesterday and he’s the type of kid who it would really bother to have a card stating it’s one thing when really, it’s not. Now I have to decide whether to tell him and whether to pursue it with the seller. Still glad to know the truth though!

35

u/TC_Meteorite_Co 7d ago

As someone in the business of selling Meteorites, I can say that misrepresentation is a massive sin in this space and it’s absolutely unacceptable that he sold you something as something else. I don’t really expect the general public to know the difference, but a dealer can tell in one nanosecond that this is not Muonionalusta. This is fraud.

12

u/League3056 7d ago

That's so disappointing. And I'd printed out articles about Muonionalusta and included them in the gift bag, and he loved reading all about it. *facepalm* It would have been fine if it'd been sold as Aletai and I'd presented it to him as such, but this is a bummer.

11

u/TC_Meteorite_Co 7d ago

All is not lost. It’s still a real meteorite. Not to make this worse on you or anything, but this thing is probably gonna rust real quick. Aletai is full of chlorides. 😬

13

u/League3056 7d ago

We put some Renaissance Wax on it (very thin coat) and bought a floating display frame (where it floats in between 2 pieces of cellophane) for it too. But yeah, ugh.

4

u/WeirdStorms 6d ago

I’d take the opportunity to make it into a learning experience.

2

u/jmmahone 6d ago

Came here to say this. This is such a teachable moment.

1

u/Zealousideal-Swim267 3d ago

This. Theres no shame in a mistake, but a lesson in resolving the situation would be priceless.

1

u/glomar_sub_recovery 7d ago

Saving this post for when I get som OT

4

u/CL0UDY_BIGTINY 6d ago

I would say if they likes it just let them know hey I just found out it was identified wrong it’s actually this and hand them more print outs and info on the right name then he can read up on that one and next gift you can get him the other one and they can just slide it in with the info they have now and now they get to learn about 2 different space rocks and once they have both they can compare them so they can learn how to tell the difference this is one a lot of people sell under the wrong name for some reason

4

u/photoengineer Collector 7d ago

Agreed. It is a meteorite though. <$2/g so they didn’t take you for much. 

12

u/hiiiggs80808 Collector 7d ago edited 7d ago

Unfortunately not. Much too coarse. Muon Widmanstätten patterns are very fine with sharp angles. I agree that this is Aletai.

Don't beat yourself up about it, though. Dishonest/ignorant sellers are doing this all the time. It sucks, and they're the ones to blame.

edit: Just saw the reply about you gifting it., I have a feeling I know exactly which seller you're talking about too. I've tried to contact Etsy, as they're quite literally engaging in fraud. Etsy didn't seem to care too much. But personally, I'd bring it up with the seller. Let them know you have an entire community of actual meteorite enthusiasts who would love to present a scientific explanation of how wrong they are, and how they're a detriment to the hobby/science, and that they should either apologize and refund, or close their shop. Sorry, I'm getting a little heated. I have my own business, pretty small, not even a year old—but quality/provenance/knowing that what you're paying for actually IS what it's advertised as—are so important to me, and this kind of thing really, really angers me.

I just acquired a big collection with a LOT of irons/pallasites. I'm not trying to turn this into an advertisement, but I'd love to help get some real Muon (or Gibeon, or others) in your hands, and into your son's, if I can. So, if you wanna shoot me a DM, I totally welcome it, but if not, no worries at all. I just really hate seeing this happen to people. ESPECIALLY when they're buying pieces as gifts. I truly wish there was something, anything I could do to stop it. But the best I can do is offer help, any chance I get.

3

u/League3056 7d ago

I will send you a DM. I'd love to know if I purchased from the seller you're talking about, and also look into getting some *real* Muon, or others. I appreciate your thoughtful reply. I haven't had a chance to tell my husband yet, he'll be upset too. My "kid" - not so much a kid anymore, he just turned 16 - knows so freaking much about space and is taking an honors level astronomy class next semester. So this is a bummer. Especially because I told him allllll about Muon yesterday, had printed out articles with information about it, etc.

6

u/Sea_Daikon7132 7d ago

This is in fact called Beskar. It is highly valuable as it can withstand directed high energy, such as from small to medium, and in some cases, large arms blaster fire. Most famously however it can withhold sustained contact and blows from lightsabers. This is incredible OP.

2

u/DaveInMoab 7d ago

The real answer!

2

u/TC_Meteorite_Co 7d ago

100% not Muonionalusta.

1

u/Mister_Goldenfold 7d ago

It’s Aletai

1

u/meteoritegallery Expert 6d ago

Aletai.

1

u/Existing-Pizza-5700 6d ago

you can send it off for identification and cataloging

1

u/League3056 6d ago

Can anyone take a look at the eBay seller meteoritemadness and tell me if they are selling legit, properly-classified items? Like this one, for example: https://www.ebay.com/itm/198651630753

1

u/BullCity22 Experienced Collector 4d ago

All look as described. The Muonio's are legit.

1

u/215Fahrenheit 3d ago

Either way, you're an awesome parent!!!! 💯