New York State Geological Survey | NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM

Meteorites

METEORITES FROM NEW YORK STATE

Shooting stars that cross our night sky are not really stars but pieces of rock burning in the atmosphere. Shooting stars are meteors, and are referred to as meteorites when they hit the ground. Most meteorites are made of stone, but since they look like ordinary rock they are seldom recognized.

Meteorites have been recovered from 12 localities in New York State. Meteorites from four of the sites—Burlington, Mount Morris, Peeksville, and Tomhannock Creek (labled in red)—are part of the New York State Museum Collections, and are described further below.

Name	Type	County	Yr Found	Latitude	Longitude
Bethlehem	H	Albany	8/11/1859	42°32'N	73°50'W
Burlington*	IIIE	Otsego	1819	42°45'N	75°11'W
Cambria	IRUNG R	Niagra	1818	43°12'N	78°48'W
Lasher Creek	iron	Montgomery	1948	42°50'N	78°48'W
Mount Morris*	H	Livingston	1897	42°42'N	77°53'W
Peekskill*	H6	Westchester	10/9/1992	41°17'N	73°55'W
Schenectady	H5	Glenville	4/12/1968	42°51'39N	73°57'1W
Scriba		Oswego	1834	43°27'N	76°26'W
Seneca Falls	IIIA	Cayuga	1850	42°55'N	76°47'W
South Byron	IRUNG R	Genesee	1915	43°2'N	78°2'W
Tomhannock Creek*	H5	Rensselaer	1863	42°53'N	73°36'W
Yorktown	L5	Westchester	9/1869	41°17'N	73°49'W

* Specimens in the NYSM collections

NEW YORK METEORITES IN THE NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM COLLECTIONS:

Burlington Meteorite	Catalog ID: Geology G-3.1.0-7 Group: Octahedrite Species: Burlington Meteorite Collected: Burlington, Otsego Co., NY Measurements: 2.3 x 1.5 x .4 cm; 9.5 g
Peekskill Meteorite	Catalog ID: Geology G-19240 Group: Ordinary Chondrite Species: Peekskill Meteorite Collected: Peekskill, Westchester Co., NY Measurements: 4 x 2.3 x .7 cm; 26.57 g
Mt Morris Meteorite	Catalog ID: Geology G-1.1.0-9 Group: Olivine-Bronzite Chondrite Species: Mount Morris Meteorite Collected: Mount Morris, Livingston Co., NY Measurements: 2.6 x 1.8 x 1.3 cm; 12.6 g
Tomhannock Meteorite	Catalog ID: Geology G-1.1.0-11 Group: Olivine-Bronzite Chondrite Species: Tomhannock Creek Meteorite Collected: Schaghticoke, Rensselaer Co., NY Measurements: 2.8 x 2 x .2 cm; 4 g

In total, the Museum has a small collection of meteorite specimens from 28 localities throughout the world, including one pseudo meteorite, three tektites, and one lunar basalt. The majority of the specimens were acquired between 1880 and 1920.