Tektites & Impactites

Tektites and impactites are not meteorites but they are the closest thing on Earth: rocks and natural glasses formed when meteorite impacts melted and ejected terrestrial material. They give collectors a tangible record of major impact events in Earth's geological history.

Tektites and impactites are different things

Tektites are natural glass formed when terrestrial rock is melted and ejected during a hypervelocity impact. The molten droplets cool rapidly in flight and fall as glassy bodies, sometimes tens or hundreds of kilometers from the impact site. Major tektite groups include moldavites (Central European strewn field, Ries impact), Indochinites (Southeast Asian strewn field, Australasian event), Libyan desert glass (North Africa), and Bediasites (Texas, Chicxulub-era).

Impactites are terrestrial rocks altered by impact shock and heat. They include suevite (impact breccia with glass and shocked minerals), shatter cones, shocked quartz, and impact melt rocks recovered from confirmed impact structures such as Ries (Germany), Chicxulub (Mexico), Vredefort (South Africa), and many smaller craters.

How we verify tektite and impactite specimens

Tektites and impactites are not classified by the Meteoritical Bulletin because they are not extraterrestrial. Authentication relies on documented provenance (strewn field, impact structure, recovery locality), characteristic morphology and texture, optical and physical properties, and where available, published geochemical analyses. Treasure Coast Meteorite Co. sources specimens from established dealers and field collectors with verifiable locality information.

Frequently asked questions

Are tektites meteorites? No. Tektites are terrestrial in origin. They formed when an impacting meteorite melted Earth's surface material and ejected it. The tektite itself is once-molten Earth rock, not space rock. Read more: Meteor vs Meteoroid vs Meteorite.

What is moldavite? Moldavite is a green tektite from the Central European strewn field, produced by the Ries impact in Germany roughly 14.7 million years ago. It is widely collected for its translucent green color and sculpted surface textures.

What is Libyan desert glass? Libyan desert glass is a high-silica natural glass found in the Great Sand Sea between Egypt and Libya. It formed roughly 29 million years ago from an event widely attributed to a meteorite impact or airburst. It is the same material used in the famous Tutankhamun pectoral scarab.

What is suevite? Suevite is an impact breccia containing fragments of shocked country rock, melt glass, and sometimes meteoritic material. It is found in the ejecta blankets of confirmed impact craters such as Ries.

Will tektites or impactites tarnish? Tektite glass is stable and does not tarnish, though it can be scratched or chipped if mishandled. Impactites are generally stable but may be friable if they contain weathered breccia matrix; handle accordingly.

See also: Stony Meteorites · Iron Meteorites · Types of Meteorites · Meteor vs Meteoroid vs Meteorite · How Can You Tell if a Meteorite Is Real?