The Origin and Nature of Stony Meteorites

Meteoric irons give forth hydrogen as their characteristic gas. Stony meteorites also contain minute quantities of iron and nickel alloys, in the form of drops or stringers. Upon entering the Earth's atmosphere, stony meteorites become coated with a thin black crust. The material filling these veins is coal-black in color, opaque, and of an unknown composition. Sometimes the entire meteorite is composed of fragments of two or more distinct stones cemented together. Such a stone is spoken of as a brachia. When the network of metal is more or less disconnected, the meteorite is a mesociderite.