Iron Meteorite, Unknown. The 945g chunk of iron shown in this picture is an iron meteorite approximately 13 cm long of unknown origin. Perhaps a local collector threw it into a box with other rocks, or a geology teacher purchased it at a rock shop. Many such meteorites exist in personal collections. Some folks believe that meteorites have holes in them, similar to vesicles in chilled lava or a sponge. Actually the "holes" are ablation pits ("thumb prints") formed by removal of the melted skin as the rock fell through the Earth’s atmosphere. The gridlines have a 1 cm spacing for scale.