Is this a meteorite?

[Westfacing]

Weighs 1.5kg
Diameter approximately 10cm
Length approximately 17cm when two halves slotted together

Don't think so, it looks like a flint. Very common in Sussex - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flint

It’s surely just a rock ….

We have many similar rocks in our garden that my child has collected … some split like this

Unless it has come down in your garden over night leaving a large crater …

It's flint.

I found it in my garden years ago - no crater!

The inside colours are fascinating and the inner core is glittery.

I've been painting them as a still life and someone asked if it was a meteorite - the colours make it look outer-spacey!

Flint nodule, very common in chalk soils.
Nice one though!

Meteorites are usually just lumps of grey metal. We have some.

Don’t think so. They’re usually much darker in colour.

Meterorites are usually darker and feel heavier for their size because of their density. I’m a geologist, but not a planetary one

Flintstones... Meet the...

All together now!

How many of you sat striking flint together to get a spark as kids? I did. Probably would have wet myself if I actually started a fire 🤣

My first thought was flint. It's very common in Dorset and Wiltshire and another poster mentioned Sussex. I used to find stone age flint arrow heads quite regularly in Dorset as a child.

At guide camp in Sussex as a kid, we got taught how to use them to start a fire. Basically lots of dry grass and keep striking sparks over and over until either fire starts or hands start bleeding (gotta love 90's Guides)

It's flint - but a rock doesn't have to be rare or special for you to appreciate it all the same! It looks like the way the two halves slot together is very satisfying!

Thank you all 😊

Yes it's a lovely item, well two items, and the halves joined together is very satisfying.

It's not a perfect whole, a few bits missing which I expect sheared off when it was dropped or somehow cracked open.

I now know it didn't lose the bits as a result of crashing to earth from outer space! 🌞

Deffo looks like a flint to me. Meteorites are typically magnetic, have a burnt or fused crust, and feel much heavier than they look due to having a high density. Also, they tend to look completely different to the other rocks around them.

Flints are really interesting though - they are a form of quartz and are typically formed from sea-sponges and algae.

(Also a geologist)