You Should Never Touch A Meteorite With Your Bare Hands - Here's Why

Although thousands of meteorites may hit the planet every year, those that don't burn up in the atmosphere tend to be so small when they reach the surface that differentiating them from other rocks is a challenge. That's not to say it's technically impossible to ever stumble across one. If you do come across a meteorite or its fragments, it's important not to touch it. While the meteorite might not harm you, by touching it with your bare hands, you could accidentally harm it.

You might naturally assume a meteorite will be fairly hot if it's recently fallen from the sky. This isn't so. Depending on how soon you find a meteorite after it passes through the atmosphere, its surface may be slightly warm. Regardless, no meteorite is hot enough to start a fire when it lands on Earth. Still, it's important to exercise caution when handling a meteorite to avoid compromising the specimen.

Touching a meteorite with your bare hands should be avoided. Your hands naturally contain oils and microbes that can transfer to the meteorite's surface when you touch it. If that happens, contamination may result in various forms of degradation of the meteorite's surface, such as rusting. In other words, you're potentially damaging what could be a valuable specimen if you touch a meteorite with your bare hands.

Only handle a meteorite using clean gloves, tongs or aluminum foil. You can protect the find by wrapping it in foil and storing it in a zip-lock bag to guard against humidity. For added protection, put a desiccant package in the bag. The Lunar and Planetary Institute maintains a list of labs and groups that may accept the specimen.

It's worth noting that some meteorites may contain previously unknown minerals and other such potential finds. This fact highlights the importance of handling a meteorite properly. That space rock you stumble upon one day could in fact be a very important discovery.