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Dear Michael,

I want to thank you for your time in analyzing the material I sent you.

I too have wondered if this object came from Earth or another source. I am glad that you agree it is volcanic in origin. The reason I believe it is extra terrestrial is because of the following problems:

1. How did this object come to be at the ranch where I worked? The nearest volcano is an extinct remnant near Clayton, NM which is at least a hundred miles from the location where this object was found. That volcano has been extinct for about 10 million years. The nearest which has been active recently would be represented by Mount Capulin which is about a hundred miles further west. This volcano was active about six thousand years ago. I believe the object I have is so delicate that it could not have survived 6,000 years on the planet Earth without being seriously degraded by erosion. And how could it have showed up one day on a ranch several hundred miles away?
2. How did this object become rounded? If you look at volcanic rock, you will see that it is never round and smooth. It is generally sharp with angles. For volcanic rock to become round, it would have to weather or be associated with water. My object shows no signs of Earthly weathering. This object has been kept from the weather since the day I found it. I think the rounding shape is most easily explained by entry through the atmosphere where it tends to be rounded by the tumbling action and the heat of the entry. This rounding is distinct from weather rounding because rounding due to weather usually occurs on just the exposed surfaces, whereas this object has been rounded on all exterior surfaces. Remember, this object is so fragile that one can break off a piece of this object with just a finger nail.
3. How did this object come to have fusion crust? This object has clearly been under the influence of heat after it was made in a volcano. Many places on the outside show signs of fusion crust. Under a microscope, these areas appear to have been heated to arrive at the texture and structure that they now show.

If this object is not terrestrial, then where could it have come from? I have a picture which I took off the Internet which shows the possible source crater for the SNC meteorites. In this picture is a volcano which appears to have formed a water system from its crater and down its side. The meteoroid impact is in this region. Wouldn’t this water system have concentrated the silica portion of the crust much as rivers on Earth tend to concentrate sand? If there were life on Mars, wouldn’t this represent a likely place to find it?

Also, I have read that the other Martian meteorites do not represent any Martian surface material, since that material doesn’t readily lend itself to transport from Mars to Earth by the meteoroid impact mechanism. However, if a portion of Martian sand was covered by volcanic action, then that sand could survive the transport from Mars to Earth. I think the current evidence lends more credence to that origin for my rock, than an Earthly origin.

I would like to pursue this further. Do you know anyone that could do the additional analysis that you recommend? Also, on the spectrum graph you sent me, you say "oxygen not detectable by this instrument." Does this mean you found no oxygen or that your machine is incapable of detecting oxygen.

I want to again thank you for your efforts. Any additional help that you can give me will be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,

Mike Moore