ABSTRACT

A melting experiment was performed to simulate the ablation process of the meteoroids. Small pieces of the Henbury iron meteorite and two kinds of alloys were melted in electric crucibles placed in a low air pressure chamber. The temperature was kept 20°C above the melting point of each sample for 1 to 30min. The residues of the Henbury meteorite were analyzed by instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) for Fe, Co, Ni, Ga, As, Ir and Au, and those of Ni and Fe alloys were analyzed by electron probe micro analyzer (EPMA) for Si, Cr and Fe, and Si, respectively.