Its composition is predominantly nickel and iron. It is about three times more dense than typical Earth crustal rocks. After picking up a piece of rock of similar size, you immediately notice the great increase in weight. The surface is rusted because it has been eroded by Earth's atmospheric forces. This sample is also from Barringer Crater.
Erosion can often bring out the metallic crystalline structure found in iron meteorites.
These large crystals, called Widmanstatten Figures, are typical of very slow cooling processes deep in the core of a planetary body. When you hold an iron meteorite, you are holding the heart of a shattered planet in your hand. In 1947, there was a bolide brighter than the sun that produced a fall of several tons of meteoric material in Siberia. These pieces have not had time to rust, and are quite shiny. Atmospheric entry forces have produced beautiful fluted convolutions and flow patterns on the surface of these iron meteorites.