Tektite << TEHK tyt >> is a rounded, glassy stone that may resemble a ball, disk, rod, button, dumbbell, or teardrop. Tektites have smooth, grooved, or pitted surfaces and range in color from jet-black to greenish or yellowish. Most tektites are peanut-sized and weigh about 0.1 ounce (3 grams). The largest known tektite weighs about 28 pounds (13 kilograms). The youngest tektites known, which formed about 750,000 years ago, are found scattered across Australia and Southeast Asia. Other major tektite fields occur in the southern and eastern United States and Cuba; the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Austria; Cote d’Ivoire; and Libya.
Tektites’ shapes suggest that they formed from molten rock flying through the air. But their composition differs from that of volcanic glass. People once thought tektites were meteorites or volcanic material from the moon. Most scientists now believe tektites formed from globs of molten rock blasted from Earth by meteorite or comet impacts. Many tektite fields appear near impact craters, but scientists have had difficulty matching them with impact craters through precise dating.
See also Australites.
