No one has ever seen the formation of tektites. All the tektite locations on the Earth are ancient in the extreme. But, we know they form when an asteroid hits the Earth and melts the target rocks at the impact site. These rocks travel as liquid and vapor up into the atmosphere and even into space where they cool and fall again to the Earth. As the plastic glass of the tektites is falling back to Earth it is shaped by the air into a wide range of aerodynamic forms. These shaped tektites are called spashform tektites. Dumbbell, sphere, disk, teardrop and rods are some of the more common shapes found.
There is another variety of very unusual glass that is formed in some impact events. Usually found with splashform types this glass called Muong Nong after the location where it was first identified. It is not shaped by traveling through the air. It is a layered material that formed at the impact site. It like the splashform type is very different from any other natural glass found on Earth and is clearly not volcanic but of extraterrestrial impact creation.
Tektites are quite collectible. Some are very rare and more costly. They are only found at a handful of sites on the Earth. We have a full selection of tektites available for purchase. Tektites are wonderful to collect, they do not rust or weather, they do not need to be stored in a dry place like meteorites. But they are glass and can chip; otherwise they are actually easy to collect. Often individuals who collect meteorites will also have tektite collections.
