A chrondite meteorite in situ in Rub’ al Khali, Saudi Arabia.
Image: Creative Commons | Meteorite Recon
To start, get permission to keep what you find, find a barren spot like the Mojave Desert or Great Plains, and track down ‘dark flight trajectories’ from recent fireballs
By Natalie Wolchover and Life’s Little Mysteries
Earth is under constant bombardment by space rocks. When they crash and burn through the atmosphere, most of the debris gets lost to the oceans, while some is buried or gradually weathered away. Nonetheless, plenty of chunks of fallen meteors, or meteorites, are strewn across the accessible parts of the planet. So far, more than 40,000 meteorites have been found and catalogued, and countless more are still out there, waiting to be chanced upon.
If you need further incentive for finding something that was forged at the birth of our sun and contains secrets about the nature of our solar system, there’s this: Space rocks are worth as much as $1,000 per gram. The following tips will get you started on your search, but be warned: This extraterrestrial treasure hunt requires hard work and dedication.
Step 1. Get permission
Before you plan a meteorite hunt, make sure that if you find one, you’ll be allowed to keep it. Space rocks found in national parks belong to the federal government and cannot legally be kept, said David Kring, a meteorite scientist at the University of Arizona’s Lunar and Planetary Institute……
Read more: www.scientificamerican.com
