American Meteor Society recently reported about finding two meteorites, soon after a meteor was spotted burning in the skies of Michigan. The meteor, which was 6-foot-wide, broke apart on Tuesday just about 20 miles over Earth.
The two professional hunters Larry Atkins and Robert Ward of Arizona were the first ones to find and grab the specimen of the Meteorite. Atkins owns Cosmic Connection Meteorites, while Ward, a freelance planetary field researcher for scientists at different institutions, also operates Robert Ward Meteorites. Ward, while holding one of the meteorites said, “It’s a spectacular specimen. Two days ago, this was hundreds of thousands of miles past the moon, and now I’m standing here holding it in my hand. It’s been a perfect day.”
Ward revealed of using seismic data, doppler radar and witness’s information to narrow down his search and finally getting hold of three pieces in less than four hours. The largest of the specimen was found on a frozen lake in Hamburg Township. Ward added that they had to seek permissions from the owners before searching on their properties, and in the past, he has collected about 600 meteorites from around the world.
The news about the burning meteor passing over Detroit and finally exploding in the atmosphere over Livingston County has brought forward many meteorite hunters like Ward on the lookout for its fragments. While other amateur hunters were busy finding the needle in the haystack, perusing a Hamburg Township park, the team led by Ward knew precisely where to look becoming the first snatchers of the meteorites.
“I just saw a little black spot, and that was it, but you know, so I was very fortunate to make a recovery, but undoubtedly there’s more out there,” Ward expressed in front of the associated press. He also confessed about his arrest and trial for spying in the Middle East, in addition to just missing from being abducted by the FARC — the cocaine guerillas — in Colombia, while on his usual endeavors of meteorite hunting in the past.
A meteoroid or a meteorite is a small chunk of the celestial bodies — asteroids or comets. Once they enter the Earth’s atmosphere, they become a meteor, fireball or shooting star, appearing like burning balls in the sky. The fragments of the meteor, which actually hit the ground are referred as meteorites and are valuable to collectors, and their authenticity can be proved in labs.
Darryl Pitt of New York City is the meteorite consultant for Christie’s auction house, who is offering a whopping $20,000 for a recovered fragment of meteor weighing at least 1 kilogram. He refers his act as motivation for the meteorite hunters. Meteorites are extraordinarily rare and bizarre, and the world is now getting to understand how exceptional they are.