By PATRICK WHITTLE (Associated Press)
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Somewhere in a distant stretch of forest close to Maine’s border with Canada, rocks from area crashed to Earth and could also be scattered throughout the bottom — simply ready to be picked up.
If you’re the primary particular person to discover a huge one, a museum says it’ll pay out a $25,000 reward.
The unusually brilliant fireball might be seen in broad daylight round midday Saturday, stated Darryl Pitt, chair of the meteorite division on the Maine Mineral and Gem Museum in Bethel.
NASA says 4 radar sweeps detected “signatures consistent with falling meteorites seen at the time and location reported by eyewitnesses,” and other people additionally heard sonic booms. It’s the primary time radar noticed a meteorite fall in Maine, the area company stated.
The Maine Mineral and Gem Museum desires so as to add to its assortment, which incorporates moon and Mars rocks, Pitt stated, so the primary meteorite hunters to ship a 1-kilogram (2.2-pound) specimen will declare the $25,000 prize. That might be concerning the dimension of a softball.
“With more people having an awareness, the more people will look — and the greater the likelihood of a recovery,” Pitt stated Wednesday.
Pitt stated that as a result of the descent was noticed by radar, he’s assured meteorites might be discovered on the bottom.
Still, there’s no assure there are any meteorites sufficiently big to assert the payout.
NASA stated on its web site that the “meteorite masses calculated from the radar signatures range from 1.59g (0.004 pounds) to 322g (0.7 pounds) although larger masses may have fallen.”
The meteorites doubtless impacted throughout a swath of floor spanning from the city of Waite, Maine, to Canoose, New Brunswick. According to NASA, the most important specimens will likely be strewn on the west finish of the particles discipline, closest to Waite — a few 3 1/2 hour drive from Portland.
Locating a softball-sized area rock within the wilderness could also be just like discovering a needle in a haystack: Pitt stated the estimated space the place the meteorites hit is a few mile large (1.6 km) and stretches for 10-12 miles (16-19 km), all the best way into Canada.
The museum is asking aspiring meteorite hunters to brush up on what meteorites seem like earlier than looking, so that they know what they’re in search of, and keep away from personal property except they’ve permission.
The museum has an intensive assortment of specimens, together with the most important intact Mars rock on Earth.
Pitt stated the museum can be trying to buy every other specimens discovered by meteorite hunters. He stated the specimens “could easily be worth their weight in gold.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com”