A Maine Museum of Minerals and Gems is offering
a $25,000 prize
to the first person to turn in a piece weighing at least two pounds from a meteorite that crashed to Earth last Saturday, in a remote corner of a forest near the United States border with Canada.
There
some rocks from space
impacted and may be scattered on the ground.
An unusually bright fireball could be seen in broad daylight as the rock disintegrated in the atmosphere, said Darryl Pitt, president of the meteorite division at the Maine Museum of Minerals and Gems, in Bethel.
NASA confirmed that radar recorded the
fall of the meteorite in Maine
and that several people heard sonic explosions caused by an object when it exceeds the speed of sound.
The museum wants
to expand its collection of lunar and martian rocks
, Pitt explained, so the first meteorite hunters to turn in a 1-kilogram (2.2-pound) specimen will be able to claim the $25,000 prize.
According to Pitt, the fact that radar detected the fiery disintegration of the meteorite ensures that its remains can be found on the ground.
"With more people alerted, there will be more people looking and there will be a better chance of a recovery," Pitt said Wednesday.
However,
there is no guarantee that there will be shards large enough
to claim the reward.
NASA said on its website that the "meteor masses calculated from radar trails range from 1.59 grams (0.004 pounds) to 322 grams (0.7 pounds), although masses may have fallen." bigger".
The chunks of space rock likely fell in a strip that stretched from the town of Waite, Maine, to Canoose, New Brunswick.
According to NASA, the largest specimens would have been scattered in the far west of the debris field, the closest to Waite, about a 3.5-hour drive from Portland.
The statement from the Maine Museum of Minerals and Gems
On its official social networks, the Maine Museum of Minerals and Gems released a statement reporting the "extraordinary event that occurred in Washington County (YO)", in the northeast United States.
“A fireball was seen streaking across the sky during the day!
Most of the fireballs that are witnessed are usually seen at night, their light easily contrasting with the night sky.
This fireball seen during the day is incredibly rare;
imagine how bright it would have been at night”, reads that text.
In addition, it was indicated: “NASA also located possible specimens and their locations through Doppler radar.
The scattered field is anticipated to be just north of Waite, Maine, to over the Canadian border directly west of Canoose, New Brunswick.
The bounty is open to our Canadian neighbors as well."
“The Museum is offering a $25,000 reward for the first 1-kilogram specimen found at the event.
The Museum is able to test specimens for identification;
appointments MUST be made with Al Falster, the Research Laboratory Technologist.
The test results will be available in 5 to 10 business days and there is a cost due to the preparation of the sample that is needed for the tests”, he clarified.
With information from AP.
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