A 13-year-old
New Mexico boy using a metal detector
recently found a 2-pound (1 kg) meteorite
near Albuquerque. After a fireball
exploded exploded over the Sierra foothills
in northern California last April, hundreds
of collectors and dealers descended on the
area to hunt for the meteorite fragments
scattered about.
When a chunk of an asteroid, technically
referred to as a meteoroid, traverses our
atmosphere, the tremendous heat generated
produces the meteor, or shooting star, of
the night sky. Sometimes the heat will cause
volatiles within it to heat up to such an
extent the rock explodes into a fireball.
If some solid debris from the meteoroid
make it to the ground, these remnants are
referred to as meteorites.
Observing meteors and fireballs has long
been an amateur activity. Hunting, collecting,
buying and selling meteorites are also popular
hobbies.
Affiliates of the American
Meteor Society, for example, become
members of an observational network who
regularly report sightings of meteors and
fireballs. The Society's Fireball
Sightings page lists the most recent
observations. Other sites providing the
latest on meteor and fireball sightings
include elp
allsky and Latest
Worldwide Meteor/Meteorite News.
For information and web resources for meteorite
hobbies, see the Meteorites
section in Space
Collecting. There are many sites with
tutorial information on buying and collecting
meteorites and many stores where you can
purchase them.
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