A treasure hunt has been started, and if one person finds a big meteorite that recently crashed to Earth, a museum is willing to shell out $25,000.
The Associated Press reported that a meteorite was seen streaming across the sky above Maine, near the Canadian border, on Saturday around noon, according to Darryl Pitt, chair of the meteorite division at the Maine Mineral and Gem Museum.
“For the light (of the fireball) to overwhelm the brightness of the day, it was a significant event,” Pitt said, according to CNN.
NASA confirmed the first-of-its-kind event in Maine saying that it had detected “signatures consistent with falling meteorites seen at the time and location reported by eyewitnesses.” People also said they heard sonic booms.
The Maine Mineral and Gem Museum in Bethel, Maine, now wants to add the space rocks to its collection, adding that the first person to bring a meteorite larger than 2.2 pounds will get $25,000, CNN reported.
NASA, however, said its calculations from the radar signatures determined the meteorites will be quite small, between .004 pounds to .7 pounds. The space agency admitted that “larger masses may have fallen,” the AP reported.
NASA said that the debris will be found from Waite, Maine, to Canoose, New Brunswick, with the largest being near Waite.
Museum officials are asking those who are embarking on the hunt to know what they’re looking for and to avoid wandering on private property without permission, the AP reported.
It should look different than other rocks, and the outside of it should look burnt, with the inside being a slightly different color, CNN reported. It may also be made of iron and would be attracted to a magnet.
The Maine Mineral and Gem Museum boasts a large collection of specimens, from moon rocks to the largest intact Martian rock on Earth, and in addition to the jackpot $25,000 for the largest find, it will also pay for other meteorites found from Saturday’s impact.
