Meteorite hunters seek 'treasure' in Wisconsin
LIVINGSTON, WISC. -- Treasure hunters took to the fields at sunrise Saturday, canvassing miles of open farmland in southwestern Wisconsin for fragments of a meteorite that crashed Wednesday night.
Armed with metal detectors and magnets, a rag-tag ensemble of scientists, professional meteorite hunters and amateurs raced to find the rare space relics some say could help unlock the secrets of the universe.
"To think about where these came from and how long it took to get here is really remarkable," said Karl Aston, 51, an amateur hunter from St. Louis who drove to Wisconsin with a partner this week to join the search. "Some people treat it like a real treasure hunt, but others are in it for the science."
Using radar equipment and computer analysis, hunters estimate the pieces of Wednesday's rather large meteorite could be spread out over nine miles or more in this corner of Wisconsin.
And with marble-size chunks of rock fetching a few hundred dollars or more on the open market, there's a lot of incentive out there, said Joe Kerchner, 31, an amateur hunter from Mendota, Ill., a few miles outside of Rockford.
Steve Arnold, 55, a professional meteorite collector from Elign, heard about the crash earlier in the week but waited until Saturday to make the nearly four-hour drive to Livingston.
"Yeah, I had to work," he said with a shrug.
Arnold said he's been collecting and selling meteorite fragments for 11 years, but that Saturday's hunt was only the second time he has been able to physically participate. The first time was the Park Forest meteorite that crashed through a residential home in 2003.
"I've only got one day out here, so I'm going to try to make the most of it," Arnold said.
Starting at daybreak, hunters fanned out across acres of open wheat and soybean fields and dairy farms. Since meteorite fragments have a magnetic pull, hunters wave magnets attached to the ends of rods over rocks, dirt and brush.
The meteorite crash came at a particularly difficult time for local farmers, who are now beginning the growing season, said Paul Sipiera, an adjunct curator of meteorites for the Field Museum, who rushed up to Wisconsin to take part of the search.
"Farmers need to get their crops in the ground and they have all these people swarming their fields," Sipiera said.
"There are probably hundreds to thousands of pieces scattered out there," said Terry Boudreax, a private meteorite collector from Lake Forest who was among the first to find a rock fragment from Wednesday's meteorite crash.
Since the larger pieces command more money and are more valuable to scientists, search parties are hunting for the "main mass" of the meteorite, which is the intact center.
"Finding a meteorite (fragment) is rare enough," Boudreax said. "Finding the main mass is much, much rarer."
Meteorite hunters seek 'treasure' in Wisconsin
April 17, 2010 10:31 AM | No Comments
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