Jason Collins Has been updated
One of the largest meteorites ever recorded in Michigan went completely unnoticed by experts for more than 80 years because it was inconspicuously used as a doorstop on a local farm. Geologists have further identified the meteorite’s importance and value following its “rediscovery”, leading to its recognition as the iron-nickel cosmite of record.
A meteorite that struck Earth nearly a century ago is used as a door stopper on a farm in Michigan.
according to science alert, this modest 10-kilogram (22-pound) stone was used as a door stopper on local farms in Michigan for decades before being officially recognized by the scientific community. So farm owner David Mazurek asked Mona Silvesque, a geologist at Central Michigan University (CMU), to examine the rock that served as a door stop for the barn door on the farm. I asked if there was any. meteorite. To Silvescu’s surprise, the rock in question was actually a meteorite, which is extremely valuable.
A geologist, Silvescu is regularly asked by locals to investigate all kinds of potential meteorites. Meteorites tend to be very expensive on the collector market, so people bring in all sorts of strange stones for evaluation, but most of those stones are just stones. But Mazurek’s case was different, because he brought in a real meteorite, and Silvescu tested positive for the first time in his 18-year career.
Eventually, Mazurek realized that people made money by finding and selling small meteorite fragments, so he took the stones for an appraisal. You can imagine his surprise when he learned that he could earn about $75,000 on his 22-pounder.
The meteorite, now called the Edmore meteorite, is actually a thick iron-nickel space rock containing about 12% nickel by weight, which is actually a significant amount. But the story behind the space stone is even more interesting.
meteorite history
Mazurek said the meteorite story began before he bought the farm in 1988. While exploring the property with the previous owner, he revealed that this stone had fallen from the sky in 1930 before serving as a barn doorstop.
The owner said he and his father witnessed a meteor hit their property and caused considerable noise. But in the morning, they found warm rock in the crater that had formed. The meteorite continued to act as a doorstop for the next 30 years, leaving the compound only occasionally when Mazurek’s children brought rooks to show off and teach at school.
Eventually, Mazurek realized that people made money by finding and selling small meteorite fragments, so he took the stones for an appraisal. You can imagine his surprise when he learned that he could earn about $75,000 on his 22-pounder. He sold the meteorite to Michigan State University’s Abrams Planetarium and promised to donate 10% of the proceeds to Central Michigan University’s Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, where the unremarkable doorstop turned out to be a very valuable meteorite. .