$25,000 reward offered for meteorite from daytime fireball

$25,000 reward offered for meteorite from daytime fireball

A daytime fireball is prompting a treasure hunt.

The Maine Mineral & Gem Museum is offering a $25,000 reward for anyone who can produce a fragment of the meteorite it produced.

The fireball was reported April 8 in Washington County, Maine. It was spotted streaking across the sky during the day and, according to the museum, NASA spotted possible meteorite fragments and locations through its Doppler radar.

The strewn meteorite field is projected to be north of Waite, Maine to over the Canadian border directly west of Canoose, New Brunswick.

According to their Facebook post, the museum is offering a $25,000 reward for the first 1 kilogram specimen found from the event. You can go here to see rules – and tips – for identification.

“Depending on the type of meteorites this is specimens could easily be worth their weight in gold,” Darryl Pitt, said chair of the museum’s Meteorite Division, adding the museum is interested in purchasing any fragments that are found.

The American Meteor Society reported more than half a dozen reports of the meteor, which was described as large and bright. Reports of the fireball were followed by multiple sonic booms and reports of debris on radar.

If a fragment is found, it will be right at home at the museum. According to their release, the Maine Mineral and Gem Museum is home to the single largest specimen of both the Moon and Mars on Earth.