A Museum Is Still Offering $25K If You Find A Meteorite From A Fireball Spotted Over Canada
There was an "incredibly rare" fireball over Canada and the U.S. recently that has led a museum to offer a cash reward if you can find a meteorite from it.
It's been more than a month since the fireball streaked across the sky and there hasn't been an announcement of fragments being found — so you could still have a chance at snagging the money.
Maine Mineral & Gem Museum posted on Facebook that a fireball was spotted streaking through the sky during the day on Saturday, April 8.
"Most fireballs that are witnessed are usually seen at night — their light easily contrasting against the night sky," the museum said. "This fireball being seen during the day is incredibly rare."
Maine Mineral & Gem Museum also shared that since it was bright enough to be seen during the day, the fireball would've been quite impressive if it had streaked across the sky at night.
NASA spotted possible meteorites and their locations through radar, the museum said on Facebook.
The debris field is projected to be north of Waite, Maine and then across the Canada-U.S. border toward Canoose, New Brunswick.
Canoose is close to New Brunswick's southern coast along the Bay of Fundy and about an hour and a half from Saint John.
Maine Mineral & Gem Museum is offering a $25,000 reward for the first one-kilogram meteorite that's found from this event.
Even though the museum is in the U.S., Canadians are eligible to get the monetary reward if they can find a piece of the fireball.
Anyone who finds what they think is a meteorite can have it tested at the museum for a fee by booking an appointment.
What appears to be a rock or mineral could be a meteorite if it's magnetic, heavy for its size, looks black or dark on the outside, looks lighter on the inside and looks metallic on the inside.
Darryl Pitt, the head of Maine Mineral & Gem Museum's meteorite division, told The Globe and Mail that this meteorite is interesting because of how close it was to the museum.
Also, it could have a scientific impact because it could lead to a further understanding of the beginning of the solar system.
Pitt said meteorites have the potential to help scientists figure out how life on Earth formed as well.
Over the past couple of years, quite a few fireballs have been spotted in the skies over Canada.
While many of those were seen at night, including one that seemed to explode in Alberta, there was a fireball that lit up the sky in Toronto during the day back in 2020.
It was captured by one of the cameras on top of the CN Tower and could be seen as far away as Richmond, Virginia!
This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.
