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Maine museum offers $25,000 to anyone who can find meteor rock after it was seen in broad daylight  : INTERNEWSCAST

A museum in Maine is offering a $25,000 reward for anyone who can locate a kilogram of a meteorite which was seen across the state and northeastern Canada over the weekend. 

The Maine Mineral and Gem Museum said that ‘multiple sonic booms’ could be heard from the fiery meteor as it moved across the sky in New England and New Brunswick in Canada just before noon Saturday.

‘There was an extraordinary event that happened in Washington County,’ the museum wrote on Facebook. ‘A fireball was spotted streaking through the sky — during the day!’

According to NASA, this is the first radar-observed meteorite fall ever seen in Maine. It was spotted three different times in the state and three more in New Brunswick, one of Canada’s easternmost provinces. 

NASA’s doppler radar detected multiple meteorites from the meteor, according to the museum.

A museum in Maine is offering a $25,000 reward for anyone who can locate a kilogram of a meteorite which was seen across the state and northeastern Canada over the weekend

A museum in Maine is offering a $25,000 reward for anyone who can locate a kilogram of a meteorite which was seen across the state and northeastern Canada over the weekend

The daylight fireball is considered ‘incredibly rare,’ the museum says, as most are usually seen at night when they contrast with the darkness.  

They’re telling people interested that if you can locate a kilogram of it, they’ll give you a $25,000 reward.

‘When a fireball is sufficiently bright to be seen in broad daylight, it would have been extraordinarily bright had this been at night,’ said Darryl Pitt, chair of the museum’s meteorite division. 

‘The existence of positive Doppler radar returns – meteorites detected descending through the atmosphere just several miles above ground – assures us there are meteorites waiting to be found.’ 

One of the witnesses told the American Meteor Society that a meteorite had a ‘long glowing tail’ although there was no smoke trailing it. 

Another described the meteorite as ‘bright red’ with a ‘very white’ tail and added ‘it was so bright, especially against the clear blue sky. 

The meteorite was observed for about four minutes and 40 seconds total, which NASA considers ‘relatively short.’ 

NASA said on its website that the ‘meteorite masses calculated from the radar signatures range from 1.59g (0.004 pounds) to 322g (0.7 pounds) although larger masses may have fallen.’ 

According to NASA, this is the first radar-observed meteorite fall ever seen in Maine. It was spotted three different times in the state and three more in New Brunswick, one of Canada's easternmost provinces

According to NASA, this is the first radar-observed meteorite fall ever seen in Maine. It was spotted three different times in the state and three more in New Brunswick, one of Canada’s easternmost provinces

The Maine Mineral and Gem Museum (pictured) said that 'multiple sonic booms' could be heard from the fiery meteor as it moved across the sky in New England and New Brunswick in Canada just before noon Saturday

The Maine Mineral and Gem Museum (pictured) said that ‘multiple sonic booms’ could be heard from the fiery meteor as it moved across the sky in New England and New Brunswick in Canada just before noon Saturday 

Anyone who claims they’ve found pieces of the meteor must make an appointment with their research lab technologist. 

After that, it will be a five to ten business day wait to determine its authenticity before the spotter can be rewarded.  

‘Specimens exhibiting advanced botanical matter are not from this fireball event!’ the museum said. ‘And please remember: you must obtain land owner permission BEFORE meteorite hunting.’

Pitt told WABI that if you get permission, anyone can potentially find them given how unique they are.

‘It needs to look like it has a fresh crust. The result of burning through the atmosphere because that’s exactly what it’s what it experienced, it’s literally getting toasted as it burns through Earth’s atmosphere,’ Pitt said.

Maine Mineral and Gem Museum boasts the world's largest collection of lunar meteorites

Maine Mineral and Gem Museum boasts the world’s largest collection of lunar meteorites

Maine Mineral and Gem Museum's exhibit of meteorites

Maine Mineral and Gem Museum’s exhibit of meteorites

Darryl Pitt, chair of the museum's meteorite division

Darryl Pitt, chair of the museum’s meteorite division

Locating a softball-sized space rock in the wilderness may be similar to finding a needle in a haystack: Pitt said the estimated area where the meteorites hit is about a mile wide and stretches for 10-12 miles, all the way into Canada. 

‘So it’s fresh and black around it and with time is more water seeps into it if there’s enough metal it begins to oxidize a bit, but that’s why it’s important to get out there sooner than later because they’ll jump out a bit more and look less terrestrial like,’ he added.

Pitt believes that while one may get $25,000 in the bank, their actual value is ‘worth their weight in gold.’

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