It's a modern-day gold rush with small fortunes to be made – and the odd bargain to be had.
The race is on in Russia to find space rocks worth tens of thousands of pounds from the 40-ton meteor that hurtled across the Urals last week.
Fragments have started to appear on Avito.Ru, a Russian website for classified ads. Many pieces were harvested around Chelyabinsk, where more than 1,000 were injured as the meteor disintegrated overhead.
One user asked for around £6,500 for a small piece, while another offered 18 pieces for £11 each.
The race is on in Russia to find space rocks worth tens of thousands of pounds from the 40-ton meteor that hurtled across the Urals last week.
Fragments have started to appear on Avito.Ru, a Russian website for classified ads. Many pieces were harvested around Chelyabinsk, where more than 1,000 were injured as the meteor disintegrated overhead.
One user asked for around £6,500 for a small piece, while another offered 18 pieces for £11 each.
 |
| Locals searching for meteorite fragments have gathered at a frozen lake where a chunk of meteorite hit. One user asked for around £6,500 for a small piece, while another offered 18 pieces for £11 each |
As it raced through the sky, the 50-foot wide chunk of space rock compressed the air ahead of it, creating the enormous temperatures that meant it exploded in a fireball somewhere between 18 and 32 miles above the ground at around 9.20am local time on Friday.
Although some debris fell to earth, ‘whipping up a pillar of ice, water and steam’ and creating a 20-foot-wide crater, the damage in nearby towns was actually caused by shockwaves created by the meteor breaking the sound barrier and then exploding.
Although some debris fell to earth, ‘whipping up a pillar of ice, water and steam’ and creating a 20-foot-wide crater, the damage in nearby towns was actually caused by shockwaves created by the meteor breaking the sound barrier and then exploding.
 |
| Shockwave: People heading to work in Chelyabinsk, Russia, heard what sounded like an explosion, saw a bright light and then felt a shockwave when a meteor soared across the sky above them |
town of Chebarkul, where the largest meteorite pieces are thought to have crashed, reports The Sunday Times.
Russian authorities stopped a group of locals searching around a hole in the ice as they want people to stay away from the fragments until scientists from Moscow have tested them. Russian authorities also said the search for the meteorite may have to wait until spring when the region's ice and snow thaws.
'The web is awash with people saying they want to buy this stuff," said Oleg Karpov, a Chelyabinsk local. 'Maybe this thing was not that bad after all if a few of us make some money out of it.'
Collectors from around the world will be keen to get hold of a piece. Film director Steven Spielberg is a noted collector. In October a 9in piece of the Seymchan meteorite found in Siberia in 1960 sold in New York for $43,750 (£28,200).
Astronomers have also revealed that the meteor could have hit UK cities if it had hit at a slightly different time of day.
Nasa said that when the meteor entered the atmosphere, it exploded with the force of a nuclear weapon.
The revelation, based on an analysis of the earth's rotation, comes as scientists reveal that they are planning a state-of-the-art detection system to give warning of incoming asteroids and meteorites, reports the Observer.
The announcement of the decision to build the Asteroid Terrestrial-Impact Last Alert System, or Atlas, on Hawaii was made following the meteorite crash in Russia.
Russian authorities stopped a group of locals searching around a hole in the ice as they want people to stay away from the fragments until scientists from Moscow have tested them. Russian authorities also said the search for the meteorite may have to wait until spring when the region's ice and snow thaws.
'The web is awash with people saying they want to buy this stuff," said Oleg Karpov, a Chelyabinsk local. 'Maybe this thing was not that bad after all if a few of us make some money out of it.'
Collectors from around the world will be keen to get hold of a piece. Film director Steven Spielberg is a noted collector. In October a 9in piece of the Seymchan meteorite found in Siberia in 1960 sold in New York for $43,750 (£28,200).
Astronomers have also revealed that the meteor could have hit UK cities if it had hit at a slightly different time of day.
Nasa said that when the meteor entered the atmosphere, it exploded with the force of a nuclear weapon.
The revelation, based on an analysis of the earth's rotation, comes as scientists reveal that they are planning a state-of-the-art detection system to give warning of incoming asteroids and meteorites, reports the Observer.
The announcement of the decision to build the Asteroid Terrestrial-Impact Last Alert System, or Atlas, on Hawaii was made following the meteorite crash in Russia.
 |
| If the meteorite had hit at a different time of day, it could have struck the UK with devastating consequences |
No comments :
Post a Comment