Have you ever found an odd-coloured rock, or do you have a heavy chunk of something that your grandfather told you fell from the sky? If so, you could possibly have a sought-after piece of a meteorite that local and national astronomers and scientists are hunting for.
A meteorite, a solid piece of debris from an object such as a comet, asteroid, or meteoroid, that originates in outer space and survives its passage through the atmosphere, came through the roof of a house in Ellerslie back in 2004. It bounced off the couch, hit the ceiling and ended up on the carpet under the television.
Apart from that, the Mokoia (Whanganui) meteorite which fell in 1908 is the only New Zealand meteorite to have been recovered soon after it fell.
“We had a meteorite turn up at our Golden Bay house,” says Wai-iti International Dark Sky Park member Ralph Bradley.
“There was a big hollow in the paddock so us kids had a dig and found an unusual rock covered in small holes and a bit burnt. It was used as a door stopper, however we left Golden Bay in the 1970s and I have no idea where it ended up but looking back it should have been tested.”
Ralph says that there must be a lot more out there and Fireballs Aotearoa says that there are quite possibly meteorites on backsteps propping the door open or sitting on mantelpieces. The stone that grandpa claimed was a meteorite, or that out-of-place rock still sitting in the paddock.
Meteorites can tell us much about the formation of the solar system four and a half billion years ago.
“Meteorites provide us clues and help us find out more about the solar system and universe,” Ralph says.
“Found meteorites can be tested which will tell us what it’s made of and possibly some clues as to where it’s come from, they are valuable to research.”
Wai-iti International Dark Sky Park is supporting the Fireballs Aotearoa meteorite hunt and they have installed a dedicated ‘Fireballs’ camera on top of a house that faces south from Wai-iti.
“The camera takes night sky images every few seconds looking for bright streaks of light, shooting stars, as when a meteorite enters the atmosphere it creates light as it starts to burn before falling to the earth, or sea, and since they are burning, they land hot and hard,” Ralph explains.
With the idea being that if multiple cameras capture the same meteorite from different locations, they should be able to narrow down the geographical location of the fallen meteorite and go on a hunt for it.
Ralph also encourages those walking along riverbanks to keep an eye out for any, he says a meteorite will look a lot different from a normal rock and is often dark with a bit of a glossy or melted crust.
If you believe you might have a meteorite, get in touch with Fireballs Aotearoa at meteorites@rasnz.org.nz
