Chunks from outer space fall into gold country
modern prospector seeking ancient treasure
A couple of weeks ago a thundering noise alerted some residents of northern California to look into the sky. Those that did were fortunate to see a rare sight: a large meteorite hurling through the sky on its way to a crash landing right in my own backyard. What’s even more interesting is the likely point of impact was almost the exact location of where Sutter found gold in 1849—setting off the California gold rush.
Almost immediately professional meteorite seekers set off to find pieces. The meteorite came from outer space, from long before the earth existed, and promises to help scientists fill in our knowledge of the origin of (among other things) life on earth. That’s because it’s possible components of life—including water—may be found in pieces of the meteorite. This is a scientific treasure trove. For that reason a few days ago NASA launched a Zeppelin flight hoping to find evidence of meteorite chunks and to locate possible craters.
Based on first-hand observations and views from the Zeppelin, meteorite hunters (scientists and treasure seekers) are out in force in the rural lands near my home. The going rate for meteorite pieces is $1000/gram, while our old standby in these parts, gold is merely $50/gram.
Read more: http://www.kcra.com/news/31010478/detail.html#ixzz1u8Wlmhbl
