French ranks of amateur astronomers have been urged to help find an apricot-sized meteorite that fell to Earth last weekend in the country’s southwest.
The rock, estimated to weigh 150 grams (just over five ounces), was caught diving into the atmosphere by cameras at an astronomical education unit in Mauraux and landed at exactly 10:43 p.m. Saturday near Aiguillon, about 100 km (62 km) away. miles) from Bordeaux.
The site is part of the Sky Watch project of about 100 cameras in the Fireball Recovery and InterPlanetary Observation Network (FRIPON), which aims to detect and collect about 10 meteorites that fall in France each year.
“Meteorites are relics of the creation of the solar system, with the advantage of never being exposed to the elements,” said Mickael Wilmart of the astronomical education association A Ciel Ouvert (Open Sky) which operates the Mauraux observatory.
“A fresh meteorite like this, which fell a few days ago, has not been altered by the Earth’s environment and therefore contains very valuable information for scientists,” he said.
The search is already underway, but calls for help have been made on social networks, and posters have been placed in areas where the stone is likely to fall.
But Wilmart acknowledged that the chances of success were slim.
“It’s like looking for a needle in a haystack,” he said. “We really rely on people looking in their gardens or, along the side of the road, they might stumble upon this much-desired stone.”