Experts didn’t become aware of one of the biggest meteorites ever found in Michigan until more than 80 years after it was found.
The space rock lived a simple existence as a 10-kilogram (22-pound) doorstop at a nearby farm for many years prior to being discovered by scientists.
Mona Sirbescu, a geologist at Central Michigan University (CMU), stated in 2018 after examining the object, “I could tell right away that this was something special.”
It is the most priceless specimen I have ever owned, both financially and scientifically.
Sirbescu was requested to look at a rock that Grand Rapids, Michigan resident David Mazurek had been holding onto for 30 years in case it was a meteorite.
Throughout Sirbescu’s career, she had frequently asked for this, but typically without any noteworthy results.
She said in a statement at the time, “For 18 years, the answer has been clearly ‘no’… not meteorites.
However, the response in this instance was different.
It was not simply a space rock, but a magnificent one at that.
The item, also known as the Edmore meteorite, is a sizable iron-nickel meteorite with nickel making up around 12 percent of its composition.
It’s a whole other tale how Mazurek got his hands on the meteorite.
Sirbescu claims that during a tour of the farm Mazurek purchased in 1988 near Edmore, Michigan, the previous owner pointed out a sizable, peculiar-looking rock that was being used to prop open a shed door.
Mazurek inquired about the rock and was informed by the departing owner that it was truly a meteorite.
The man continued, “And it made a heck of a noise when it hit,” describing how he and his father had witnessed the meteorite fall onto their farm at night in the 1930s.
The couple discovered the crater created by the object the following morning, and they removed the meteorite from the newly formed trench. They claimed that it was still warm.
The most absurd part? The man informed Mazurek that the meteorite now belonged to him because it was a part of the land.
Thus, for the next 30 years, Mazurek maintained the space rock and used it as a doorstop, with the exception of the few times his children brought it to school for show and tell.
He eventually became aware that individuals were making money by discovering and offering little meteorite fragments for sale, so he decided to get his enormous rock assessed.
Since meteorites are rare and have significant scientific worth, we can only image how happy Mazurek must have been when he finally succeeded.
At this point, meteorites can either be sold and displayed in a museum or sold to buyers and sellers hoping to earn a profit, according to Sirbescu.
Mazurek eventually sold his meteorite to the Abrams Planetarium at Michigan State University, promising to donate 10% of the proceeds to CMU’s earth and atmospheric sciences division, which Sirbescu used to determine the true identification of the rock.
$75,000 was the asking price.
