Michigan meteorite used as doorstop for 30 years 'worth $100,000'
- Published
A US professor has established a rock used as a doorstop is actually a meteorite worth thousands of dollars.
Mona Sirbescu from Central Michigan University was asked by a local man to inspect the object he had kept for 30 years after finding it on a farm.
The 22lb (10kg) meteorite was the biggest the geologist had been asked to examine in her career.
The rock, which came down on farmland in Edmore, Michigan, in the 1930s, could be worth $100,000 (£77,000).
Most meteorites typically consist of approximately 90-95% iron.
What makes the meteorite found in Michigan unique is that it is 88% iron and 12% nickel.
"A piece of the early solar system literally fell into our hands," Dr Sirbescu said in a video made by the university to promote its discovery.
Allow YouTube content?
This article contains content provided by Google YouTube. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Google’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.
Dr Sirbescu sent a sample of the rock to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC, which confirmed her findings.
The renowned science centre is now interested in buying the rock, Central Michigan University said.
Meanwhile, the university has been using the meteorite as a teaching material.
The meteorite's anonymous owner is promising to donate 10% of sale proceeds to the university.
You may also like:
- Published18 April 2018
- Published17 September 2018
- Published17 November 2017
- Published12 October 2017
- Published6 September 2017
- Published11 August 2015
