Can YOU help find a missing meteorite?

A fireball was spotted lighting up the night sky in Shrewsbury, Shropshire

Could you help scientists track down a missing meteorite?

Pieces of the space rock are believed to have landed somewhere near Shrewsbury, in Shropshire, after a fireball was spotted lighting up the night sky in the county on Wednesday.

Members of the UK Fireball Alliance, which is made up of academics and citizen scientists, spent the bank holiday looking for fragments of the meteorite, but were unsuccessful.

Now they want the public's help to find the missing meteorite!

The group thinks around 500g of meteorite may have hit the ground in approximately four pieces.

However, the large amount of wheat and rapeseed fields in the area means the fragments have so far proven very tricky to find.

"We have been literally looking for a needle in a haystack," said group member Dr Luke Daly from the University of Glasgow.

They're now seeking help from the local community to find fragments of the meteorite. They believe there could be pieces in people's gardens or driveways.

The UK Fireball Alliance think the fragments of the meteorite may have fallen in people's gardens, on footpaths or on driveways

"It's probably a glossy black or brown colour, maybe with the dark crust broken off in places. The largest pieces won't be bigger than an Easter egg, and the smallest could be the size of a mini egg!" said professor Katie Joy from the University of Manchester.

She has some top tips on what people should do if they stumble upon a piece of the meteorite, but also wants the public to avoid taking any risks when searching for the space rock.

"The meteorite won't be hot and is as safe to handle as any other rock, but please don't pick it up with your bare hands as that would contaminate the stone.

"Don't take any risks looking for it and don't go anywhere you shouldn't. But if you do find something out-of-place, we'll certainly be interested to check it out."