A couple from Arlington, Minnesota, discovered a rare, 33-pound meteorite in their corn farm two years ago during the annual spring field clearing, and tests show that it is likely a part of a meteorite found about three miles away from the farm in 1984.
Farmers Bruce and Nelva Lilienthal made the biggest discovery of their life by finding a rare 33-pound meteorite during the annual spring field clearing two years ago. The couple, amazed by the unique appearance of the rock, stored it along with their pile of interesting finds. They had no clue about the rock's uniqueness and that it was a meteorite, until recently.
In April, the Lilienthals contacted Calvin Alexander, a professor at the University of Minnesota, curious to find out more about the rock. Alexander looked at the photos sent by the couple and knew it was no ordinary rock and called them over for further testing.
The rock weighed 33 pounds but measured only about 16 inches by 12 inches across and about 2 inches wide. An Earth rock of similar measurement will be at least three times lighter.
The couple brought the rock to Alexander's lab on May 30. After closely looking at a small portion, about 0.6 grams of the rock, under a scanning electron microscope, Alexander ratified it as a rare meteorite. The rock was iron and contained about 8 percent nickel, which is unlikely in the iron objects from Earth. Only iron rocks from outer space contain nickel between 5 and 20 percent. Alexander noted that the uniqueness of the meteorite was from its "Widmanstätten" pattern of nickel-iron crystals.
Alexander said he would like to compare the newly found rock with the 1984 meteorite, as both the rocks have a similar shape and nickel content. Despite the occurrence of iron, it is not attracted to magnet as it belongs to a rare class of meteorites that originated in melt pools on asteroids created by the impacts of other rocks.
Alexander told Space.com that he was excited to finally test a real meteorite in his forty year career. He plans to retire end of next year.
The unexpected discovery has brought immense happiness to the Minnesota couple and both are eager to continue their annual rock-picking duty in the hope of finding more meteorites, Bruce Lilienthal told Space.com.
