The space rock's crash was loud, but what followed was quiet competition, reports the New York Times. After a meteor broke apart over northeast Ohio last week, roughly two dozen meteorite hunters descended on the countryside, armed with satellite maps, Doppler radar plots, and in some cases, stacks of cash. NASA estimates the object was about six feet across and weighed seven tons when it hit the atmosphere, leaving a 20- to 30-mile "strewn field" of fragments—potentially 200 to 300 pounds of meteorites, some worth hundreds or thousands of dollars apiece. It was seen from Wisconsin to Maryland, notes News5 Cleveland.
The hunters came for different reasons: profit, science, and the pull of holding something that came from deep in space. Former cop and gold prospector Mark Dayton admits he's "in it for the money," while Connecticut hunter Roberto Vargas says of his find that he'll "take this to the grave with me. Three days ago, this thing was on the other side of the moon. Now it's in my hand." Hunters share slivers with university scientists, who analyze the rocks and credit their finds. Around them swirls a niche economy, including dealer Mark "Walmark" Lyon, known for buying big and moving loads of inventory.
By nightfall, some hunters were still sweeping golf course fairways with headlamps, convinced that the next life-changing stone might be lying in the rough. "I'm not sure I can tell you why I'm out here," says Dayton. "I don't think it's competition, but I know if I'm not the first one out here in the morning, I know I'll be missing out."
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