{"id":59234,"date":"2024-05-29T14:08:12","date_gmt":"2024-05-29T14:08:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/170b5e66-8865-4368-a64d-a709a12b9dc7"},"modified":"2024-05-29T14:50:18","modified_gmt":"2024-05-29T14:50:18","slug":"the-meteorite-hunt-is-on-in-staffordshire-after-a-bright-fireball-was-seen-streaking-across-the-sky","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/rss_feed\/the-meteorite-hunt-is-on-in-staffordshire-after-a-bright-fireball-was-seen-streaking-across-the-sky\/","title":{"rendered":"The meteorite hunt is on in Staffordshire, after a bright fireball was seen streaking across the sky"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"rssexcerpt\"> <\/p><p class=\"rssauthor\">By Ezzy Pearson\n      <\/p><p class=\"rssbyline\">Published: Wednesday, 29 May 2024 at 14:08 PM<\/p><hr class=\"no-tts wp-block-separator\"\/><?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"UTF-8\" standalone=\"yes\"?>\n<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\">\n<html><body><p>Residents of Staffordshire, UK are on a meteorite hunt in their gardens and driveways after a bright meteor was seen streaking over the county.<\/p><p>A bright fireball was seen streaking over the county in the early hours of 6 May, and was caught on camera by several meteorite hunters, including those with the <a href=\"https:\/\/ukfall.org.uk\/\">The UK Fireball Alliance<\/a> (UK FALL).<\/p><p>&#8220;Due to the multidirectional coverage, these cameras allow us to triangulate the fireball&#8217;s trajectory, giving us an idea of where we may expect to find any meteorites,&#8221; says Charlotte Bays from UKFALL.<\/p><p><strong><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/advice\/diy\/raspberry-pi-meteor-detector\">Click here to read more about setting up your own meteor detecting camera with a Raspberry Pi<\/a><\/em><\/strong> <\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Mary McItyre&#8217;s Raspberry Pi meteor detector. Credit: Mary McIntyre<\/figcaption><\/figure><p>The brightness of the fireball indicated it was large enough that some of it might have survived the journey through Earth\u2019s atmosphere and fallen to the ground as meteorites.<\/p><p>UK FALL estimate the fall could have dropped as much as 500g (1.1lbs) of meteorite material, and would be around 5-10cm (2-4 inches) in size if it survived in one piece.<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-where-might-the-staffordshire-meteorite-have-landed\">Where might the Staffordshire meteorite have landed?<\/h2><p>From its trajectory, experts calculated any meteorites would have come down in northern Staffordshire.<\/p><p>Teams from several universities have already been dispatched to search fields around the regions of Blythe Bridge and Uttoxeter for meteorites, but have been unsuccessful.<\/p><p>UKFALL are now asking residents of Blythe Bridge, Rough Close, Teen, Freehay and Uttoxter to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/space-science\/meteorite-ownership\">search their own gardens and driveways<\/a> for any rocks which might look out of the ordinary.<\/p><p>Experts were keen to remind searchers to stick to areas that were safe and where they had permission to be.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2023\/06\/GettyImages-1247221874-6ba54e5.jpg\" alt=\"A meteorite from asteroid 2023 CX1 found on 15 February 2023, near Dieppe in Angiens, northwestern France. Photo by Lou BENOIST \/ AFP) (Photo by LOU BENOIST\/AFP via Getty Images\" class=\"wp-image-119261\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Pick up potential meteorites with tin foil to avoid contamination (Photo by LOU BENOIST\/AFP via Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure><p>Residents taking part in the Staffordshire meteorite hunt should look for anything that appears out of the ordinary. <\/p><p>&#8220;We are asking the public to keep a lookout for any small dark rocks which look out of place, which may have a slightly iridescent sheen to the exterior (or &#8216;fusion crust&#8217;, where the rock has started to melt during atmospheric entry); these may look similar to a charcoal briquette,&#8221; say Bays. <\/p><p>&#8220;It will likely feel heavier than other rocks of the same size, or if it has landed on a hard surface you may see a patch of fine, dark powder.&#8221;<\/p><p>If you find a suspected meteorite, pick it up with a clean sandwich bag or tin-foil, rather than with bare hands to avoid contamination.<\/p><p>Do not attempt to test any suspected meteorites with a magnet, as this can damage the magnetic fields captured within the rock.<\/p><p>Once collected, contact the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nhm.ac.uk\/our-science\/services\/collections\/mineralogy\/meteorites.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Natural History Museum<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/ukfall.org.uk\/contact-us\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">UKFALL<\/a> to report the find.<\/p><p>The meteorite hunt in Staffordshire is reminiscent of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/space-science\/winchcombe-meteorite-gloucestershire\">Winchcombe meteorite<\/a>, where over 300g of meteorite material was recovered from Gloucestershire in 2021 after a fireball sighting.<\/p><p><strong><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/news\/winchcombe-meteorite-analysis\">Click here to find out more about what planetary geologists have learned from the Winchcombe meteorite.<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n<hr class=\"no-tts wp-block-separator\"\/>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Ezzy Pearson Published: Wednesday, 29 May 2024 at 14:08 PM Residents of Staffordshire, UK are on a meteorite hunt in their gardens and driveways after a bright meteor was seen streaking over the county. A bright fireball was seen streaking over the county in the early hours of 6 May, and was caught on [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":59235,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"3"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/05\/the-meteorite-hunt-is-on-in-staffordshire-after-a-bright-fireball-was-seen-streaking-across-the-sky.jpg",976,549,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/05\/the-meteorite-hunt-is-on-in-staffordshire-after-a-bright-fireball-was-seen-streaking-across-the-sky-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/05\/the-meteorite-hunt-is-on-in-staffordshire-after-a-bright-fireball-was-seen-streaking-across-the-sky-300x169.jpg",300,169,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/05\/the-meteorite-hunt-is-on-in-staffordshire-after-a-bright-fireball-was-seen-streaking-across-the-sky-768x432.jpg",768,432,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/05\/the-meteorite-hunt-is-on-in-staffordshire-after-a-bright-fireball-was-seen-streaking-across-the-sky.jpg",800,450,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/05\/the-meteorite-hunt-is-on-in-staffordshire-after-a-bright-fireball-was-seen-streaking-across-the-sky.jpg",976,549,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/05\/the-meteorite-hunt-is-on-in-staffordshire-after-a-bright-fireball-was-seen-streaking-across-the-sky.jpg",976,549,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Ezzy Pearson Published: Wednesday, 29 May 2024 at 14:08 PM Residents of Staffordshire, UK are on a meteorite hunt in their gardens and driveways after a bright meteor was seen streaking over the county. A bright fireball was seen streaking over the county in the early hours of 6 May, and was caught on&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/59234"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/59235"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59234"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59234"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}