Maine museum offering $25,000 for part of meteorite

BETHEL, Maine (WABI) - Here’s a request you don’t hear every day!

The Maine Mineral and Gem Museum in Bethel is offering a $25,000 reward for a meteorite that may have landed in Maine over the weekend.

Just before noon on Saturday, eyewitnesses reported seeing a bright fireball in the sky.

Shortly after the sighting, folks reported a loud sonic boom near Calais.

The museum says anyone can find one because it’s different than any other rock in the area.

“It needs to look like it has a fresh crust. The result of burning through the atmosphere because that’s exactly what it’s what it experienced, it’s literally getting toasted as it burns through Earth’s atmosphere. So it’s fresh and black around it and with time is more water seeps into it if there’s enough metal it begins to oxidize a bit, but that’s why it’s important to get out there sooner than later because they’ll jump out a bit more and look less terrestrial like,” said Darryl Pitt, Maine Mineral and Gem Museum.

He says folks can stop by the museum to get familiarized with what a meteorite looks like.

Copyright 2023 WABI. All rights reserved.