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(Journalist)
– The search for an apricot-sized meteorite is underway somewhere near Aiguillon, France. Cameras from an astronomy facility in Mauraux spotted the small space rock falling to Earth over southwestern France last weekend, according to the Guardian. The meteorite landed at 10:43 p.m. Saturday near Aiguillon, about 60 miles southeast of Bordeaux, but no one has found it yet. And it’s not for lack of trying. Posters have been placed around the area asking for help in locating the five-ounce rock and informing residents of the precious merchandise in their midst. “A fresh meteorite like this, which fell just a few days ago, has not been altered by the earth’s environment and therefore contains very valuable information for scientists,” explains Mickael Wilmart, who belongs to the association which manages the observatory.
The meteorites, which typically have a shiny and scorched exterior, are “relics of the creation of the solar system,” Wilmart said in a statement, by the local. According to NASA, they “represent some of the original and diverse materials that formed planets billions of years ago.” Some even come from Mars. “We really rely on people to look in their gardens or along the road,” says Wilmart. “They might just come across this rock that is so sought after.” The Mauraux facility is part of a network of 100 cameras assembled for the Sky Watch project, which aims to track and identify the ten meteorites believed to land in France each year, but success is not a guarantee. Even knowing the approximate location of the meteorite, “it’s a bit like looking for a needle in a haystack,” says Wilmart. (This guy found a meteorite in the worst possible way.)
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