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According to Central Michigan University, a 22-pound rock that has opened a door in Michigan for decades turns out to be a meteorite valued at $ 100,000.
Mona Sirbescu, a professor of geology at CMU, is regularly invited to examine the rocks she has brought to her – but none has ever become an official rock in space.
"For 18 years, the answer has been categorically" no "- meteorites are wrongs, not meteorites," Sibescu said in a statement from CMU on Thursday.
But all that changed when he was asked to examine a big, odd-shaped rock that a Michigan man, who did not want to be named, had in his possession for 30 years.
"I could tell right away that it was something special," Sibescu said.
After testing, she determined that it was a meteorite composed of 88.5% iron and 11.5% nickel. This is not any kind of space rock, though. Weighing 22 pounds, it is the sixth largest discovery recorded in Michigan – and a potential value of $ 100,000, according to the CMU.
"It's the most valuable specimen I've ever had in my life, financially and scientifically," Sibescu said.
According to the press release, part of it was sent to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, which confirmed that it was a meteorite.
Travel on earth
The rock arrived on Earth in the 1930s, according to its owner, who got it in 1988 when he bought a farm in Edmore, about 30 km southwest of Mount Pleasant. While visiting the property, the man spotted the rock opening a door and asked the farmer what it was.
The farmer told him that it was a meteorite, that it was part of the property and that he could have it.
The farmer said that he had fallen on property in the 30s – "and that made a huge noise when he hit," recalled the new owner, according to the CMU statement. In the morning, the farmer and his father found the crater and extracted the still hot meteorite.
The new owner lived for a few years on the farm and when he moved he took the rock mystery with him. Over the last thirty years, he has used it and sent it to school with his children for demonstrations.
This year, the man was inspired by stories telling that locals in Michigan have found and sold pieces of meteorites.
"I said:" Wait a minute, I wonder how much is mine. "
From the door to the display
Now, space rock, nicknamed the Edmore meteorite, is waiting to find a permanent home.
"What usually happens with this is that meteorites can either be sold and displayed in a museum, or sold to collectors or sellers looking to make a profit," Sirbescu said.
The Smithsonian and a Maine Mineral Museum are considering buying the meteorite for exhibition purposes, according to the CMU. If a sale is concluded, the man has agreed to donate 10% of the sale value to the university for the study of Earth and Atmosphere Sciences.
CNN's Patrick Cornell contributed to this report.
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