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Rock that landed in Mount Vernon couple's yard may be a meteorite
By KASIA PIERZGA
 | Frank Varga / Skagit Valley Herald
Mark
and Gail Fredlund show off a rock they saw fall from the sky into their
back yard in May. If the mystery rock is a meteorite, the Fredlunds
might make geological history as the first Washingtonians in recorded
history to have seen one hit the Earth. |
UW scientists want to study object
A
Mount Vernon couple might make state history if the rock they saw fall
from the sky a few months ago turns out to be a meteorite.
In
May, Gail and Mark Fredlund were in the back yard of their home
northeast of Mount Vernon watching hummingbirds zipping around a feeder
on a sunny afternoon when an unusually loud, whistling buzz caught
their attention.
They looked up in time to watch as a rock
whacked into a coil of plastic yard edging at the border of the yard,
kicking up a puff of dust before it bounced back about four feet onto
the grass.
"It came right over our house," said Mark Fredlund.
"It was going so fast, I think if it hit the roof it would have gone
right through it."
According to University of Washington
astronomy expert Toby Smith, there's a good chance Fredlund's flying
rock really is a meteorite, because the rock appears to have magnetic
properties.
Finding meteorites is unusual in Washington, Smith
said. Most of them just look like plain old rocks, so it would be hard
to spot one in the Northwest's rocky landscape.
People often
stop by the astronomy department with rocks they think might be
meteorites. But in Smith's 10 years of teaching and doing research at
UW, not one sample has turned out to be anything more than just a plain
old rock. So if it turns out that the object is a
meteorite, the Fredlunds may have made history as the first
Washingtonians ever to see one hit the Earth.
"If this really is the first time a meteor has been seen to fall, that would be unique," Smith said.
No
one would be more surprised to make Washington geological history than
the Fredlunds. After all, they had a hard time believing their own eyes
when they saw the rock hit the ground about 3:30 p.m. on May 1.
At first, they suspected mischievous neighborhood kids had thrown the rock, but they looked around and saw no one.
Mark
Fredlund picked up the rock — it was cool to the touch — and looked at
it more closely. It didn't look like anything unusual, just a rough,
irregularly shaped rock about the size of a goose egg. Some of its
surface had a reddish tint, like iron ore. A black seam ran down the
middle of the rock, and part of it had a brownish crust.
The Fredlunds took the rock into the house and searched the Internet
for Web sites offering information about astronomy. They found a site
that listed several ways to tell if an object is likely to be a
meteorite, including testing to see if it will attract a magnet. They
found a magnet, hung it from a string, held it near the rock — and sure
enough, the magnet pulled towards it.
With
evidence mounting, the Fredlunds called UW to ask if an expert there
might be able to take a look at the rock. They hope to meet Smith and
several other astronomy researchers later this month.
Aside from
a few friends, no one else might ever have learned about the suspected
meteorite if not for a curious neighbor's phone call to the newspaper
this week.
According to Smith, if the rock really is a
meteorite, it likely came from the asteroid belt that stretches between
Mars and Jupiter, or possibly even from the moon or Mars.
If
it's actually a chunk from another planet, the specimen could turn out
to be more than just big news — it also could mean big money. While
asteroid pieces sell on Ebay for $95 per pound, rocks that fall to the
Earth from another planet can sell for as much as $60,000.
Until
they make the trip to visit the university's astronomy experts, the
mystery rock is tucked away for safekeeping — except for when friends
stop by for a visit.
"Everybody wants to see the space rock," Gail Fredlund said.
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| This
document was modified last on Aug 13, 2003 - 11:37:42 PDT |
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