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NASA experts point to Livingston County for potential meteorite discovery

Posted at 10:22 PM, Jan 17, 2018
and last updated 2018-01-18 09:00:25-05

The search for meteorites continues all over metro Detroit.  NASA experts point toward Livingston County to find them.

Bill Cooke is the Meteoroid Environment Program Manager with NASA and he said the Doppler radar images show the meteorites from the meteor spotted on January 16 in Livingston County.

“The meteorites should be just south of M-36 between Hamburg and Lakeland,” said Cooke.

Cooke said Doppler is best way to track where they might be found.

"Doppler weather radar is a very good indicator because, when it picks up meteorites, the meteorites are fairly close to the ground, they're only a couple of miles up and generally you can find meteorites right under the Doppler radar signature,” said Cooke.  

The news is surprising some folks living in the area.

"I heard it covered from Canada all over the midwest, to be specified in this little area, it's shocking,” said Howell resident Dean Hamlin. 

"In a little town like Hamburg that needs some publicity, so yeah, it's pretty exciting,” said Hamburg resident, William Milliman.

If you’re going to look for a meteorite, you can only claim it if it’s on your property or public property.

"When you look for meteorites you're looking for things, maybe the size of a quarter or half dollar, they'll look burnt, like charcoal.  They will not be hot, they're not smoldering boulders or craters or anything like what you see in science fiction,” said Cooke. 
The idea of finding one has sparked a lot of interest because of how much they could potentially be worth.

"I might quit my job and go looking for them if they're really worth that much,” said Hamlin.  

"The ones that everyone says are worth a zillion dollars are the ones from mars or the moon,” said Cooke.
 
Cooke believes the ones that might be found in Livingston County are called stony meteorites.

"I would say with 99.99999% certainty you don't have a Martian meteorite or lunar meteorites,” said Cooke.