There is a meteor craze, but once someone finds a meteorite, will they cash it in for big bucks?
Because you need to beware of fakes.
A Fraser pawn shop owner tells us one man walked in, trying to sell a piece of asphalt, saying it was a meteorite.
Doug Girard owns the Jackpot Pawn Shop.
"The guy was claiming it was meteorite and he found it on his farm," he said.
Wednesday a man walked into Jackpot Pawn Shop saying he found a space rock. But employees say it looked like concrete and has yellow paint on it.
John Zawiskie is the Curator of Earth and Life Sciences at the Cranbrook Institute of Science.
He said, "When something like this happens, science impacts people directly."
Zawiskie says prior to Tuesday's event, there have only been 10 known falls in Michigan.
"With snow and ice there is a possibility that these meteorites might stand out more," he explained. "If you were doing a systematic search, to use a metal detector. They are pretty popular as hobbies these days."
There have not been any official reports of meteorites found.
There are two common types of meteorites, stony and iron. Both attract magnets and the rocks are deceptively heavy, with dimples on it.
"You would want to look for little depressions on the surface, like this."
Cranbrook Institute of Science is hosting a pop-up event at the museum this Saturday, January 20 from 1:00 – 4:00pm. Think you have a meteorite? Bring it to the Institute and their experts will inspect it, while teaching how to identify a meteorite from a common rock.
Zawiskie will speak at 2:00pm about meteorites and their use in ancient cultures.
