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How to Find Meteorites in Farm Fields

Hunting for meteorites can be exhausting, tedious work, but it can also be quite exciting. When you find a specimen that may have actually come from space, you can fully understand the rush of meteorite hunting. One prime place to find meteorites is farm fields. These large, open spaces often contain hundreds of meteorite fragments that haven't been found yet. With just a few tools and some knowledge of meteorites, you may be able to be the first to find them.

Things You'll Need

Magnetic wand
Metal detector
Magnifying glass
Diamond file
Paintbrush
Zipper bags

Instructions

- 1
  Locate farm fields that you can travel to where other meteorites have been found. Sometimes, you can find other pieces of the meteorite that's been recovered in the field.
- 2
  Get the landowner's permission to look for meteorites in his farm field. Consider asking your lawyer to draw up a simple contract for the landowner to sign to protect you from a legal standpoint.
- 3
  Look for the basic differences between meteorites and Earth rocks. Meteorites are heavier than Earth rocks because they often contain iron-nickel metal. This metal is shinier than Earth rocks. Also, meteorites contain minerals that take on the shape of small spheres.
- 4
  Use a magnetic wand to search the farm field. The iron found in most meteorites will be attracted to the strong magnet in the magnetic wand. You can also use a metal detector, although this may reveal many other types of objects such as bottle caps and coins.
- 5
  Use a magnifying glass to examine the possible meteorites you find. You may need to chip away at the specimen with a diamond file or brush away dirt with a paintbrush before you can see the shiny surface of the meteorite or the small spheres.
- 6
  Place the meteorites you find in individual zipper bags to protect them until you can examine them more carefully.

Rocks & Minerals