Experts ask the Irish public to help them find the lost meteor

Scraps of meteor are worth 50 times the price of gold

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Image of a meteor spotted in the sky in 2003

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Ireland’s stargazers are hunting for the meteor which could have landed in Ireland on Monday 22 August. Astronomy Ireland received several reports of the fireball blasting through the sky in the west of Ireland and now they’re asking the public to keep their eyes peeled.

They believe the meteor landed somewhere in Sligo, or the surround area. Astronomy Ireland are now urging anyone who say the fireball hit the ground to get in touch with them, via their website, so they can best assess where the remains might be.

Chairman of Astronomy Ireland, David Moore, told the BBC it was important that no evidence is missed.

He said “Most people who saw it won't tell us and that is who will stop us finding it. According to our preliminary analysis, any meteorite that dropped most likely fell on Sligo or the surrounding counties."

It’s believed that a meteor hits earth in Ireland every year but none have been located since 1999. Fragments from the rock located are highly sought after as it proved to be the last recorded meteor to hit earth during the second millennium.

Moore said that he and his colleagues at Astronomy Ireland believe that many other rocks have landed on earth since 1999.

He explained “We think one meteor a year falls in Ireland but they fall during the day, on cloudy and overcast nights and they are not seen. That's why this is such a good chance to discover this one and we would urge people who saw anything to contact us.”

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