![]() Most were about the size of a pea, and upon hearing them hit a tin roof, one eyewitness said they sounded like hailstones. On the evening of Jthousands of stone meteorites rained down outside the small railroad town. One of the best known is Holbrook in northern Arizona. There are many strewnfields around the world, and several here in the United States. A strewnfield is a zone where multiple meteorites from the same fall have been recovered. It may seem fairly obvious, but it is still worth saying: the easiest way to find a meteorite is to go where they have been found before. A successful meteorite hunter is resourceful, observant, with plenty of stamina and endurance, is willing to research and experiment and, above all, has great patience. There are plenty of times when I have returned to my tent after ten hours of hiking through fields or deserts with nothing to show for it but sunburn and insect bites. I never heard from the young man again, so I assume he went out a couple of times, came home unsuccessful, and gave up. Rather, I encouraged him to go out and try, but meteorites are so difficult to find that only the most skilled and determined (or lucky) hunters can earn a living by scouring our planet's surface for extraterrestrial visitors. I suggested that he go on a few weekend trips first, see if he could find one or two meteorites, determine what kind of financial return they might bring, and then decide if he still wanted to pursue such a bold idea. He was seriously considering quitting his day job, upon which his wife and two children were dependent, and starting a new career searching for space rocks. One eager young man who had yet to find his first meteorite wrote to me for advice. Every few days I receive an enthusiastic email from someone who has seen one of our television shows or read one of my meteorite hunting expedition articles and wants to become a meteorite hunter. To me, the only thing better than owning a meteorite is finding one myself, and that can be a daunting task. Many of them are strikingly beautiful as well. They are rare and exotic, of great scientific and historic interest, and they are the only part of outer space that most of us will ever hold in our hands. My long-time friend and expedition partner, Steve Arnold, is fond of saying that meteorites are the ultimate collectible.
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