Walkers and hikers have an exciting chance to find fragments of a meteorite that scattered across Scotland this summer, scientists say.
The bright meteor was witnessed by some Scots as it streaked across the sky in the early hours of Thursday, July 3.
It is believed to have exploded over northern Scotland, with a “fall zone” crossing Loch Treig in Lochaber, Highland.
The aerial event was captured on some cameras and shared on social media, showing a large yellow spark soaring through the dark sky.
Now members of the public are being asked to look for fragments that should appear “black, glassy and shiny.”
Meteorites – rocks from space that have fallen to the planet’s surface – may have provided essential compounds that facilitated the development of life as we know it.
Professor Luke Daly, a planetary geoscientist and space rock hunter at the University of Glasgow, called them “time capsules of the early solar system”.
“They have a lot of information about how our solar system formed and evolved,” he said.
‘Black, glassy and shiny’: These indoor images show the type of space rock the team expects this July’s meteorite to be, which is a type called an ordinary chondrite
July 3: An aerial event is captured on some cameras and shared on social media, showing a large yellow spark soaring through the dark sky
“This is a very exciting opportunity to learn more about where this rock comes from and where it has been, and to fill in a little more of the jigsaw puzzle of our solar system’s history.”
Researchers from the UK’s Fireball Alliance have traced the meteor’s path and say fragments could be spotted in several locations in the highlands.
Pieces weighing up to 100 grams were dropped westwards as it travelled over Stob Coire, Easain and Chno Dearg, before larger pieces weighing up to 10 kilograms fell over Ben Alder.
The Ben Alder site potentially has the greatest chance of discovery, where exposed granite on the plateau could make the dark meteorite rock more visible.
Professor Daly recently led a search party for Ben Alder with Dr Aine O’Brien, a space scientist also at the University of Glasgow.
But the team of 14 volunteers had to scale back their efforts before they could recover any of the meteorite fragments due to bad weather.
“We ask Hillwalkers to keep an eye out for rocks that stand out from everything around them,” Dr O’Brien said.
“Meteorites are black and shiny with an almost glassy appearance, and they are heavy for their size.
“Since it might be about 30 percent iron, it might also look a little rusty after all the rain we’ve had recently.”
The suspected “fall zone” of the meteorite is Loch Treig, located in Lochaber, Highland, Scotland
Pictured, a fragment of the Winchcombe meteorite – a class of meteorite called a carbonaceous chondrite and the last to be found in Britain
In 2021, Professor Daly led the team that recovered the largest intact fragment of the Winchcombe meteorite, the first of its kind to be recovered from British soil in almost 30 years.
“We know from intensive analysis of the Winchcombe samples that meteorites are very quickly affected by contact with the Earth’s atmosphere.
“The longer these pieces sit on the Scottish hills, the more they will be broken down and the less we will be able to tell about their composition.
“The clock is ticking on our ability to learn as much as possible from these rocks, so any help Hillwalkers can give us could make all the difference.”
If anyone is lucky enough to bag a meteorite while packing up Munro, they are asked to take a photo and record their GPS location and send it to the British Fireball Alliance in the area.
“If it’s small enough to pick it up, please try not to handle it directly,” Dr. O’Brien said.
“It would be very useful in aluminum foil or a clean sandwich bag.
“If it’s too big to carry, the GPS location will help us recover it later.”
The meteorite that fell in a sheep field in Winchcombe on February 28, 2021, at the Natural History Museum in London
Jamie Gans of the British Meteor Network said any find would be “history-making” as the last time a meteorite was recovered in Scotland was December 1917.
Known as the Strathmore meteorite, it was seen as a bright ball streaking through the sky and was witnessed by people from County Durham to Aberdeenshire.
The fireball passed overhead, then hit the ground and exploded, scattering the meteorite into four pieces over Coupar in Angus and Blairgowrie in Perthshire.
The Strathmore meteorite – the largest ever recorded in Scotland – was recovered in four fragments, one of which is in the Perth Museum and Art Gallery.
