News

Actions

A father and son may have found a chunk of the meteor that lit up Missouri

Posted at 2:11 PM, Nov 16, 2019
and last updated 2019-11-16 14:11:12-05

LINCOLN COUNTY, Mo. (KTVI) – In rural Lincoln County, Missouri, a father and son out for a winter walk stumbled upon a mystery.

“It appears by speculation that it came from the sky,” said Andrew Applet, the unidentified object finder.

Applet told KTVI he never heard or saw the fireball Monday night about 70 miles west of St. Louis. But a Tuesday morning walk with his son, James, near a creek outside their Troy home turned into a find of sorts.

“I can’t explain it,” he said. “I’ve got my theory but I don’t know. That’s speculation. To me, it looks like it fell from somewhere. And it had some heat to it.”

It could be one of many rocks and minerals found in the Show Me State; like say, hematite. Or maybe something from outside of our atmosphere.

“It appears to have a heated side and a smashed side,” Applet said. "So, until someone has the accurate description of what that is...”

The search for a meteorite is almost like a race to be the first to yell outer space bingo.

This meteor man plans to let Washington University researchers take a look at his undetermined object to see if it’s from outer space or just some Show Me State rock.

“I guess we’ll send it to Washington University and let them tell us,” Applet said. “Who knows? What if it’s a paperweight? What if?”