Space rock in the backyard?
by Rob Gibson
As SpaceX attempts to launch astronauts into space, an Okanagan man is sharing his story of how he thought he discovered a piece of space in his back yard.
Rosco, who asked us not to use his last name, lives in Lake Country and came across what he thought was a space rock while he was doing yard work.
"I found this meteorite on May 19, 2020. It's magnetic. 253 grams. 4 cm by 8 cm. It appears to be pallasite which is the rarest of meteorites. Only three have been found in Canada to date," he told Castanet, adding he contacted numerous universities.
After the rock was dug up, Rosco took it in his house and found a magnet, "it sucked it right up."
He started doing some research and thought he found a match when he came across a picture and description of a pallasite meteorite, a class of rare stony-iron meteorites.
Excited at the prospect of finding a rare meteorite, Rosco took the rock to be examined by professor John Greenough in the department of Earth, Environmental and Geographic Sciences at the University of British Columbia Okanagan.
"Dr. Greenough said it's unusual for this area and that it has a higher than normal content of magnetite (which can be magnetized) and was likely deposited in the yard during the ice age," Rosco said.
Rosco shared a photo with Castanet. We asked Dr. Christopher Herd, director at the Institute for Space Science, Exploration, and Technology at the University of Alberta for his professional opinion.
"It's not a meteorite - it looks to be a piece of copper, lead or zinc (or some combo thereof) sulfide ore. There seems to be chalcopyrite (brassy) mineral; there is probably also sphalerite and/or galena as well."
"I thought it was going to be something interesting, but no," Rosco said.
"On its own, it is not worth much - although geologically interesting." Dr. Herd said.
Despite his disappointment that he didn't find a meteorite in his backyard, Rosco says the rock will have a special place in his heart and in his home.
"It's a very cool rock. I got it sitting on the shelf and I guess that's where it's gonna stay."