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Space

A thrilling guide to the Indiana Jones-like world of meteorite hunting

Hunting for meteorites can be a high-octane race as private collectors and scientists go head-to-head, reveals a new book by New Scientist features editor Joshua Howgego

By Chris Simms

5 February 2025

DNDTWK April 25, 2013 - A bright bolide meteor breaking up as it enters the atmosphere under the light of a full moon.

A bolide (bright) meteor, in remote Canada

Stocktrek Images, Inc./Alamy

The Meteorite Hunters
Joshua Howgego (Oneworld (UK, on sale now; US, 13 May))

One evening in July last year, a couple from Prince Edward Island in Canada returned home after walking their dogs to find grey, dusty debris near their door. At first, they thought something had fallen off the roof, but the footage from their doorbell camera revealed something different. They’d had a lucky escape.

While they were out, a space rock – thought to have been somewhere between the size of a golf ball and a baseball and…

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