Lady Luck could finally be smiling down on this little financially beleaguered country of ours if 200 tonnes of the fallen meteorite, which fell somewhere in the west, is found as it could fetch $500 per gram, giving us nearly the €85 billion ‘bailout from the skies’ that is needed, Astronomy Ireland spokesperson David Moore joked following reports of a fireball being sighted at the weekend.
However, it would be no joke if the meteorite, which is believed to be “quite large”, was in fact located. The meteorite was spotted shooting across the skies by several people in the Knocknacarra area of Galway city and other parts of the country just after 5.40pm last Sunday evening. Interestingly the event occurred almost at the same instant the EU-IMF bailout of Ireland was announced. “Wouldn’t it be great if 200 tonnes of the fireball were found, and at $500 per gram, that would make nearly €85 billion, the amount the country needs. It would be a bailout from the skies,” Mr Moore facetiously said.
On a more serious note, Mr Moore said that volunteers have been sifting through the 200 eye-witness reports that have so far been received and that it was initially thought the fireball had landed in the northern part of the country, but by Tuesday afternoon more accurate readings suggested that it landed in the west, somewhere between Galway and Mayo. However, it is not yet clear whether it went into the sea or ended its journey on land.
“There are reports from people who thought it was going unusually slow, that it took five to 10 seconds for it to pass. One man almost got his phone out in time to take a picture. That suggests that it is quite big.
“The last time a meteorite fell and was located in Ireland was in 1999 at Leighlinbridge, Co Carlow. Collectors were offering $500 per gram. There’s always a chance we will find a decent fireball. There have been three events this year alone in Ireland, on February 3 one fell into the sea but on September 1 it fell in North County Clare,” explained Mr Moore.
Astronomy Ireland says that its main priority in these circumstances is to find samples of fallen meteorites and in the case of the September 1 event not enough reports were received, but he added that it is still out there waiting to be discovered.
In regard to the latest event, Astronomy Ireland are calling for more eye-witnesses to log reports on their website. “There were lots of sightings in pockets where there were very clear skies, in areas such as Galway, Mayo, and Sligo. We need 1,000 or more reports to be sent into us. We are also requesting CCTV footage from businesses and housing estates. There is a good chance the meteorite came down on the horizon and the CCTV caught it. I would ask people to check the CCTV from 5.40pm on Sunday before they erase the tapes. One frame is worth 1,000 eye-witness reports. I know for a fact that it is recorded on dozens perhaps thousands of CCTV around the country,” said Mr Moore.
Go to www.astronomy.ie to find more information or to log a report.
