Meteorite hunter

A meteorite hunter is a person engaged in the search for meteorites. Meteorite hunters may be amateurs who search on the weekends and after work, or professionals who recover meteorites for a living. Both frequently use tools such as metal detectors or magnets to discover the meteorites.

Searching

If the meteorite is of the iron or stony iron variety a magnet (usually mounted at the end of a stick) will pick it up from the soil surface or a metal detector will often detect it through many inches of soil. Stony meteorites —which make up the large majority of meteorites that fall— may not have a high enough nickel iron content to set off a metal detector. Large and very sensitive metal detectors may be used as well as ground-penetrating radar, lidar, and even landmine detectors.

Although meteorites fall uniformly across the globe they do not typically remain on the surface in areas with a large amount of yearly rainfall. If a newly fallen meteorite is not recovered within a few months it is likely to be buried with alluvium or covered by plant growth. Some arctic and desert regions have proven to be well-suited to preserving meteorites, and can provide excellent surfaces for hunting visually.