Hundreds of people have been scouring hills and rice paddies for meteorites near the southeastern city of Jinju after the shower on March 9, some of them armed with GPS devices and metal detectors, according to media reports."Media hype claiming that chondrites (a type of meteorite) could bring you a bonanza sparked the fever for space rocks," an official from the Cultural Heritage Administration of Korea (CHAK) told AFP.
Local greenhouse owners have put up signs warning off trespassers after the first large chunk of rock, weighing around nine kilograms (20 pounds), was found in a greenhouse near Jinju.
A second piece weighing four kilograms was found by another local resident.
Scientists confirmed that both rocks, found in the two days after the meteor shower, had come from space.
posted 03-18-2014 04:58 PM
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