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Thousands of people flock to a remote Brazilian city, after hundreds of meteorite fragments fell on the area in rain.
The meteorites that fall on Brazilian cities are of great value.
According to the Daily Mail, an estimated 200 meteorite fragments fell in the city of Santa Filomena, northeast Brazil.
The largest meteorite weighs 40 kg, costs 26,000 USD (about 600 million VND), equivalent to 10 years of average income of the people living in the area.
Some local residents describe the meteor shower as a “miracle” and the day when “money falls from the sky.”
These meteorites are believed to be a rare gemstone, dating back to the formation of the Solar System 4.6 billion years ago.
Meteorites are extremely valuable and can easily be sold for tens of thousands of dollars. Many local residents enrich themselves overnight thanks to the discovery of the meteor.
Edimar da Costa Rodrigues, 20, a local student, said: “I was at my house in Santa Filomena when I saw the sky full of smoke. People said rocks were falling from the sky.
Meteorite hunters from the United States and Uruguay also flock to the Brazilian city.
Rodrigues was lucky enough to collect a 7 cm wide and 164 g meteorite near the Catholic church in the central square.
Rodrigues sold the tiny meteorite to an American meteor hunter for about $ 1,300. Many local people also found larger meteorites scattered around the church.
Some people believe that they are meteor fragments “sent from heaven” by God. The National Museum of Brazil bought a new 2.8 kg meteorite for $ 20,000.
“The price of a gram of meteorite is about $ 7 and it keeps going up,” says Rodrigues.
“90% of the inhabitants of the town are farmers, here there are not many shops or jobs. But the meteor shower changed lives, ”Rodrigues said.
According to the Daily Mail, after just a few days, meteor hunters from other provinces of Brazil, from Uruguay, the US flocked to the area to search and collect meteorite fragments.
When four scientists from the Brazilian National Museum in Rio de Janeiro arrived in Santa Filomena, the only hotel in the city was full. They have to rent a room in a family home.
Currently, four scientists are negotiating the purchase of the largest meteorite, which weighs 40 kg. They didn’t want the American meteor hunters to take the meteorite from Brazil.
“The meteorite that fell on the city is a chondrite or meteorite,” said Gabriel Silva, an expert from the University of Sao Paulo. “They are precious stones that date back to the earliest days of the Solar System. Learning about this rock helps scientists better understand how the universe formed. “
According to Dang Nguyen
Dan Viet / Daily Mail
