Russian meteorite turned into

After an asteroid explosion in a poor Siberia town, Larisa Briyukova wondered what to do with the strange stone she found.

A stranger knocked on her door on Monday, wanting to buy a stone for $ 60. After negotiations, they agreed on a price of $ 230. A few hours later, another man came and offered a new price, $ 1,300."Sorry I sold it," answered Briyukova, a 43-year-old housewife.

On Friday, a meteorite exploded and created a large meteor shower in Siberia that blew away the window and terrified the people. But until yesterday, people realized that what fell from the sky became "ten gold" . As a result, people flocked to find debris and many were buried in thick snow.

Although the exchange of meteorite materials is considered illegal, the global market for "celestial stones" is very developed, the source is available online, often at a very modest price. A recent meteorite fragment was sold on eBay for $ 32.

Ms. Aleksandra Gerasimova showed the meteorite she found.

Sasha, a Chelyabinsk girl, said she was searching for broken meteors after every lesson."All I want to do is find them carefully. The meteorite fragment is buried in the snow layer, a hole must be found, then proceed to dig." So did the baby Sasha, they brought many plastic bags, matches and bottles for the search.

M3-Media, a website about financial news announced, according to Russian law, people can legally own meteorites on condition that they have notified the authorities and sent specimens. to the lab. According to information from the Russian Academy of Sciences, the laboratory will charge 20% of the estimated value of the object.

In fact, the search for meteorite remains is free.

"We do not have any measures to prevent this from happening," said Grokhovsky, who led the expedition from Ural Federal University, one of the scientists who actively carried out the identification of the gods. jelly, said.

"Law enforcement agencies have been trying to prevent scientists from visiting sites suspected of having an impact on Lake Chebarkul over the weekend , " Professor Grokhovsky said. "We send spacecraft to small planets looking for this material, at great cost. It's good if the government cooperates with scientists."

Some mothers refused to talk about what their children found. Others expressed apprehension that the police could confiscate these meteorites, and so they took them all to sell."They fell everywhere in the village," said Alfia N. Zharkova, a mother of two children in an interview. "The kids found them."

Aleksandra Gerasimova, 61, retired, said a meteorite had pierced a hole in her jacket. Yesterday, two men knocked on her door and offered to buy that meteorite.

"I don't open the door. Why should I sell it? I will save it for my grandson."