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Comment by jimnotgym | Hacker News Reader

Did someone pay him for the rare meteorite? At least enough to fix the roof?

Who should one contact if this happens?

In the US, if a meteorite lands on your property, it's yours and you can sell or donate it as you please. This homeowner probably made a decent amount on the sale, especially with the emphasis on immediate preservation.

> In the US, if a meteorite lands on your property, it's yours and you can sell or donate it as you please.

Does this happen often in the US?

I mean often enough that folks happen to know the legality of it?

In which case I find it extremely frightening that one could be sitting on their porch, minding their own business, browsing HN, and then get unexpectedly head-shotted by a meteorite.

It happens at the same probability as anywhere else on earth.

Apologies for the ambiguity, I was referring to the selling or donating of meteorites - and only because I've never heard of such a thing in my part of the world.

Is this actually true? Could it depend on latitude?

Apparently they are thought to be more common closer to the equator, due to the plane of the solar system (and hence the asteroid belt) lining up with it: https://www.sciencenews.org/article/meteorites-might-be-more...

According to this article, we know of three people who have been hit by meteorites, all non-fatally: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sylacauga_(meteorite)

Not sure if we should count Tunguska, which killed at least three people.

Here's another article that explains the guy called in an expert who told him "at least $100K crashed through your roof."

Doesn't mention if he actually sold it though, unless I missed it.

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/15/science/meteorite-new-jer...

someone recently SOLD a t-rex skeleton for $50 MILLION (61% complete)

so you should be able to sell meteorites that land on your property

only thing you can't own/sell is NASA Moon Rocks

>Who should one contact if this happens?

If you ever watched Hardcore Pawn it looks like they would buy just about anything for the right price :)

And milk crates

"National dairy. All other use prohibited!"

And USPS bins.

What if it’s moon rock from a meteorite? How would they know?

Everybody knows that. You contact NASA. Then a black helicopter will pick you up, bring you to an airbase and fly you straight to the white house, where you will be introduced to the actual truth, while a team of very excited scientists with biohazard suits praise and examine the artefact. If you're still sceptical, they will take you to a large hidden hangar in the middle of the desert and show you around.

Can’t take any US action movie seriously anymore. Not because of plotlines like this, but because they portray the team at the white house as somewhat capable.

You have to suspend your disbelief harder at the 8 o’clock news nowadays.

Watch Don't look up, if you haven't yet, it's brilliant.

I did. It’s depressingly realistic.

You forgot the part where Brent Spiner shows up and tells you they have one and asks if you want to meet it.

I guess I'm not be reading the same type of science fiction.

You contact NASA because you found a meteorite with clear signs of alien life, a black helicopter will pick you up, you get put in a dark cell, interrogated, and then told to forget all about it or G-Men will disappear your family. You try to sell the news to mass media, but rumours start to spread about you. Your life work get discredited, you lose your job and family, end up wandering the streets in an alcohol daze muttering about aliens.

I guess it depends if you've drank the kool aid about the US government being the good guys, or not.

The Vogon hyperspace development council.

Now you just need to find their contact details. Beware the Leopard!

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