Hunt for meteorite shards that crashed to earth in New Forest

AMATEUR astronomers are on the hunt for meteorite fragments that could further reveal the origins of the universe, after a sonic boom was heard across South-west England.

Experts have pinpointed the area where the fragments are likely to have fallen. By measuring the precise timings of the sonic boom caused by the meteorite as it hurtled across Devon, Somerset and Dorset, they have identified the New Forest as the likely landing place.

Scientists have said they think fragments could be on the ground between Verwood, Dorset, and Romsey, Hampshire. A fireball was seen hurtling across the sky at about 3pm on March 20.

Dr Katherine Joy, of the University of Manchester, said: “We want to alert people in the area to keep an eye out for any unusual rocks that they might come across, but are not encouraging people to travel there, given current Covid guidelines.”

Like buses, two meteorites have arrived at the same time. After 30 years of nothing rocky falling from the sky above southern England, one turned up in Gloucestershire, outside the front door of a house in Winchcombe, like some Amazon parcel. Just as Ada Leverson knew exactly which hat to wear to meet Oscar Wilde on his release from jail (he said), so the Wilcock family knew they should wrap up the meteorite resembling a coallump on their front drive in nice clean foil. Less than a month later, another fireball plunged into the New Forest. There it remains, unclaimed. What’s to be done? Our forebears used to smelt some meteorites into iron. If it’s that kind, perhaps the detectorists could help. Or can some dogs sniff out meteorites, as they can truffles? On past form, luck is going to play a big part in the discovery.