If You Find a Meteorite, Can You Really Claim It?

Astronomers, amateur and professionals alike, always dream of finding a meteorite. It's even more exciting if the meteorite is found just after it hits. Consider yourself very lucky if the meteorite falls somewhere near you and you get to retrieve it while it's fresh. But does finding and simply picking up a meteorite make it your own? Can you lay claim to it without anybody else contesting the legitimacy of your ownership?

The answer to both is yes... that is... if you, the one who found the meteorite, is also the owner of the land it slammed into. This means that if you found a meteorite on someone else's property, the landowner has the right to claim the object as his, never mind if it journeyed for millions of years in space before hitting dirt. While laws in different places may differ, it just shows that picking a meteorite up from the ground does not automatically make it yours.

Meteorites can fetch a lot of money, especially for specimens that cause a ruckus and are found right after impacting. These meteorites become popular and when broken in pieces, it can make a lot of money for the owner. Apart from museums and research institutions, collectors worldwide are willing to pay big for really good and popular specimens. Meteorites are like long lost treasures. But while the founder of lost treasures generally get a share of the bounty along with the owner of the land and the government, meteorites pose questions that require the services of good lawyers.

Just consider what happened at Williamsburg Square, in Lorton Virginia, USA in January 2009. A meteorite (top and left) crashed through the roof of a building and into a doctors' office. One doctor thought that a bookshelf had fallen on his partner after he heard a boom. But it turned out, a mango-sized meteorite was responsible for the explosion. It hit with such force that it embedded pieces of ceiling tiles into the floor, going through the carpet. The doctors were thankful the meteorite didn't hit any of them because it fell on a spot where they usually sit. The doctors placed the meteorite fragments in a box and sent them to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History where it was confirmed as a meteorite by scientist Cari Corrigan. She said it was likely traveling at 350kph when it hit.

You'd think that the Lorton meteorite has found it's final resting place in the Smithsonian? but no, the owner of the building it crashed into has laid claim to the space rock. The Smithsonian says it will hold on to the meteorite until ownership is resolved. It's up to history to say where the rock will end up.

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Buy Telescopes in the Philippines

In the Philippines, there are lots of astronomy enthusiasts. Many of them are young people dreaming of owning a telescope and using it to "go where no one has gone before." Well, for most of them, the dream just remains a dream. The common problem is looking for a telescope to buy. It's a fact (at least as of this writing) that good telescopes can be hard to find in the Philippines. But the good news is that astronomy groups and organizations have stepped in to fill the void and help make telescopes more available in a country where food takes precedence over everything else.

Telescopes are a luxury in the Philippines but you only have to know where you can find them and then you can pick the right one for you, whether you're a beginner or an advanced hobbyist. For starters, some popular retail stores in the country like the outdoor sports store, Hahn, and sometimes, even National Bookstore, sell telescopes. These are usually refractors designed for land gazing, but you may come upon a fine 2 or 3 inch reflector that's more appropriate for star gazing.

In mall toy stores in the Philippines, you can also find maybe two or three small telescopes, but these will likely be just toys to encourage budding youngsters in the study of science. While you can always try to order a telescope online, the shipping expenses involved may not make that a practical move, unless the purchase is going to be funded by a corporate entity or institution. For telescopes for personal use that are affordable yet useful, you should go to individual dealers of local astronomy clubs. There won't be a lot of choices, and some will be hand made (especially the mirrors), but that's okay. They know their stuff and you can bet that you will also get reliable advice.

The astronomy/telescope community in the Philippines really revolves around the major national groups like the Philippine Astronomical Society (PAS) and the Astronomy League of the Philippines (ALP), but there are school organizations and regional/local groups that can point you to the right person. Information about them can be obtained from their websites and blogs like this one can be pretty useful in finding an astronomical telescope that you can buy.

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