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The owner of the Chelyabinsk meteorite wants to sell it for a million dollars

Examination of the largest fragment of the meteorite "Chelyabinsk" completed this week, employees of the Chelyabinsk State University and confirmed its authenticity special certificate. Weight alien "guest" 3 kg 400 grams. The stone was found in April, a resident of Chelyabinsk Alexei Usenkovym. 28-year-old from Chelyabinsk told the story of his story immediately after the examination, and then shared his plans for the future sale of a meteorite.





Alex - office employee of a construction firm in Chelyabinsk. He enjoys mountain hiking, scuba diving, and now among his many hobbies and classifies search for meteorites.

I personally witnessed the fall of the meteorite, and decided I will seek his fragments - shares with us Usenkov.

I must say to business office manager approached very seriously. First, I scanned the Internet for the most generous in the discovery of places in the area. Then bought skis, snowshoes, warm mittens and weekends began to survey the territory. Every day he walked 40 kilometers to the waist in the snow (the search began immediately after the fall, in February). A week later, Alex found a handful of small fragments of a total weight of 20 grams. Then the snow fell, and the search engine itself has moved to the hole in the lake Chebarkul, where, according to most experts, the biggest fragment fell.



 - Here in the well, which we called the lane, I found another 15 grams of small fragments using a special device made by a bayonet spade, - says Alexei. - Its construction has prompted me to another such lover Byhalov Eugene, who managed to catch from the ice about 1 kilogram meteorite material. It attaches itself shovel powerful magnet and, like the hook sinks to the bottom of the lake.

Later the lake pulled together the forces MOE and blocked access to the well-lane for everyone. A restless searchers for extraterrestrial "visitor" were to wait until the snow melts. Closer to April, Alex brought from their trips, pebbles, 10, 50, 90, 210 grams, then decided to wrap the field in the village Timiryazevskiy.

 - Here, 2 kilometers from the residential buildings and I came across a hole in the ground, which lay my splinter. During searches, I have learned to distinguish meteorites from ordinary rocks - they are a bit unusual black and brown with the fragments of the fusion crust. This was terrible to look at, already touched by corrosion.

The decision to make public the discovery did not come for the first time, but only when Alex realized that he - the owner of the largest fragment "Chelyabinsk". Before it was considered such a piece weight of 1, 8 kilograms, it is now in the vault of the Ural University. But first it was necessary to obtain a certificate from the scientists that this stone - a fragment of the same one that flew over Chelyabinsk on February 15. After a series of tests at the University of Chelyabinsk has been recognized by this stone, "thus" meteorite. Scientists have even handed Alexey special certificate.

 - How close reacted to this event? - I ask Usenkova.

 - We are glad to have me. Interestingly, just 4 days after the discovery I have a son, Andrew weighing 3 360 grams. Meteorite after testing (when sawed off a piece of it) began to weigh a hair's breadth as much.

 - Well, now to put it on the shelf and will admire his find?

I have not yet decided finally. I think it may be worth it to sell to the museum? As the largest meteorite that fell to Earth in the last 100 years, I think he would have pulled in a million dollars. The Chinese would take exactly. But I decided that if the proposal will come from Russian authorities, for the sake of the meteorite was in our area, I will agree to a tenth of a million.

EXPERT OPINION

Comment associate professor of the Ural Federal University and a member of the International Society of meteorite Victor Grochowski:

 - Yes, the colleagues from the University of Chelyabinsk indeed confirmed the authenticity of the meteorite fragment found Usenkovym. Now this - the biggest of all detected. Private seekers generally are more fortunate with the findings. According to rough estimates, in the hands of local people is now one ton of meteorite material, scientists - only 10 kilograms. As to who should dispose found a meteorite, we have long debated on this issue and made a decision: if the finder gives 20% of science stone for the study and classification, the rest can take yourself and do with it whatever.

mk.ru

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