Did You Know at Least 24 Meteorites Have Been Found in Missouri?

We see meteors all the time flash across the sky in Missouri and Illinois, but how many reach the ground? More than you think as I can document at least 24 meteorites that have been found in Missouri alone.

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This space rock quest began purely out of curiosity. I frequently check the American Meteor Society website for reports of fireballs over Missouri and Illinois. It's not often that a meteor survives it's flight through the atmosphere and makes it to the ground, but it has happened more frequently than I would have guessed.

I found a study on the Washington University in St. Louis website that says at least 24 meteorites have been found in Missouri. They even included a handy map showing some but not all locations.

Many are regular chondrite which is considered various types of grains and dust in the solar system that form primitive asteroids. But, according to the Washington University study, there was one massive 539 pound space rock that was found in St. Genevieve County in 1888. Talk about "Deep Impact".

Back in 2019, I remember the story of a man and his son who were walking in their backyard the day after a bright meteor flashed over St. Louis. Look at the big rock they found.

Next time you see a bright fireball over your head, it might be worth an adventure to see if anything survived long enough to hit the ground. Could be worth a lot of money and/or interesting research from a university if you do.