Birger Schmitz, an expert in fossil meteorites, has gone to great lengths to find these ancient extraterrestrial stones. His unconventional method involved crawling on his hands and knees in public buildings with stone floors, much to the confusion of security guards. While Schmitz’s approach may seem odd, it reflects the challenging nature of hunting for fossil meteorites.
Each year, only a few olive-sized meteorites fall on an area the size of Wales, making the chances of finding one extremely slim. And the difficulty increases when searching for meteorites that fell millions of years ago and became entombed in solid rock like dinosaur bones. However, despite the seemingly impossible task, fossil meteorites have been discovered in recent years, revealing a unique story about Earth’s deep history.
Contemporary meteorites provide insights into the growth of the solar system, while fossil meteorites offer valuable information about Earth’s conditions during ancient times that cannot be obtained through other means.
