Small Meteorite Apparently Lands In Mount Vernon
On May 1, Mark and Gail Fredlund were in their back yard checking the hummingbird feeder when they heard it coming.
"All of the sudden the loud whizzing sound came right by our heads," said Gail.
That whizzing sound landed on their garden edging, leaving quite a dent, and then bounced onto the lawn.
"This is a rock, that came out of the air, on a blue sky day like this, they don't have wings, so it had to be a meteor," said Mark.
Gail called the experts at the University of Washington who asked her if she'd done "the test." Just hang a magnet on a thread, then hold the rock near it.
If the magnet sticks to the rock, there's a good chance it's a meteorite.
The Fredlund's galactic gift passed the initial test, and now, UW investigators have concurred that the rock is likely a meteorite. The couple will take the rock to them next month.
If it is a meteorite, the couple will go down in history as the first people in the state to see a meteorite hit.
Meteorites can sell for $60,000.
"We're not super attached to it, but if there's a big enough offer out there, we'll probably sell," laughed Mark.
Now Gail and Mark really have stars in their eyes.