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Originally Posted by BLish
i had a friend that had a meteorite hit their house. went through the roof. was about the size of a softball. anyways... he took pics of the impact area, the rock from several angles and put it on ebay. bids got over 6 figures! then the FBI and NASA stepped in and laid claim to the rock. ebay shut down the auction and the FBI came into his house with a warrant and took the rock.
how the hell can the government lay claim to a rock that fell from the sky?
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The feds can only take it if it's 'man made'. If it's just a rock they can only confiscate it in case it's a danger. Since meteorites fetch huge chunks of money because no one knows what's in them, now the fed scapp them up for themselves.
You're supposed to report any space junk that crashes but smart people who know the value stash that bad boy and go black market.
Reason of the value is due to any articles within the object like precious stones and metals or even life forms. You find a meteorite with evidence of life or manufacture and you can retire.