Nikole Babb, nbabb@cherryroad.com
After several eyewitness reports of a possible meteorite landing around the Butler County area, world-famous meteorite hunter Fireball Steve drove four and a half hours from his home in Eureka Springs on the hunt for fresh space rocks.
“Fireball” Steve Arnold has been buying, selling, trading and hunting for meteorites for 32 years. It all began in his hometown of Fort Scott, Kan., when he was young with a curiosity for treasure hunting. He would often search historical documents for disasters and old abandoned farms, searching for hidden treasure such as money or other valuables. That’s when he came across the story of the Kimberly family who homestead near Greensburg and sold more than a ton of meteorites altogether throughout their years from 1890 onwards.
“I just thought if they were worth money back in the 1800’s, they’re probably worth money now and it turns out there are,” said Arnold. “I started researching, hunting and finding meteorites pre-internet and would speak with farmers who didn’t know who to sell their space rocks to.”
He went on to became one of the best in the meteorite hunting industry and hosted his own TV series alongside fellow hunter Geoff Notkin entitled, Meteorite Men, which ran for three seasons on Discovery from 2009-2012. He’s also known for finding a 1,430lb meteorite in Greensburg back in 2005 with a homemade metal detector. Arnold now hosts a ghost hunting adventure in Eureka Springs in addition to hunting, buying, selling and trading space rocks, which brings him to Butler County.
Meteorites are valued for their cosmic origins, their rarity, and the type of meteorite they are. The main meteorites are iron, (made of iron-nickel alloy), stony, (made of silicate materials), and pallasite, (made of olivine crystals embedded in an iron-nickel matrix).
On December 2 around 1:10pm, 27 eyewitnesses reported sightings of something peculiar in the sky – most likely a fireball burning into the atmosphere in the Pontiac, Keighley, El Dorado, and Rosalia area. Those sightings were uploaded to the American Meteorite Society website, including one video recorded in Bixby, Okla., which caught the possible fireball falling for about four seconds. The fireball was likely moving from the southeast to the northwest as it fell.
The sighting triggered Arnold to take the drive over due to the fireball being caught for four seconds, which is about the length a meteorite needs to survive the atmosphere and later hit the ground. The longer streak in the sky that lasts under five seconds usually indicates a larger mass, compared to short streak, indicating the mass didn’t make it to Earth’s surface.
“What really helps is if we can get several videos of the fireball falling,” said Arnold. “That would help locate exactly where it could’ve potentially made landfall.”
Once he arrived, Arnold spent four hours starting at sunrise driving, walking and biking around the Keighley area searching for meteorites with no luck. As he pursues the chase, he uses radar indications created by NASA and other tools to pinpoint exactly where the rocks could’ve fallen.
Arnold is asking the public to assist in his hunt by submitting any videos they may have collected capturing a strange phenomenon such as a fireball in the sky. The space rock hunter will stick around in town for a couple of days to search, depending on weather and further investigation. To identify a meteorite, Arnold says they generally have a black matte or shiny crust and a light gray interior if broken. They can be oddly shaped as they break into pieces when falling and often greatly vary in size. Meteorites usually will attract a magnet due to them being made of metal material, but not every time.
Arnold and his team say they’re also willing to search private property if the owners are willing to allow him. If any questionable black rocks are found, Arnold’s team can also help identify it. If a possible space rock is found or a video is recovered showing the phenomenon, email it to news@butlercountytimesgazette.com or call the newsroom at 316-402-1415, extension 7. To contact Arnold directly, email him at MeteorHntr@aol.com.
