Man’sโ Years-Long โQuest to Crack ‘Gold Nugget’ Reveals Ancient Space Rock
MARYBOROUGH, AUSTRALIA – What โbegan โขas a hopeful gold strike for an โฃamateur explorer in 2015 ultimately revealed a far โฃmoreโ unusual discovery:โ a 17-kilogramโ meteorite over four billion โyears old. David Hole, a resident of โขMaryborough, a historic gold-mining regionโ in โVictoria,โ Australia, spent three years attempting to breakโ open a heavy, reddish stone โhe believed to be โขa massive gold nugget โbefore realizing its true, extraterrestrial origin.
The story highlights the enduring allure of the gold rushโค andโข theโ unexpected โscientific treasures hidden in plain sight. The Maryborough meteorite, as its now known, is only the second confirmed meteorite โขbrought โto โthe Melbourne Museum in 37 years, offering a rare glimpse into the earlyโ solar system andโ providing valuable data forโ researchers studyingโค the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Its discovery underscores the potential for citizen scientists to contributeโฃ to significantโ astronomical โขfindings.
Hole initially unearthed theโ unusual rock while using a metal detector in 2015. Surrounded by yellow clay, the stone’s weight and colour ledโค him to believe he’d found aโค substantial gold deposit. Driven by this conviction,โฃ he embarked on a โdetermined effort to extract what he thought was precious metal.
“He tried everything:โข saw,grinder,drill,acidโค bath. Not even the brute force of a sledgehammerโ could crack โขthe resistant block,” according to reports. Despite years of relentless attempts, the stone remained stubbornly โintact.
in 2018, Hole brought the puzzlingโ object to the Melbourne Museum for analysis. Geologist dermotโ Henry quickly identifiedโ it not as gold, but as a meteorite. “In 37 โyears of working โatโ the museum, this is onlyโ the secondโ time โthey haveโค brought me a real meteorite,” Henry stated in a 2019 interview with the Sydney Morning Herald.
the Maryborough meteorite is believed to have originated inโ the โฃasteroidโ belt and is one of only 17 meteorites ever identified in the โคstate of Victoria. It ranks as the second-heaviestโ meteorite found in the region, surpassed only by a 55-kilogram specimen. Researchers continueโค to study the meteorite, hoping to unlock further secrets about its composition and journey through space.
