Who Owns a Meteorite After It Falls to Earth? Ownership Laws Explained

SPACE — When a meteor falls to Earth, after hitting the ground, the meteor becomes known as a meteorite. Who can own a meteorite after it falls to Earth? The owner of the land, the person who discovered it or the state?

Garry E. Hunt, former NASA Scientist, wrote in Sky At News Magazine that a meteorite has the potential to attract attention from the scientific community. Meteorites can also make news around the world.

After all, it’s hard to imagine something so amazing as a space rock hurtling through Earth’s atmosphere and then suddenly landing in your backyard.

There was once an extraordinary story about Ann Hodges, the only person on record to be injured by a meteorite. A meteorite fell through the roof of his house in Alabama, USA in 1954.

Meteorites, artifacts of the universe

Scientists are very interested in meteorites because they may hold the secrets of the universe. These meteorites or space rocks are artifacts left over from the formation of the Solar System. Meteorites could provide clues about the evolution of our cosmic environment.

This is the main reason why astronomers study meteor samples from other worlds outside Earth.

However, what happens if you find a meteorite? Is it yours? What happens if a meteorite suddenly lands on your property? Who owns the meteorite? The answer all depends on state law.

If you find a meteorite in England, it’s yours. You can store these fossils from the early Solar System in the same way you can store fossils that formed on Earth.

There are many who would disagree with the ‘who finds it who has’ approach, but of course there are plenty of shops in the UK selling fossils.

However, if you live in the UK and happen to come across a meteorite, it would be best to contact the Natural History Museum. Because, your discoveries can make a real contribution to the scientific study of the Universe.

In the United States, if you find a meteorite on your land, you have rights to it. If you buy a meteorite from someone who found it on their land, you also legally have rights to it.

But the US government maintains that no matter who finds a meteorite on public land, it belongs to the Smithsonian Institute.

2024-01-03 23:35:00
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