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RICHMOND, Ky. — A Tennessee couple has discovered the rock they had been using as a doorstop is actually a 33-pound meteorite.
George Lewis discovered something was different about the rock when he received a strong signal from his metal detector. Researchers at Eastern Kentucky University and the University of Tennessee found that the rock was a meteorite that was part of a meteor strike from which evidence was first found in 1853.
The meteorite has been in the possession of Donna Lewis' family since the 1930s, when it was found in a Tazewell, Tenn., cow pasture by her grandfather, Tilmon Brooks. Brooks took the rock home, where it served as a doorstop and flower bed ornament and was even painted green for a time.
Researchers say the meteorite could be more than 4.5 billion years old.
"We're extremely lucky to find something like this," said Dr. Jerry Cook at Eastern Kentucky University. "And to find one locally is a real plus for us."
The university showcased the meteorite last weekend at the Kentucky Academy of Science annual conference and will be available to students for study. Cook said he believes the meteorite is the second-largest known meteorite from the Tazewell strike, the first weighing about 100 pounds.
"That's what makes this so interesting," he said.
Top photo credit: Eastern Kentucky University
