At around 5:50 pm on December 15, a bright fireball streaked across the night sky and a suspected meteorite fell in Tanxi Town, Pujiang County, Jinhua County, central Zhejiang, causing widespread concern.
According to experts, this type of extraterrestrial visitor is a “bolide”, and the falling meteorite fragments have even crashed into the houses of the villagers. According to Hangzhou Daily, a villager said he heard a loud noise and broke doors and windows.
He also took pictures with his cell phone, but fearing the impact of radiation, he swept them away along with the glass and threw them away as trash.
Staff from the local Bureau of Natural Resources and Planning yesterday reportedly took samples and will send them to the Jinhua Geological Team laboratory for testing. After on-site tests by Jinhua Ecological Environment Bureau monitoring station personnel, no radioactive elements were detected.
Zheng Yongchun, deputy director of the Space Science Communication Expert Studio and popular science expert, made a preliminary judgment after seeing the meteorite fragments.This meteorite dates back to 4.6 billion years ago, before humans were born, and was older than all stones on earth.
Regarding the ownership of meteorites, some lawyers explained that if meteorites with important scientific research value belong to the category of natural resources, according to Article 250 of the “Civil Code”, they belong to the state, and the state should also give some rewards. If the meteorite has no scientific value, the concern principle of the “Civil Code” can be applied, and it is the property of the discoverer.
