Can anyone help please???

[whitakz]

i once saw a meteor hit the ground over thirty years ago it landed in woodland around 700 yards away from me, i would say it was the size of a gym ball, a few days passed and it got the better of me and i decided to go and look for it, after a few hours of serching i gave up, but recently found out that it could be found using a metal detector, can anyone tell me what kind of depth it maybe and is there any pasific settings the detector needs to be set at, Ross

[fredmason]

How big is a gym ball? If we are talking something like a basketball there should have been a good sized crater...30 years ago is a long time to remember a spot...your question about settings is too general...

What you need is a quality vlf or Pi machine...with an all-metal setting, dig every signal in case there are small pieces around...the "main mass" should be easy to find...but I am guessing that what you thought you saw is not what you actually saw...nonetheless, if you can find it that will be a fantastic meteorite!

Fred

[whitakz]

thanks for the reply, it was one morning around 03:00 i heard a rouring sound like a jet engine but could not see anything the all of a sudden i saw a red fire ball come crashing from the sky, when it hit the ground it made a very loud thuding sound no echo, it landed in a wood (about 3 ackers in size at the back of my old house) if i ever find it i will post it on here, thanks, sorry yes i would say it was around basketball size,

[Nugget Shooter]

The sounds you describe are consistent with what one would hear being fairly close to a fall. Interesting, was it glowing on impact or dark?

[whitakz]

it was definatley glowing, the hole experiance lasted about five seconds from the 1st noise sound from me watching it hit the woods, i'm just thinking if it hit a tree or a stump for the reason i never saw a crater, i plan to wait until winter when the cover has died down and go search for it again i think,

[homefire]

A sky Rock of that size would most likely bounce off the ground and be on the surface some place.

They don't come down as fast as most folks think.

http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/solarsystem/meteors-ez.html

This is a good Cretitable Read.

[Gudio]

i once saw a meteor hit the ground over thirty years ago it landed in woodland around 700 yards away from me, i would say it was the size of a gym ball, a few days passed and it got the better of me and i decided to go and look for it, after a few hours of serching i gave up, but recently found out that it could be found using a metal detector, can anyone tell me what kind of depth it maybe and is there any pasific settings the detector needs to be set at, Ross

The meteorite should not be very deep in the ground. If it landed in the area of question then a systematic search is in order. I think most if not all maybe close if not on the surface. They have been know to bounce...even if they make a hole in the ground I have seen pictures of the rock lay to rest 20 feet away. The meteorite could be a stony (all rock) If so your search has got more complicated. No detector will find it! You have to rely on your sight and look for out of place and color/texture rock or fragments on the surface. A ablated coating is a dead give away of a meteorite (melted surface of the rock as it came screaming threw the atmosphere) It should be black in color since it was a recent fall. I would bring a magnet just in case it might be magnetic. If you do manage to find it don't be in a hurry to dig it up. Take pictures of it in situ (in the ground) GPS mark location perform a search around that are and be on the lookout of fragments or other pieces of the same color and texture. Start looking at pictures of meteorites on the net so you have some understanding on what they look like. If it is as big as you think it is and if it has metal you don't have to be right on top of it to hear the detector sing off. Hit all the rock with the detector in the area, if there are not too many. Best of luck on the hunt, Guido...