A few days ago, a bright and brilliant bolide streaked across the sky over North China. Many “meteorite hunters” immediately discovered individual meteorites and fragments in Luquan District, Shijiazhuang City, based on the sighting location and image records. After the news came out, not only meteorite enthusiasts and collectors, but also villagers in the surrounding area also joined the “treasure hunt” team; and on the second-hand trading platform, many sellers have posted links to sell the meteorites that fell from the bolide.
Bolides are brightly glowing phenomena that occur when meteoroids enter the Earth’s atmosphere at high speeds. When a meteoroid interacts with the atmosphere at high speed, the surrounding air and the surface of the meteoroid heat up rapidly, causing surface material to melt and ablate, and some meteoroids will fragment during flight. The heated and excited gas and ablated material emit strong light, forming the bolide that people see. A few fragments that are not completely ablated will continue to fall after they stop glowing, and eventually reach the ground. These are meteorites.
△A bolide event was observed in North China on the evening of November 6, 2026.
Bu Fan was one of the first “meteorite hunters” to arrive at the bolide meteorite scattering zone. When he was interviewed by reporters last night (10th), he had just returned from “meteor hunting” in the village. In the past few days, he has seen many meteorite enthusiasts who came specifically to “treasure hunt” in the core area for picking up meteorites, as well as local villagers who wanted to try their luck.
According to him, the prices of “discovered meteorites” and “witnessed meteorites” that cannot be traced back to the landing phenomenon picked up in Gobi, desert and other environments are often dozens or even hundreds of times higher than those of meteorites of the same type with the same composition.
Wang Kechao, deputy director of the Science Popularization Center of the Purple Mountain Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences: This type of witnessed meteorites is very rare. According to global statistics, only about ten witnessed meteorites are recovered every year. In my country, only six or seven witnessed meteorites are recovered in the past ten years. Because they are relatively fresh and have not been affected by the earth’s environment, compared to other discovered meteorites that have no specific source, witnessing meteorites will have specific scientific research value and a unique collection premium.
△Suspected meteorites were found on the ground near Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province (left) and recovered samples (right).
The Institute of Geochemistry of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has preliminarily determined that the meteorite that landed this time is an L group ordinary chondrite with a petrological type of type 6. Chen Hongyi, a professor at Guilin University of Technology and deputy director of the Geological Museum, said that this preliminary identification result means that, at least in terms of collection value, these meteorites are not “extremely precious.”
△Meteorites for sale on second-hand trading platforms.
Many people in the industry predict that for these “extraterrestrial visitors” who have landed this time, the market transaction enthusiasm will still maintain a certain period, and some meteorite enthusiasts will take this opportunity to “use hoarding to raise hoarding”. However, Chen Hongyi specially reminded that for the general public, it is often difficult to distinguish between real and fake meteorites, and “entry-level players” should also beware of transaction risks.
Chen Hongyi, professor at Guilin University of Technology and deputy director of the Geological Museum: Freshly fallen meteorites have some characteristics of their own. For example, chondrules and metal particles can be seen on the fresh internal fracture surface. People who are really engaged in this industry, including “meteorite hunters”, collectors, etc., are very experienced and can tell with the naked eye whether the meteorite fell this time. If the meteorite is a fresh landing this time, it should be priced based on this fresh landing. Meteorites from other places cannot be used as the meteorites here, otherwise there may be deception and fraud.
Many interviewed experts and industry insiders admitted that there are currently obvious pain points in the identification of meteorites – scientific research institutions and universities with identification capabilities have not opened market-oriented identification services, and market-oriented identification channels have not yet matured or been unified.
Wang Kechao, deputy director of the Science Popularization Center of the Purple Mountain Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences: The instruments used for meteorite identification are very expensive and sophisticated scientific research instruments. Very few companies on the market have them. More importantly, they do not have the corresponding professional personnel related to meteorites. Therefore, there are no identification companies in the domestic market that can reach the level of scientific research institutions. In addition, the country has not recognized the norms, standards, processes, etc. for meteorite identification. We have also encountered this situation – although professional identification results were given, they were not recognized in judicial decisions. In fact, there is also such a legal gap.
Another question that has attracted much attention is, who owns the meteorites that fall from the sky after they are picked up? Can “meteor hunters” and surrounding villagers pick up meteorites on their own and own them unconditionally? In fact, my country’s current laws and regulations rarely provide clear provisions on the ownership of meteorites. The principle of first possession of the Civil Code generally applies, that is, whoever picks it up first will own it. However, it should be noted that according to the “Regulations on the Protection and Management of Geological Relics”, meteorites with significant scientific research and ornamental value are geological relics that should be protected, and protected geological relics are valuable assets of the country. No unit or individual may destroy, excavate, buy, sell, or transfer them in other forms.
So, as a precious “gift from outer space”, in what aspects is the value of meteorites reflected? According to Xiao Long, a professor at the Planetary Science Institute of China University of Geosciences (Wuhan), meteorites are 4.5 billion years old and are important samples for studying the formation of the earth and the origin of life.
Xiao Long, a professor at the Institute of Planetary Science of China University of Geosciences (Wuhan): There are several types of meteorites according to their composition – some are similar to stones on the earth. For example, the one we saw this time is cement-like in color and has a sheath on the outside. We call it “stony meteorite”; the other is “iron meteorite” which is purely made of metal; and the other has two similar compositions, one part is stone and the other part is iron-nickel metal. We call it “stony iron meteorite”. Through different fallen meteorites, we can “puzzle” the size and structure of different celestial bodies in the solar system, which is very important for us to study the origin and evolution of the solar system.
Xiao Long further pointed out that the scientific research value of meteorites is also reflected in the accumulation of basic data for near-Earth small object monitoring, impact risk assessment and planetary defense research, providing scientific basis for protecting the future of the earth.
Xiao Long said that meteorites will be damaged by oxidation and weathering and need to be protected by special means. He hopes that this bolide will allow more people to learn about meteorites, and calls on local governments to collect and preserve these precious “gifts from outer space” as soon as possible.
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