Prospecting for Space Rocks

Odd Jobs, People
on January 28, 2007

Steve Arnold, 40, drives across a farm field near Haviland, Kan. (pop. 612), listening intently to the hum from the home-built metal detector pulled behind his all-terrain vehicle. Suddenly, Arnold stops to listen as a whine emanates from the machine. Loud and annoying, the sound is sweet music to the meteorite hunter’s ears.

Something metal is buried beneath the wheat stubble and, if Arnold is lucky, it will be another rock from outer space.

“Forty-nine times out of 50, it’s what we meteorite hunters affectionately call a meteor ‘wrong,”’ says Arnold, describing the hodgepodge of metal objects—iron wagon wheels, coyote traps, broken plows and pitchforks—he’s unearthed while searching for celestial treasures in Kiowa County. But Arnold has hit the jackpot, too.

In 2005, Arnold followed the whine of his metal detector to a 1,430-pound meteorite that fell to Earth more than a thousand years ago, originating in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. After digging with a shovel and picking up stronger signals, he brought in a backhoe to unearth the massive chunk of iron, embedded with green crystals, the largest meteorite of its kind found on the planet.

“You can have absolutely no interest in meteorites and see this one and it’s ‘Wow,’” says Arnold, one of only a few professional space-rock hunters in the world. “It’s extremely gorgeous. It’s nature’s art.”

The rare rock, which has been exhibited at museums in Kansas and Texas and at the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show in Arizona, is for sale. “We’d like to get at least $1 million,” says Arnold, noting that potential customers include meteorite collectors, museums and corporations that might want to use the extraterrestrial rock for promotions.

Meteorites can fetch from $1 to $100,000 a pound, depending on their rarity and size. Arnold has sold several of his more valuable finds for $25,000 and a slice of a rare moon rock for $40,000. Arnold first became interested in space rocks in 1991 after reading a book on how to find treasure with a metal detector. He researched meteorite sites throughout Kansas and found maps pinpointing where they had been found across the state. Within weeks, he was searching a field near Admire, Kan. (pop. 177). While he didn’t find any space rocks, he didn’t return home empty-handed, either. A farmer gave him a 4-ounce meteorite, which he sold for $121.

During the last 15 years, Arnold has traveled the globe in search of meteorites. He discovered his first in Chile in 1993 and since has found more than a thousand space rocks in the United States and abroad.

While traveling through Greensburg, Kan. (pop. 1,574), in 2005, he stopped to tour the Celestial Museum, home of a rare 1,000-pound meteorite discovered in a local field in 1949. Arnold speculated that he could find more with his powerful electronic detector, which can sense metal objects 15 feet underground.

“People thought the area had been tapped out 50 years ago, but I just had a feeling,” he says. After visiting with local farmers who agreed to let him hunt in their fields between crops, Arnold and investor Phil Mani, a geologist and attorney in San Antonio, formed Brenham Meteorite Co. They secured exclusive meteorite hunting rights on thousands of acres of farmland and, within weeks, hit heavenly pay dirt. Landowners receive up-front payments as well as royalties if a meteorite is found on their property.

Arnold, who lives part of the year in Kingston, Ark., bought a home in Greensburg to be closer to his meteorite hunting grounds. Sometimes his wife, Qynne, and home-schooled daughters, Lauren, 14, and Kelsey, 9, join him on his quest. Lauren recalls one trip in 2003 when her dad heard on the news that a meteorite had showered Park Forest, Ill., and hurled a rock through a roof. The family jumped in the car.

“We had these long broomsticks and taped magnets to them and walked along the streets with our sticks,” Lauren says. “We’d find meteorites and put them in our pockets.”

Arnold expects to spend the next two years exploring farm fields around Greensburg in hopes of finding another out-of-this-world treasure, rather than a pioneer’s buried plowshare. “Every time I go out there, I’m an optimist,” he says.

Visit www.worldrecordmeteorite.com to learn more.

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