First radar observed meteorite fall occurs in part of county

Social media was rocking with questions about a fireball and sonic booms seen and heard in the skies above parts of Washington County late in the morning of Saturday, April 8. Comments about seeing and hearing something ranged from Calais to Jonesport. NASA notes on its Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science site that this is the first radar observed meteorite fall in Maine. Radar mapping shows a rectangular sweep designating the fall area as starting near Route 1 in Waite and crossing the U.S./Canadian border toward Canoose.
The meteorite fall started just before 12 noon and lasted for almost five minutes. NASA's site states, "This observation time is relatively short, but may be because only one NEXRAD radar was within range of the fall. Meteorite masses calculated from the radar signatures range from 1.59g to 322g although larger masses may have fallen. Meteorites in this event fell directly into winds of up to ~100 mph, carrying smaller meteorites across the border into Canada."
Charlie Sawyer of Pembroke, who has been involved with astronomy for many years, says that he has seen and heard plenty of small meteors that have made crackling sounds as they enter the atmosphere and burn, but that they have most likely landed at sea. "What we usually see are as small as grains of sand" flaming as they are burned during their passage through the atmosphere. This meteor, he explains, was most likely a heavier chunk of material. When meteorites land they can look burnt and "black as coal," or they can have a surface that is white. He thinks this one probably has iron in its make up and the fragments will be magnetic.
"When it's that bright, it could make it to Earth," Sawyer says. Saturday was a bright sunny day, making it harder to see the direction and location of its fall. But if the meteor had fallen at night, it would have "lit up the sky."

Reward of $25,000 offered
The Maine Mineral and Gem Museum in Bethel is offering a $25,000 reward for the first meteorite recovered from the April 8 event that weighs one kilogram or more. In a release, Darryl Pitt, chair of the Meteorite Division at the museum, says, "When a fireball is sufficiently bright to be seen in broad daylight, it would have been extraordinarily bright had this been at night. The existence of positive Doppler radar returns - meteorites detected descending through the atmosphere just several miles above ground - assures us there are meteorites waiting to be found." The release adds that, in addition to the reward being offered, the museum will also purchase any additional specimens found. "Depending upon the type of meteorite this is," said Pitt, "specimens could easily be worth their weight in gold."
The museum suggests that first time meteorite hunters are encouraged to first go to meteorite identification sites on the Internet so they know what they're looking for. It adds that searchers should obtain permission to hunt on private property.