Suspected meteorite chunk with magnetic properties lands in Bihar

Madhubani: A celestial object, weighing more than 10 kg and having magnetic properties, landed in a village of this north Bihar district a couple of days ago, a senior official said on Wednesday.

Madhubani District Magistrate (DM), Shirsat Kapil Ashok said, the object was found in Mahadeva village under Laukahi police station area on Monday evening.

"A group of farmers were working in the fields when they heard an unusually loud thud. When they looked around to find the source of the sound, they spotted the object lying in a hole - about five feet deep - that was dug into the ground
by the impact of the fall", the DM said.

Prime facie, it looks like a meteorite and weighs about 13 kg, he said.

The villagers extracted the object with some effort and informed government officials who took it into their possession and it was, subsequently, placed in the custody of the district treasury, the DM said.

"We have written to the state's Principal Secretary, Science and Technology department, informing him about this peculiar object that looks like a piece of rock but its glitter is much more than that of an unpolished stone. Its magnetic pull makes it even more intriguing", he said.

However, we need to wait till the department sends experts who can study the object and arrive at a definitive conclusion, Ashok added.