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Here are answers to some of our most frequently asked questions:

CAN I OWN A METEORITE?
Yes, you can. Private ownership of meteorites is perfectly legal and it's possible to purchase a quality specimen for $100 or less. Visit Geoff's Aerolite Meteorites sale catalogue or Steve's ebay store for a selection of genuine space rocks for sale.

WILL THERE BE A SECOND SEASON OF METEORITE MEN?
Yes. Steve and Geoff started filming Season Two in April of 2010. We expect new episodes of Meteorite Men to begin airing in the fall of 2010.

CAN I BUY METEORITE MEN ON DVD?
Meteorite Men Season One has not yet been released on DVD, but we hope it will be in the future. If you'd like to be notified when DVDs are available for purchase, please join our private mailing list.

CAN I DOWNLOAD EPISODES OF METEORITE MEN ONLINE?
Currently there are no legal downloads of Meteorite Men available.

CAN I GET A SIGNED METEORITE MEN PHOTO?
Yes. Exclusive 4 x 6 color photographs personally signed by Steve and Geoff are available free of charge. Let us know if you'd like the photo to include your name, or the name of a friend or family member and send us your mailing address by

ARE THE METEORITE MEN AVAILABLE FOR PERSONAL APPEARANCES?
Yes, as long as their filming schedule permits. The Meteorite Men have made personal appearances at the Oscar E. Monnig Meteorite Museum at TCU, Fort Worth; at Science Cafe for the Flandrau Science Center in Tucson; at the Lunar and Planetary Lab in Tucson; at the Northeast Astronomy Forum in New York; and at the annual Tucson gem and mineral showcases. Engagement fees vary depending on the type of event. Please contact our press agent for details.

I FOUND A METEORITE, WHAT SHOULD I DO?
Meteorites are extremely rare, and of the thousands of rocks sent to us for examination only about five have turned out to be the real thing. If you think you have found a meteorite, please read Geoff's illustrated Guide to Meteorite Identification before contacting us. The guide includes detailed instructions on how to send us photos and/or a sample for testing.

CAN I GO METEORITE HUNTING WITH YOU?
Most of our expedition time is taken up with filming new episodes for the Meteorite Men television series. For insurance and confidentiality reasons we are typically not allowed to take people out in the field with us. Exceptions can be made for journalists interested in writing an article about the show, but such requests still have to be cleared in advance. Please contact our press agent for details.

I OWN HUNDREDS OF ACRES, WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEARCH MY LAND?
We typically only work in areas where we believe meteorites may have fallen. Meteorites are so rare that randomly searching new areas is very unlikely to produce new finds, but thank you for the offer!

WHAT KIND OF METAL DETECTORS DO YOU USE?
We use a variety of equipment, some of it was manufactured especially for us and is not available for sale on the retail market. In Season One we used special prototypes of a new hand-held detector manufactured by Fisher Labs. We will shortly be offering these models for sale on the Meteorite Men website. If you'd like to be notified when these remarkable new detectors are available, please contact us by by

I WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT YOUR TRACKED VEHICLE, THE "ROCKHOUND"
The tracked vehicle we used in Season One is called the Hydratrek multi purpose amphibious vehicle (MPAV). The company is based in Covington, Tennessee and you can learn all about the MPAV on the Hydratrek website.

WHAT KIND OF MAGNETS DO YOU USE?
We use very powerful rare-earth magnets for meteorite hunting. The pull strength varies from about 10 lbs to 40 lbs per piece. We use a private supplier who delivers them to us, and does not maintain a website or store front, but you can order magnets from any number of companies online. If you purchase powerful magnets, please use extreme caution, as they can be very dangerous. If a finger or other body part gets trapped between two powerful magnets, severe injury can result. Rare-earth magnets can also damage or erase credit cards, hotel room key cards, iPods, cassette and video tapes and other magnetic media. We've also seen vehicles scratched and damaged when magnets came in close proximity and stuck to a car or truck body. So, please be extra careful if you use them!

WHAT KIND OF ROCK HAMMERS DO YOU USE?
We use a variety of rock hammers. Most major home improvement stores carry similar equipment, or you can order picks from online companies that specialize in prospecting equipment.

I SAW A FIREBALL, WHERE DID THE METEORITES FALL?
Plotting the likely fall zone of meteorites produced by a fireball is difficult, complicated, and very time consuming. Many fireballs burn up completely and no meteorites make it to the surface. In order to research a witnessed fall, we typically require a large number of independent eyewitness reports, in order to predict a possible fall location.

Due to their great brightness large fireballs often create a remarkable optical illusion in which it appears that they have hit the ground somewhere nearby. The glowing fireballs we see in the night sky are caused by atmospheric pressure and friction, but meteors stop ablating (burning) while still seven to twelve miles above the surface of our planet. If you are lucky enough to witness a bright fireball, and the flame goes out while it's directly overhead, it is possible that the meteorite will land nearby.

When we see a bright shooting star or fireball apparently landing close by, what we are actually seeing is it arcing away, over the horizon, while still high up in the atmosphere. Due to the curvature of the Earth, the fireball may seem to hit the ground, when it has in fact just moved out of our field of view and gone beyond the horizon. Because of its extreme brightness a fireball may appear — to our human eyes — to be much closer than it actually is. It's something I, myself, have been fortunate enough to witness a couple of times and it's frustrating because it does look as if the meteorite landed "just over there." However, it probably landed hundreds of miles away. Another thing to consider is that when a meteorite lands near observers, those witnesses report hearing loud sonic booms, and/or "whizzing" noises. If no sound accompanied the spectacle, then the meteor was probably a great distance away. But at least you had the privilege of witnessing a real fireball.

I WANT TO BE A METEORITE HUNTER, HOW DO I START?
There is no simple advice for someone wanting to become a meteorite hunter. Unfortunately, there are no books or websites dedicated to explaining how to proceed. It is such an unusual occupation that one has to really learn by doing. Steve and I have over thirty years of accumulated experience in meteorite hunting, and the techniques we've developed have been learned through hard work and experimentation. You might find Geoff's Guide to Meteorite Identification interesting, as it answers a number of basic questions about meteorites. To learn more about meteorites and meteorite hunting, please read Geoff's science column Meteorwritings on Geology.com. We also recommend Rocks from Space by O. Richard Norton, and Meteorites by Dr. Alain Carion. Both are excellent reference works and provide a great overview of the field.

I HAVE DISCOVERED A NEW METEORITE CRATER, WHAT SHOULD I DO?
Meteorite craters are extremely rare and, in fact, there are only two craters in the entire United States that have produced meteorite fragments. There are numerous old, and much larger crater structures such as Beaverhead, Montana and the Alamo Breccia in central Nevada, but those sites are so ancient that all meteorite fragments have long since decayed.

There are many terrestrial features that can be mistaken for meteorite craters, such as sinkholes, bomb craters, and natural depressions. Meteorite fragments found around a crater typically denote the real thing, as does shocked quartz, and/or impactites which are terrestrial rocks deformed by a significant meteorite impact. If you wish to learn more about you may enjoy Geoff's column about impactites on Geology.com

If you think you have discovered a meteorite crater, please email us photos. We are always interested in investigating new sites.