ADDISON, Alabama -- The first fragments of a meteorite that hit Alabama last week have been found in or near Addison, Alabama, in Winston County. The two fragments, found Saturday, are from what is now provisionally called the Addison meteorite. Meteorites are named after the closest city to where they were found.

The meteorite fragments came from a "boulder-sized meteor" that

Seen streaking across the sky by people from Arkansas to Florida, the meteor created a rain of fragments when it broke up, according to Doppler radar. This is the first documented meteorite to hit Alabama since 1954.

Dr. Bill Cooke, a meteor expert at Huntsville's Marshall Space Flight Center, said Monday, Nov. 5, that private collectors found the meteorite fragments on a road near the Bankhead National Forest.

Cooke also clarified earlier comments about whether it is legal to take fragments out of the national forest if they are found. NASA hunters can do that, Cooke said, because NASA is also a federal agency and can get a permit, but private collectors cannot legally remove them.

Cooke said NASA will send another team to the area Wednesday searching for fragments, which have been described as black to gray, heavier than a typical rock and magnetic. They are also typically newer-looking than regular rocks, because they have not spent a season or more in the rain and cold.

Complicating the search for fragments is Alabama's deer hunting season, which opens Nov. 17 and runs into January. Muzzleloader season opens even earlier on Nov. 12. Meteorite hunters were commenting on search websites over the weekend about the dangers of wandering around the Alabama woods during deer season and the need to wear blaze orange hats and vests if you do go.

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