GREENSBURG, Kan. – A rare 1,400-pound meteorite was discovered 7 feet underground by a collector in an area long known for producing prized space rocks.

Using a metal detector mounted on a three-wheeled vehicle, Steve Arnold of Kingston, Ark., found the huge meteorite two weeks ago in Kiowa County in southern Kansas.

The meteorite is classified as an oriented pallasite, a type noted for a conical shape, with crystals embedded in iron-nickel alloy. Only two larger ones of that type are known to have been found: a 3,100-pounder in Australia and a 1,500-pounder in Argentina.

The Kansas rock was found in the same area that in 1949 produced a 1,000-pound meteorite now on display at the Celestial Museum in Greensburg.

Meteorites change shape as they enter Earth’s atmosphere. An oriented meteorite, which is rare, maintains a stable flight rather than tumbling.

“It is aesthetically the type of meteorite that makes collectors drool,” said Arnold, who has hunted for meteorites around the world and estimates that his find is worth “seven figures.”

Arnold said he wants to sell it, preferably to a museum or someone who will keep it intact.

Associated Press

Allen Binford (left) and meteorite hunter Steve Arnold show the 1,400-pound meteorite Arnold found on Binford’s farm in Kansas.