Hunt for missing meteorite ... last seen in Sussex

By The Newsroom
Published 29th Jul 2016, 12:07 BST
Updated 8th Jun 2018, 01:47 BST
Dr Francisco Diego of UCL SUS-160729-094216001Dr Francisco Diego of UCL SUS-160729-094216001
Dr Francisco Diego of UCL SUS-160729-094216001
A desperate bid is being made to track down a meteorite which went missing after going on show to thousands of Sussex schoolchildren.

The four-and-a-half-thousand-million-year-old meteorite was last seen at a children’s science and technology extravaganza - the Big Bang Fair South East - at Ardingly in June.

Astronomer Dr Francisco Diego, a senior teaching fellow in physics and astronomy at University College London, has now written to schools in Crawley, Horsham and Mid Sussex - among others - in a bid to track down the missing space rock.

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Dr Diego was lecturing on the history of time at the Big Bang Fair.

Lost meteorite belonging to Dr Francisco Diego SUS-160729-094230001Lost meteorite belonging to Dr Francisco Diego SUS-160729-094230001
Lost meteorite belonging to Dr Francisco Diego SUS-160729-094230001

During it he circulated the meteorite for pupils to handle and pass around.

In a letter to scores of schools whose pupils attended the fair, Dr Diego - who has appeared on a number of TV series including Stephen Hawking’s Universe, BBC’s The Planets, and BBC’s Wonders of the Universe - said: “Unfortunately, the meteorite was not returned to me and taken away, probably by mistake.

“This iron meteorite has little commercial value, but it is of high emotional value to me as it is a present from an old friend that found it many years ago back in Mexico.