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© Christi McEntyreThis satellite photo provided by NASA shows the projected trajectory and possible impact zone of the meteorite. Lucky residents or property owners in this or surrounding areas might just find a small visitor from space some-where on their land. Click on image to enlarge.
On Wednesday, March 7, shortly after 10 p.m., a meteor ended its long journey across space just above Walker County.

Bill Cooke, Walker County native and current lead member of the NASA Meteorite Environmental Office, confirmed that NASA meteor-tracking cameras in Huntsville, Ala., Tullahoma, Tenn., and at the Tellus Science Museum in Cartersville, Ga., detected the bright fireball of a meteor entering Earth's atmosphere approximately 52 miles northeast of Rocky Face in Whitfield County at 10:19 p.m. on March 7.

The meteor was estimated to weigh about 50 pounds before its descent to Earth, at which time the intense heat of atmospheric entry would have broken the space rock into multiple smaller pieces.

NASA lost track of the meteor's fireball - meaning its disintegration was nearly complete - about 17 miles above Ga. 95 southeast of Rock Spring.

Cooke and his team at NASA estimate that small remnants of the meteor - weighing in at one pound or less - may have survived reentry and landed somewhere between the Walker County Correctional Facility to the east and Cove Road to the west.

"Anyone in this area who has noticed an unusual rock found after the night of March 7th should note the location of the find and are encouraged to contact the NASA Meteoroid Environment Office at the Marshall Space Flight Center," said Cooke. "Potential meteorite hunters are reminded that meteorites belong to the owner of the property on which they land, and that one should obtain the permission of the property owners before conducting a search."

Cooke hopes members of the public living in the Rock Spring or Cove Road areas will have memories of strange sounds or sights occurring the night of March 7 and will be able to point NASA in a more precise direction to de-termine where the meteorites may have landed.

"Often with meteorites, it's the public that gives us clues as to where to look," he said.

Jim Smith, longtime Walker County school board member and former teacher of Bill Cooke, was unable to see the meteor through his planetarium and observatory in Chickamauga, but later recalled hearing the event.