Wadsworth resident donates meteorite fragment to Ohio State

WADSWORTH — Wadsworth resident Rebecca Horton first thought it was a piece of asphalt. But it turned out to be a fragment from the meteorite back that streaked across the Ohio sky in March. The discovery earned Horton a city proclamation after she donated the fragment to The Ohio State University, where it will become part of the university's geological collection. The meteor entered Earth's atmosphere over northeastern Ohio the morning of March 17, traveling an estimated 45,000 mph and scattering fragments across the region. Two days later, Horton found an unusual rock while leaving her condo. "I wouldn't have thought two things about it, but on Facebook, they had said they could look like asphalt," Horton said. After finding online resources for suspected meteorites, Horton sent photos of the rock to Ohio State's Orton Geological Museum. The following day, museum curator Dale Gnidovec responded that he was "99 percent sure" it was a meteorite and encouraged her to bring it to a rock and gem show in Columbus. Horton arrived with the 26-gram specimen wrapped in a paper towel inside a plastic bag. "I've never seen men so excited about a rock," she said. "I said, 'It's a rock.' They said, 'but it's a rock from outer space.'" After geologists quickly recognized the rock's significance, one offered Horton $2,000 for it on the spot, while another estimated it was worth about $600 per gram on the retail market. Instead, Horton decided to donate it to Ohio State. "I thought it would be really selfish of me if I kept it or took money," Horton said. Since Ohio State received the first authenticated specimen from the fall, the university earned the right to officially name the meteorite which is now known as the Wadsworth meteorite, with it eventually going on display at the museum. Horton, who has lived in Wadsworth for about 18 months, said she was surprised when the city recognized her discovery with a proclamation. "It was very exciting, but I thought it was more important that the city know that this has happened rather than for me to get the recognition," she said. Contact reporter Sam Russ at (330) 491-6962 or sruss@medina-gazette.com.