A rock fell from space in Sweden. Who is the owner on earth?
The Iron Rock’s journey from the depths of space ended with a thud in a dense pine forest about an hour north of Stockholm, around 10 o’clock on a November night four years ago.
In an unusual move, its trajectory was recorded on several cameras in the region used to track meteoroids. That led to a weeks-long hunt and an even longer trial over an unusual question: who owns an unearthly object that falls to Earth?
The lawsuit took a new twist Thursday when an appeals court ruled in favor of the landowner, overturning a decision that had sided with the two men who recovered the meteorite.
Days after the rock landed, Anders Zetterqvist, a geologist, found the spot where it first hit the ground. After several weeks of searching, his friend, Andreas Forsberg, a fellow geologist, found the 30-pound piece sticking out of the moss where it had rebounded, about 70 yards away.
“For me it was the find of a lifetime,” he says. “It was so spectacular. And to know that it was only a few weeks old.
Most meteoroids that reach Earth’s atmosphere burn up upon entry, leaving only a trail of light, called a meteor, in the sky. So-called fresh-fall meteorites are compared to old meteorites found in the ground. The meteorite north of Stockholm, made of iron, was the tenth meteorite found in Sweden and one of the few iron meteorites found in the world, Mr Forsberg said.
After a few weeks, the men took the stone to the Swedish Museum of Natural History, where it has been kept since 2020.
“We were afraid that hundreds of people from all over the world would show up looking for more,” Mr. Forsberg added. “Better and bigger pieces could leave the country before we knew it.”
Dan Holtstam, a senior researcher in the museum’s geosciences department, said, “It’s a textbook example of an iron meteorite.”
“Falls of iron meteorites are rare worldwide – this is the only observed fall of an iron meteorite in Sweden,” added Dr. Holtstam added. “In almost forty years in geosciences, it was the first time I had gotten my hands on a freshly fallen meteorite.”
In addition to their scientific value, meteorites are prized by collectors. On the global private collector market, such a person could fetch tens of thousands of dollars, said Dr. Holtstam.
About a week after the geologists made their find public, the owner of the property where the meteorite was found, Johan Benzelstierna von Engestrom, sent a letter to the museum claiming ownership.
The legal battle ensued.
Laws governing ownership of found meteorites vary from country to country. There are none in Sweden. In France and Morocco, by contrast, “the first person who gets their hands on it owns it,” said Dr. Holtstam. In Denmark they are owned by the state. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management outlines rules for meteorites that have fallen on public lands.
In December 2022, the The Uppsala court ruled in favor of the geologists, where the meteorite is considered movable property. “A newly fallen meteorite is not part of the terrain on which it landed,” the judge wrote in a statement.
Mr. Benzelstierna von Engestrom appealed. Thursday is the The appeal court in Stockholm ruled in favor of the landowner.
Judge Robert Green, one of four judges on the case, said the appeal court ruling concerned two questions: whether meteorites can be considered “real property” and the extent of a Swedish customary law known as “Allmansrätten”, which provides the right of public access.
The laws governing real estate – houses and land – are clear, the judge said.
“The premise with real estate is that the landowner has a right to it,” he said in an interview Friday. “But we don’t have a specific law regarding meteorites, which made this case special.”
Everyone’s rats gives everyone in Sweden the right to move in nature, including walking, cycling or camping, even on private property.
“That includes the right to take berries and even small stones from other people’s property,” Judge Green said.
Although the plaintiffs argued that the right to pick up small things could also include amber and more valuable objects, the judges ruled that because the meteorite was not made of materials foreign to the Earth, it should be considered part of the Earth . . So they decided it was real estate.
One judge disagreed, stating that while the meteorite should be considered real property, in this case common law also applied, and should be interpreted to include the right to remove a meteorite from private property to get.
“Allemansratt has far-reaching consequences for everyone, so it was interesting and important for us to try this,” Judge Green said.
The landowner, Mr. Benzelstierna von Engestrom, praised the ruling, saying in an interview: “I want to retain ownership of it, but give it on permanent loan to a Swedish museum.”
He did not specify which museum, but said he wanted the public to benefit from it.
The geologists have not yet decided whether to appeal to the Swedish Supreme Court.
Mr Forsberg said they were disappointed by the appeal decision.
“It’s very sad for me and my friend,” he said. “I have been passionate about collecting rocks and fossils all my life.” He added: “It’s sad for all the enthusiasts interested in finding new meteorites. If people think they won’t get a reward, how are we going to get people to search?”