A 3-foot-wide meteor weighing about a ton broke through the Earth’s atmosphere on Saturday and exploded with the force of 26 tons of TNT. A piece of the space rock crashed into a home.

Boots are on the ground in Sharon Center, where meteorite hunters are searching for fragments from a meteor that lit up the sky Tuesday morning.

A likely meteor lit up the sky Tuesday over the Northeast. But how often do meteors actually hit the ground? (Photo: Tellus Museum)

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Meteorite hunters are like storm chasers, only they aren’t looking skyward for potential funnel clouds — they’re scouring the patch of Earth in front of them for tiny fragments of extraterrestrial rock.

Meteorite hunters hailing from states away are flocking to Northeast Ohio to find fragments of the seven-ton asteroid that shook up St. Patrick’s Day.

The wondrous chase for pieces of the St. Patrick’s Day meteor continues.

CLEVELAND, Ohio – There’s no way of knowing how many meteorites struck the ground in and around Medina County on Tuesday morning after a 7-ton asteroid exploded over the Cleveland area. It could be millions,

Meteorite hunting? A huge fireball spotted over Ohio is now sparking the search for fragments.

Meteorite NWA 16788 is one of the rarest types of space rock on Earth Toria Sheffield joined the PEOPLE editorial staff in 2024. Her work as a writer/editor has previously appeared in places like Bustle, LAMag, and HelloGiggles. Patrick AVENTURIER/Gamma ...