When a fireball from space crashed into the rocky plains of southeast Morocco in September, Mohamed Benitjit topped up the credit on his mobile phone and packed a bag with a tiny magnet and a few clothes, ready to set off in search of meteorite fragments.
¡°I just need to know where it landed,¡± the 52-year-old merchant said in Enzala, a village at the foothills of the Atlas mountains. ¡°Information is everything in our trade. It doesn¡¯t come easy since whoever finds something likes to keep it for himself.¡±
Like many other locals, Benitjit is seeking to cash in on the kingdom¡¯s status as a booming hub for meteorite hunting.
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