When 37-year-old Roberto Vargas flew to Costa Rica in April 2019 and dropped everything to look for a meteorite after social media reports of it falling from the sky, his parents and sisters said he was “crazy.” I thought it was. But he proved them wrong.
Hartford resident Vargas didn’t find any work from the so-called “Aguas Zarcas” waterfall, but bought some from locals and resold them on his return home for $40,000. He paid off his car and credit his card and was able to spend even more money.
For Vargas, meteor hunting was a fascinating hobby. For about a year and a half, he quit his stable, well-paying job as a mental health therapist and pursuing his passion has become a full-time career.
“It’s the best thing ever. I feel like I’m on the cutting edge of science,” he said. “I miss the feeling of being useful to people, but I can still do it on a volunteer basis.”
Vargas said there are only a handful of full-time meteorite hunters in the country.
A meteorite or “space rock” is a portion of a meteorite that has passed through the Earth’s atmosphere and hit the ground. Most meteorites contain rocks, iron, nickel, and other elements, and can sell for over $1 million depending on size and content.
When news of a fall anywhere in the world arrives, Vargas is ready. Time is of the essence as other hunters will be gathering as well.
On September 27th, news reached Facebook that he had fallen the day before while trying to ride the Big E Ferris Wheel in Junction City, Georgia. On September 28, he was on the ground in Georgia looking for a meteorite. That fall, Vargas purchased the major mass or largest intact fragment, he discovered a 24.7-gram meteorite.
“I don’t know when something will fall, but when do we have to go?” he said. “Because all you’re doing is a meteorite, you’re ready.”
Since 2018, Vargas has made about 10 hunts including Costa Rica, Brazil, Canada, Missouri, New York, Arizona, Utah and Georgia.
While there is nowhere in the world where meteorites are likely to fall, the dry weather conditions allow fallen meteorites to survive, making them more likely to be found in northwestern Africa. It is established there, he said.
Vargas’ mother, Helena Vargas, said that she and Roberto’s father were on a stable path and encouraged him to continue in more traditional, well-paying jobs, rather than jobs that “depended on something falling from the sky.” urged to
“But he was chasing his dream, so we worked together,” said Helena Vargas.
Now she’s proud to tell the story of his hunt – miles of trekking in the hot sun – that she and her husband have saved pieces from every hunt.
“He’s very passionate and you can’t help but be drawn into it,” she said. “It is not easy [work]”
The Roberto Vargas collection contains about 560 specimens. The meteorites, he said, are 4.5 billion to 4.6 billion years old and are fascinating because some contain particles (matter) older than the Sun.
“They have great scientific value,” he said.
A favorite of his collection is the one that occurred on Mars and fell on his birthday in 2011.
“It floated in space for hundreds of millions of years and fell to Earth on July 18, 2011,” he said.
He collects fallen pieces and buys pieces to resell to collectors, museums, and other institutions. He sells them at gem and mineral exhibitions. The meteorite is verified at the university.
There are eyewitness waterfalls where people see fireballs burning through the atmosphere – the chance to see one of them in person is very rare – but Vargas, director of the International Association of Meteorite Collectors, has seen many videos I’ve seen
Vargas owns the Meteorite Business of the Month with friend and meteorite enthusiast Marc Lyon, 42, from Arizona. For $50/month, subscribers can get Meteorite. Lyon says their business now has about 40 subscribers.
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“It’s expanding,” Lyon said of the business. “Why don’t you get interested in something in space? It will bring your child back.
Lyon said the advantages Roberto Vargas has are his ability to walk away quickly, his vast knowledge and his ability to calculate where his prey landed.
“He’s unique because he’s really trying to bring the group and the community together,” Lyon said, although most meteorite hunters tend to be “lone wolves.” “He is very supportive.”
Roberto Vargas has always been interested in fossils, rocks and minerals, but he didn’t know about meteorites until he was introduced to them by Clinton’s friend and meteorite enthusiast Chris Allen, 42, about five years ago. said.
“He’s a great guy,” Allen said of Vargas. [in the meteorite business]”
So what do most people think of his unusual full-time career?
“I think most people feel like I’m unemployed because it’s not a traditional way of making money,” Vargas said. “May be mistaken for a hobby”
