SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A group of scientists took to the skies in a blimp Thursday in search of meteorites that rained over California’s gold country last month.

It’s the latest hunt for extraterrestrial fragments from the April 22 explosion that was witnessed over a swath of Northern California and Nevada.

Treasure hunters have swarmed the Sierra Nevada foothills over the past two weeks, snatching up pieces of meteorites. Most of the recovered space rocks have been tiny, with the largest weighing in at 19 grams, or the weight of one AA battery.

Printed on Friday, May 4, 2012 as: Scientists search for meteorites in a blimp over Sierra Nevada