Discover large meteorite in Antarctica

Vinciane Debaille, a geologist of the Free University of Brussels in Belgium, and Belgian and Japanese colleagues have used snowmobiles to find Antarctic meteorites for over a month.

Meteorite hunters from Belgium and Japan discovered a large meteorite mass in the east of Antarctica.

Vinciane Debaille, a geologist of the Free University of Brussels in Belgium, and Belgian and Japanese colleagues have used snowmobiles to find Antarctic meteorites for over a month. They found a block of rock on a plateau on the east side of the continent, Livescience reported. The initial test results showed that it was a chondrite tablet with a weight of 18kg. Chondrite is the most popular meteorite on Earth.

Picture 1 of Discover large meteorite in Antarctica

At 18kg, the stone that Vinciane Debaille's group met was a meteorite
the fifth largest man ever discovered in Antarctica. (Photo: Livescience)

"This is the largest meteor that people have ever discovered in Antarctica in the past 25 years. It is a very special thing. When you see such a meteorite on the ground, that means the size of it's much bigger when it flies in the universe , " Debaille said.

The rock that exploded in the sky on Russia on February 15 was also a chondrite meteorite.

Many scientists around the world come to Antarctica every year to find meteorites. Because meteors are black, they become prominent on the white ice of Antarctica. Organic compounds in meteorites are preserved intact due to the cold, dry climate here.

Debeille's group found 425 meteors in 40 days. Their total weight is about 75kg. Debaille revealed that it is possible that a piece of that rock came from Mars and another piece from the meteorite Vesta.

Update 17 December 2018
« PREV
NEXT »
Category

Technology

Life

Discover science

Medicine - Health

Event

Entertainment