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International Polar Foundation
The fifth-largest meteorite ever found in East Antarctica was discovered Jan. 28 by an international team of meteorite hunters. "This is the biggest meteorite (40 pounds) found in East Antarctica for 25 years," one geologist said.
By Becky Oskin
LiveScience
Meteorite hunters at the bottom of the world bagged a rare find this southern summer: a 40-pound (18 kilogram) chunk of extraterrestrial rock.
A team from Belgium and Japan discovered the hefty meteorite as the members drove across the East Antarctic plateau on snowmobiles. Initial tests show it is an ordinary chondrite, the most common type of meteorite found on Earth, Vinciane Debaille, a geologist from Université Libre de Bruxelles in Belgium, said in a statement.
"This is the biggest meteorite found in East Antarctica for 25 years," Debaille said. "This is something very exceptional. When you find such a meteorite on Earth, it means that when it was in the sky, it was much larger." [Images of the Antarctic meteorite.]
The Russian meteor that burst into fragments above the Chelyabinsk region on Feb. 15 is also an ordinary chondrite, according to initial tests by Russian scientists.
International Polar Foundation
More than 38,000 meteorites have been found in Antarctica, but only 30 bigger than 40 pounds (18 kg). This big meteorite found in Antarctica is an ordinary chondrite.
Every year, scientists travel to Antarctica to search for meteorites. Their charred black crust stands out starkly in the white snow, and the cold, dry climate helps preserve any organic chemicals inside the rocks.
The expedition collected 425 meteorites in 40 days, with a total weight of 165 pounds (75 kg). Debaille said they may have found one Mars meteorite and one piece of the asteroid Vesta among the many discoveries.
The researchers canvassed the Nansen Ice Field, 86 miles (140 kilometers) south out of the International Polar Foundation's Princess Elisabeth station. The United States also sent scientists out on the polar ice to collect meteorites this season, from McMurdo Station on the opposite end of the continent.
Reach Becky Oskin at boskin@techmedianetwork.com. Follow her on Twitter @beckyoskin. Follow OurAmazingPlanet on Twitter @OAPlanet. We're also on Facebook and Google+.
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Leave a Comment:
That's awesome. I'd like to go down and help find some, but it's probably a bit too cold for me. :)
They probably look a lot like the rocks we brought back from the moon.
They look a lot like the magnetic rocks out across my pasture, but since no 'scientist' has 'discovered' them, they're only rocks. Scientists want money to verify if they are meteorites, but when I sent samples, they somehow were 'lost in shipment', but I know who signed for them.
Those Thief Bastards.
No probably to it. It's forty five degrees F and I'm cold. The only thing rare is it's size. Too bad they can't search all of Antartica. Probably find a lot of them. Easy to spot there.
You guys are really missing it. The first time they went to the North Pole. This time they went to the South Pole ...This is where the begining for the movie "Transformer IV" starts.
Sam Witwicky Rides Again!
Ever heard the expression "dumb as a box of rocks"?
50 years ago, as an 8 year old kid, I found this rock that was virtually indestructible. It was oblong and the color of molasses. I tried every trick in the book to break apart that rock.....but it never once showed a speck of destruction. I often wonder and wish I had it back, could this have been a meteorite, or a meteorwrong. I still wish i would have kept onto that rock, whatever it was!!!!
Really. I tried to saw it apart. I dropped it from a 10 story building, I threw it against every known hard object. I tried to drill into it. It was indestructible. It weighed a little more than most rocks it's size. It's a great memory from the mind of an 8 year old kid fifty years into the future. I look back at the things that have been important to me in the last 50 years.....I would really like to know the origin of that rock!
In less than 6 months following the impact of Comet C/2013 A1 (Siding Spring) with Mars on October 19th, 2014 -- will all be able to all go out and collect thousands of really big Martian meteorites and thus the value of any find will be greatly diminished.
http://science.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/26/17107085-comet-just-might-hit-mars-in-2014?lite
From your provided link.
Of course. We won't know for months yet to come if it will happen or not. But if it does--and the probability is NOT Zero that it won't--then that will have a huge impact on Earth and the value of metorite finds.
Who cares. It's not like just anybody can go pick them up in Antarctica. If some poor person found it in someplace like Alabama then that would be cool.
For the LOVE OF GOD!!! DO NOT THAW THE ROCK!!! LEAVE IT FROZEN!!!
At least until we are sure it did not originate from Andromeda!
I think JesusLuv might have been referring to the movie 'The Blob'. They finally defeated it by freezing it and dropping it in the Artic, where it would hopefully stay frozen forever.
Ahhhh... a fan of Carpenter's. Why the headline rare? Plenty of space rocks already on Earth.
About 100 tons of space rocks and dust hit Earth every day.
I think the Federal Goverment should document and tax these UFO's since we are the one country that they can trust and reveal their true intentions.
Second guy to first; " Try tickling it " !!
I would imagine that most of us have 'space rocks' in our yards, but we don't recognise them as such. They are probably pebble-size, or even just pea size, and don't stand out from the rest. The vast majority of us would not know how to identify a meteorite.
Hey Wreck7, I agree. By the way, isn't anything from out of this world a rare find no matter what size it is? I mean really, if there were a three hundred pound person versus a one hundred pound person on Mars, and a martian stumbled onto them, technically they are both the same, except one is heavier than the other. Is that a rare find? Suppose that same martian found one of our astronauts, would that not be a rare find for the green guy too since the astronaut is not from Mars?
Sorry, long day. People, get a grib, it's a rock. Lol!!
Rock on!!!
The methodology was established by persistence.
Dr. William Cassidy, emeritus faculty of the Department of Geology and Planetary Science, has just had his book, "Meteorites, Ice, and Antarctica: A Personal Account" published by Cambridge University Press.
Bill Cassidy led meteorite recovery expeditions in Antarctica for 15 years. His searches resulted in the collection of thousands of meteorite specimens from the ice. This fascinating story is a first-hand account of his field experiences on the US Antarctic Search for Meteorites Project, which he carried out with an international team of scientists. Cassidy describes this hugely successful field program in Antarctica and its influence on our understanding of the moon, Mars and the asteroid belt. He describes the hardships and dangers of fieldwork in a hostile environment, as well as the appreciation he developed for the beauty of the place. In the final chapters he speculates on the results of the trips and the future research to which they might lead.
Cambridge University Press, 2003, ISBN 0-521-25872-3; (hb).
ANSMET is the group that now manages the collection of if over 20,000 finds.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ANSMET
Recovery of a meteorite in Antarctica
Location of meteorites collected across the Transantartic Mountains
ANSMET (ANtarctic Search for METeorites) is a program funded by the Office of Polar Programs of the National Science Foundation that looks for meteorites in the Transantarctic Mountains. This geographical area serves as a collection point for meteorites that have originally fallen on the extensive high-altitude ice fields throughout Antarctica. Such meteorites are quickly covered by subsequent snowfall and begin a centuries-long journey traveling "downhill" across the Antarctic continent while embedded in a vast sheet of flowing ice. Portions of such flowing ice can be halted by natural barriers such as the Transantarctic Mountains. Subsequent wind erosion of the motionless ice brings trapped meteorites back to the surface once more where they may be collected. This process concentrates meteorites in a few specific areas to much higher concentrations than they are normally found everywhere else. The contrast of the dark meteorites against the white snow, and lack of terrestrial rocks on the ice, makes such meteorites relatively easy to find. However, the vast majority of such ice-embedded meteorites eventually slide undiscovered into the ocean.
While the vast majority (>90%) of the meteorites found are ordinary chondrites, ANSMET has provided many rare meteorites, including many of the known lunar and martian meteorites such as ALH84001.
Personal Note:
Dr. W Cassidy's Father was my Science Teacher (Paul Cassidy) and the most informed man I ever knew. Paul Cassidy discussed this developing idea earlier with our class. This book documents the adventures (Political, Funding and Endurance), of locating source meteorites accumulated in blue ice sheets over millions of years. Yes! Many people had to get used to the idea that low gravity moon and planets have in the past ejected materials that is only now getting to earth. (For major example, the 65 million year old collision wiping out the dinosaurs was found to have been created 95 million years earlier.)
VERY informative post - Thank you!
richmjones --- great post.
that thing finally landed after 5 billion years of travel through the solar system..before the Earth or any of the other plantets formed.... They should load it on the Arkham and take it back for study at Miskatonic University.
Uhhh... aren't ALL meteorite's rare?
they're just cosmic debri...looking for a place to happen...but on the bright side...some day in the future...when our planet goes into total melt down...may be it will become a meteorite again...
What, no conspiracy speculators?
Secondvguy to first; " How much you think it's worth? "
"Their charred black crust stands out starkly in the white snow, and the cold, dry climate helps preserve any organic chemicals inside the rocks." This casual statement infers that we could expect to see organic chemicals inside. The fact is, organic chemicals have never be found in a meteorite. Hope I'm not the bad guy for pointing out facts but this is not Star Trek. The rock is totally awesome being that it has traveled untold distances for a very very long time.
Uh, you might need to do a little research Kent. This is grade school stuff.
http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2001/ast20dec_1/
http://www.psrd.hawaii.edu/May06/meteoriteOrganics.html
http://web.gps.caltech.edu/classes/ge133/reading/sephton.pdf
http://news.discovery.com/space/meteorite-crammed-with-millions-of-organic-compounds.htm
Kent- "The fact is, organic chemicals have never been found in a meteorite." Ever hear of a corbonaceous chondrite? Didn't think so. You should get yourself a little notebook to write your "facts" in as they are not useful to anyone here.
I stand corrected. I was thinking life in the form of complex organic compounds. I understand we're still looking right? Haven't found it yet?
Picasso painted on more than one canvas......if we find living creatures on other planets and moons, this does not disprove that one God is responsible for their and our creation. Logically speaking, it would make sense, unless one thinks we are all just an accident and/or a mutation of some freak of nature lottery winner!
Well considering that through hundreds of years of scientific work there has been no evidence of a supernatural entity involved in the creation of the universe. No sign of one at all. To the contrary it would make no sense to believe that a magical sky daddy created everything.
You can collect meteorites, or rather, meteorite dust, in your own back yard. Meteors large enough to survive the fall to earth are fairly rare, and 2/3 of those land in the ocean. But teh dust of meteors rains down on us all the time. Tons of the stuff, every day. On a still night, set a large aluminum cookie tray out exposed to the stars. In the morning, run a magnet sealed in a zip-bag over the tray. (The stronger the magnet, the better.) Any particles picked up by the magnet are most likely some of this meteorite dust. Each day you will find a few particles and, over time, you can add a small quantity of this dust to your science collection.
-Science_1
I have all kinds of dust lying around, if only I could just pick it all up with a magnet.
That's interesting. I wonder if more of such dust falls during the yearly meteor showers such as the Perseids and Leonids?
OK..... I can't resist.....you can pick it up ....with a Mexican......no really, I've have maids and housekeepers, and this Mexican women works her tush off to clean everything perfectly. I'm embarrassed to see how much dust is in my house. It's a small house and I'm too lazy to keep up with the dust. I consider her a friend that works like no-one I've seen before. She loves working and she loves sending some money back to her family in Mexico. Is that wrong for her and me? But I digress.
Also - your rain gutters are another good place to look for small meteors. Homeowners have 1200 sq ft roofs to collect small meteors and guide them down to the gutters. The next time you're cleaning them, run the sludge over a magnet and the small particles that collect are likely meteors.
Why specify at night? Shouldn't this work during daylight hours, too?
Due to the earth's motion the odds go up somewhat in the hours around dawn and down somewhat toward dusk, but yes anytime of day or night.
I was a forlorn hope we would see them poke a crack with a stick and some blob would chomp down on one of the Belgian guys.
Where is East Antartica? This really distracted me from the whole article. My thought is since Antartica encircles the south pole, any place you stand on the continent and go east will simple bring you back where you started.
If I had to guess it goes by 'Eastern' verses 'Western' hemisphere and so East Antarctica must be the side closer to Australia rather than the side closer to South America. Anybody know?
Aaha! I put Bing and Google maps to the test and they both seemed to agree where it is - closer to Australia.
LMAO they should test it again . it was a kidney stone i finaly passed when i was down there partying
second guy to first; " Do you think we can smuggle it back wihout paying taxes on it? "
Did i miss something? Is it rare or common chondrite? Oh its "common" just rare to find it Antarctica...is that it?
Sensationalism ...PHOOOOEY!
No, they are common down there, but larger ones like this are rarer.
What if they bring back a bug like in that movie? "The Thing!"
I think you might be thinking of the 1971 movie Andromeda Strain, based on the novel published in 1969 by Michael Crichton. The Thing was actually more than a bug. It was the entire alien that was dug out of the ice in Antarctica. The original starring Kurt Russell was scarey as hell!
A great movie....scarred the hell outta me....I liked it!!!
Plastic gloves dont want to contaminate the rock
I have seen this movie and it doesn't end well. Shoot any dogs and beware of Norwegians.
Shades of "Deception Point". They haven't seen any fossils in the rock have they ?!
Found about a 5lb Metorite last summer doing some land work. Should I report it to anybody? never really put much thought into it until this years rukus
Why of course. Just hope your 5 pounder and it's microbes have been well preserved!
If it is a 5lb Meteorite, it is worth a great deal of money. Meteors can sell for hundreds or even thousands of dollars an ounce depending on type. Swing by the geology department of your local university and have the professor look at it. I wouldn't want to get your hopes up. Chances are it's nothing but an interesting doorstop.
-Science_1
I'll give you a Dollar for it!!
I had a 4 ounce hemmoroid that felt like an assteroid. TMI.....OK, I'm gone for the night!
This 40 pounder was much larger in space and considering that it decided to land in East Antarctica we can consider ourselves fortunate.
Isn't it just amazing how these Meteorites (remember the "chunks" of Mars found there - just at the time NASA was facing budget cuts) show up just in time. BOY HOWDY! These meteorite hunters sure are good at finding astronomically (no pun intended) statistically rare meteorites. Like "climate change predictors" they sure are super-heroes (want to see earlier WORLD SHAKING disasters that were imminent but surprisingly never happened? Take a look at George F. Wills column for Feb 27th for a list - last paragraph I believe. Whoops! I forgot to take my "believe any sh*t thrown into the news" pill.
Best online/tv commercial this year: Carl's Jr. Codfish Sandwich.
They gotta pay for their vacation trip down there somehow!!
Am I wrong, or is 165 pounds of meteorites potentially worth millions?
Yeah I thought they were like 40 bucks a ounce. That would be about $105,000 - but that is a guess.
The cost of gasolene is not limited to our world. Exxon/Moble goes way beyond our atmospherical limitations. They control more than we think.....they might even control this world's recovery!!!
I want to go on that Mars mission in 2018. A hot babe for a year and half. Talk about a drive around the park. Gotta wait until 2036 if we don't go then.
there so interesting yet they can wipe out a continent ,,, yikes