A team of scientists has revealed that they have found a space rock in Antarctica – an extremely rare meteorite that contains some of the oldest materials in the solar system. “When we found him like that, in the middle of the ice, we were all excited,” Maria Valdes, a researcher at the Chicago Field Museum, told the Chicago Tribune.
The meteorite, which weighs 17 kg and has been described as “the size of a pumpkin”, was discovered on January 5 by an international team of researchers at the end of an 11-day expedition. The unusual rock, which contains material from billions of years ago, is one of the largest meteorites ever found on the continent and its origin Probably in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, the Independent reported.
The team spent nearly two weeks on snowmobiles scanning the ice fields for meteorites when they made the spectacular discovery, a second before ending the trip, according to the Valdes. The team explained that they never imagined that after long days of searching – they would find a meteorite at the last minute. The researchers were convinced that it was indeed a “rare space rock the size of a bowling ball but twice the weight of a bowling ball,” Valdes told the newspaper.
Scientists discover a massive 7.7 kg meteorite in Antarctica #Meteorite #Antarctica #Space #Sciencehttps://t.co/kvyR8uo4i4
— Express Technology (@ExpressTechie) January 30, 2023
According to her, the meteorite was covered by a “fusion crust” – a glassy outer layer that melted slightly when it penetrated the atmosphere. In addition, the team explained that the find was worn – a sign that it had been on Earth for many ages. It was transferred to the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences in Belgium for chemical analysis.
“All meteorites can reveal quite a bit about the evolution of the Earth,” Valdes said. “Size doesn’t necessarily matter when it comes to meteorites, and even tiny micrometeorites can be of scientific value.” About 45,000 space rocks have been found in Antarctica in the last century, but most of them weighed only a few grams, the Independent noted.
The discovery was made months after NASA successfully destroyed an asteroid about 160 meters wide, in an experiment simulating the possibility of a huge space rock coming towards the Earth and threatening it with destruction.