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An unusual find in Antarctica

Scientists say they have found a space rock from the ages in Antarctica – an extremely rare meteorite that contains some of the oldest material in the solar system.

Maria Valdez, researcher at the Chicago Field Museum, she told the Chicago Tribune.

17 pounds meteorDescribed as “the size of a pumpkin”, it was discovered on January 5 by an international team 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 likely comes from the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. The Independent reported.

“To put meteorite size into perspective, of the 45,000 meteorites recovered from Antarctica over the past century, only 100 are this size or larger,” said the Field Museum in Chicago, which was part of the transmission.

According to The Tribune, ice researchers had spent the better part of two weeks sifting through ice fields for meteorites when they made the startling discovery just as they were about to finish their exploration.


The researchers celebrate their extraordinary discovery.
Courtesy of Maria Valdés/SWNS

Close up of a rare space rock.
Courtesy of Maria Valdés/SWNS

They were reluctant to celebrate at first, Valdez said, “because we knew if we found a meteor, it was really the mother race. The last day, the last hour.

Valdez said the team became convinced they had indeed found a rare space rock when members discovered it was “about the size of a bowling ball but twice the weight of a bowling ball”.

The rock had what Valdes described as a “fusion crust” — a glassy outer layer that melted slightly as it entered the atmosphere. It was also worn, a sign that it had been on Earth for centuries.

The meteorite has been sent to the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences in Belgium for chemical analysis.

“All meteorites have something to say about the evolution of the Earth,” Valdez said. “Size doesn’t necessarily matter when it comes to meteorites, and even tiny micrometeorites can be of incredible scientific value.”


A picture of their tents in an ice field
Scientists from the United States, Belgium and Switzerland spent 11 days combing the icy continent in search of space rocks.
Courtesy of Maria Valdés/SWNS

The Independent notes that most of the 45,000 meteorites found in Antarctica over the past century weighed only a few grams.

This discovery came months after NASA’s success Destroyed an asteroid 530 feet wide In a test to prepare for the possibility of a huge space rock hurtling towards and threatening Earth, like the 6.2-mile-wide asteroid that scientists believe wiped out dinosaurs millions of years ago.

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