Rare 40-pound Meteorite Found in Antarctica

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."

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.

More - Link >>> http://science.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/28/17135230-rock-on-rare-40-pound-meteorite-found-in-antarctica?lite

Sources: LiveScience.com , NBC News.

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