[News] 17-pound meteorite found in Antarctica, likely hidden for millennia, is perfectly intact

On a recent expedition to Antarctica, researchers discovered five perfectly-preserved meteorites that have likely been hiding beneath the ice for thousands of years.



Scientists recently scooped up one of the heaviest meteorites ever discovered in Antarctica, as well as four other frozen space rocks that likely crashed into the icy continent thousands of years ago.

The researchers found the minihoard of meteorites on the surface of the Nils Larsen blue ice zone near the Belgian-owned Princess Elisabeth Antarctica station. Of the five meteorites, the standout was a cantaloupe-size rock that weighed a whopping 16.7 pounds (7.6 kilograms). Of the 45,000 meteorites discovered in Antarctica, only around 100 have been as heavy as this cosmic cannonball.

"Size doesn't necessarily matter when it comes to meteorites, and even tiny micrometeorites can be incredibly scientifically valuable," expedition scientist Maria Valdes, a meteoriticist at the Field Museum in Chicago, said in a press statement. "But of course, finding a big meteorite like this one is rare, and really exciting."

Source: https://www.livescience.com/heavy-meteorite-discovered-antarctica