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Antarctica: Scientists collect a 7.6 kg meteorite, one of the heaviest ever collected

With the help of satellite data, the team led by Belgian scientists collected five meteorites in the middle of Antarctica. One of them is one of the heaviest on the continent.

A particularly imposing rock. A team led by Belgian scientists collected a 7.6kg meteorite in Antarctica on Monday using data from the European Copernicus satellite, the European Space Agency (ESA) shared, relayed by Numerama. Discoveries of celestial pebbles are not uncommon in the region but the mass of this one is particularly notable.

“It is one of the heaviest meteorites ever found on the continent,” the ESA said in particular.

Only “one hundred” of the 45,000 meteorites collected on the continent over the past hundred years weighed at least 7.6 kg, the agency continues. The team of scientists was also able to collect four other smaller rocks at the site, after a three-hour snowmobile ride in “biting winds and freezing temperatures.” The scientists provided ESA with a photo showing their delight at the discovery.

Scientists in front of the meteorite they found in Antarctica.
Scientists in front of the meteorite they found in Antarctica. © María Valdés – European Space Agency (ESA)

All these rocks have been transferred to Brussels and are currently being studied at the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences. These analyzes will be used to “help scientists study the solar system and the processes that take place in it,” says the ESA.

A conducive continent for the discovery of meteorites

Antarctica is a particularly interesting land for meteorite hunters. In fact, the continent has a “dry environment” that “limits the degree of erosion from meteorites,” according to the researchers.

Another element: the contrast between the colored meteorites and the ground, white or bluish depending on the location, which makes it easier to spot them than in an environment with a more varied composition.

Some areas called “blue ice”, located at the foot of mountainous reliefs where the winds are concentrated, are so buffeted by the winds that the snow does not stagnate there, leaving the frozen ground and the meteorites that are there directly exposed. seen by scientists.

In addition, the ice flows that descend through these heights drag the meteorites that have fallen higher towards these open areas.

Author: glenn gillet
Source: BFM TV

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