Antarctica Has Almost All the Meteorites



Of all the meteorites that we have found, two-thirds of them have been recovered in Antarctica. As strange as that seems, those meteorites are pretty much restricted to one small area of Antarctica. When you first hear that, you might think that it has something to do with earth's rotation, or maybe a magnetic field that grabs these falling objects and steers them towards this area around the South Pole. That place is weird in many ways. But you'd be wrong. The operative phrase in the first sentence is "that we have found." It is Antarctica's unique environment that makes finding meteorites easier than anywhere else on earth, even though that continent has relatively few people looking for them. The vast majority of rocks falling from the sky will never be found, but those that are collected in Antarctica tell us an awful lot about outer space, according to this video from MinuteEarth.


Newest 1
Newest 1 Comment

Stephen Baxter's book /Anti-Ice/ is about an alternate world where early-Victorian-era British scientists on an expedition to Antarctica have found a meteorite of special ice with antimatter suspended magnetically in it. One of the first uses of this material is to break the Siege of Sevastopol with a disastrous atomic bomb. Giant land ships and sea ships are built, driven by clockworks metering tiny slivers of anti-ice into boilers. Anti-ice powers a rocket to the moon. An endless supply of anti-ice is found in space. Etc. Here: https://en.everybodywiki.com/Anti-Ice.
Abusive comment hidden. (Show it anyway.)
Login to comment.




Email This Post to a Friend
"Antarctica Has Almost All the Meteorites"

Separate multiple emails with a comma. Limit 5.

 

Success! Your email has been sent!

close window
X

This website uses cookies.

This website uses cookies to improve user experience. By using this website you consent to all cookies in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

I agree
 
Learn More