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Meteorites in Antarctica
last update: Aug 20, 2008 12:33 PM
Meteorites are materials that impact the Earth from outer space - most are thought to have come from asteroids, but some may have originated on larger planets. Australians found the first Antarctic meteorite in 1912, but serious collecting did not begin until 1969. Since then, more than 10,000 meteorites have been found (mainly by Japanese and US scientists).
Research proves, that meteorites found in Antarctica are better preserved than anywhere else in the world, due to being frozen (being frozen protects them from rusting and corroding). So many meteorites are found in Antarctica because of that, and also because they are easily seen against the ice and the areas where ice evaporates, allow the meteorites to gradually rise to the surface.
