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Meteorites in Antarctica
last update: Aug 21, 2007 08:40 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.
