Big Meteorite Discovered in Antarctica

Meteorite hunters at the bottom of the world bagged a rare find this southern summer: a 40-pound (18 kilogram) chunk of extraterrestrial rock.

A team from Belgium and Japan discovered the hefty meteorite as the members drove across the East Antarctic plateau on snowmobiles. Initial tests show it is an ordinary chondrite, the most common type of meteorite found on Earth, Vinciane Debaille, a geologist from Université Libre de Bruxelles in Belgium, said in a statement.

"This is the biggest meteorite found in East Antarctica for 25 years," Debaille said. "This is something very exceptional. When you find such a meteorite on Earth, it means that when it was in the sky, it was much larger."

more here: http://news.discovery.com/earth/rocks-fossils/big-meteorite-found-antarctica-130301.htm

Well, it looks like the U.S. is sending scientists to hunt for meteorites on the other side of Antarctica, around McMurdo Station, so maybe we'll see some more finds.

Here's an interesting gallery of rarer 'fallen stars'.

http://www.livescience.com/15445-fallen-stars-gallery-famous-meteorites.html