An excavating team in Argentina have unearthed a rock weighing over 30 tonnes it is thought could be one of the world’s largest meteorites.
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An excavating team in Argentina have unearthed a rock weighing over 30 tonnes it is thought could be one of the world’s largest meteorites.
It was unearthed from an area 1,000 kilometres north of Buenos Aires that is littered with craters and is believed to have experienced a powerful meteorite shower more than 4,000 years ago.
Scientists are to carry out more tests to determine the rock’s origins.
The same area of Argentina – Campo de Cielo – is home to another giant meteorite known as El Chaco. Weighing 37 tonnes, it was discovered in 1969.
The world’s largest was found in Namibia nearly a century ago. Hoba weighs more than 60 tonnes and is said to have landed 80,000 years ago.
Astronomers say they were surprised by the latest discovery’s size and weight.
The readings need to be confirmed but scientists are confident: an estimated 100 tonnes of space debris have been excavated from the site so far.