The meteorite is the largest found in the area for 25 years Researchers on an expedition to Antarctica to hunt for small fragments of meteorites were stunned to find a giant 18kg space rock poking out from the ice sheet - the largest found in the area in 25 years.
They described their find as 'special', and hope it could help explain how the solar system formed.
“To find something this large was very exciting for us - you can see it from very far away,” said Vinciane Debaille, a geologist from Université Libre de Bruxelles, who led the Belgian team during the expedition.
“That’s why we look for meteorites in Antarctica, because you can easily find the black spots on the white snow - but when it’s huge like that you can see it from 50m away or more,” she added.
The meteorite is unusual as the fusion crust – the meteorite’s outer casing - was eroded, allowing the scientists to inspect the rock underneath.
The Brussels-based International Polar Foundation said on Thursday the meteorite is an “ordinary chondrite,” the most common meteorite.
“This meteorite was a very unexpected find for us, not only due to its weight, but because we don’t normally find such large meteorites in Antarctica,” said the organisation.
“This is the biggest meteorite found in East Antarctica for 25 years, so it’s a very special discovery for us, only made possible by the existence and location of Princess Elisabeth Antarctica,” added the foundation.
While this is the largest found in eastern Antarctica since 1988, a 21.5kg meteorite was found on the continent in 2005, according to the Meteoritical Bulletin Database.
The largest in Antarctica was 407kg found in 1976.