page_title: Meteorite hunting
section_title: Meteorite hunting in Antarctica
hierarchical_section_title: Meteorite hunting / Meteorite hunting in Antarctica
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Bergung eines Meteoriten in der Antarktis durch Expeditionsmitglieder der U.S. Antarctic Search for Meteorites (ANSMET). Der Meteorit wird mit steriler Zange aufgenommen und in den sauberen Teflonbeutel gesteckt. Die Bergungsstelle wird vorübergehend durch einen Bambusstab mit der Feldnummer des Meteoriten markiert. Relevante Daten werden in ein Notizbuch geloggt, einschließlich Breiten- und Längenkoordinaten, die durch das GPS-Gerät an Bord des Motorschlittens bestimmt werden.. English: Recovery of a meteorite in Antarctica by members of the U.S. Antarctic Search for Meteorites (ANSMET) expedition. The meteorite is picked up with sterile tongs and put into the clean Teflon bag. The recovery site is marked, temporarily, by a bamboo flag pole with the meteorite's field number. Relevant data is logged into a notebook, including latitude and longitude coordinates acquired by the GPS unit onboard the Snowmobile. Español: Equipo recuperando un meteorito en la Antártida Français&#160;: Récupération d'une météorite en Antarctique par les membres de l'expédition de U.S. Antarctic Search for Meteorites (ANSMET). La météorite est prélevée avec des pinces stériles et mise dans un sac Teflon propre. Le site de récupération est temporairement marqué par un poteau en bambou avec le numéro de terrain de la météorite. Les données pertinentes sont enregistrées dans un ordinateur portatif, y compris les coordonnées de latitude et de longitude déterminées par l'unité GPS à bord de la motoneige.
context_page_description: Meteorite hunting is the search for meteorites. A person engaged in the search for meteorites is known as a meteorite hunter. Meteorite hunters may be amateurs who search on the weekends and after work, or professionals who recover meteorites for a living. Both frequently use tools such as metal detectors or magnets to discover the meteorites.
context_section_description: Antarctic prospecting is very expensive and therefore can only be carried on by well funded organizations. Approximately half of the meteorites found in Antarctica have been recovered by ANSMET (Antarctic Search for Meteorite program). The ANSMET program is a major source of the extraterrestrial material that is available for scientific investigation.  Japanese finds make up the majority of the remainder, and China has recently begun exploration.
  A popular geological feature employed by Antarctic meteorite hunters is an area where a natural downsloped plain meets an uprising ridge, such as where the East Antarctic Ice Sheet, creeping to the sea at about three metres (10 feet) per year, meets the Transantarctic Mountains. The downslope-mountain ridge combination allows the creeping gravity-driven icesheet to start rising sharply upwards. As it does so, the exposed snow and ice are removed by fierce winds and sublimation, effectively harvesting the embedded meteorites and leaving them to lie on the surface along the length of the mountain ridge.
  The famed 1.93 kilograms (4.3 lb) Allan Hills 84001 meteorite, commonly abbreviated as ALH 84001 and believed to be from Mars, was found at Allan Hills, Antarctica in 1984. In 1996 NASA scientists announced that it might contain evidence for microscopic fossils of Martian bacteria based on the carbonate globules it contained.
caption: Prospecting in Antarctica, aided by the sharp contrast between dark meteorites and the snow-covered surface.
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