[meteorite-list] Japanese Team Finds 3,554 Meteorites (!)

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 09:42:03 2004
Message-ID: <200101231958.LAA21455_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/antarctic_meteors_010123_wg.html

Japanese Team Finds 3,554 Meteorites
23 January 2001

TOKYO (AP) -- Japanese scientists have found 3,554 meteorites in Antarctica
during a three-week search -- a collection that could yield clues about the
rest of our solar system, a government official said Tuesday.

The finds were made around the Yamato mountain range about 185 miles (300
kilometers) from Japan's base on the rim of Antarctica, said Shigeru Kure of
Japan's science ministry.

A meteorite is a meteor that survives the destructive effects of a flight
through the atmosphere and falls to the ground whole or in pieces.

Six members of the Japanese observation team took part in the latest search
conducted between Nov. 19 and Jan. 10, Kure said.

"Such a large number of meteorites discovered may include some rare ones
that could help in finding the origin of the solar system, or the
possibility of any traces of life on other planets,'' Kure said.

In 1998, a total of 4,180 fallen meteors were discovered by the Japanese
team in Antarctica -- the largest number found in a single search, Kure
said.

To date, Japanese observation teams have found about 13,000 meteorites in
Antarctica, about half of all found there.
Received on Tue 23 Jan 2001 02:58:23 PM PST