Scientists Angry When New Meteor Site Proves Them Wrong

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Old Secret

A great meteor shower struck Earth 4000 years ago. Meteors falling is not such a unique phenomenon. But these ones left craters that are very much visible even after millennia.

Craters weren’t the only thing left behind by the meteor shower. After all this time, a team of scientists in Argentina has discovered something extraordinary about this magnificent event.

A Very Old Story

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The event that hit the lands 4000 years ago, happened over the territory that is now Argentina. And its story has been passed down from generation to generation by the natives until today.

It wasn’t until recently though that scientists unraveled one of the most marvelous secrets the meteor shower had left behind. And it stunned everyone.

New Secrets

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Scientists discovered a giant meteorite in Chaco, Argentina, which is around 670 miles northwest of the capital of Argentina, Buenos Aires.

The meteorite was discovered 16 feet below the surface of the ground. But the scientists realized immediately that this was no normal discovery. Something was different about this one.

Giant Rock

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When the scientists’ crew began digging, they never expected such a discovery. The celestial object left everyone without words when they saw the size of the crater it left behind.

It hit Earth thousands of years ago, but the hole it left behind was deep and covered a large portion of land. It was so deep that no one was able to uncover all its secrets until now.

Incredible Size

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When they unearthed the meteorite, lead scientist Mario Vesconi had told the media that the rock’s size and weight were much larger than they initially appreciated.

At that point, it was clear that taking the rock out of its hole was not going to be easy. They realized that the operation would require extensive preparation and special equipment. And even with all of that, they weren’t sure it would succeed.

The Site Of Campo Del Cielo

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The location of the famed celestial event was named Campo del Cielo which translates to Field of Heaven. The meteorite shower from 4000 years ago hit a large area with iron-rich meteorites, creating an incredible site filled with sky rocks.

Until now, 26 crates have been discovered, and around 100 tons of meteorite samples have been documented. But not all secrets of Campo del Cielo have been unraveled.

Dealing With The Water

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The excavation site was rapidly filling up with groundwater. The shallow water from the area threatened to submerge the meteorite entirely and the crew was getting desperate.

It became a race against time as well. The large size of the rock wasn’t the only problem anymore. This raised additional challenges for the digging crew. Would they be able to take it out in time?

Needing More Help

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The massive operation was attracting extra attention from the people in the area. Locals and even some companies got involved in the operation of their lifetime. Officials from Gancedo, a nearby town, offered the researchers machinery that could pull out the thousand-year-old rock.

The lead scientists named the meteorite Gancedo as a sign of gratitude for the support they had received from the authorities. Everyone was happy. They were getting closer to unraveling the millennia-old secret hiding along with the giant rock.

Getting Attention

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People from nearby areas came to the project’s site. Every curious local was there. They all wanted to see with their own eyes what they were digging out. To people’s surprise, it was something massive that came from very far away and landed right there near their little town.

When the crew finally pulled out the giant meteorite, everyone’s jaws dropped when they say it.

Massive Weight

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They finally got a chance to weigh the giant rock. The scientists were astonished to find out that Gancedo’s mass was around 33 tons. They expected it to be big, but no one thought it would be over 30 tons.

Vesconi and his team were in awe of the discovery. No one could believe that such a massive meteorite could still be discovered during our times.

Record

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The meteorite is not your average chunk of space rock, as it challenges the second largest meteorite ever found. Weighing in at around 33 tons, Gancedo is only bested by the 37 ton El Chaco meteorite found in the same Campo del Cielo.

This makes the Gancedo the third largest meteorite in the world. Vesconi never expected such an incredible discovery when they began digging it out.

26 Craters

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Gancedo and El Chaco are the largest fragments found so far from that historical fall. But they weren’t the only ones.

The meteor shower from 4000 years ago left many iron-rich meteorites scattered over a large area. So far, 26 craters have been found, and around 100 tons of meteorite samples have been recovered.

One Giant Rock

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The celestial shower that hit Campo del Cielo is believed to have originated from a single 600-ton meteor. And scientists believe that while half of it burned down during its entry into Earth’s atmosphere, the rest separated into smaller meteorites.

It must have been a spectacular sight for the inhabitants of the area. Their stories about the event have been passed down from generation to generation for thousands of years.

The Biggest One

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While Campo del Cielo is currently the location of the largest number of meteorites in the world, it is not home to the biggest space rock to ever land on our planet.

That title is held by Hoba, a 66-ton (132,000 pounds) meteorite discovered in Namibia, South Africa, that was found in 1920 by a farmer who was working on his land.

Getting A Piece

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To prevent people from taking portions of this precious rock as souvenirs, Gancedo was declared a national monument. Its protection increased, and the only attention it got since then was from tourists and not thieves.

If you want to get a small piece of a genuine meteorite, there are verified vendors out there. Just make sure that it comes from a reputable source.