Why Are They All In Antarctica?

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Meteorite hunters don’t search for meteorites in the places most frequently peppered by them - they go to Antarctica instead, because that’s where they are easiest to find.
LEARN MORE
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To learn more about this topic, start your googling with these keywords:
- ANSMET: a program funded by the Office of Polar Programs of the National Science Foundation that looks for meteorites in the Transantarctic Mountains.
- Glacier: a slowly moving mass or river of ice formed by the accumulation and compaction of snow on mountains or near the poles.
- Meteorite: a meteor that survives its passage through the earth's atmosphere such that part of it strikes the ground.
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CREDITS
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Cameron Duke | Script Writer, Narrator and Co-Director
Ever Salazar | Illustration, Video Editing and Animation, and Co-Director
Nathaniel Schroeder | Music
MinuteEarth is produced by Neptune Studios LLC
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OUR STAFF
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Lizah van der Aart • Sarah Berman • Cameron Duke
Arcadi Garcia i Rius • David Goldenberg • Melissa Hayes
Alex Reich • Henry Reich • Peter Reich
Ever Salazar • Leonardo Souza • Kate Yoshida
OTHER CREDITS
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Mazapil Meteorite - James St. John
www.flickr.com...
"Antarctica Satellite Map of Blue Ice" and "Probability of Finding Meteorites"
NASA Earth Observatory images by Joshua Stevens, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey, MODIS data from NASA EOSDIS LANCE and GIBS/Worldview, and data courtesy of Tollenaar, V., et al. (2022).
earthobservato...
Antarctic Meteorite - NASA/JSC/ANSMET
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REFERENCES
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Antarctica’s Blue Ice | EROS. (n.d.). eros.usgs.gov/...
Brennecka, G. (2022). Impact. HarperCollins.
I think I found a meteorite. How can I tell for sure? | U.S. Geological Survey. (n.d.) www.usgs.gov/f...
Korotev, R. (n.d.). Some Meteorite Statistics | Some Meteorite Information | Washington University in St. Louis. sites.wustl.ed...
Korotev, R. (n.d.). [Letter to Cameron Duke].
Nabiei, F., Badro, J., Dennenwaldt, T., Oveisi, E., Cantoni, M., Hébert, C., El Goresy, A., Barrat, J.-A., & Gillet, P. (2018). A large planetary body inferred from diamond inclusions in a ureilite meteorite. Nature Communications, 9(1). doi.org/10.103...
Steigerwald, B. (2020, December 10). Key Building Block for Organic Molecules Discovered in Meteorites. NASA. www.nasa.gov/f...
Tollenaar, V., Zekollari, H., Tax, D., Goderis, S., Claeys, P., Pattyn, F., & Lerhmitte, S. (2022). Unexplored Antarctic meteorite collection sites revealed through machine learning. Science Advances, 8(4). doi.org/10.112...
Treiman, A. H., LaManna, J. M., Hussey, D. S., deClue, I., & Anovitz, L. M. (2022). Coordinated neutron and X‐ray computed tomography of meteorites: Detection and distribution of hydrogen‐bearing materials. Meteoritics and Planetary Science. doi.org/10.111...
Where to catch a falling star. (n.d.). Where to Catch a Falling Star. wheretocatchaf...

[@caydes]

Love it that the person looking for Meteorite was sokka trying to make his space sword

[@figuremations1619]

innit

[@3rdrevant]

@@figuremations1619 omg totally missed that reference!

[@inkbotkowalski]

came here for this XD

[@pokemonbrickbronze5947]

AVATAR REFRENCE

[@kadeadams2308]

I WAS ABOUT TO SAY IT

[@gamerguy756]

That drawing of Antarctica putting all its meteorites into a neat pile is so adorable holy heck

[@steptimusheap8860]

Now i feel bad that we steal them all

[@summer-jy2pw]

1:45 for anyone interested

[@joanignasi91]

Catartica

[@stibiumowl]

Its ultra cute indeed and nit the least bit hell-like

[@teacher_ash]

As a physics and science teacher that has focused on meteorites a lot in different classes, I really gotta hand it to you on this one! Big picture and the feeling of a scientist in the field all in one! Cheers! This is officially my go-to video for meteorites in class now. Big thank you!

[@varahalreddy4456]

Good for you man 😊

[@That.Guy.]

I would say the earths rotation has far more to do with why there are more meteorites at the poles. It’s simple physics

[@teacher_ash]

@@That.Guy. Let's see what you think. Give more details.

[@That.Guy.]

@@teacher_ash assuming a meteorite is equally as likely to come from any direction…. Those coming directly at the poles will most likely hit the poles, even with the earth spinning. if it’s coming directly at the equator as the Earth spins it could land anywhere on planet earth

[@Michael.032]

​@@That.Guy. ??? If the meteorites are "equally as likely to come from any direction", they are equally as likely to land on any spot on the Earth. "If it's coming directly at the equator... it could land anywhere on planet earth." If it's coming directly at the equator, it will land on the equator. The Earth's spinning has nothing to do with this. To put it a different way, let's assume the Earth doesn't spin. The meteorites, under the assumption that they're equally as likely to come from any direction, have an equal probability to land on every spot on the Earth, right? So once the Earth starts spinning, what changes? The only different is that the meteorites will land further west than the spot their velocity vector was pointing at while they entered the atmosphere, but given that the meteorites were initially evenly distributed, moving all of them the same angle to the west won't change anything.

[@Naidnapurugavihs]

This channel is one of the best channels in this entire platform which explains a LOT of interesting stuff with simple but still factual representation ❤❤❤❤❤

[@alveolate]

cthulhu is definitely factually represented!

[@yankeedoodle6069]

And puns. Don't forget the puns.

[@TonicofSonic]

WHY FILES

[@TonicofSonic]

@lanichilds2825 Thanks!!

[@secularmonk5176]

Love hearing stories about the scientific endeavors in Antarctica ... it's like going to Mars on easy mode.

[@anthonymorris5084]

I have a collection. I store them in Antarctica. Stop touching them.

[@mars-decrypted2957]

What if I wear gloves?

[@anthonymorris5084]

@@mars-decrypted2957 I'd recommend wearing a complete set of clothes not just gloves.

[@marimuthus]

Are you antartica

[@adamstanton5313]

Can I have some ? Just a few.

[@sameer1321]

I like the ATLA reference at the end

[@AmethystHorizon54]

Did you notice it was Sokka collecting the meteorites??? SPACE SWORD!!!

[@scrubyboat]

😂

[@Roshua14]

Atla was there all along, from start till end

[@stevena105]

Or the Pokey in the desert?

[@themaskedcrusader]

@@stevena105 All the quality cactus juice!

[@茉莉香歩美]

That Cthulhu made my day

[@jacen60]

0:28 SOKKA?!?!!

[@That.One.Kid_]

Literally my reaction

[@TadtaBouaphengkhoun]

Wow that’s a good reference!

[@themaskedcrusader]

ok, this was clever. I was wondering why the stick-guy looked an awful bit lit Sokka until the reference to Aang and Appa at the end. Good job, guys.

[@YoungGandalf2325]

My first guess was that the Earth's rotational velocity is lower at the poles which allows meteorites to survive the trip through the atmosphere. Or ferrous meteorites are more attracted to Earth's magnetic poles. Or the meteorites were launched by aliens trying to destroy Antarctica and the secret world hidden beneath it.

[@Zachyshows]

Probably 3

[@mrocto329]

I think- *puts on tin foil hat* I think it's aliens. There are thousands of viruses preserved in Antarctica still frozen & 'alive' due to the weather conditions (slightly cold, snowing). These viruses were sent by the aliens thousands of years ago before they decayed into civil war, and now that their communities have stabilized politically they are looking to attack again. But, keep in mind, they came out of civil war, so they do not have the power to send new viruses just yet. They sent the last one they could, covid-19, and now are trying to come up with excuses like 'climate change is melting the ice' while secretly sending rocks that break the ice down revealing the viruses.

[@nothing-mm8ui]

The aliens are just trying to protect us from the evil penguin empire.

[@babilon6097]

I was also wondering if it is anything similar to aurora.

[@tonydai782]

It's not even most of Antarctica, it's a specific region of Antarctica, so the first one is unlikely,

[@SecanaGoudy]

Hi, I'm a meteorite scientist. It's wonderful to see a video in this topic area, especially one as accurate as this one. However here are a couple statements in the video that are somewhat off. 1) This is a subtle distinction, but meteorites aren't magnetic. What is the case is that most of them have enough nickel-iron in them that they'll stick to a magnet or attract a magnet, but this is not true of every meteorite. 2) The second major factor for why meteorites are rarely found outside of deserts, and which is arguably a more important factor (MinuteEarth is not wrong about the weathering, but weathering is not typically viewed as being the major issue for finding meteorites), is that meteorites are very hard to find in any environment with a lot of foliage or urban development. Even if you know a meteor recently came down into an area with a lot of plant cover or human development, there's good odds that a dedicated search will find little to nothing of the meteorite. In a desert, there's a lot less obscuring stuff in the way that needs to be sorted through to find the meteorites.

[@Iohannis42]

Is it possible that the extreme cold makes a difference?

[@KnowArt]

cool! my first instinct was that it had something to do with the rotation of the earth

[@isacami25]

same!

[@LikeTheBuffalo]

my guess was magnetism. glad to be proven incorrect.

[@GarrettFrechette]

Sea Cthulhu collecting meteorites is just the best thought.

[@nitisharyan8413]

2:55 Appa!!!

[@luketurner314]

2:04 And here I thought "blue ice" was a made up thing for Minecraft

[@NiyaKouya]

Love your videos, the humor (though the puns can get a bit out of hand in some 😅) and all the little references (AtlA!)

[@K0wface]

Short, simple, and informative! Thanks!

[@alphaapple1375]

I loved how #MinuteEarth included the mythological Cthulhu.

[@QixTheDS]

Boy what the hell you mean “mythological?”

[@markokostelac7282]

@@QixTheDS cuz he aint real

[@QixTheDS]

@@markokostelac7282 stop lyin

[@SRFriso94]

I was wondering if that early Sokka cameo was going anywhere being a reference to his meteorite sword (probably wouldn't work very well, btw). Turns out, it was.

[@WindsorMason]

The Pokey hiding in back (at 1:00 ) fits in well in both deserts. :D

[@babilon6097]

Cthulu? I don't remember that pokémon...

[@Zaxares]

Cthulhu was deemed too OP and got removed from the games. ;P

[@Marshal_999]

how is this comment 10 hours ago

[@silviavalentine3812]

It's cause pokemon are his babies xD

[@touhidrhman9278]

KZbin is on dru*s man. It says 10h ago

[@killedbydead2953]

Ah,lovecraft wrote about some loveley and cute creatures,didnt he?

[@hornetIIkite3]

Loved Aang in the ice-berg, and sokka looking for his space rock

[@dukeofglasgow9354]

And the meteorite looks like the sozin’s comet

[@Ascertivus]

Fascinating! Great, well-put together video as usual.

[@SirToastyToes]

There's a great flowchart for identifying meteorites, and one of the questions is "did someone see it fall" which if yes points to NOT A METEORITE

[@zach11241]

Not always true, though. There is a woman that watched a meteor fall mainly because it crashed through her house and hit her (after bouncing around a bit). Ann Elizabeth Fowler Hodges

[@SirToastyToes]

@@zach11241 yeah it's just one of those 99.9999% cases

[@malaineeward5249]

​@@SirToastyToesk, but why is someone witnessing a meteorite doing what a meteorite does make it not a meteorite?

[@SirToastyToes]

@@malaineeward5249 basically the chances that you saw a rock fall from the sky and then also managed to find it successfully is pretty much zero: "Meteors enter the Earth's atmosphere at speeds ranging from 14 kilometers/second (31,000 miles per hour) to 45 kilometers per second (100,000 miles per hour). At first they burn on the surface and perhaps explode from the shock. But as they go farther into the atmosphere they slow down. All but the largest meteors (like the one that formed Meteor Crater) quit burning and fall dark from an altitude of from 5 to 20 km (3.2 to 12.4 miles). That's a long fall. No human can trace the fall of a rock that far. In fact, no human can even see a small rock at that distance. Where meteorites have been observed to fall, there has simply been a whoosh and a thunk. By the time meteorites hit the earth they are traveling at terminal velocity--that is a velocity at which the resistance of the air will not let them go any faster. They are falling no faster than a rock dropped from an airplane--or the Coke bottle in the first scene "Gods Must Be Crazy." Terminal velocity for a small object is not very high--150 to 300 km/hr (100 to 200 miles per hour more or less) or less. These impacts don't make big craters. You are more likely to see a small indentation in the ground, a small hole, or nothing. With this in mind, here is the bad news: If you saw a rock burn all the way to the ground and recovered it, you probably did not recover a meteorite. The rock you saw burning probably landed over the horizon."

[@ayushupadhyay801]

​@@zach11241it happened again today in france

[@Nyshachor]

I like how the illustrator is an Avatar fan. Loved seeing Sokka Aang and Aappa

[@pratikmali9277]

Biggest desert is…. (Me: Sahara) you guessed it, ANTARCTICA (Me: 😮)

[@tonydai782]

The Sahara is the largest hot desert. Desert's are measured by precipitation, not temperature remember.

[@deepikamali1149]

Same 1:09

[@justabro4001]

Guys can we get a petition for hour earth I love the one minute vids buy imagine a movie XD

[@lemagicbaguette1917]

A Minute-of-Minutes Earth?

[@I4getTings]

Awesome, I love Saka looking for meteorites for his sword 🤣 Edit: And now Ang @2:55 !! Love it

[@qqq1701]

I thought it was going to be Antarctica gets more for some reason but they're just easier to find there.

[@dweebteambuilderjones7627]

Exactly. The rate of deposition is the same as it is everywhere else on Earth, it's just that the accessibility & likelihood of preservation are higher.

[@StarbornCthulhu]

You have no idea how annoying it is getting pelted by space pebbles. At least they look pretty when on display

[@sergiojuanmembiela6223]

Also, it is speculated that the first metalworking civilizations in the Old World used whatever ferrous meteorites they could get their hands on.

[@hammerhand9449]

Hey thats Sokka! How will he make space sword!?!

[@nebulan]

He might find aang tho 2:52

[@strawberrymilk_nya]

Loving the Avatar The Last Airbender references!

[@davidnguyen3469]

It hasn't even been an hour and I've seen this video change the thumbnail 3 times already. What the heck?

[@None_of_your_business666]

1:30 don't worry, humanity is making a huge effort to get them out of the ice

[@Zachyshows]

0:48 a long -time- ago

[@nathanhale7444]

I used to have one. At least I think that's what it was. It was only about an inch and a half long. It was broken showing a metallic interior with a melted exterior. Most meteorites are tiny. Smaller than a grain of rice. If you run a strong magnet around any random place you find them. Often mixed with chunks of rusty metal

[@Pencilneckgeek216]

Haven't watched yet, but wanted to make a guess: most meteors have high concentrations of metal, so they follow the magnetic lines to the poles.

[@Field_Ant]

hmmm that's actually kinda good

[@looks-suspicious]

Yes, just like all the man-made satellites and space vehicles, they keep veering off course and crashing in the polar regions, right? The forces created by Earth's magnetic field are tremendous. Does that pass the sniff test? Erm no.

[@bort6414]

Afraid not. The earth's magnetic field may contribute a tiny fraction of the forces acting on a meteorite, but the magnetic field of the earth is far to weak to actually have any significant effect on objects moving many times the speed of sound towards the surface.

[@AyratHungryStudent]

What I learned from this video: Cthulhu collects meteorites.

[@MN-pu6qx]

Great video. Thanks.

[@constance.mcentee]

This is the first and only time I've seen an educational video featuring guest appearances by both Cthulhu and Aang.

[@weizhao4840]

i am 11 years old...and i know more science than most of the 9th graders in my school becuz of min earth. tk u 4 making me smart!!

[@marcosmith6613]

Nice, not sure there's anything easy about Antarctica, but at least theres a reason to go there, other than the penquins of course!

[@MrSlosh]

I was going to guess magnets, but a cuddly glacier custodian is pretty cool too.

[@NoelleSmith-m4x]

Short, simple, and informative! Thanks!. Fascinating! Great, well-put together video as usual..

[@petacarney9848]

Thank you for pronouncing “Antarctica” correctly. So many forget about the first “c”. You earned my subscription 🌸.

[@rosecold3226]

I love Antarctica!!!

[@kevinbihari]

That sokka thing was a nice touch

[@VeryNormiee]

MinuteEarth makes learning fun and interesting.

[@fredrichenning1367]

I found one tennis-ball size (nickel/iron) in my garden while "tilling the soil".

[@psylonmusic5264]

Love this Sokka cameo so much

[@scarujo666]

Sokka reference with meteorites, love it. and then Aang buried in ice. S2

[@Mike91975]

I love the footnote at 2:16

[@NPC..........]

Sokka successfully convinced aang to bring him to look for more meteorites. Speaking of the space sword, it's probably worth a lot since it was the one used to stop the 100-year war. Toph probably has it, tho since it fell in the swamp, i think

[@banaanipassifin4159]

Best video about Media Rights ive seen

[@swayback7375]

So simple, easy to watch or show others Thanks!

[@markjames495]

I think it's amazing that they all seem to land right in the middle of a crater.

[@juliemarkham4332]

Love the graphics!

[@evobsm2328]

Beceause here is why: try to find a meteorite between a bunch of other millions of rocks on the streets/mountains or wooded areas. A needle in a haystack doesnt even begin to cover the insanity of trying to find a small pebble size meteorite between the maze that is earth. Finding a small rock in a desolate white wasteland... now that makes it a lot easier espescially if they fell recently.

[@Theiliteritesbian]

Good video. Also thanks for not dragging it out to 18 minutes

[@andriinaum1411]

Let me guess: it has the same number, they just preserved better?

[@the_mad_bunnyx9537]

I know its silly for me to care since it is just an illustration that is not meant to be 100% accurate, but it bothers me that the meteoroids are meteors all the way down to the ground. This doesn't happen for small (not wiping out large areas) meteoroids. They plow through enough atmosphere to slow down below the speed of sound and stop being heated up. (a.k.a. the dark flight). By the time they get to the ground they have long ceased glowing. It would just be a falling rock.

[@davidphillips3953]

Probably also has to do with earths magnetic field like how iron filings accumulate more towards the poles of a magnet and how particles ejected from the sun are drawn to the poles causing the auroras.

[@akshaymurukate7163]

I love the animation ❤

[@karhukivi]

There are also found in deserts for the same reason - easy to spot a black rock on a white background!

[@martinharris5017]

Thanks, you've answered a question I have been asking myself!

[@kaleoariola]

Awesome amout of information and context in a small amout of time. Well done mahalo for sharing

[@kayrius]

0:27 I wouldn't mind stumbling across a meteorite, but i dont want them stumbling across me, 'cause oh boy...

[@kyng272]

I love the Sokka's Space Sword reference! That is so clever! More Avatar representation!

[@byoobyoo1280]

I did not know that. That was very interesting.

[@Sara-L]

Easier place to find meteorites, find glacial debris fields. They used to be sparse.. ..But now with the majority of glaciers and ice sheets retreating, they're popping up.

[@S0ulGh0st]

Somebody really likes Avatar: The Last Air Bender, huh?

[@zeeraknasir6184]

Gotta love that adorable Cthulhu.

[@erictaylor5462]

I witnessed a meteor fall once. It was a fist sized stony rock and when I picked it up I expected it to be hot, or at least warm. It was freezing cold!

[@mikeh1259]

That was great thank you! I learned that the glaciers act like conveyor belts and transport millennia worth of meteorites to certain gathering grounds scattered about Antarctica. Also, thank you for properly pronouncing "Antarctica". and not saying "Annarticka" 👌

[@spontaneousadventurouskid]

at 2:40 avatar the last bender ang and apa trapped in ice reference.

[@TheEclecticDyslexic]

I like many others here had the first instinct that it would have to do with rotational velocity or the magnetic poles... but I wasn't totally sold on that first instinct, because I would have expected you to mention something about the north pole as well in that case. I think the real explanation is a really good example of how one can be mislead when trying to come to conclusions about data. Assuming the data hasn't been muddied by some external factor that seems totally unrelated to the question at hand can be a big mistake.

[@chrishei3111]

I learned 2 major thing here, I didnt realize antarctica was so big! and the meteors being found there is fascinating! I was sorta hoping it would be due to magnetic poles and something weird about meteors, but it makes sense that the rest just fade away

[@chrishei3111]

after writing my comment I see that most of the comments are the same thing lol, us viewers are all pretty like minded hehe

[@dizzy_jump]

that antarctica animation was so cute

[@dollerashrafi5897]

Nice

[@phamthao5627]

Your channel is the best to watch! Can you make a video about Pokemon too? (I'm crazy about it)

[@twistedraws1096]

I love the ATLA refrences and I do hope Aang is hidden away somewhere in an iceberg

[@SuperKyba]

It's Sokka! Space Swordsman Supreme!

[@crimsonraen]

HA Sokka then Ang at the end, so good.

[@mn1729]

Thanks!

[@joshuabradshaw5270]

Huh, magnets. Crazy stuff! -Johnny Carson

[@Essuna]

My dude! Cuthulu (or however it is written) AND Avatar! I love learning new things, but if I can giggle through the lesson is always better! Instant follow! Cuthulu may have a hoarding problem 😂

[@FoScoJo]

This sounds like the basis for a great sci-fi story.

[@luutas]

Sokka searching meteorites for a space sword 0:44

[@MinusMedley]

That is where the iron filings go on a magnet too, Arctic has lots too they're just at the bottom of the ocean.

[@luutas]

I was asking why is Sokka in this video... Then I saw the reference at the end 😂 love it

[@Praisethesunson]

I wonder how warm the climate will have to get for us to start mining those spacy rocks.

[@runnergo1398]

This video should be shown in schools.

[@Fido-vm9zi]

Just wait until their impeccable timing for everything is revealed.

[@MooImABunny]

it took me more time to figure out why Sokka was featured in the episode than I would care to admit. not a lot, but still longer than I feel like I should have

[@imfloridano5448]

I think I found one here in TX just gimping along. It is attracted to magnets and it has tiny pot holes on it. Don't know where to take it to have it tested.

[@starpawsy]

They really *are* everywhere. We saw lots of icebergs float past that had embedded single stones near the surface. Lots of them. I would assume that they were meteorites, as they were monstrous bergs of pure ice with only one or two small stones in them, that had clearly been embedded.

[@paulkepshire5056]

Never before has Antarctica looked so adorable! 🥰

[@Index-o1234]

I didn't watch the Video but one would asume it is because of the makeup of the metiorite ex Berryllium, Lanthinum, Uranium. The added elctromagnetic attraction due to the cold temps keeping in mind that the whole planet is given to magnetic forces due to it's movement threw space externally / it's internal molten core moving internally (friction÷ +/- forces) which extend into it's atmosphere and returns to earth as lightning (static + to ground-) These forces would be at there strongest where it is cold and electricity can more easily conduct from point A. to Point B. and add to it's magnetic polarity of North / South.

[@amaralharbi-iv7tc]

this channel is the best