Letters: In Brief

Sir: Mr Tom Newth of Christie's ("Chip off the moon fetches pounds 9,200", 16 April) says we are not sure why most meteorite finds occur in Antarctica. He suggests that it is due to the Earth's magnetic field, but the answer is more mundane. Rocks are not more likely to land in Antarctica than elsewhere, but are much more likely to be found if they do. Since much of Antarctica is featureless, glaciated and unchanged in thousands of years, a piece of strange rock is more likely to be spotted there than in most other places on the planet.

ANTHONY POTTS

London E14