Scientists just excavated an unprecedented specimen from Antarctica

At an extremely remote Antarctic outpost, scientists have unearthed a pristine sample of our planet's history.

It's an ice core 2,800 meters, or some 1.7 miles, long. But it's not just the length that's so significant. The ice contains preserved pockets of Earth's air from some 1.2 million years ago, if not more. Previous ice cores provided direct evidence of our planet's climate and environment from up to 800,000 years ago.

So, this is a giant leap. The team drilled so deep they reached the continent's bedrock.