Mineralogy

By Brent Hyde, Minerology Technician

Did life ever exist on the red planet? This is a question NASA has been trying to answer for more than 40 years. In the next couple of years, NASA hopes to get some answers.

Originally published in ROM Magazine, Fall 2010.

I found a blackened rock that I think might be a meteorite. How can I tell for sure?

By Brendt Hyde, Mineralogy Technician

Our solar system is a very busy place! Aside from the 9 (no, make that 8!) major planets and their moons, there are 5 dwarf planets, 3 massive asteroid belts containing tens of thousands of smaller irregular bodies, and an untold number of comets.