How hard is a diamond? What is the difference between granites and garnets? Minerals are the building blocks of rocks. They are inorganic, crystalline solids with a known chemistry. Examples of ...

“When you examine a meteorite down to micrometers and nanoscales, you can discover clues to what was happening when the rock was formed or when the sample was altered.” While 5,390 minerals ...

The Science Education Center houses thousands of rock and mineral samples in what is known as "The Rock & Mineral Room." The entire collection can be viewed by clicking on each of the virtual drawers ...

A weathered sign in the Minnesota River Valley proudly proclaims: “World’s Oldest Rock.” Erected in 1975, it marks a 3.8-billion-year-old gneiss — or so scientists thought.

A photomosaic taken by the Curiosity rover on April 30, 2023, at one drill site in Gale Crater, Mars. Rock powder samples ...