NASA finds new Space-opals on Mars!

Addie Kidd — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 16:47:00 GMT

NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has spotted some opal-like material on Mars. Check out the satellite photo at left.

The presence of these hydrated minerals in relatively "young rock" (We're talking only about 2 billion years old here. You know...young.) has scientists all excited because it gives a timeline for when Mars likely had enough water to support life.

This discovery has me excited because I love pretty, pretty opals.

Now I'm just trying to figure out how long it will take space pioneers to start mining this stuff. Can you imagine?? Necklaces and possibly engagement rings of the future could be sporting Martian opals. Crazy, huh?

~Addie~

You can read the story on NASA's Web site here.
If you'd like more information about all thing opal, check out our printable Opal Glossary.
And for information about how best to clean opals and other gems, see out our printable Gemstone Cleaning Chart.

Thanks to The Daily Jewel blog for the link, and NASA for the picture.

Sedona dark sky astronomy tour

Jill Erickson — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 21:52:00 GMT

The recent lunar eclipse got me thinking about the evening sky tour my husband and I were "wowed" by in Sedona a week and a half ago. The dark, clear nights in northern Arizona make for excellent star gazing. We booked a tour with an outfit that provides sky tourists with their own professional astronomer who sets up a state-of-the-art telescope at a dark sky site (www.eveningskytours.com).

Here's our guide! With laser pointer in hand, he highlighted planets, galaxies, and nebula. Then we took turns peering through the lens of the telescope to view these objects in detail. The moon was just a crescent that night, which made the constellations easier to find. It really was quite magical. I can see why our sister publication, Astronomy magazine, has such a loyal following (www.astronomy.com).

Art Jewelry magazine Editors' Blog : astronomy

NASA finds new Space-opals on Mars!

Sedona dark sky astronomy tour