What Meteorites Say About Our Solar System

Part of Speaker Series for Teachers

Tuesday, April 2, 2024

A meteorite over a mountain range at night, appearing as a bright streak of light against a rich background of stars. Averie Woodard/Unsplash

Join us for a virtual talk with Museum Curator and Chair of the Division of Physical Sciences Denton Ebel.

Meteorites record the solar system's chemistry, its age, and the differentiation of planetary bodies. They illustrate simple concepts like condensation, oxidation, and the chemical affinities of groups of elements. Ebel will explain essential, information-rich diagrams about these topics, their historical context, how we know what we know, and the many puzzles that remain. He will explore meteorites and their presolar grains at high resolution and discover how to extract quantitative data from compelling 2D and 3D (CT) images. NASA’s Stardust comet-sample-return mission, the MESSENGER mission to Mercury, and his group’s recent findings in meteoritics will be discussed in this context.

This is a free online event for teachers. One hour of CTLE credit is available.

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