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Macaulayite
Macaulayite is a red, earthy, monoclinic mineral, with the chemical formula ( Fe3+, Al)24 Si4 O43( OH)2. It was discovered in the 1970s by Jeff Wilson and named after the Macaulay Institute in Aberdeen, Scotland. The only known source of macaulayite in the world is a quarry at the foot of Bennachie, Aberdeenshire, and it is formed by granite which has been weathered by tropical climates from before the last ice age. The substance is currently being studied by NASA, as it is speculated that this is the substance which gives the planet Mars its colour and it could prove that life on Mars can be sustained. Study by NASA The American space agency NASA is currently carrying out studies on macaulayite, as they believe that the substance might be present on the planet Mars. NASA scientists speculate that macaulayite may be what gives the planet its red colour. Also, as macaulayite is formed in the presence of water, the existence of the mineral on Mars may help to prove that the plane ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Macaulay Institute
The Macaulay Institute, formally the Macaulay Land Use Research Institute and sometimes referred to simply as The Macaulay, is a research institute based at Aberdeen in Scotland, which is now part of the James Hutton Institute. Its work covers aspects such as landscape, soil and water conservation and climate change. History The Macaulay Institute for Soil Research was founded in 1930. A benefaction of £10,000 from one of Canada's Scottish sons, Thomas Bassett Macaulay, of the Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada was used to purchase 50 acres and buildings at Craigiebuckler in Aberdeen. Macaulay's aim was to improve the productivity of Scottish agriculture. Thomas Bassett Macaulay was a descendant of Macaulay family of Lewis, who were centred on the Hebridean Isle of Lewis. He was true to his Hebridean roots throughout his life, often giving large donations to Lewis, which funded various projects including a new library and a new wing at Lewis hospital. The new Macaulay ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bennachie
Bennachie ( ; Scottish Gaelic: ''Beinn na Cìche'') is a range of hills in Aberdeenshire, Scotland.Whiteley, A.W.M. (Ed.) (1976). ''The Book of Bennachie''. The Bailies of Bennachie. . Mostly anecdotes and verse about the mountain and its surroundings. It has several tops, the highest of which, Oxen Craig, has a height of . Though not particularly high, compared to other peaks within Scotland, the mountain is very prominent, owing to its isolation and the relative flatness of the surrounding terrain, and dominates the skyline from several viewpoints. The peak that stands out the most visually is Mither Tap (518 m, 1699 feet) and from its top there are good views of the county to the north and east. Most of the tops lie along an east / west ridge, with the exception of Millstone Hill (409 m) an outlier or spur which is separated from and to the south of the main ridge. Mither Tap has an Iron Age fort on its summit. Unlike with many other hilltop forts in the area, there ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Granite
Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies underground. It is common in the continental crust of Earth, where it is found in igneous intrusions. These range in size from dikes only a few centimeters across to batholiths exposed over hundreds of square kilometers. Granite is typical of a larger family of ''granitic rocks'', or ''granitoids'', that are composed mostly of coarse-grained quartz and feldspars in varying proportions. These rocks are classified by the relative percentages of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase (the QAPF classification), with true granite representing granitic rocks rich in quartz and alkali feldspar. Most granitic rocks also contain mica or amphibole minerals, though a few (known as leucogranites) contain almost no dark minerals. Granite is nearly alway ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aluminium Minerals
Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. It has a great affinity towards oxygen, and forms a protective layer of oxide on the surface when exposed to air. Aluminium visually resembles silver, both in its color and in its great ability to reflect light. It is soft, non-magnetic and ductile. It has one stable isotope, 27Al; this isotope is very common, making aluminium the twelfth most common element in the Universe. The radioactivity of 26Al is used in radiodating. Chemically, aluminium is a post-transition metal in the boron group; as is common for the group, aluminium forms compounds primarily in the +3 oxidation state. The aluminium cation Al3+ is small and highly charged; as such, it is polarizing, and bonds aluminium forms tend towards covalency. The strong affinity towards oxyg ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Iron(III) Minerals
Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in front of oxygen (32.1% and 30.1%, respectively), forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust. In its metallic state, iron is rare in the Earth's crust, limited mainly to deposition by meteorites. Iron ores, by contrast, are among the most abundant in the Earth's crust, although extracting usable metal from them requires kilns or furnaces capable of reaching or higher, about higher than that required to smelt copper. Humans started to master that process in Eurasia during the 2nd millennium BCE and the use of iron tools and weapons began to displace copper alloys, in some regions, only around 1200 BCE. That event is considered the transition from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Search For Extra Terrestrial Intelligence Institute
The SETI Institute is a not-for-profit research organization incorporated in 1984 whose mission is to explore, understand, and explain the origin and nature of life in the universe, and to use this knowledge to inspire and guide present and future generations, sharing knowledge with the public, the press, and the government. SETI stands for the "search for extraterrestrial intelligence". The institute consists of three primary centers: The Carl Sagan Center, devoted to the study of life in the universe; the Center for Education, focused on astronomy, astrobiology and space science for students and educators; and the Center for Public Outreach, which produces "Big Picture Science", the institute's general science radio show and podcast, and "SETI Talks", its weekly colloquium series. Primary centers Carl Sagan Center The Carl Sagan Center is named in honor of Carl Sagan, former trustee of the institute, astronomer, prolific author and host of the original "Cosmos" television se ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
