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Search resuls for: "Field Museum"


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Over time, Pompeii was forgotten, and it wasn’t until centuries later that excavations unearthed evidence of the tragic event. Archaeological Park of PompeiiAncient DNA sequenced from bone fragments preserved within the plaster casts at the Pompeii site has upended some long-held assumptions about bodies found together. Other worldsAstronomers have been searching the Kuiper Belt on the edge of our solar system for a hidden ninth planet for more than a decade. CNN/Adobe StockFor years, astronomers have searched the edge of our solar system for evidence of an unseen world called Planet Nine. They find wonder in planets beyond our solar system and discoveries from the ancient world.
Persons: Giuseppe Fiorelli, , ” Aaron Fowler, Lady Chenet, embalmers, Ashley Strickland, Katie Hunt, Jackie Wattles Organizations: CNN, Australian Broadcasting Corp . Local, Chicago’s Field, Adobe, NASA, CNN Space, Science Locations: Beach, Denmark, Western Australia, Antarctica, Colombia, Poland
Researchers at the Field Museum scan a mummified individual displayed in the "Inside Ancient Egypt" exhibition. Ancient Egyptians believed that the soul remained inside the body after death, so embalmers mummified bodies to preserve the spirit for the afterlife, according to Field Museum scientists. A Field Museum researcher analyzes composite scans of a mummified child. On display at the New York World’s Fair for two years, he then returned to the Field Museum after getting lost in the luggage and being sent to San Francisco. “One of the big things for these ancient Egyptian individuals is how you continue to live after death.
Persons: JP Brown, Morgan Clark, , Stacy Drake, Horus, Imsety, Hapy, Qebehsenuef, Brown, , you’ve, Lady Chenet, Drake, ” Brown, They’ll, Lady, embalmers, ” Drake, we’re, Bella Koscal Organizations: CNN —, Chicago’s Field, Field Museum, , . Field, Field, Museum Locations: Egypt, Chicago, New York City, York, San Francisco
Crews encountered obstacles that entrapped ships or submerged them beneath ice-covered waters, creating an enduring mystique about what went wrong. Ocean secretsThe 3D scan of HMS Endurance makes it appear as though the ship was lifted from the bottom of the ocean. Falklands Heritage Maritime Trust/National GeographicAn awe-inspiring 3D scan has brought the shipwreck of Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton’s HMS Endurance, found in 2022, back to life. Meanwhile, a more somber finding gleaned from DNA identified the cannibalized remains of James Fitzjames, captain of the HMS Erebus. Other worldsAstronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope watched the shape of Jupiter's Great Red Spot change over 90 days.
Persons: Crews, Ernest Shackleton’s HMS, Shackleton, James Fitzjames, Sir John Franklin, Fitzjames, Trailblazers, David Baker, Demis Hassabis, John Jumper, John Hopfield, Geoffrey Hinton, Victor Ambros, Gary Ruvkun, Matthew Dominick, John Henry Patterson, Thomas Gnoske, Joseph DePasquale, , Indiana Jones, , Ashley Strickland, Katie Hunt Organizations: CNN, Heritage Maritime Trust, University of Washington, Google, Princeton University, University of Toronto, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Harvard Medical School, NASA, International Space, Space, Chicago’s Field, Hubble, European Space Agency, CNN Space, Science Locations: Antarctica, Weddell, Canada’s Nunavut, London, North America, Europe, Kenya, Civil, Petra, Jordan
Thomas Gnoske, a collections manager at the museum, first spotted thousands of hairs trapped within the lions’ teeth when he examined their skulls in the 1990s. “Our analysis showed that the historic Tsavo lions preyed on giraffe, human, oryx, waterbuck, wildebeest, and zebra, and we also identified hairs that originated from lions. The Tsavo lions were maneless, like this adult male lion. The combined efforts opened a treasure trove of data about the lions’ prey as well as about the predators themselves. “It suggests that the Tsavo lions may have either traveled farther than previously believed, or that wildebeest were present in the Tsavo region during that time,” de Flamingh said.
Persons: John Henry Patterson, Patterson, Thomas Gnoske, , Alida de Flamingh, Gnoske, Julian Kerbis Peterhans, Kerbis Peterhans, David Sewell, Kerbis, Nduhiu, de Flamingh, Ripan, Andrew Wasike, Flamingh, ” de Flamingh, “ Patterson, John Warburton, Lee, Aditya Dicky Singh, Malhi, Love Dalén, Dalén, wasn’t, ” Gnoske Organizations: CNN, Uganda Railway, Chicago’s Field, Field Museum, University of Illinois, Field, The, Roosevelt University, Alamy, National Museums of, University of Nairobi, Anadolu Agency, Getty, Stockholm University, Locations: Kenya, Uganda, University of Illinois Urbana, Champaign, Chicago, Samburu, National Museums of Kenya, Tsavo, Cape, Africa
CNN —No trees have grown on the windswept Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic Ocean for tens of thousands of years — just shrubs and other low-lying vegetation. “It’s very sort of windswept and barren.”The Falkland Islands are a British-ruled overseas territory over which Great Britain and Argentina fought a brief war in 1982. But the story of this hidden forest goes back even further in time than the researchers initially thought. “The Falkland Islands are currently covered by grasslands and lack native trees,” Donovan added. However, the islands are unlikely to see a return to a forest landscape anytime soon, Thomas said.
Persons: Zoë Thomas, , , Thomas, Michael Donovan, wasn’t, ” Donovan, Haidee, Chris Turney, what’s, Donovan Organizations: CNN, UK’s University of Southampton, Britain, Falklands, Antarctic, University of Southampton, Chicago’s, Australia’s University of New, Southern Locations: Falkland Islands, Stanley, Falkland, British, Great Britain, Argentina, Australia’s University of New South Wales, Patagonia, Antarctica, Westerly, Islas, South America
NEW YORK AP —Tucked within the expansive Native American halls of the American Museum of Natural History is a diminutive wooden doll that holds a sacred place among the tribes whose territories once included Manhattan. The doll, also called Nahneetis, is just one of some 1,800 items museum officials say they’re reviewing as they work to comply with the requirements while also eyeing a broader overhaul of the more than half-century-old exhibits. We need them close.”Sean Decatur, the New York museum’s president, promised tribes will hear from officials soon. The American Museum of Natural History, he noted, is one of New York’s major tourism draws and also a mainstay for generations of area students learning about the region’s tribes. He suggests museums use replicas made by Native peoples so that sensitive cultural items aren’t physically on display.
Persons: , Joe Baker, ” Sean Decatur, Lance Gumbs, ” Gumbs, “ There’s, ” Gordon Yellowman, ” Yellowman, , Bridgette Russell, Todd Mesek, Nicole Rura, Chuck Hoskin, Baker, ” Baker Organizations: American Museum of, American, Protection, Lenape, York, Eastern, Northwest Coast Hall, Cheyenne, Arapaho Tribes, New, Field, Repatriation, Cleveland Museum, Harvard, Peabody Museum’s, Cherokee Nation, Peabody, Cherokees, Delaware Nation Locations: Manhattan, Delaware, Eastern Woodlands, Great, Decatur, New, Oklahoma, New York, Nebraska, Chicago, America, Ohio, Alaska, American, , Ontario
After visiting 48 of the 50 US states, Chicago is my favorite place to be in the summer. Here's why I love Chicago summers. Latifah Al-HazzaThe city prides itself on being home to over 20 Michelin-starred restaurants and having a diverse food culture. The city's public Divvy bikes are easy to rent and a great way to see the city in the summer. The event offers incredible city views and access to the indoor aquarium, providing a cool respite from the heat.
Persons: , Latifah Al, Chiya Chai, Café Tola, Lou Malnati's, Diego, Jackson, Ping, Fulton Organizations: Service, Windy City, Business, Chicago Architecture, Chicago Riverwalk, Michelin, Café Tola, Indienne, Chicago café, Hazza, Art Institute of Chicago, Field Museum, Museum of Science, Industry, Chicago World's Fair, Art, Logan Square Arts, Pitchfork, Chicago Blues Festival, Lakeview Taco Fest, NASCAR, Chicago Air, Water, Chicago Locations: Chicago, Café, Lake Michigan, Beach, Ping Tom, Windy City Smokeout, Lakeview, Sueños
Read previewBillionaire Ken Griffin has a new record-breaking item for his record-breaking home. The hedge fund manager paid $44.6 million for a roughly 150 million-year-old mounted Stegosaurus skeleton, nicknamed "Apex." The purchase blew past Sotheby's estimated maximum of $6 million and shattered the previous record sale of $32 million for a Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton in 2020. AdvertisementThe Citadel CEO, who, according to Forbes, is worth about $38 billion, isn't a stranger to record-breaking sales. In 2019, Griffin paid $238 million for a New York City penthouse, which broke the record for the most expensive home ever sold in the US.
Persons: , Ken Griffin, Griffin, Apex, Kenneth C Organizations: Service, Business, Citadel, Forbes, New, Field Museum, Griffin, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Locations: New York City, Miami, Dade County, America
People look at a virtually complete Stegosaurus fossil on display at Sotheby’s on July 10, 2024 in New York City. Billionaire investor Ken Griffin, founder and CEO of hedge fund Citadel, purchased a late Jurassic stegosaurus skeleton for $44.6 million at Sotheby's on Wednesday, marking the most valuable fossil ever sold at auction. The 150 million-year-old stegosaurus named "Apex" measures 11 feet tall and nearly 27 feet long from nose to tail and it is a nearly complete skeleton with 254 fossil bone elements. Griffin won the live auction in New York on Wednesday after competing with six other bidders for 15 minutes. In 2021, he paid $43.2 million for a first-edition copy of the U.S. Constitution, outbidding a group of cryptocurrency investors.
Persons: Ken Griffin, Griffin, Apex, Sotheby's, outbidding Organizations: Billionaire, Citadel, Apex, Chicago's, Museum, Constitution, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art Locations: New York City, New York, U.S, America, Moffat County , Colorado, Argentina, Arkansas
A Fossil Mystery, Solved by a Spin
  + stars: | 2024-07-15 | by ( Jack Tamisiea | ) www.nytimes.com   time to read: +8 min
A Fossil Mystery, Solved by a SpinEssexella fossils date back to the Carboniferous period, when northern parts of Illinois hovered just above the equator. Essexella fossils are composed of two structures — a textured, barrel-shaped region and a smooth bulb. “It looked like the bottom of an anemone,” Dr. Plotnick said. Dr. Plotnick, Dr. Hagadorn and their team redescribed Essexella as an ancient anemone last year in the journal Papers in Palaeontology. Dr. Plotnick posits that these animals once lined the floor of the Mazon Creek estuary.
Persons: Roy Plotnick, Francis Tully, Tully, , Essexella, Plotnick, James Hagadorn, I've, Marjorie Leggitt, Hagadorn, Edward Drinker Cope, Charles Marsh, couldn’t, De Agostini, Jean, Bernard Caron, Hallucigenia, ” Dr, Caron, Caron’s, Dr Organizations: University of Illinois, Denver Museum of Nature, Field Museum, Getty, Royal Ontario Museum Locations: University of Illinois Chicago, Illinois, Chicago, China, Burgess, Canada
CNN —Archaeologists in Peru have unearthed the remains of what they believe are a 4,000-year-old temple and theater, shining a new light on the origins of complex religions in the region. The finds predate the country’s best-known archaeological site, the ancient citadel of Machu Picchu, which is believed to have been built by the Inca Empire in the 15th century, by about 3,500 years. All we know about them comes from what they created: their houses, temples, and funerary goods,” Muro Ynoñan said. Muro Ynoñán collected samples from paint pigments that he said he plans to analyze in a lab, as well as send samples off for carbon dating to confirm the age of the site. In August, Peruvian archaeologists unearthed a 3,000-year-old tomb that they believe might have honored an elite religious leader.
Persons: ” Luis Muro Ynoñán, Muro Ynoñán, , ” Muro Ynoñan, Muro Ynoñan, ” Muro Ynoñán Organizations: CNN, Archaeologists, Field Museum, Peru's Pontifical Catholic University, Reuters, Reuters Archaeologists Locations: Peru, La Otra, Cerro Las Animas, Peruvian, Zaña, Chicago , Illinois, Peru's, Machu Picchu, Inca, Lima
Creatures living in the far south have been harder to pin down, and less is known about the animals that lived closer to the poles. It thrived as a top predator 40 million years before dinosaurs evolved to roam the Earth, according to the study. “It’s really, really surprising that Gaiasia is so archaic. In addition to seeking more fossil examples of the species, the researchers are also curious to find other animals that lived in this far south ecosystem. “It tells us that what was happening in the far south was very different from what was happening at the equator.
Persons: Gaiasia jennyae, , Jason Pardo, “ It’s, Claudia Marsicano, , Gaiasia, Pardo, ” Pardo, Gabriel Lio, ” Marsicano, can’t Organizations: CNN, National Science Foundation, Field, University of Buenos Locations: Namibia, Brazil, Chicago, University of Buenos Aires, South America, Africa, Antarctica, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa
“This discovery is important because it shows that after the extinction of the dinosaurs, grapes really started to spread across the world.”Much like the soft tissues of animals, actual fruits don’t preserve well in the fossil record. How ancient forests changedWhen the dinosaurs went extinct, their absence changed the entire structure of forests, the team hypothesized. “In the fossil record, we start to see more plants that use vines to climb up trees, like grapes, around this time,” Herrera said. Meanwhile, as a diverse set of birds and mammals began to populate Earth after the disappearance of the dinosaurs, they likely also helped spread grape seeds. Several fossils are related to modern grapes and others are distant relatives or grapes native to the Western Hemisphere.
Persons: hadn’t, , Fabiany Herrera, , ” Herrera, Steven Manchester, Herrera, “ I’ve, Mónica Carvalho, Carvalho, , Arthur T, Susman, Gregory Stull, ” Carvalho Organizations: CNN, Field, Research, University of Michigan’s, of Paleontology, South, Field Museum, National Museum of, Central, Western Locations: Colombia, Panama, Peru, India, South America, Western, Colombian, American, South, Central America, Central, Asia, Africa
That femur led to a stegosaurus fossil, among the largest and most complete ever found, which has subsequently been nicknamed “Apex.” In July the Sotheby’s auction house will sell Apex at auction at an estimated value of $4 million to $6 million, making the skeleton the latest flashpoint in a long-running debate about the private fossil trade. Dinosaur fossils have fetched escalating prices at auction houses since 1997, when Sotheby’s sold “Sue” the Tyrannosaurus rex to the Field Museum in Chicago for $8.36 million. In 2020, “Stan,” another largely complete T. rex skeleton, sold at Christie’s for $31.8 million. Such pricing has raised serious concerns among academic paleontologists, said Stuart Sumida, vice president of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology. Many of them have watched fossils that may unlock scientific mysteries get steered into the hands of wealthy private collectors rather than toward research institutions in recent decades.
Persons: Jason Cooper, Sotheby’s, Sue ”, “ Stan, , Stuart Sumida Organizations: Apex, Field Museum, Vertebrate Locations: Colorado, Dinosaur, , Chicago
CNN —The idea of coming face to face with a spider-like creature unexpectedly is enough to fill any arachnophobe with horror, let alone encountering one with large, spiky legs. The newly discovered long-extinct species is described as a “large spider-like arachnid” with “distinctive large spines on the legs” by the study’s authors. They were unable to place the creature within any known arachnid order due to the specimen’s lack of mouthparts, which scientists use to classify them. “You see sort of spiny legs in some arachnids, but we’ve never seen one that really has these big spines all the way along, at least the first parts of the legs. Scientists think the spiny legs were for defensive purposes.
Persons: we’ve, ” Dr, Jason Dunlop, Naturkunde, , Bob Masek, David Douglass, Paul Selden, Dunlop, you’ve, , ” Dunlop, Douglass Organizations: CNN, Paleontology, Field Locations: what’s, Illinois, Masek, North America, Northern Europe, Europe
CNN —Were dinosaurs warm-blooded like birds and mammals or cold-blooded like reptiles? Clues from dinosaur eggshells and bones have suggested that some dinosaurs were warm-blooded and others were not. These dinosaurs may have evolved endothermy, or the ability to internally generate body heat, according to the study. “Warm-blooded animals are generally more active, for example, cold-blooded animals usually don’t build nests,” said lead study author Dr. Alfio Alessandro Chiarenza, Royal Society Newton International Fellow at University College London’s department of Earth sciences. Her 2022 study suggested that ornithischians were more likely cold-blooded and sauropods were warm-blooded.
Persons: Big John, Sarah Meyssonnier, ornithischians, , Alfio Alessandro Chiarenza, Brontosaurus, ” Chiarenza, , Jasmina, ” Wiemann, Chiarenza, Anthony Fiorillo, ” Fiorillo, wasn’t Organizations: CNN, Royal Society Newton International, University College London’s, Field, UCL, Universidade de, New, New Mexico Museum, Southern Methodist University Locations: Paris, Chicago, Spain, New Mexico, Dallas
Ice sampling occurs on a blue ice area during the 2022 Chilean Antarctic Institute field mission. “As the climate continues to warm, Antarctic rocks are sinking into the ice at an increasing rate. Meteorites are particularly plentiful in blue ice fields. Steven Goderis/Vrije Universiteit BrusselResearchers have identified areas of meteorite-rich blue ice mostly by luck. “The main worry is the logistical aspect of searching for Antarctica meteorites, which is already difficult today due to the remoteness of Antarctica.
Persons: Maria Valdes, , Valdes, Robert A, , José, wasn’t, Balchenfjella, Steven Goderis, Veronica Tollenaar, ” Valdes, Tollenaar, ” Tollenaar, Harry Zekollari, Katherine Joy, Matthias van Ginneken, van Ginneken, Kevin Righter, Righter Organizations: CNN, Field, University of Chicago, Pritzker Center, Meteoritics, Polar Studies, Antarctic Institute, University of Santiago, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Université Libre de Bruxelles, University of Manchester, University of Kent’s, Astrophysics, NASA Johnson Space Center Locations: Antarctica, Chile, Vrije, Université, Belgium, Houston
CNN —Although morels are generally considered safe, the mushrooms were at the heart of a deadly illness outbreak in Montana last year. In the end, 51 people reported getting sick after eating there, and 45 of them reported eating the morels during March and April of last year. Most of the customers who got sick reported vomiting and serious/severe diarrhea. The CDC investigation determined that the morel mushrooms were cultivated and imported fresh from China. “A lot of mushrooms have various toxins that get broken down when they’re cooked, and that makes them safer.
Persons: , , Greg Mueller, they’re, Matthew Nelsen, morel, ” Mueller, Dr, Sanjay Gupta, “ It’s, Nelsen, “ There’s, ” Muller Organizations: CNN, US Centers for Disease Control, Chicago Botanic Garden, Field Museum, CDC, Investigators, CNN Health Locations: Montana, Chicago, Bozeman , Montana, China, California, morel, morels
CNN —A peculiar fossil has helped scientists discover an unusual bird that lived among the dinosaurs 120 million years ago, and the find is changing the way researchers think about avian evolution. Enantiornithines are known as “opposite birds” because they had a shoulder joint feature that greatly differs from the ones modern birds have. “Before Imparavis, toothlessness in this group of birds was known to occur around 70 million years ago,” Clark said. When Jingmai O’Connor, the Field Museum’s associate curator of fossil reptiles, visited the Shandong museum’s collections a few years ago, the fossil caught her attention. While modern birds have fused forelimb digits, enantiornithines still had independent movement in the “little fingers” on their wings.
Persons: Sir David Attenborough, , Alex Clark, Imparavis, ” Clark, Jingmai O’Connor, O’Connor, Clark, , enantiornithines, ” O’Connor, ” Attenborough Organizations: CNN, University of Chicago, Field Locations: China, China’s Toudaoyingzi, Shandong
Sara Ruane, a reptile and amphibian curator at the Field Museum, rates snake attacks in movies based on their realism. She separates fact from fiction regarding whether you can suck venom out of a snake bite in "Babylon" (2022), starring Margot Robbie and Brad Pitt, and "True Grit" (2010), starring Jeff Bridges, Hailee Steinfeld, and Matt Damon. She breaks down the differences between venomous and nonvenomous snakes in "Snakes on a Plane" (2006), starring Samuel L. Jackson, Kenan Thompson, and Julianna Margulies. She looks at the way different characters seek to treat snake bites in Quentin Tarantino's "Kill Bill: Vol. She talks about how antivenom works in "Bullet Train" (2022), starring Brad Pitt, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Bad Bunny.
Persons: Sara Ruane, Margot Robbie, Brad Pitt, Jeff Bridges, Hailee Steinfeld, Matt Damon, Jon Voight, Jennifer Lopez, Harry Potter, Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Alan Rickman, Harrison Ford, Samuel L, Jackson, Kenan Thompson, Julianna Margulies, Quentin Tarantino's, Uma Thurman, Michael Madsen, Daryl Hannah, Matthew McConaughey, Aaron Taylor, Johnson Organizations: Field Museum, Raiders, Reptiles Department
AdvertisementA deep-sea expedition captured a picture of the elusive glass octopus, an almost completely transparent creature. AdvertisementA picture of a glass octopus captured during a previous expedition of the Schmidt Ocean Institute. Schmidt Ocean InstituteLittle is known about the glass octopus, which uses its near-transparency to hide from predators. It is likely, though, that they mate like other octopus species, meaning the male glass octopus delivers sperm to the female using his hectocotylus, or sex tentacle. ROV SuBastian / Schmidt Ocean Institute.
Persons: , Eric Schmidt, Wendy Schmidt Organizations: Service, Schmidt Ocean Institute, Bigelow Laboratory, Ocean Sciences, University of Costa, SA, Field Locations: Tengosed, Costa Rica, Maine, University of Costa Rica, El Dorado
Read previewThe Field Museum in Chicago has covered up several displays featuring Native American cultural items as new federal regulations go into effect. The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act was established in 1990 to facilitate the protection and return of Native remains and cultural objects. AdvertisementFor years, tribal officials and repatriation activists have called for the speedier return of Native remains and objects. The Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology at Harvard University, which still holds onto thousands of Native American remains, has not announced how it will respond to the latest regulations. The new rules are the latest effort by the federal government to ensure museums are giving tribes the proper consideration over Native objects.
Persons: , Bryan Newland Organizations: Service, Museum, Business, Protection, Field Museum, Peabody Museum of Archaeology, Harvard University, Association, American Indian Affairs, New York Times Locations: Chicago
That’s what scientists have interpreted from the pose of the dinosaur’s fossil skeleton. The study authors identified it as an alvarezsaurid, a type of small theropod (bipedal meat-eating dinosaur) with a long tail and legs and short front limbs. Alvarezsaurids are part of a larger dinosaur group called maniraptorans, which includes birds and birdlike dinosaurs that were their closest relatives. (A) A photo of the fossil skeleton found in the Gobi Desert in Mongolia. Kohta KuboThe new fossil suggests that this sleeping behavior may have been more common than expected among the non-avian relatives of the earliest birds, the researchers reported.
Persons: Sinornithoides, Jaculinykus yaruui, Kohta Kubo, , , Dr, Jingmai O’Connor, ” O’Connor, ” Kubo, Jaculinykus, Shuvuuia deserti, Kubo, Kobu, ” Mindy Weisberger Organizations: CNN, Field, Paleobiology Research, Hokkaido University, Scientific Locations: Mongolia, Chicago, Jaculus, yaruu, Japan, alvarezsaurs
A half century later, crystals of the mineral zircon inside a coarse-grained igneous rock fragment collected by Schmitt are giving scientists a deeper understanding about the moon's formation and the precise age of Earth's celestial partner. This blasted magma - molten rock - into space, forming a debris disk that orbited Earth and coalesced into the moon. "I love the fact that this study was done on a sample that was collected and brought to Earth 51 years ago. "Interestingly, all the oldest minerals found on Earth, Mars and the moon are zircon crystals. The new study used atom probe tomography to determine there were no complications involving the lead atoms, confirming the age of the crystals.
Persons: Will Dunham WASHINGTON, Harrison Schmitt, Eugene Cernan, Schmitt, wouldn't, cosmochemist Philipp Heck, Bidong Zhang, Heck, Zhang, Jennika Greer, Will Dunham, Lisa Shumaker Organizations: Field Museum, University of Chicago, UCLA, Space Center, University of Glasgow, NASA Locations: Chicago, Houston, Scotland
[1/4] The crescent Earth rises above the lunar horizon in this undated NASA handout photograph taken from the Apollo 17 spacecraft in lunar orbit during the final lunar landing mission in the Apollo program in 1972. A half century later, crystals of the mineral zircon inside a coarse-grained igneous rock fragment collected by Schmitt are giving scientists a deeper understanding about the moon's formation and the precise age of Earth's celestial partner. This blasted magma - molten rock - into space, forming a debris disk that orbited Earth and coalesced into the moon. "I love the fact that this study was done on a sample that was collected and brought to Earth 51 years ago. "Interestingly, all the oldest minerals found on Earth, Mars and the moon are zircon crystals.
Persons: Harrison Schmitt, Eugene Cernan, Schmitt, wouldn't, cosmochemist Philipp Heck, Bidong Zhang, Heck, Zhang, Jennika Greer, Will Dunham, Lisa Shumaker Organizations: NASA, REUTERS, Rights, Field Museum, University of Chicago, UCLA, Space Center, University of Glasgow, Thomson Locations: Chicago, Houston, Scotland
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