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US Club List
- An Extensive Listing with Contact Info for Over 900 Mineralogical, Lapidary, Fossil and Just About Anything to Do with Rocks Clubs in the United States.
Hey Rockhounds - Check Out This Outstanding Value:
The Photo-Atlas of Minerals DVD V2.0
New Low Low Price - Now Only $19.95 !!!
Order The Photo-Atlas of Minerals DVD
Version 2.0 DVD-ROM for Windows
Sample Photo-Atlas DVD Screens:
Formerly sold at $59.95, the Photo-Atlas of Minerals DVD is simply the most comprehensive mineral reference available. It's principle features include:
- Nearly 16,000 high-resolution mineral specimen images
- Mineralogical data for all known mineral species (over 4,100)
- Mineral specimen images from over 3,500 localities
- Users can add their own images
- Comprehensive descriptive mineralogical and crystallographic data
- Audio mineral name pronunciations
- Origins of mineral names
- Mineral name synonyms and varieties
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- Searchable by properties, locality, chemistry, etc.
- User controlled crystal form drawings
- User controlled atomic structure drawings
- Includes both Dana & Strunz mineral classifications
- Glossary of mineral terms
- Users can print the mineral images and data
- Generates random and user defined slide shows
- Includes a mineral identification game
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Product Reviews
- The UVTools M100 Ultraviolet Light Kit
- GemOro Stereo Microscope
- Meiji Techno Binocular and Trinocular Stereo Microscopes
- Raynox Video MicroExplorer
- The Photo-Atlas of Minerals CD
- OsoSoft MineralLabel 5.0 - Now Freeware!
- Belomo 10x Loupe: An Inexpensive Russian Triplet
- $8 BIRI Russian Radiation Detector
Greetings from Tucson
- Our Shows, Museums, Clubs, Rock Shops, and Other Attractors
Alone No More
- Martian Meteorite ALH84001 Harbinger of Extraterrestrial Life
- Check out Bob's Martian Touchdown - A Rockhound's Cosmic Encounter with Three Extraterrestrials
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| Opportunity Rover Mission Updates: |
| March 27, 2012: |
Slight Drop of Left-front Wheel Investigated |
| March 21, 2012: |
Slight Drop of Left-front Wheel Detected |
| March 14, 2012: |
Energy Levels Expected to Rise |
| March 07, 2012: |
Winter Studies of 'Amboy' Rock Continue |
| February 28, 2012: |
Slight Cleaning of Solar Panels |
| February 21, 2012: |
More Doppler Tracking and Imaging |
| February 14, 2012: |
Rock Studies Continue for Opportunity |
| February 08, 2012: |
Energy Levels Decreasing |
| February 01, 2012: |
Radio Doppler Tracking Continues at Cape York |
| January 24, 2012: |
Science Investigations Continue as Solar Energy Levels Drop |
| January 17, 2012: |
Adjusting Robotic Arm on 'Amboy' Rock |
| January 11, 2012: |
Studying Rock Target 'Amboy' |
| January 05, 2012: |
Positioned at Candidate Site for Winter |
| December 27, 2011: |
Positioned at Candidate Site for Winter |
| December 22, 2011: |
Wheel Passes Checkup After Stalled Drive |
Curiosity Rover On Course: NASA's Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft successfully refined its flight path on January 11 with the biggest maneuver planned for the mission's journey between Earth and Mars. The mission's second trajectory correction maneuver, expected to be about one-sixth the magnitude of this first one, is scheduled for March 26.
Curiosity Rover Already Performing Research in Space: NASA's Curiosity rover has begun monitoring space radiation during its 8-month voyage from Earth to Mars, using its Radiation Assessment Detector (RAD) instrument. The research will aid in planning for future human missions to the Red Planet.
MSL Trajectory Correction Maneuver Slated for January 11: An engine firing on January 11 will be the biggest maneuver that NASA's Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft will perform on its flight between Earth and Mars. The initial trajectory resulting from the mission's November 2011 launch intentionally misses Mars to prevent the unsterilized upper stage of the launch vehicle from hitting Mars.
Mars or Bust: America's next Mars explorer is now cruising through deep space on a mission that could bring mankind within one small step of proving life exists somewhere else in the universe.
Geometry Drives Selection Date For 2011 Mars Launch: Continuing analysis of the geometry and communications options for the arrival at Mars have led planners for the Mars Science Laboratory, or Curiosity, to choose an Earth-to-Mars trajectory that schedules launch between Nov. 25 and Dec. 18, 2011.
NASA Announces Landing Site For The Curiosity Rover: NASA's next Mars rover will land at the foot of a layered mountain inside the planet’s Gale Crater.
Site List Narrows For NASA's Next Mars Landing: Four intriguing places on Mars have risen to the final round as NASA selects a landing site for its next Mars mission, the Mars Science Laboratory.
Rocks in the News
Undressing Vesta: NASA’s Dawn spacecraft is orbiting the asteroid Vesta and sending back images and other data to the delight and amazement of researchers.
Billions of Rocky Planets Orbiting Red Dwarfs In Habitable Zones: A new result from ESO's HARPS planet finder shows that rocky planets not much bigger than Earth are very common in the habitable zones around faint red stars. Researchers estimate there are tens of billions of such planets in the Milky Way galaxy alone, and probably about one hundred in the Sun's immediate neighbourhood.
Titanium Paternity Test Fingers Earth As Moon's Sole Parent: A new chemical analysis of lunar material collected by Apollo astronauts in the 1970s conflicts with the widely held theory that a giant collision between Earth and a Mars-sized object gave birth to the moon 4.5 billion years ago.
Exploding Dinosaur Hypothesis Implodes: The pregnant ichthyosaur female from Holzmaden, Germany that perished 182 million years ago puzzled researchers for quite some time: The skeleton of the extinct marine reptile is almost immaculately preserved and the fossilized bones of the mother animal lie largely in their anatomical position. The bones of the ichthyosaur embryos, however, are a different story.
Crocodilians Bit Harder Than T. Rex: The bite forces of the largest extinct crocodilians exceeded 23,000 pounds, a force two times greater than the mighty Tyrannosaurus rex.
Volcanic 'Plumbing Systems' Exposed: Two new studies into the location and behaviour of magma chambers on Earth's mid-ocean ridge system could bring scientists closer to predicting large eruptions.
Lucy Was Not Alone: The discovery of a remarkably rare partial foot from an ancient primate suggests that more than one kind of human ancestor walked upright in Africa when Lucy's species, Australopithecus afarensis, was alive. The primitive traits in this 3.4-million-year-old partial right foot also show that there was more than one way for early human ancestors to walk upright for at least a million years.
Lucy Lived Among Close Cousins: The Burtele partial foot clearly shows that at 3.4 million years ago, Lucy’s species, which walked upright on two legs, was not the only hominin species living in Ethiopia.
New Hominid Ancestor Grasped At Walking: A 3.4 million-year-old partial fossil foot unearthed in Ethiopia comes from a previously unknown hominid species that deftly climbed trees but walked clumsily.
Life’s Building Blocks Grow Close To Home: In a new study, scientists suggest that complex organic molecules - such as the amino acids that build proteins and the ringed bases that form nucleic acids - grow on the icy dust grains that lived in the infant solar system.
Survey Suggests Billions Of Planets In Galaxy: A new study suggests each star in the Milky Way galaxy is most likely orbited by a planet - and there's a good chance that planet is closer in size to Earth, than to Jupiter.
Setting Off A Supervolcano: Supervolcanoes are one of nature’s most destructive forces, but given that there are no recorded observations of super-eruptions - the last occurred 74,000 years ago in Indonesia - scientists don’t fully understand how they work.
Moon-Walk Mineral Discovered In Western Australia: Tranquillityite - the last mineral thought to have been unique to the Moon, has been discovered in the remote Pilbara region of Western Australia.
Calibrating A Rock Clock: New research will improve the accuracy of estimates of the time of geological events. The work centres on the calibration of one of the world's slowest clocks, known as the 'argon-argon clock'.
Prehistoric Predators With Supersized Teeth Had Beefier Arm Bones: The toothiest prehistoric predators also had beefier arm bones. Fossil studies reveal this killer combination arose repeatedly in different saber-toothed predators over time, presumably because it gave them an advantage when catching and killing prey.
More Rocks in the News
Drilling Down Into The Deepwater Horizon Disaster
- What Happens When British Petroleum Executives Spill Coffee
- What Happens When British Petroleum Funds Congressional Election Campaigns
- Why This Is Going To Happen Again...
Letters to the Editor
- Say NO to Akaka Governed Public Land: A bitter legislative battle is raging over collecting fossils on public lands.
Chambers Fit For A Queen - A Quest For English Ammonites
- Rock&Gem Feature Article
- More Rock&Gem Online Features:
- Anyone Can Carve
- A Day in the Life of a Gemologist
- Into the Caves - "California's Underground" at the Oakland, California Museum
- Bingham Canyon Copper - Finding Chalcopyrite at "The Richest Hole on Earth"
- Rockhound in Greece - A Great Destination for Geology... and Humanity
- Honoring Mr. Jones - Our Senior Editor Gets What He Deserves
- Faceting Fascinates - With an Experienced Guide, You, Too, Can Bring Gemstones to Life!
- Tonopah and Goldfield - They Were the Hub of Nevada's Gold Rush
- Agates from the Land of Pumas and Craters
- Mexico's Mystery Stone
- A Lesson in Channel Work
- New England Pegmatites: They Have Been Mined Since America's Earliest Days
- Turquoise: Blue Sky...Blue Stone
- Faceting by Hand: Jack Lahr's Lap-Lap Relies on Primitive Power
Rock&Gem Magazine Article Search
- Search Back Issues for Articles with Topics of Interest
- Rock&Gem Writer's Guidelines
Rock&Gem Magazine Show Calendar
- An Extensive List of Upcoming Gem and Mineral Shows
- Submit Your Own Club's Show for Publication in Rock&Gem Magazine
Rock&Gem Craftsman of the Month Contest
- Got a Pet Project Your're Proud of and Want to Show Off?
- Win and Rock&Gem Magazine will Feature Your Work and Throw in a Dremel Tool to Boot
- Entry Details - Browse the Current and Prior Contest Winners
Subscribe to Rock&Gem Magazine
- Enjoy and Learn from Rock&Gem Magazine for less than $1.00 per Issue!
- Need to Change Your Address for a Rock&Gem Magazine Subscription?
Software for Rockhounds
- Mineral Database and Identification Software: Photo Atlas of Minerals - Lithos - MinSearch - MDI Mineral Database - Geolib - Topaz - Minrls - Digital Rockhound's Companion
- Freeware Screen Savers for Rockhounds: Tucson Show V2001 - Grand Hikes - Minerals V1.0
- Freeware Faceters Companion CD!: Featuring Over 250 Faceting Patterns
- GemCad: Gemstone Design Software
- Ososoft Mineral Label: Freeware Specimen Labeling Software for Rock Collectors!
- RockWare Freeware: Erupt - GeoTrig - Mineral Mastery - Seismic - Magnetic
- Freeware Mars Map: High Resolution Orbiter Camera Global Mosaic
Rock Identification Key
- A Beginner's Guide and Key to Help You Identify and Put a Name on That Rock!
- Learn to ID and Distinguish Basalt, Diabase, Diorite, Gabbro, Granite, Obsidian, Pumice, Rhyolite, Scoria, Gneiss, Marble, Quartzite, Schist, Serpentinite, Slate, Breccia, Conglomerate, Limestone, Sandstone, Shale...
Mineral Identification Key
- An Online Guide and Key to Aid in the Identification of Field Collected Mineral Specimens
- Covering Several Hundred of the Most Commonly Occurring and Collected Species
 
Crystallography and Mineral Crystal Systems
- An Illustrated, Nine-Part Primer on Crystallography and Mineral Crystal Systems
Mineral Nomenclature: Naming New Minerals
- So You've Discovered a New Mineral and Want to Name It "Spottite" After Your Dog...
Changes In Mineralogical Nomenclature: Varieties
- Why Rock Scientists Won't Understand the Question When You Ask "What mineral is amethyst a variety of"?
Grand Hikes
- A Virtual Tour and Rockhound's Hiking Guide for the Grand Canyon
- Stromatolite Fossils in the Hakatai Shale - A Day Hike from Phantom Ranch
- Comanche Point Vicinity - An Overnight Hike to Spectacular Grand Canyon Supergroup Views
- Genesis V2.0 - God's Grand Work Week - A Grand Canyon Geology Primer
- The 1869 Expedition - An Account of the First Grand Canyon Float Trip
- Grand Hikes Screen Saver V1.0 - A Complimentary Grand Canyon Screen Saver
- Bob's Grand Canyon Backcountry Equipment Checklist - Don't Leave Home Without It!
Alcyone
- A Faceted Gemstone Design for CZ Inspired by the Pleiadians - Designed by Bob Keller
Perfect Transfer
- Interested in Faceting? Check Out this Feature for Faceters!
- Currently Featured Cut: Mount Ida Heart - An Barion Heart for Quartz
- Gateway to Gemstone Designs on the Internet - Download Over 300 Faceting Diagrams with Cutting Instructions!
- Browse and Download the Freeware Faceters Companion CD
- Currently Featured Article: A Graphical Presentation of Brightness in the Standard Round Brilliant
- Index of Online Faceting Articles - Faceting How-to and Tips from Many Facetors and Gemstone Designers!
- Online Tangent Ratio and Gem Weight Calculators
- Content and Information for Faceters
Manuals for Vintage Lapidary Equipment
- Need the manufacturer's manual for your estate sale find?
Tucson Gem and Mineral Show Reports
- Browse the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show with Bob!
How to Wirewrap
- A Step-by-Step Pendant Design for Faceted Stones that Does Away With Claws
Sworn to Fun
- A Club President's Perspective on the Decline of Rockhounding
Featured Articles by John Betts
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Advice for Beginners Anthony's Nose, New York A Field Guide to Mineral Collectors Mineral Prices: Why so High? |
Dealing with Dealers Mineral Cleaning Largest Mineral Crystals on Record Display Lighting of Minerals |
The Great Fresnoite Discovery of 1998
- Scott's Big Score in California's San Benito Mountains
Rockhounding Graves Mountain
- Collecting Rutile and Other Minerals at this Famous Georgia Locality
Collecting at the Bunker Hill Mine
- Ron and Rose-Marie's Most Excellent Bunker Hill Mine Adventure
Gypsum Rosettes
- Collecting at the Red River Floodway in Winnipeg, Canada
Micromounter's Mecca
- A Visit to the Micromounter's Swap Room at the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show
- Check Out Tim Jokela's The Top Ten Reasons to Get Into Micromounting
Anatomy of a Three-Headed Sphere Machine
- Interested in Rolling Your Own?
Cabochon Making 101
- Cabbing with Tucson's Old Pueblo Lapidary Club
Feldspar
- An Introduction to the Feldspar Minerals by Anita D. Westlake
Purple Passion Prospect
- Wulfenite Collecting near Wickenburg, Arizona
Rock and Fossil Stamps of the United States
- A Preview Page of the Shop's Topical Stamp Catalog for Rockhounds
Mineralogical Meanderings
- The Hardness of Minerals and Rocks
- Streaking Minerals - Streak Testing
- Collecting Micrometeorites
- Identifying True Amber
- Some Surefire Signs You're a Rockhound
- Collecting Rock Stamps
- Gem and Mineral Phonecards
- The Mysterious Power of Gemstones and Crystals
Bob's Rock Shop 1st WWW Specimen Image Contest Results!
- Do You Take Pictures of Rocks? If So, You'll Appreciate These - Check Out the Winning Entries!
- Winners competed for custom specimen mounting, mineral specimens, rockhound magazine and newsletter subscriptions, specimen labeling and mineral database software and more... These and other outstanding entries will also be featured in a new version of the Shop's ever popular freeware specimen image screen saver!
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Book and CD Reports
- Dana's New Mineralogy, Eighth Edition
- Encyclopedia of Mineral Names, Special Publication 1 of The Canadian Mineralogist
Gallery of Mineral Specimen Images
- George Campbell
- Ken Colosky
- Martin Friedlander
- Bob Keller
- David Michaels
- D.E. Russell
- Tim Schmanski
- Stuart Wilensky
- Wayne State University
- Ron Zeilstra
Cut Rocks
Rock Knives by Stephen Hill
Sections from Brian Isfeld
Sections
Slabs and Cabs
Bob's Rock Shop Furnishes Performance Based Advertising
for Participating Commercial Sponsors.
Thanks for your Patronage. Please Come Again Soon.
The Shop's Link List
- The Shop's Pick and Links to Thousands of Other Websites of Interest to Rockhounds
Bob Keller
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