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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
Philae Lander Touches Down on Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko
Rosetta Comet Mission Could Change Science Forever
Ride Along With Rosetta Through The Eyes Of OSIRIS: Rosetta's OSIRIS camera team has launched a dedicated website to showcase their recent images of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. The high-resolution images, taken either with the narrow- or wide-angle scientific imaging camera, will show the comet as recently as the day before.
Rosetta and Philae: One Year Since Landing On A Comet: One year since Philae made its historic landing on a comet, mission teams remain hopeful for renewed contact with the lander, while also looking ahead to next year's grand finale: making a controlled impact of the Rosetta orbiter on the comet.
First Detection Of Molecular Oxygen At A Comet: Rosetta has made the first in situ detection of oxygen molecules outgassing from a comet, a surprising observation that suggests they were incorporated into the comet during its formation.
How Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko Got Its Shape: The origin of the comet’s double-lobed form has been a key question since Rosetta first revealed its surprising shape in July 2014. Did two comets merge or did localised erosion of a single object form the 'neck'? Now, scientists have an unambiguous answer.
Rosetta Reveals 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko's Water-Ice Cycle: Rosetta has provided evidence for a daily water-ice cycle on and near the surface of comets.
Rosetta's Big Day In The Sun: At Perihelion on August 13th, 2015, Rosetta’s measurements suggest Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko is spewing up to 300 kg of water vapour - roughly the equivalent of two bathtubs - every second. This is a thousand times more than was observed this time last year when Rosetta first approached the comet.
67P/Comet's Fireworks Display Ahead Of Perihelion: In the approach to perihelion over the past few weeks, Rosetta has been witnessing growing activity from Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, with one dramatic outburst event proving so powerful that it even pushed away the incoming solar wind.
Celebrating A Year At 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko: On August 6th, 2015 ESA’s Rosetta mission celebrated one year at Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, with its closest approach to the Sun just one week away.
Science On The Surface Of 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko: Complex molecules that could be key building blocks of life, the daily rise and fall of temperature, and an assessment of the surface properties and internal structure of the comet are just some of the highlights of the first scientific analysis of the data returned by Rosetta’s lander Philae.
Philae Lander Photos Show There Is More To Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko Than Soft Dust: Comet lander Philae may be uncommunicative at the moment, but the pictures and measurements it took after it touched down on a comet have shown scientists the comet is covered with coarse material, rather than dust, and is harder than expected.
Philae Wakes Up From Hibernation: Rosetta's lander Philae has woken up after seven months in hibernation on the surface of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.
More Rosetta in the News
Alone No More
- Martian Meteorite ALH84001 Harbinger of Extraterrestrial Life
- Check out Bob's Martian Touchdown - A Rockhound's Cosmic Encounter with Three Extraterrestrials
Curiosity on Mars
- The Landing: Another Small Step for Man - A Giant Leap for Robot Kind
- The Landing Site: The Geological Jackpot at Gale Crater
- Curiosity: The Escalade of Mars Rovers
- The Science Payload: Rock Zappers and the Search for Biosignatures
- Want to Know More? References and Further Reading
Picture Perfect Proof That Mars Once Had Wet Seasons: Curiosity has imaged cross-bedded sandstones at the edge of a location called Hidden Valley, providing compelling photographic evidence there were regular cycles of water carrying plumes of river sediments flowing into the lake which once filled Gale crater.

Curiosity Rounds Martian Dune to Get to the Other Side: Partway through the first up-close study ever conducted of extraterrestrial sand dunes, Curiosity is providing dramatic views of a dune's steep face, where cascading sand has sculpted very different textures than the wavy ripples visible on the dune's windward slope.
Rocks Rich in Silica Present Puzzles for Mars Rover Team: Curiosity has found much higher concentrations of silica at some sites it has investigated in the past seven months than anywhere else it has visited since landing on Mars 40 months ago. Understanding the hydrology behind the silica enrichment is key to learning more about other conditions in ancient wet environments on Mars.
Curiosity Reaches Sand Dunes: Curiosity Mars has begun an up-close investigation of the "Bagnold Dunes", a band of active dunes up to two stories tall along the northwestern flank of Mount Sharp inside Gale Crater. The rover is using its wheels, as well as its science payload, to investigate sand that forms active dunes on Mars. Plans call for Curiosity to scoop up and sieve sand for onboard laboratory analysis.
Curiosity Heads Toward Active Dunes: On its way to higher layers of the mountain where it is investigating how Mars' environment changed billions of years ago, Curiosity Mars will take advantage of a chance to study some modern Martian activity at mobile sand dunes.
Curiosity Explores Mineral Veins on Mars: Scientists now have a better understanding about Garden City, a site with the most chemically diverse mineral veins Curiosity has examined on Mars, including calcium sulfate in some veins and magnesium sulfate in others. Additional veins were found to be rich in fluorine or varying levels of iron. The diverse composition of the crisscrossing veins points to multiple episodes of water moving through fractures in the bedrock when it was buried.
Curiosity Team Confirms Ancient Lakes on Mars: Observations from Curiosity suggest that a series of long-lived streams and lakes existed on Mars at some point between about 3.8 to 3.3 billion years ago, delivering sediment that slowly built up the lower layers of Mount Sharp.
Curiosity's Drill Hole and Location are Picture Perfect: Curiosity has drilled its eighth hole on Mars, and its fifth since reaching Mount Sharp one year ago. Samples from the 2.6" deep hole in unaltered Stimson unit sandstone will be analyzed by Curiosity and used for comparison with samples of nearby sandstone which appear to be altered by fluids - likely groundwater with other dissolved chemicals.
Mars Panorama from Curiosity Shows Petrified Sand Dunes: This sandstone outcrop - part of a geological layer that Curiosity's science team calls the Stimson unit - has a structure called crossbedding on a large scale that the team has interpreted as deposits of sand dunes formed by wind. Similar-looking petrified sand dunes are common in the U.S. Southwest.
Curiosity Moves Onward After 'Marias Pass' Studies: Curiosity is driving toward the southwest after departing a region where for several weeks it investigated a geological contact zone and rocks that are unexpectedly high in silica and hydrogen content. The hydrogen indicates water bound to minerals in the ground.
Curiosity Inspects Unusual Bedrock: Curiosity has found a target unlike anything it has studied before - bedrock with surprisingly high levels of silica. Silica is a rock-forming compound containing silicon and oxygen, commonly found on Earth as quartz. High levels of silica in the rock could indicate ideal conditions for preserving ancient organic material, if present, so the science team wants to take a closer look.
More Curiosity in the News
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Opportunity Rover Mission Updates: |
December 17, 2015: |
Opportunity On Steeper Slopes |
December 15, 2015: |
A Week of Robotic Arm Activities |
December 02, 2015: |
Arm Raised to Take in the View |
December 19, 2015: |
Returning to RAM |
November 10, 2015: |
Opportunity Dips Back Into Flash |
November 03, 2015: |
A Network Problem And An Amnesia Event Slows Down Robotic Arm Work |
October 27, 2015: |
A Week of Imaging From South Side of Valley |
October 20, 2015: |
Power Levels Low Due to Winter Setting In |
October 19, 2015: |
Opportunity Is Now On Northerly Slopes To Charge The Solar Panels For The Winter |
October 14, 2015: |
Opportunity Doing Work at 'Marathon Valley' Before Moving to Winter Location |
October 14, 2015: |
Opportunity Back to Normal Operations After Vehicle Reset Due to Flash System |
September 25, 2015: |
Opportunity's Current Location Makes Communications a Challenge |
Rocks in the News
New Horizons Reveals Most Detailed Image Of Pluto Yet: The New Horizons spacecraft captured this high-resolution enhanced colour view of Pluto during its flyby of the dwarf planet on July 14. Take the controls and zoom into NASA's biggest, boldest image of Pluto yet.
Ceres' Mysterious Bright Spots Are Giant Salt Pans: New findings reveal the strange bright spots on the dwarf planet Ceres are giant salt pans caused by the evaporation of water from a subsurface ocean.
10,000-Year Record Shows Dramatic Uplift At Andean Volcano: Ongoing studies of a massive volcanic field in the Andes mountains show that the rapid uplift which has raised the surface more than six feet in eight years has occurred many times during the past 10,000 years.
The Question Of Mantle Plumes: If the vast body of mantle plume research has done nothing else, it has revealed the difficulties inherent in trying to plumb the depths of Earth's interior.
Tiny Fossil Lends Insight On Flowering Plants: The discovery of exceptionally well-preserved, tiny fossil seeds dating back to the Early Cretaceous corroborates that flowering plants were small opportunistic colonizers at that time.
Solid Inner, Inner Core May Be Relic Of Earth’s Earliest Days: New simulations of the Earth's formation suggest that the innermost part of the inner core solidified shortly after the planet's assembly, rather than roughly 3 billion years later alongside the rest of the inner core.
Announcing The Carbon Mineral Challenge: The hunt is on for Earth’s undiscovered carbon minerals. Scientists, using statistical calculations, predict at least 145 of Earth’s carbon-bearing minerals remain undiscovered. They even have some ideas about where to look. But to find them, they need the help of the world’s mineral collecting community.
Largest Diamond In More Than A Century Found In Botswana: The 1,111-carat gem is only second in size to the Cullinan diamond, which was unearthed in South Africa in 1905. The 65mm x 56mm x 40mm stone is yet to be evaluated, but one commodities and mining analyst said it had the potential to be "one very expensive diamond".
10 States With Fossil-Hunting Sites For The Public: Fossil hunters have always been a combination of professionals and amateurs, dating back to the 19th century when 12-year-old Mary Anning and her brother Joseph discovered an ichthyosaur skeleton near their home in Dorset, England. Today, there are a number of well-known fossil beds within a few hours drive of some of the USA's largest cities.
Bite Marks Offer Best Evidence Yet Of Tyrannosaur Cannibalism: Tyrannosaurs were not the most discerning of carnivores. In addition to dining on other dinosaurs, like Triceratops and duck-billed hadrosaurs, it appears the fearsome apex predators weren’t averse to making a meal of their own kind.
Half-Billion-Year-Old Brains Preserved In Fool's Gold: A set of incredible fossils from southwest China reveals something amazing: 520 million-year-old brains, some preserved in fool's gold. The brains belong to shrimplike creatures just a few centimeters long named Fuxianhuia protensa, which scuttled around the seafloor during the Cambrian Period.
Who's In That Vomit, Anyhow?: Everyone likes "gross" fossils. Fossil poo always gets attention, and infected bones are cool to look at, but vomit is fairly unusual in the fossil record.
More Rocks in the News
Utah Goblin Topplers Sentenced To Probation : Glenn Tuck Taylor and David Benjamin Hall may have to shell out thousands to pay for warning signs telling future visitors to Goblin Valley State Park to leave the rocks alone. The men were sentenced to a year of probation without jail time and payment of restitution after pleading guilty to knocking over an ancient rock formation in the state park.
Ex-Boy Scout Leaders Charged With Felonies: It just took a little push to topple the delicately perched boulder - millions of years in the making - in Utah's Goblin Valley State Park. Then the man who did it laughed, high-fived his son, and flexed his muscles while being cheered on by a fellow Boy Scout leader. He is not likely celebrating now, nor is his friend who videotaped then publicized the episode, after both were charged with third-degree felonies.
Boy Scouts Toss 2 Leaders Who Knocked Over Goblin: A northern Utah Boy Scouts council has announced that former Boy Scout leaders Glenn Taylor and Dave Hall will no longer be allowed to lead scouting troops as a result of their vandalism of Goblin Valley State Park.
Boy Scout Leaders Destroy Ancient Formation In Utah's Goblin Valley: Boy Scout and Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints youth leaders Dave Hall, Glenn Taylor and Dylan Taylor are potentially facing felony charges for destroying a rock formation nearly 200 million years old. The trio of vandals was adventuring in Utah's Goblin Valley State Park when they decided to film themselves knocking over one of the formations, known as "Goblins."
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!
- Featured Cut: Defibrillator III - A Heart for Your Sweetheart
- 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?
Greetings from Tucson
- Our Shows, Museums, Clubs, Rock Shops, and Other Attractors
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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