Talking Science is a series of popular science lectures that take place at STFC sites across the country. On the 20th October Dr Matthew Genge, Senior lecturer at Imperial College, London will give a talk entitled '
Meteorites and Cosmic Dust: Astronomy in Rocks'. See link for further details.
Thursday 20th October 2011 - 6.00pm at Polaris House, Swindon
'Meteorites and cosmic dust: astronomy in rocks' - Dr Matthew Genge: Senior lecturer at Imperial College, London
Around 10,000 tonnes of meteorites and cosmic dust fall through our atmosphere and they carry with them a record of the history and formation of our solar system. The minerals and chemistry of rocks can be used to determine the conditions under which they formed. Meteorites and cosmic dust record a host of important events: catastrophic collisions, melting and volcanism on other planets, the building of planets from the solar nebula and even the formation of dust grains in giant stars prior to our solar system's existence.