Los Alamos Geological Society member Jason Utas will speak at the June 17 meeting. Courtesy/Jason Utas
LAGS News:
The Los Alamos Geological Society’s (LAGS) June meeting is scheduled, 7-8 p.m. Tuesday, June 17, at the Los Alamos Christian Church at 92 East Road.
The guest speaker will be LAGS member Jason Utas, who will discuss “All About Meteorites”. His talk will cover where they come from and what they tell about human’s place in the universe. He will also take a look at different types of meteorites, how they formed, and how to find them.
Meteorites are windows into both time and space. The oldest meteorites are roughly 4.56 billion years old: they are made of small mineral grains that collected on the surfaces of asteroids in the young protoplanetary disk. These rocks have captured rare presolar grains – tiny mineral grains that formed in and around other stars, before the sun. These grains teach a lot about the young Solar System’s “neighborhood” and the protoplanetary disk. The youngest meteorites are volcanic basalts that crystallized ~180 million years ago. Because of them, it is thought that the enormous volcanoes on Mars might still be active. Utas will show us a look at these, and everything in-between. A variety of samples will be on hand to examine.
All in the community are invited to attend. Light refreshments will be served.