An astronomer friend of mine sent me a very odd package in the mail.
The package had seven tiny glass capsules and in each hourglass-like container was a tiny bit of Mars! My friend had purchased these bits of Mars from Galactic Stone and Ironworks and the “bits of Mars” were from a meteorite that was found in Northwest Africa in 2014.
There is something truly amazing about holding a tiny bit of a far away world that had traveled so very far in space and then somehow ended up on Earth and in your own human hands.
More specific scientific information about the meteorite itself can be found on the Meteoritical Society entry. Very cool!
My friend asked if I would make ceramic pieces that looked like Mars to house the glass containers with the bits of the ejected planet. He wanted to give them as gifts to his astronomy friends. I was happy to oblige!
Below is the image of what I came up with. I added chains to the pieces before they shipped so that people could wear them, or hang them in a place of honor.
This was a fun Sci Art project for sure!
The very best part? I got to keep a bit of meteorite for me.
Thank you, friend!
*Featured image of Mars taken by the Hubble Telescope.
