12/12/2017 Speculative Mineralogy BLDGBLOG

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Speculative Mineralogy

[Image: An otherwise unrelated image of crystal twinning, via Geology IN].

Its hard to resist a headline like this: writing for Nature, Shannon
Hall takes us inside the labs that forge distant planets here on
Earth.

This is the world of exogeologythe geology of other planetsa

research area that is bringing astronomers, planetary scientists and
geologists together to explore what exoplanets might look like,
geologically speaking. For many scientists, exogeology is a natural
extension of the quest to identify worlds that could support life.

To understand how other planets are made, exogeologists are

synthesizing those planets in miniature in the earthbound
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equipment in their labs. Think of it as an extreme example of

landscape modeling. To gather information to feed these models,
Hall writes, geologists are starting to subject synthetic rocks to
high temperatures and pressures to replicate an exoplanets
innards.

Brie y, its easy to imagine an interesting jewelry lineor

architectural materials rmusing fragments of exoplanets in their
work, crystals grown as representations of other worlds embedded
in your garden pavement. Or fuse the ashes of your loved ones with
fragments of hypothetical exoplanets. In nite memorialization,
indeed.

In any case, recall that, back in 2015, geologist Robert Hazen

predict[ed] that Earth has more than 1,500 undiscovered minerals
and that the exact mineral diversity of our planet is unique and
could not be duplicated anywhere in the cosmos. As Hazen
claimed, Earths mineralogy is unique in the cosmos. If we are,
indeed, living in mineralogically unique circumstances, then this
would put an end to the fantasy of nding a geologically Earth-
like planet. But the search goes on.

This is not the only example of producing hypothetical mineral

models of other worlds. In 2014, for example, ScienceDaily
reported that scientists for the rst time have experimentally re-
created the conditions that exist deep inside giant planets, such as
Jupiter, Uranus and many of the planets recently discovered outside
our solar system. Incredibly, this included compressing diamond
to a concentration denser than lead, using a giant laser.

Other worlds, produced here on Earth. Exoplanetary

superdiamonds.

Read more over at Nature.

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(Nature article spotted via Nathalia Holt).

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Geoff Manaugh
/ December
6, 2017 /
BLDGBLOG /
Astronomy,
Comparative
Planetology,
Diamonds,
Exogeology,
Geology,
Infinite
Memorialization,
Landscapes,
Mineralogy,
Minerals,
Planets,
Robert Hazen,
Space,
Speculative
Mineralogy

2 thoughts on Speculative Mineralogy

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12/12/2017 Speculative Mineralogy BLDGBLOG

Wayne Chambliss
December 7, 2017 at 4:29 pm

I wonder if theyre also doing exoseismic

simulations, as a step toward modeling how
earthquake body waves would propagate
di erently given di erent mineralogical
regimes/conditions (in terms of refraction,
re ection, attenuation, etc.), in order to get a
clearer picture of exoplanetary interiors,
should some form of remote (e.g., planetary
EM eld perterbation-based) seismology ever
become possible.

Geo Manaugh
December 7, 2017 at 4:33 pm

Wayne, sounds like the great exoseismic-

survey-crew novel is looking for its writer

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