Minerals are typically formed when molten rock, or magma, cools, or by separating out of mineral-rich water, such as that in underground caverns. In general, mineral particles are small ...

Just a few minerals make up most of the rocks we ... In this article, we'll list 30 types of rock with pictures and a brief description to help you identify them.

Crystals? Stones? Gems? Rocks? What’s the difference? If you’ve ever wandered into a crystal shop or been intrigued by the magical properties of stones, you’ve probably found yourself asking ...

A close-up photo taken by the Curiosity rover shows pure yellow sulfur crystals within a rock. NASA’s Curiosity rover ran over a rock on Mars in late May. That’s par for the course on the red ...

David Bressan is a geologist who covers curiosities about Earth. Rocks and minerals contribute essential raw materials for any civilization, and in a technological society minerals (and the rare ...

but Glavin said more research is required to determine how organic compounds formed and evolved on the space rock. Many of the minerals have small bits of water trapped in their crystalline ...