FEATURES

Under Pressure: Looking Inside Earth
What do diamonds, rubies, and lasers have in common? They’re all part of everyday research at the Massachusetts Institute of technology (MIT) Mineral Physics Lab. Take a tour of the lab and find out why scientists would want to crush rocks.
By Kathryn Hulick

How to Make a Pretty Rock
Gems are pretty rocks. Because of their beauty, they’re fashioned into jewelry and other ornaments. However, these special stones are rare, hard to find, and difficult to extract from the Earth, so scientists and engineers have invented artificial ways to make them.
By Mary Beth Cox

Places to Discover: Rock Halls of Fame
Museums across the country have “rock halls of fame” that have nothing to do with music. Instead, they showcase the wonders of gems and minerals…and you’re invited!
By Kathiann M. Kowalski

Short, Sharp Shocks! Impact Crater Science
It’s the most violent process on Earth, and it’s over in seconds. From the time an asteroid enters the atmosphere, to when a new crater lies steaming and shrouded by dust, less than a minute and a half have passed. Yet in that short time, tremendous changes occur.
By Curtis Manley

An Amber Time Warp
Earth is a changeable place. Weather wavers. Trees transform. Dinosaurs disappear. But a geologist recently discovered that one aspect of nature has changed very little over time—plant resin. It’s remarkable stuff, and when it fossilizes it becomes a gemstone called amber.

By Cindy Argentine

Why the Sun is Red

“I was just wondering,” said the King of Lithuania to his horseman as they rode back from a hunt. Uh-oh, thought the horseman. Whenever the King turned to wondering, it usually meant someone was about to be sent off on a long and difficult quest.
A short story by Ilona Bray

Finding the Volcano Goddess
In ancient Hawaiian lore, Pele, the goddess of volcanoes, formed each of Hawaii’s eight islands by thrusting her magic staff into the Earth, releasing fires as she ran away from her sister, the goddess of the waves. Today an international research team is performing a groundbreaking experiment to reveal the actual science responsible for the creation of this island chain.

By Nick D’Alto

Quarrying Vermont Marble

What would it be like to travel downward into a mountain for almost a mile? Visit Danby Quarry, the largest underground marble quarry in the world, and find out!

By Jan Jones

A Lithotroph’s Lunch
Welcome to a lithotroph’s lunch. Today’s special: metal ore and mine tailings a la carte. While this lunch menu might not sound appetizing to you or your friends, it would to a group of lithotrophic bacteria.
By Shannon L. Thol

DEPARTMENTS

Science Scoops
The World’s Most Perfect Laser
Earth Rocks…and Rolls
The Mystery of Asteroid X
How to Lock Up Radioactive Waste…Forever!
Happy Birthday, Element 118
By Kathryn Hulick

Kids Can... Do Amazing Science
Home Off the Range
What is it like to adopt a wild horse? It only takes a fee of $125 and proof that you have adequate living quarters for a wild horse. But that’s just the beginning. . .
By Jeanne Miller

Ask Dr. Cy Borg
What causes a yawn?

Animal Angles:

Wannabe a Rock-Wallaby?

Do you like to climb rocks? Sun yourself on stony ledges? Hide in caves? Then you’d like to be a brush-tailed rock-wallaby!

By Sara Lenoe

What is It?
It looks red, fuzzy and cuddly, or perhaps like your latest masterpiece in art class. But what it is? Here’s a hint: The picture was taken by NASA's new Solar Dynamics Observatory.

Brain Strain
Centuries from now, an Earthling is exploring a newly discovered rocky planet. Here beautiful gemstones abound. Will the Earthling be able to pass a test given by a creature from that planet?

Star Chart and Stargazing with Jack Horkheimer

You’ve Got Mail!
ODYSSEY's reader response department welcomes your letters, original poems, stories, drawings, and responses to questions!
E-mail odysseymagazine@caruspub.com with You’ve Got Mail! as the subject, or snail mail You’ve Got Mail, ODYSSEY
30 Grove St., Suite C
Peterborough, NH 03458

Consulting Editor

Dr. Dan Shim is an associate professor of Experimental Geophysics at the Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He earned his Ph.D. in geosciences from Princeton University in 2000. After spending two years at the University of California at Berkeley as a Miller Research Fellow, he joined MIT in 2003.

Shim’s research focuses on the structure and evolution of Earth and planetary interiors. He studies phase relations and material properties at high pressures and temperatures related to the Earth and planetary interiors using the laser-heated diamond-anvil cell combined with synchrotron X-ray and laser spectroscopy techniques.