Rocks on Earth Provide Clues About the Histories of the Solar System, the Planet, and the Atmosphere

From small meteorites to huge impact craters to tiny diamonds, scientists study rocks of all kinds and gain information about the formation and evolution of our solar system.

IMAGE: The Carina nebula, where newborn stars are irradiated by intense ultraviolet light from nearby massive stars — possibly similar to the environment which birthed our solar system — is pictured over a fragment of Acfer 094. (Carina nebula image: NASA; ESA; N. Smith ,University of California, Berkeley; and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA). Acfer 094 image: Ryan Ogliore CREDIT: Ryan Ogliore, Washington University in St. Louis

There is one planet we can observe in detail: our own Earth. And sometimes we are lucky enough to find rocks from…