![\"\"](\"http:\/\/planets.ucla.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/meteorite_museum.jpg\" "\\"meteorite_museum\\"")
<\/a><\/p>\nThose expecting the museum to be filled with rows of indistinguishable black rocks may be surprised to learn that there are many types of meteorites, ranging from metallic to stony and everything in between.\u00a0 More than one exhibit emphasizes chondrites, a type of meteorite that is a subject of \u201cendless fascination,\u201d according to Rubin.\u00a0 \u201cChondrites are composed of thousands or millions of tiny spherules, called chondrules.\u201d\u00a0 While each chondrule tells a different story, they are still very much a mystery. \u201cIt appears that chondrules formed from clumps of dust in the solar nebula, the gas and dust cloud that was here before the planets and asteroids formed, and were zapped in a way that is still unknown,\u201d Wasson said.<\/p>\n
Not all the exhibits display rocks of extraterrestrial origin, however.\u00a0 One exhibit showcases a collection of melted tektites and Libyan desert glass that formed as a result of meteor impacts. Another exhibit offers tips on how to correctly identify meteorites.\u00a0 Rubin, a world expert in meteorite identification, receives phone calls nearly every day from meteorite-hunting hopefuls. While real specimens occasionally come across his desk, the vast majority of these objects come from Earth.\u00a0 The exhibit, entitled \u201cMeteorwrongs,\u201d features some of the more interesting Earthly samples Rubin has accumulated over the years.<\/p>\n
Wasson and Rubin hope that the museum will help educate the next-generation of meteorite researchers.\u00a0 \u201cThe museum will be a wonderful teaching resource,\u201d Wasson said.\u00a0 \u201cOur goal is to make it the world\u2019s best scientifically-oriented meteorite museum.\u201d\u00a0 Open to the public weekdays from 9am \u2013 4pm, the museum is located in Geology 3697.\u00a0 Admission is free.\u00a0 The museum, still incomplete, will have mounted informational tablets in its final configuration.<\/p>\n
The UCLA Meteorite Museum is supported by the Department of Earth and Space Sciences and the Institute for Planets and Exoplanets.\u00a0 Those interested in providing financial support to the UCLA Meteorite Collection should visit http:\/\/giving.ucla.edu\/meteorites\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n Watch a video profile of Alan Rubin here<\/a>.\u00a0 Watch a video tour of the meteorite museum here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Nearly 50,000 years ago, an asteroid fragment slammed into Earth approximately forty miles east of what is now Flagstaff, Arizona.\u00a0 Upon impact, the celestial projectile shattered into thousands of pieces and created a mile-wide hole now known as Meteor Crater.\u00a0 A 357-pound chunk of that original asteroid now stands center stage in the new UCLA … <\/p>\n