July 27th marks the first observed meteorite fall in Arizona's Valley of the Sun!  While multiple Valley residents reported fireball sightings to the American Meteor Society that evening, Center for Meteorite Studies Curator Professor Laurence Garvie speculates that many additional witnesses likely mistook the meteorite's entry into Earth's atmosphere for monsoon lightning. So far, only…

Scientists believe the solar system was formed some 4.6 billion years ago when a cloud of gas and dust collapsed under gravity, possibly triggered by a cataclysmic explosion from a nearby massive star or supernova. As this cloud collapsed, it formed a spinning disk with the sun in the center. Piece by piece, scientists have…

Center Ph.D. candidate Emilie Dunham recently wrote an article for Meteorite Times Magazine.  The piece, Understanding Solar System History: CAIs in Meteorites, details Dunham's research in the Center as well as findings she presented at the annual meeting of the Meteoritical Society last year. A recipient of the prestigious NASA Earth and Space Science Fellowship…

Center Director Meenakshi Wadhwa was recently featured on NPR's Science Friday, discussing the 2003 fall of the Park Forest meteorite. Listen to the interview here!

The Center's Meteorite Gallery joins more than 2,000 museums across America to offer free admission to military personnel and their families this summer, in collaboration with the National Endowment for the Arts, Blue Star Families, and the Department of Defense.             Blue Star Museums is a collaboration among the National…