March 16th, 2021, 6:00AM / BY Abigail Eisenstadt
Dom Pedro aquamarine was cut from a 100-pound crystal that was mined in the late 1980s. It weighs around 4.6 pounds, making it one of the largest aquamarine gemstones in the world. (Donald E. Hurlbert, Smithsonian)
For those who study what happens when magma and crust collide, igneous rocks like pegmatites are a welcome sight. But in addition to holding clues about Earth’s mineral and geologic processes, pegmatites deposits are known for containing diverse and richly colored mineral crystals that can be cut into spectacular gems. One of the largest if not best example is the Dom Pedro Aquamarine.
February 1st, 2021, 3:00PM / BY Abigail Eisenstadt
This is a giant spindle magnetofossil, created by a mysterious creature over 50 million years ago. So far, the iron fossils have only been found during two periods of intense global warming. (Kenneth Livi, Courtney Wagner, and Ioan Lascu)
Deep underneath the ocean’s murky floor, there are iron bullets, needles, and spearheads. But they weren t left there by people. Instead, they are the fossilized remains of unknown organisms who lived millions of years ago through at least two extreme global warming events.
These so-called “giant” magnetofossils are impossible to see with the naked eye. Because of their size, geologists and paleobiologists used to have to study them using a labor intensive and destructive process.
January 26th, 2021, 6:00AM / BY Abigail Eisenstadt
These walrus ivory carvings were collected in the mid-1880s. They were featured in a catalogue for the exhibition Looking Both Ways: Heritage and Identity of the Alutiiq People at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History in 2003. (Carl C. Hansen, Smithsonian)
After even one month of cold, snow and ice, the wintery landscape seems dreary and bleak. But appearances are deceptive and no place is better proof of this fact than the Arctic, where people have lived for over 30,000 years. This is a unique part of the world because it’s the only place where you have such similar environments in animals, resources and cultures,” said Dr. William Fitzhugh, curator of North American archaeology and director of the Arctic Studies Center at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. The rest of the world is divided by vast oceans which restricted communication until recent times.�