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Apophis, Space, Obama, Grand Challenge

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Science Fiction and Thriller Writer. View my profile on. View my profile on. Our nation faces a grand opportunity. Faces a grand opportunity. In 2004, scientists feared the asteroid Apophis 99942 was on an April 13, 2029 collision course with the Earth. Later observations predict a 2029 near miss but a possible Earth impact in 2036. Even if it misses us again it will. Return every seven years, until some day our luck will. But we don't have to leave our fate to chance. There is a smarter choice. We can s...

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Sedimentary Rocks

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Are formed by the accumulation and subsequent consolidation of sediments into various types of rock. The key is the sediments. Sediments are unconsolidated material and have different origins. Ultimately, the origin of these sediments is the weathering, erosion and/or the chemical breakdown of other rocks. These "other" rocks could be igneous. There are three main subclasses of sedimentary rocks. They include biochemical. Are sometimes considered true sedimentary rocks as they are composed directly of th...

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Primordial Rocks

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Are those that initially formed in outer space as the solar nebula collapsed to form the Sun (and ultimately the planets). These objects coalesced to become comets, asteroids, meteoroids, and ultimately the planets. Their characteristics vary according to where they formed, how large they became (which affects subsequent processing of the primordial material), and their history of collisions and proximity to the Sun. Arrayed into a nearly flat disk spinning around the Sun. While the bulk of many asteroids.

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ORES

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An economic entity, not a physical one. It is defined by the presence of an economically valuable concentration of some material. However, times and markets change. Today's waste may be tomorrow's gold mine (or perhaps silver. Mine - exactly what happened to the waste from one region's gold mines). Ores too dilute to be mined may become valuable as technology changes. For example, there are huge copper. Mines which recover copper from ore of only 3% copper, not feasible a hundred years ago. Supergene enr...

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Rocks - the home of Minerals

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Rocks and Other Mineral Sources. A Rock, by a simple definition, is a solid with more than one component of a mineral. Is not a rock; but two crystals that are joined together, even if they are the same mineral, are technically a rock. The minerals or mineraloids may be large enough to be easily identified (such as in a pegmatitic granite. Barely distinctive grains (as in a schist. Or in a mixture of microscopic grains such as in a slate. It forms a complete circle as one rock can be turned into another&...

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Meteoric Minerals

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Include the minerals common to known asteroids. Primitive asteroids including most stony meteorites) come in several varieties. Carbonaceous chondrites. Largely mimic the elemental composition of the solar nebula, minus the lighter volatiles. Their spectra often reveal evidence of the (past) presence of liquid water in the form of iron-rich clays. Serpentine group minerals such as. And the carbonate minerals dolomite. FeS) when formed under reducing conditions, and olivine. Ca,Ce)(Al,Ti,Mg). There are ma...

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Asteroids

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Are remnants of the process that created the planets. As the solar nebula condensed, dust and molecules clumped together into millimeter-scale chondrules. Which in turn clumped into meteoroids (up to 50 meters) and planetoids (up to a few thousand meters) in diameter. These bodies collided to create planetesimals (dozens of kilometers wide), which in turn would collide and grow into planetary embryos (hundreds of kilometers wide), which in turn collided leaving the current planets in the solar system.

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Metamorphic Rocks

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Are formed when other rocks (generally sedimentary. Or even older metamorphic. Is unstable at high temperatures and will decompose into lime. CaO) and carbon dioxide (CO. These are the primary metamorphic rocks:. See Steve's video interview about asteroid capture at Moonandback:. A Project Plan for Space Based Solar Power. Can make a difference! Help President Obama, NASA, and the people of Earth. See the. Preventing the next Extinction Level Event.

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Igneous Rocks

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Are one of the three major rock types and are basically rocks that solidified from magma. Magma. Is the term for liquid or melted rock and is usually quite hot. After all, the term igneous. Comes from the Latin word for "of fire". Most people have seen pictures or video of magma that flows out of a volcano. When magma flows onto the surface of the Earth it is called lava. When the lava cools and forms a rock, that rock is an igneous rock. Because it extruded or came out of the Earth) and intrusive. Have ...