Australian opals may shed light on origin of surface of Mars

[PinkDiamond]

From June, 2013:

Precious opals in Australia may shed light on the origin of the surface of Mars

"Research on how precious opals were formed in Australia could provide astrobiologists with insight as to what may have happened on the surface the planet Mars, according to Patrice Rey, a scientist at the University of Sydney.

Precious opal is predominantly found in the red earth of the Great Artesian Basin in central Australia, within 50 meters of the surface. Like common opal, they are comprised of amorphous spheres of silica 150 to 400 nanometers wide, but in precious opal they are arranged in orderly arrays, thereby producing scintillating colors.

According to Rey, it has long been a mystery why precious opal was found so abundantly in the Great Artesian Basin, and almost nowhere else on Earth. In his opinion, it is because ..."

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