This book introduces the reader to the fascinating and sometimes bizarre world of space rocks using a simple, clear layman-friendly style. It explains why they are so special and describes their main characteristics.
Richard Greenwood is a Senior Research Fellow at the Open University, UK. A geologist by training, he started studying meteorites quite by accident after answering an advert in a science magazine. Life has never been quite the same since. Some of his close encounters with extraterrestrial rocks are described in this book. In particular, he was the first scientist to identify the Winchcombe meteorite. But things haven't always gone totally to plan. Failure to find a single space rock on a Moroccan expedition in the 1990s still hurts. Full disclosure is provided here.
Richard's more academic activities involve the study of meteorites with the aim of understanding the origin and early evolution of our Solar System. Spacecraft are now collecting material directly from asteroids and bringing the samples back to Earth. Richard has been at the heart of these activities, working with international teams analyzing material brought back by the Japanese Space Agency (JAXA) from asteroid Ryugu and by the NASA OSIRIS-REx mission from Asteroid Bennu. He also maintains a popular outreach blog on meteorites: https://meteoritestheblog.com/.
