MgO tagged posts

Scientists have for the first time observed how atoms in magnesium oxide morph and melt under ultra-harsh conditions, providing new insights into this key mineral within Earth’s mantle that is known to influence planet formation.

High-energy laser experiments — which subjected tiny crystals of the mineral to the type of heat and pressure found deep ...

Laboratory experiments allow insights into the processes under the extreme pressure and temperature conditions of distant worlds. What is happening deep beneath the surface of ice planets? Is there liquid water, and if so, how does it interact with the planetary rocky “seafloor”? New experiments show that on water-ice planets between the size of our Earth and up to six times this size, water selectively leaches magnesium from typical rock minerals...

The crystal structure of magnesium peroxide, MgO2, courtesy of Sergey Lobanov, created using K. Momma’s program for drawing crystal structures. Credit: Sergey Lobanov 

New Carnegie research demonstrates different magnesium compounds could be abundant inside other planets as compared to Earth. O and Mg are the two most-abundant elements in Earth’s mantle. However, when predicting the chemical compositions of rocky, terrestrial planets outside of our own Solar System, they shouldn’t assume that other rocky planets would have Earth-like mantle mineralogy, according to Carnegie’s Sergey Lobanov, Nicholas Holtgrewe, and Alexander Goncharov.

Eg. elevated oxygen contents have been observed in stars that host rocky planets...