Geosciences Olympiad: in search of micrometeorites

On December 20, the Electronic Microscopy Cluster welcomed three students from the Édouard Branly high school in Boulogne-sur-Mer, who are competing in the Geosciences Olympiad. In response to this year’s theme, “Geology in my street”, Alice, Astrid and Jules set out to collect micrometeorites directly from their homes, with the help of their SVT teacher Christophe Verna and Christophe Van de Walle, a preparator for the high-school laboratories.

The samples they have collected with home-made devices contain remarkably round particles, the first essential characteristic of micrometeorites. By coming to the Institute, they were able to observe the surface and chemical composition of these particles in greater detail using one of the scanning electron microscopes. After analysis, the extraterrestrial origin of the dust was confirmed!

With these images and new data, they now have to produce a short video presenting their work, which they have been carrying out since September, in the hope of winning first place at the Olympics. But they won’t stop there! They will also be presenting their work at the CGénial competition, this time in the form of a stand and in front of a panel of judges. Good luck to them!