魔鬼大理石保护区，澳大利亚 Karlu Karlu/Devils Marbles Conservation Reserve, Australia (© Yva Momatiuk and John Eastcott/Minden Pictures)

魔鬼大理石保护区，澳大利亚 Karlu Karlu/Devils Marbles Conservation Reserve, Australia (© Yva Momatiuk and John Eastcott/Minden Pictures)

大自然的平衡术 Nature's balancing act

古老岩石日

这些可不是普通的石头！魔鬼大理石是已知最古老的宗教场所之一，对澳大利亚土著居民来说，它是一个古老的圣地，具有重要的价值。如今，澳大利亚北领地的魔鬼大理石保护区--又称卡鲁卡鲁，保存着这些巨大的圆形巨石。这些岩石由花岗岩构成，其奇特的形状是数百万年风化和侵蚀的结果。今天恰好是“古老岩石日”，是欣赏这一地质奇观最好的日子。你知道地球上最古老的岩石在哪吗？阿波罗14号任务期间从月球上带回的月球样本14321，被称为“大伯莎”，经测定约有44.6亿年的历史，只比地球本身年轻一点点。科学家们认为，一颗古老的小行星撞击地球，将大块的陆地碎片抛向太空和月球表面，然后在数百万年后被我们带了回来。无论你是地质学迷，还是自然爱好者，拥抱你周围的矿物质，继续前进吧！

Old Rock Day

These aren't your ordinary rocks! One of the oldest-known religious locations, the Devils Marbles Conservation Reserve is a sacred site to Aboriginal Australians. The site, also called Karlu Karlu, in Australia’s Northern Territory, is home to a collection of giant, gravity-defying boulders. These rocks are composed of granite, and their peculiar shape is the result of millions of years of weathering and erosion.

And what better occasion than Old Rock Day, to appreciate such geological wonders? Did you know that the Earth's oldest rock is truly out of this world? Lunar sample 14321, or 'Big Bertha,' is approximately 4.46 billion years old—just a smidge younger than the Earth itself—and was recovered from the moon during the Apollo 14 mission. Scientists believe that the rock was a meteorite from Earth that hit the moon, only to be brought back home, millions of years later. Whether you're a geology nerd or just a nature lover, today's the day to rock on!