John M. Curchin

RRCC Astronomy Instructor, age 61

About John

Like many of his generation, John grew up watching humans put footprints on the moon, destined to become a scientist. Graduating with degrees in geology and geophysics, his first published paper actually looked for a correlation between the lunar tides and quakes here on Earth (there is none). After a stint working for oil companies seeking petroleum (he found none), John followed in the footsteps of his mother and became a teacher, currently exploring the wonders of the night sky with students from Red Rocks Community College. Due to an inevitable collision of interests, about 25 years ago John discovered that rocks from space, meteorites, were available for public purchase. At that time, he had none, but now owns over 500 individual specimens, as well as approximately 1500 meteorites in thin section, from which these images have been created. 

Creating an ‘image in thin section’ is itself a unique and fascinating way to explore nature. Geologists routinely slice a rock wafer thin, and then epoxy it to a glass slide, from which it can be investigated with a ‘petrographic’ microscope. John joined forces with fellow petrographer Fred Olsen in 1999 to acquire, and eventually sell MITS, Meteorites In Thin Section. They can be found for sale at their website, MeteoriteTS.com, along with images, explanations and links to other meteorite-themed websites. Please feel free to contact John with any questions or suggestions at curch@msn.com.