MeteoRing

Shortly after I mentioned my girlfriend Marika, I'm delighted to announce we got engaged!  A few days later, we went shopping for my ring, which arrived earlier this week.  The metal used in the ring comes from a meteorite that hit the Earth during prehistoric times, and scattered over 8,000 square miles in the region of Africa that gives the meteorite its name: Gibeon, Namibia.

The unique design on the surface of the ring is called a Widmanstätten pattern, and is evidence of its extraterrestrial origins.  The pattern forms when a mixture of nickel and iron cool over a long period of time, on the order of 10 million years.  Such slow cooling isn't possible on Earth, where the rest of the planet can serve as a heat-sink.

The name "Widmanstätten" comes from Count Alois von Beckh Widmanstätten in 1808, but the first published study was actually from G. Thomson in 1804.  There's quite a story behind why he was not acknowledged (from Wikipedia):

Civil wars and political instability in southern Italy made it difficult for Thomson to maintain contact with his colleagues in England. This was demonstrated in his loss of important correspondence when its carrier was murdered. As a result, in 1804, his findings were only published in French in the Bibliothèque Britannique. At the beginning of 1806, Napoleon invaded the Kingdom of Naples and Thomson was forced to flee to Sicily and in November of that year, he died in Palermo at the age of 46.

It seems like a perfect choice for an astrophysicist, and a wonderful start to the next chapter of our relationship.  Thanks Marika!