Virtual Microscope collections
The rocks in the Virtual Microscope are presented as a series of collections to make them easy to browse. Our biggest collection is called the UKVM and consists of over 100 rocks from the United Kingdom, digitised as an open educational resource with JISC funding. Other collections feature rocks collected by Charles Darwin during his voyage on the Beagle, meteorites that arrived from outer space, and moon rocks gathered by NASA astronauts.
The collections are based on projects we have undertaken to digitise rocks and create virtual microscope thin sections and in some cases hand specimens too. Each virtual thin section allows you to study the mineral’s properties, size, shape, proportion and colour, and also analyse the micro textures as if using a specialist petrological microscope.
You will find all the collections here on the collections page. But you can also search through all the available rocks (whatever the collection) based on their age 'in time', their location 'in place' or by using the search feature we call 'in focus'.
Collections
Our virtual microscope collections include a full range of rock types native to Earth and beyond. To these we have added minerals and a Cabinet of Curiosities.
Collection list
|
CollectionRef:
status:
active Nid: 14
Image:
 Title UK Virtual Microscope |
CollectionRef:
status:
active Nid: 445
Image:
 Title Apollo Lunar Missions |
CollectionRef:
status:
active Nid: 15
Image:
 |
|
CollectionRef:
status:
active Nid: 275
Image:
 Title Cabinet of Curiosities |
CollectionRef:
status:
active Nid: 335
Image:
 Title Charles Darwin's Rocks |
CollectionRef:
status:
active Nid: 242
Image:
 Title Cornish Mineral Heritage |
|
CollectionRef:
status:
active Nid: 13
Image:
 Title EUROPLANET Meteorites |
CollectionRef:
status:
active Nid: 916
Image:
 Title Greenland |
CollectionRef:
status:
active Nid: 758
Image:
 Title Irish University Rocks |
|
CollectionRef:
status:
active Nid: 74
Image:
 Title Leeds |
CollectionRef:
status:
active Nid: 1414
Image:
 Title Leicester |
CollectionRef:
status:
active Nid: 1115
Image:
 Title Lunar Meteorites |
|
CollectionRef:
status:
active Nid: 489
Image:
 Title Martian Meteorites |
CollectionRef:
status:
active Nid: 400
Image:
 Title Metalliferous Ores |
CollectionRef:
status:
active Nid: 369
Image:
 Title OU module rocks |
|
CollectionRef:
status:
active Nid: 1412
Image:
 Title Plymouth |
CollectionRef:
status:
active Nid: 1413
Image:
 Title Portsmouth |
CollectionRef:
status:
active Nid: 610
Image:
 Title St Austell Granite |
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