📌Italian Museum of Planetary Sciences

The exhibits on display (meteorites, impact rocks and minerals) and the story these exhibits tell.

In fact, the visitor, through the expansion of the space around him, in a semi-dark environment, illuminated only by the diffused light coming from the windows, is involved in a sort of journey through time and space, which starting from the origin of the Universe winds its way to the formation and evolution of our Solar System and of the planet Earth in particular.

The key witnesses to this fascinating story are the precious meteorites from space that contain unique information about the first moments of the birth of the planets.

the large Nantan meteorite which, with its 272 kg of weight, represents the heaviest meteorite specimen exhibited in a museum in all of Italy. Furthermore, this is the only meteorite that can be freely touched by visitors, thus allowing a unique and rare experience.

The visit to the Museum is completed by 17 interactive multimedia stations, with information on the different thematic sections that make up the Museum, the three-dimensional model of the Solar System in scale and the small room called “quadrisphere” where the visitor can watch a multi-projection that, thanks to a complex play of mirrors, tells with evocative sounds and images the birth and evolution of the Solar System and of our planet in particular.

Did you find a meteorite?

The Museum carries out classification activities of new meteorites.

Given that finding a meteorite is an extremely rare but not impossible event, if you think you have found one, send some detailed photos of the sample to this address msp@fondazioneparsec.it, together with a description of the place and time of the discovery as well as information such as the weight, dimensions and any magnetic properties of the sample itself.

Based on the information received, we will evaluate the need to view the sample, which may be shipped or delivered by hand, and possibly perform petrographic and chemical-mineralogical analyses to determine whether or not it is a meteorite.

Via Galcianese 20/H Prato