Cobalt

metal · elements · blue color · Earth

Found in rocks. Cobalt is always mixed with other things in Earth's crust, never sitting alone. The only pure cobalt scientists found naturally came from ancient meteorites that fell from space.

Shiny and gray. When cobalt is separated from the rocks and processed, it becomes a hard, shiny gray metal that looks a bit like steel. It's tough but can be brittle, meaning it can crack if you bend it too far.

Makes brilliant blue. One of cobalt's superpowers is creating stunning blue colors. For hundreds of years, people have used cobalt to dye glass and paint bright, vivid blues that don't fade in the sun.

Mixed with other metals. Cobalt gets mixed into alloys to make them stronger and tougher, so it appears in things like magnets, tools, and batteries that power our phones.

Created in stars. Cobalt is created inside massive stars and scattered across space when they explode, eventually landing on planets like Earth as part of meteorites and rocks.