Greg
@suq
Mineral sciences museum specialist | DC | personal account | 🏳️🌈
They condensed the plagioclase feldspars into varieties of albite or varieties of anorthite, depending on how much Na/Ca they have 😔
Hyalophane (below) is a barium rich feldspar. I learned today it is a variety of microcline and not its own species. Also learned that labradorite isnt its own species either anymore and is a variery of anorthite. The IMA needs to calm down with changing all these feldspar taxonomies
Found some bugs on my lunch break. Photo is super saturated but i love the color contrast
I remember when this was discovered. I still have the printed out article. All the enstatite fragments they showed were much smoother and less vitreous than your piece, but i guess theres a lot of variation
So i read about this new material that was recently fabricated, its polycrystalline silicon named Crysilliz. Wanted to buy some and the prices were reasonable but what in the hell are these shipping prices?! Tariffs i guess? Really disappointing
Havent been able to get to the gym much lately but im still pretty happy with how my arms look, so theres that
Someone posted a very clearly AI video of a chicken today and its gaining massive traction (up to 3k likes and 500 reposts aorn) and just makes me so god damn angry and disappointed in how digitally illiterate people are. And theres even pushback when you call it out. We're so cooked.
Sometimes mineral crystals are so perfectly geometric they just dont seem real to me 🧐 🪨: Spinel (MgAl2O4)
A cabochon of river jasper (similar looking but distinct from ocean jasper!) from Indonesia
Currently working through the backlog of digitizing some of our fancier specimens. Here's a pentagonite (Ca(VO)Si4O10•4H2O) from India. Its a sibling (dimorph) of the more well known cavansite. Its vivid blue color is due to vanadium (VO²⁺).
One year marriage anniversary date night at Bistro Cacao with the handsomest man in the world @jesh.bsky.social 🥰
Had to wear gloves for today's photo shoot Pirssonite - Na2Ca(CO3)2*2H2O - a soft, brittle, and soluble mineral, was named after one of the four petrologists responsible for creating the classification system for rocks (CIPW) It is similar to and a lesser hydrate than gaylussite 😏
Reason # 1 million why AI overview is trash- its decided to just insert commas based on vibes lol