Today at #MinCup24. We are in the semifinals & my favourit is the #DoesItCat #mineral #kyanite/#disthene-the mineral of 2 hardnesses-or in cat-of the 2 softnesses. II the c-axis {001} it has a 5 & perpendicular to it a 7 on the #MohsScale.
Go #TeamKyanite 🐾
#MineralCup
Today: dear #Mincup24 team. I sent you greetings from #Switzerland. Look whom I have met today during my #hedgewatch. A very young #IceMin, it formed last night, is greeting you😻 It hopes also to become again part of the #MineralCup in the future 😻
#CatForScale
#geologywithcats #catsofmastodon
A quartz-filled geode from Mont Lyall, Gaspe Peninsula, Quebec. These form in Devonian volcanics of the Chic-Choc mountains, when hot water percolates through cavities. The quarry is a pick-your-own-nodules, with a service to saw them open -no guarantees!
#Quartz #MinCup24 #MineralCup #Quebec #Geode #Geology
Opaque #spinel is the main aluminum-bearing mineral in the Earth's upper mantle. Here surrounded by pale olivine brown orthopyroxene and green clinopyroxene.
So vote for #ammineite in this #MineralCup round!
#Ammineite is amazing! It comes from #guano, which is also amazing! See thread 👇 to learn why #BatAndBirdPoop was a critical natural resource.
One word. #Dioptase.
#MineralCup #MinCup24 @MineralCup
Vote here: https://www.mineralcup.org/2024/vote/r1m06
Well, did dissatisfied customers put stylus to clay thousands of years ago to complain about poor quality #perovskite?
So, as a treat, today's #MineralCup bracket pitches the deep #perovskite against the red metallic #copper.
Definitely #TeamPerovskite here. Mainly because of the incredible pressures and temperatures this thing is found at, and for the potential applications of its cristalline structure in superconductivity.
Right now it's a very close one, in favor of perovskite. Let's keep it that way!
Which one are you voting for? #MinCup24
Okay, okay, okay, folx. Stop everything you are doing and pay attention. It's September again, and with September comes the now well known #MineralCup! Today's bracket pitches the mighty and strong #corundum against this mouthful and beast of exotic elements that is #arsenuranospathite.
Gotta admit that I have a bit of a soft spot for the gemstones in that one, so corundum it is!
Vote here: https://www.mineralcup.org/2024/vote
Note: yeah I know I forgot yesterday...
Today the #water in my outdoor #waterbowl / #insect- #birdbath / temporarily #frog pool turned into #Ice the solid state of water which some humans define as #mineral and others not🙀
I have a #Cat nap in my heated bed...
Vivianite! Phosphate bones plus dissolved iron equals blue #Vivianite.
https://www.alaskasnewssource.com/2023/10/28/rare-blue-tusked-mammoth-auction-anchorage/
https://www.mineralcup.org/2023/campaigns/round-5-match-1 And for chrissakes don't vote for #Zircon. It wins every year.
Links would be good.
Direct link to vote:
https://www.mineralcup.org/2023/campaigns/campaigns/round-4-match-1
Link to home page where you can go obsessively check results:
https://www.mineralcup.org
How, you might ask, does a perfectly formed #zircon get into a sapphire?
Sapphire melting temp: around 2030 °C. (wikipedia)
Zircon melting temp: high melting point (over 2500°C). (https://www.ga.gov.au/education/classroom-resources/minerals-energy/australian-mineral-facts/zircon)
Tiny zircons can withstand a lot of what makes and destroys other minerals.
Vote: https://www.mineralcup.org/results/round-4-match-1
#TeamZircon #MinCup23 #MinCup2023 #MineralCup23 #MineralCup2023 #MineralCup #MinCup #SciComm #Science #Minerals #Geology #Mineralogy #Teaching #Education
Just leaving this here. Zircon and monazite. You're not going to see calcite in a sapphire, it couldn't take the heat.
#TeamZircon #sapphire #MineralInclusions #euhedral #MinCup23 #MinCup2023 #MineralCup23 #MineralCup2023 #MineralCup #MinCup #SciComm #Science #Minerals #Geology #Mineralogy #Teaching #Education #STEM #Zircon
Voted early in the first semi-final of this year's #MineralCup and after a bit of thought went with #Calcite. Didn't vote for it in the quarters, but it's won me over for this round. #Zircon is attractive and sounds more impressive, but what sort of monster can honestly consider #trilobyte eyes then vote for the pretty boy gemstone?
#Calcite and #kyanite are neck and neck.
I have no strong opinions on these two either way. I love calcite in terms of fossils and travertine and sculpture and tufa. I love kyanite because it's really freaking pretty and it comes from other cool minerals. But you vote how you like.
Quarterfinals Match 3 — #MineralCup #mincup23
The #MineralMonday blog posts are active since I discovered #MineralCup 2023 here on Mastodon:
https://flighttowonder.com/2023/09/25/mineral-cup-round-2-matches-5-through-8/
Got behind on my #MineralCup blog posts (basically just pictures and links to info on the two minerals in each match).
Here's one of two (these matches are over):
https://flighttowonder.com/2023/09/19/mineral-cup-round-1-matches-15-and-16/
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