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Beiträge, die mit Minerals getaggt sind

The trail of color leading up to the #MinCup24 Grand Final...

#BlueMinerals #PinkMinerals #MineralsArrangedByColor #Minerals #Geology
The MinCup bracket with mineral colors standing in for the mineral names. Red and yellow don't do so well, pink, blue and green lead.
#geology #minerals #mincup24 #blueminerals #pinkminerals #mineralsarrangedbycolor

It's the #MinCup24 finals! There were ups and downs, but my favorite Rhodochrosite has made it to the finals! Please vote for this lovely pink mineral that has inspired many legends 😊

https://www.mineralcup.org/2024/vote/r5m1

#minerals

FINAL MATCH

Rhodochrosite vs Kyanite
Mika McKinnon (Mineral Cup)
#minerals #mincup24

For today's round of #MinCup24 the storytelling vote goes to copper 😄

It features into some of my favorite folktales and legends:

- The City of Brass (1001 Nights), where djinn are captured in copper vessels and adventurers explore a magical city

- The Copper Forest, a Hungarian folktale where one of the stereotypical three princesses is actually in love with the enemy king, and finds a way to marry him in the end

#folklore #folktales #storytelling #minerals
#folklore #storytelling #folktales #minerals #mincup24

It’s Mineral Cup time! See below for the bracket. Who will be crowned king of the crystals this year? *You* might think this is low stakes, but if so you clearly haven’t met many geologists…

#geology #minerals #MinCup24

From: @MineralCup
https://mastodon.social/@MineralCup/113060694670741201

Mineral Cup (@MineralCup@mastodon.social)

Attached: 1 image Hey look! A #MinCup24 blank bracket for you! https://www.mineralcup.org/2024/bracket (Anyone want to write our alt text? It’s been that kind of year.)
Mastodon
#geology #minerals #mincup24 @Mineral Cup

So, it's September, and it's time for the Mineral Cup! My favorite time on Mastodon 🥰

Incidentally, it's also the weeked of the Budapest Mineral Show. Where people can vote for Mineral of the Year 2025 and Fossil of the Year 2025 😊 3 candidates each. The geologists at the booth are lobbying hard for their favorites. I was won over by the opal lobby. And got a button!

(Also pictured is a pink opal bracelet. Because pebbles!)

#MinCup24 #minerals #geology #shiny #jewelry #image
Bookmarks featuring the candidates. Mineral of the Year 2025 candidates are Opal, Hematite and Aragonite. Fossil of the Year candidates are Viviparus, radiolaria and Equisetites. The bookmarks say VOTE! in colorful letters. They also double as rulers.
Photo of the voting table. There is a cardboard box for the voting slips, decorated with photos of all the candidates. Also colorful information pamphlets on the candidates as well as bookmarks and postcards, and small baskets of giveaway minerals.
Up close photo of my hand, holding a button on my palm. Button has a photo of a colorful piece of opal, and a yellor border that reads "Mineral of the Year Candidate 2025 - Opal". I am also wearing a bracelet of pale pink opal pebbles.
#geology #shiny #jewelry #image #minerals #mincup24

They just announced Mineral and Fossil of the Year 2024 in Hungary! Mineral is corundum, and fossil is the woolly mammoth.
Also, Mineral Resource of the Year will be copper.

Yay!

#minerals #MinCup23 #fossils #gems
#fossils #minerals #mincup23 #gems

Loot from today's mineral fair. A very pretty agate pendant, a charoite pendant, and some carnelian pebbles because the archeologist in me loves carnelian. 🥰

#minerals #shiny #jewelry #agate #carnelian #charoite #image
A bracelet made of irregular pebble shaped carnelian beads (about the size of peas), next to a teardrop shaped polished pebble that has white and black patterns with some vivid light purple (charoite) mixed in. The agate pendant is round, marbled black and white, with some branching dendrite features.
Close up of the two pendants, showing the back of the agate pendantwithwhite, black, and translucent stripes.
Close up of the two pendants, showing the front of the agate pendant with dendrite features. Part of the orange carnelian bracelet also visible.
#shiny #jewelry #image #minerals #agate #carnelian #charoite

Here is the Telluric Tarot card for zircon. It's the Knight of Pentacles, standing for hard work and determination (along with dandelions).

#MinCup23 #zircon #minerals #tarot #image
Watercolor tarot card showing an orange colored zircon crystal against a background of dandelions.
#tarot #image #minerals #mincup23 #zircon

Also, rhodochrosite has its own card in the Telluric Tarot too 😊 It's the Knight of Cups.

#minerals #MinCup23 #tarot #image
Tarot card featuring a watercolor image of a rhodochrosite crystal surrounded by fir branches with reddish cones on them.
#tarot #image #minerals #mincup23

Today in #MinCup23 I am hoping rhodochrosite will win.
I posted about the Roses in the Mountains legends here in the last round:
https://ohai.social/@TarkabarkaHolgy/111073175038609971

Vote for underground rose gardens full of rhodochrosite flowers, and legendary Dwarf kingdoms 😄

#folklore #folktales #legends #minerals

Dr. Zalka Csenge Virág (@TarkabarkaHolgy@ohai.social)

Today's #MinCup23 vote has my favorite: Rhodochrosite! #Thread There's a legend from South Tyrol about King Laurin's Rose Garden. (That part of the Dolomites is actually called Rosengarten).
ohai.social
#folklore #legends #folktales #minerals #mincup23

For today's #MinCup23 match I already posted folklore (see retoots), but I just wanted to add that topaz is also a card in the Telluric Tarot deck, and I will never stop gushing about this deck 😄 Topaz is the Strength card, by the way.

#tarot #TarotCards #minerals #art #witchy #image
A tarot card depicting a watercolor image of a topaz crystal surrounded by aloe vera leafs and flowers. The card has a yellow-orange color palette. The text says IX - Topaz & Aloe Vera
#art #tarot #witchy #image #tarotcards #minerals #mincup23

Today's #MinCup23 match is calcite vs opal. This'll be a thread.

Calcite reminds me of a story from Costa Rica. A chief called Nandayure owned a magic wand that could make disappear anything that contained calcium. One day he saw his people dancing, wearing lots of white body paint, and grew so angry at the decorations he aimed the wand at them. You know what else has calcium? Bones. Oops.
(He managed to reverse the spell by destroying the wand)
#folklore #folktales #minerals #gemstones #thread
#thread #folklore #folktales #minerals #mincup23 #gemstones

Today's #MinCup23 match is corundum vs lawsonite.

*Cracks knuckles*

I'm voting corundum, because folklore (and because as a kid I had a book on gemstones, and padparadscha seemed so magical).

I'm going to make this a thread, because rubies and sapphires figure into a whole bunch of tales and legends.

🧵

#folklore #folktales #mythology #gems #minerals #thread #corundum
#thread #folklore #folktales #mythology #minerals #mincup23 #corundum #gems

Don't have any folklore for today's #MinCup23 match, but I am voting cavansite because I have a very nice little specimen of it at home.

#minerals
#minerals #mincup23

I don't have anything folkloric to say about today's #MinCup23 match, but they are both featured in the Telluric Tarot by Lunaria Gold (my favorite deck ever).

Crocoite is 7 of Wands, dioptase is Page of Cups.

#tarot #minerals #art #flowers
Photo of two colorful tarot cards. The one on the left features large green-blue dioptase crystals surrounded by lilies of the valley. The one on the right has spiky red crocoite crystals surrounded by yellow furze flowers.
#art #flowers #tarot #minerals #mincup23

Today's #MinCup23 match is stibnite vs sodalite.

Stibnite is also known as kohl, used as an eyeliner since Ancient Egypt.

There in an Egyptian folktale where a dervish puts magic kohl on the eyes of a young man, rendering him invisible so he can sneak into the king's palace to see a princess.

A wily old woman catches the trespasser by burning buffalo dung - the rancid smoke makes the guy tear up, and the tears wash the magic kohl from his eyes. Oops.

#folktales #folklore #minerals
#folklore #folktales #minerals #mincup23

There is a "Greek myth" going around in esoteric circles about Dionysus and Amethyst, but it's actually a 17th century fakelore invention. Probably based on this belief.

Fun fact, the Hungarian version of D&D had gemstone-based magic, and lucky characters got to use amethyst to purify alcoholic drinks 😄

#ttrpg #DnD #folklore #minerals #MinCup23 #mythology
#folklore #dnd #ttrpg #mythology #minerals #mincup23

Amethyst is a purple variety of quartz whose colour is caused by iron replacing silicon and then exposure to gamma radiation. Its name comes from the Greek amethystos (not drunk) - it was thought that amethyst could cure drunkenness 🥴 #TeamQuartz #MinCup23 #minerals #mineral @MineralCup 10/?
A cluster of shiny purple amethyst crystals. Label text: Quartz var. amethyst SiO2. South America. BIRUG 29432.
#minerals #mincup23 #TeamQuartz #mineral @Mineral Cup

Quartz often contains inclusions of other minerals, such as this rutilated quartz glowing in the morning sunshine in the NHM London Mineral Gallery 🌟

Support quartz and vote for it here: https://mineralcup.org/2023/campaigns/round-1-match-2

#TeamQuartz #MinCup23 #mineral #minerals @MineralCup 9/?
A hexagonal crystal of quartz filled with golden needles of rutile. There are so many rutile needles inside, it almost looks like a mass of golden hair. Label text: Fine bronze needles in quartz (Venus hair stone). Piz Aul, Switzerland.

Round 1 Match 2

It’s time for familiar favourites! Do you prefer the ominous scarlet of Cinnabar, or the familiar charm of Quartz? One needs to be handled with care, while the other is the cornerstone of every childhood rock collection. Which will it be?
Mika McKinnon (Mineral Cup)
#minerals #mincup23 #TeamQuartz #mineral @Mineral Cup

This website provides a great summary of how quartz clocks work: http://explainthatstuff.com/quartzclockwatch.html

So remember, whenever you check the time, you should thank the tiny little quartz crystal vibrating thousands of times a second!

Show your appreciation for quartz by voting here: https://www.mineralcup.org/2023/campaigns/round-1-match-2

#TeamQuartz #MinCup23 #minerals #mineral 8/?

Round 1 Match 2

It’s time for familiar favourites! Do you prefer the ominous scarlet of Cinnabar, or the familiar charm of Quartz? One needs to be handled with care, while the other is the cornerstone of every childhood rock collection. Which will it be?
Mika McKinnon (Mineral Cup)
#minerals #mincup23 #TeamQuartz #mineral

A quartz oscillator is used to regulate time inside most watches and clocks. This is because quartz is piezoelectric, which means that when it’s squeezed, it generates an electric current. This also works the other way round too: when an electric current passes through it, it vibrates at a certain frequency. The quartz oscillator is circled in the picture below

Original photo © Garitzko: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Armbanduhr_Rueckseite.jpg
#TeamQuartz #MinCup23 #minerals #mineral @MineralCup 6/?
The inside of a basic ISA K63 low priced quartz wristwatch movement. Bottom right quartz crystal oscillator (circled in red). Bottom left button cell watch battery. Top right oscillator counter. Top left the coil of the stepper motor that powers the watch hands.
#minerals #mincup23 #TeamQuartz #mineral @Mineral Cup

Just look at all the detail you can carve into quartz! This is the Lothair Crystal, a 11.5cm wide piece of rock crystal engraved with scenes from a biblical story

© Ashley Van Haeften: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lothair_Crystal

Make sure you vote for quartz here: https://www.mineralcup.org/2023/campaigns/round-1-match-2

#TeamQuartz #MinCup23 #minerals #mineral @MineralCup 5/?
A circular piece of colourless quartz mounted in an ornate golden frame. There are several scenes carved into the quartz showing people interacting with each other.

Round 1 Match 2

It’s time for familiar favourites! Do you prefer the ominous scarlet of Cinnabar, or the familiar charm of Quartz? One needs to be handled with care, while the other is the cornerstone of every childhood rock collection. Which will it be?
Mika McKinnon (Mineral Cup)
#minerals #mincup23 #TeamQuartz #mineral @Mineral Cup

Art lovers! Vote quartz! There's a long history of quartz being carved into beautiful pieces.

Have you ever visited a museum or gallery and seen something carved out of rock crystal? Well that's just a colourless variety of quartz. This is a Fatimid (#Egyptian) jug carved from quartz, late 10th to early 11th century

Photo © Dallas Museum of Art

#TeamQuartz #MinCup23 #art #minerals #mineral @MineralCup 4/?
A jug carved from colourless quartz. There are various animals and floral patterns carved into the quartz. The base, handle and lid/spout are made of gold with colourful enamelling.
#art #minerals #mincup23 #TeamQuartz #mineral #egyptian @Mineral Cup

I know many people are upset ice didn't make it into #MinCup23. Well, why not vote #TeamQuartz? The oldest name for quartz is the Greek word κρύσταλλος (kristallos) which was first used 300-325 BCE. Kristallos means cold - it was believed that crystals were a type of ice that couldn't melt because it was made by the gods ❄❄❄

Vote for quartz here! https://www.mineralcup.org/2023/campaigns/round-1-match-2

#geology #mineral #minerals @MineralCup 3/?
A cluster of colourless quartz crystals showing flat surfaces (faces). Some of the faces are labelled prisms or pyramids.

Round 1 Match 2

It’s time for familiar favourites! Do you prefer the ominous scarlet of Cinnabar, or the familiar charm of Quartz? One needs to be handled with care, while the other is the cornerstone of every childhood rock collection. Which will it be?
Mika McKinnon (Mineral Cup)
#geology #minerals #mincup23 #TeamQuartz #mineral @Mineral Cup

A fact for the #etymology nerds! The word quartz describes one of its physical properties. It comes from the German word "Quarz" which has origins in various Slavic words for "hard" (e.g., Czech "tvrdý", Polish "twardy", Serbian/Croatian "tvrd"). Quartz is a pretty hard mineral as it's 7 on the Mohs hardness scale

#mineral #minerals #MinCup23 #TeamQuartz @MineralCup 2/?
The Mohs hardness scale. The left column shows the hardness of minerals: Talc is 1, gypsum is 2, calcite is 3, fluorite is 4, apatite is 5, orthoclase is 6, quartz is 7, topaz is 8, corundum is 9, diamond is 10. The right hand column shows the hardness of various everyday objects: A fingernail is 2.5, a copper penny is 3.5, a knife/glass plate is 5.5, a steel nail is 6.5, a masonry drill bit is 8.5.
#minerals #mincup23 #TeamQuartz #mineral #etymology @Mineral Cup

Cinnabar has a slight lead over quartz and I'm not happy about that! This is the start of a *long* thread for #TeamQuartz which I'll be updating throughout the day.

Quartz is my all time favourite mineral. Despite its simple formula (SiO2), it can be found in a variety of colours and morphologies 1/?

Vote for quartz here: https://www.mineralcup.org/2023/campaigns/round-1-match-2

#MinCup23 #minerals #mineral #quartz @MineralCup
A big, round hollow rock (geode). The vanity is filled with white quartz crystals, and around the outer rims are grey coloured bands of agate.
Several crystals of pale purple amethyst rising out of a groundmass. The crystals are hexagonal prisms with pointed pyramidal tips.
A lump of colourless and transparent quartz filled with black needles of tourmaline. Label text: Quartz enclosing long needle-like tourmaline crystals. Locality unknown.
A brown polished slab of tiger's eye showing an optical effect called chatoyancy, where there are bands of gold which appear to glow.

Round 1 Match 2

It’s time for familiar favourites! Do you prefer the ominous scarlet of Cinnabar, or the familiar charm of Quartz? One needs to be handled with care, while the other is the cornerstone of every childhood rock collection. Which will it be?
Mika McKinnon (Mineral Cup)
#minerals #mincup23 #quartz #TeamQuartz #mineral @Mineral Cup

C'mon folks, go to #MineralCup at https://www.mineralcup.org/2023/campaigns/round-1-match-2 and put your vote in for #Quartz! Quartz is the working stiff of #Minerals, the everyman, it's the Joad family of minerals, basically. Sure #cinnabar is pretty, it's splashy, and is an important mercury ore mineral, it's worthy, but can you count on it when the chips are down and you need to build a road, or make a sandcastle? Why do these people hate #sandcastles? That's like hating #kittens. #MinCup23 #TeamQuartz

Round 1 Match 2

It’s time for familiar favourites! Do you prefer the ominous scarlet of Cinnabar, or the familiar charm of Quartz? One needs to be handled with care, while the other is the cornerstone of every childhood rock collection. Which will it be?
Mika McKinnon (Mineral Cup)
#minerals #mineralcup #mincup23 #cinnabar #quartz #sandcastles #kittens #TeamQuartz

Today's #MinCup23 vote is between cinnabar and quartz. This is a tough one! Going on folklore, both have a whole lot to offer.

I'll make this a thread and share some stories.

🧵

#folklore #folktales #mythology #minerals
#folklore #folktales #mythology #minerals #mincup23

Sapphirine's type locality is in western Greenland, south of Nuuk, which is where the mineral was discovered in 1809 by Karl Giesecke.

It was named due to its blue color being similar to sapphire, a different, associated mineral (#corundum, aluminum oxide).

An amazing amount of information can be found about #sapphirine at MinDat:
https://www.mindat.org/min-3531.html
a non-profit mineral data base founded in 2000 by Jolyon Ralph (who is on Mastodon at @jolyon).

#MinCup23 #Minerals #Greenland
A crop of a photo of a rock containing blue sapphirine (along with muscovite and quartz). From near Nuuk, Greenland. https://www.mindat.org/photo-1122517.html copyright Harold Moritz
#Greenland #minerals #mincup23 #corundum #sapphirine @jolyon

Honestly I don't even have strong allegiances for #MinCup23. I am just looking forward to geologists and mineral enthusiasts telling me cool stuff to convince me about the votes 😄 I love seeing people geek out about things.

#minerals #geology #CoolStuff
#geology #minerals #mincup23 #coolstuff

So the Mineral of the Year 2024 and Fossil of the Year 2024 vote in Hungary has started. It is one of my favorite things 😄 The campaign tends to get heated between geologists and crystal enthusiasts...

Contenders for MotY:

Zircon
Feldspar
Corundum

Contenders for FotY:

Aptychus
Quercus kubinyii
Woolly mammoth

I know which ones I'm voting for. Curious what you all think 😊

#fossils #minerals #geology #paleontology #vote #rocks
#vote #geology #fossils #minerals #paleontology #rocks

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