New Gallery #176

New Photos Gallery Return to mindatnh front page. Click on image for larger view
Photos recently added to NH species galleries, set #176. Includes several re-done mindatnh photos by Tom & Bob with better cameras and techniques.
PHOSPHOSIDERITE Palermo Mine, Groton, NH 0.5 mm crystal	Species: PHOSPHOSIDERITE Locality: Palermo Mine, Groton, NH Specimen Size: 0.5 mm crystal Field Collected: Bob Wilken Catalog No.: A Bob Wilken collection specimen Notes: Bob redid this photo, first taken over a decade ago. This is a huge improvement, so this shot will replace the one in my phosphosiderite gallery. Below is the note included with the earlier photo: Phosphosiderite and strengite are dimorphs. Strengite is orthorhombic, phosphosiderite is monoclinic. Phosphosiderite is more common in the Fletcher and Valencia Mines, (also in N. Groton), as brilliant purple aggregates of botryoidal crystals. Bob Whitmore's book The Pegmatite Mines Known as Palermo shows phosphosiderite only in the botryoidal form from Palermo. There is no mention of phosphosiderite occuring in discrete xl form such as these, whereas the strengite is illustrated in form like this. When Bob Whitmore examined this specimen, he thought phosphosiderite was the appropriate ID.
APATITE-CaF Palermo Mine, Groton, NH 7 mm crystal on albite matrix	Species: APATITE-CaF Locality: Palermo Mine, Groton, NH Specimen Size: 7 mm crystal on albite matrix Field Collected: Tom Mortimer Catalog No.: 891 Notes: This is a new photo of this specimen. This apatite fluoresces orange-yellow in SW UV
APATITE-CaF Chickering Mine, Walpole, NH 6 mm field of view	Species: APATITE-CaF Locality: Chickering Mine, Walpole, NH Specimen Size: 6 mm field of view Field Collected: Tom Mortimer Catalog No.: u372 Notes: This is a re-do of a 2015 photo, here with a Canon MPE-65 lens and a stack of 131 images. LED lighting (as opposed to SOLUX incandescent lighting) reduces the pale lavender color of these crystals.
CHILDRENITE Palermo Mine, N. Groton, NH 4 mm barrel-shaped, pinecone crystal cluster	Species: CHILDRENITE Locality: Palermo Mine, N. Groton, NH Specimen Size: 4 mm barrel-shaped, pinecone crystal cluster Field Collected: Forrest Fogg -1973 Catalog No.: u1561 Notes: A polished grain EDS analysis , (BC09), from an adjacent broken crystal group suggested childrenite. An APFU calculated from this analysis yields (Fe_0.50,Mn_0.21,Ca_0.13)Al_1.0P_1.14O_3.05 . Dana's System of Mineralogy states "small amounts of Ca and Mg [may] substitute for (Fe,Mn) in some analyses." The large spectral peak at the lowest end of the spectrum is due to the carbon coating. I have not previously seen the pinecone shape and pale-blue coloration in childrenite. Improved photo uploaded 9/23.
HUREAULITE Palermo Mine, Groton, NH 3.2 mm field of view	Species: HUREAULITE Locality: Palermo Mine, Groton, NH Specimen Size: 3.2 mm field of view Field Collected: Bob Wilken Catalog No.: A Bob Wilken collection specimen Notes:
HUREAULITE Palermo Mine, Groton, NH 0.49 mm crystal	Species: HUREAULITE Locality: Palermo Mine, Groton, NH Specimen Size: 0.49 mm crystal Field Collected: Bob Wilken Catalog No.: A Bob Wilken collection specimen Notes: [bw] Photo taken w. a Nikon Plan 10X; a stack of 94 with 5 um increments.
PHOSPHOSIDERITE Palermo Mine, Groton, NH 0.35 mm crystal	Species: PHOSPHOSIDERITE Locality: Palermo Mine, Groton, NH Specimen Size: 0.35 mm crystal Field Collected: Bob Wilken Catalog No.: A Bob Wilken collection specimen Notes:
PHOSPHOSIDERITE Palermo Mine, Groton, NH 0.48 mm crystal	Species: PHOSPHOSIDERITE Locality: Palermo Mine, Groton, NH Specimen Size: 0.48 mm crystal Field Collected: Bob Wilken Catalog No.: A Bob Wilken collection specimen Notes: [bw] This one has "a truer approximation of the color. A combo photo of a phosphosiderite xl with rockbridgeite and hureaulite xls. I attempted this two times. The first time with the ping-pong balls on the lights, the second with the specimen within (in this case under due to specimen size) the larger pp ball. The first way resulted in having too much flaring within the crystals as well as on the rockbridgeite. I attempted a fair amount of cloning to blot it out but lost other quality in the process so I ditched it. The second time I tried adjusting the lighting to avoid any potential internal flaring but still got overexposure on the hureaulite xl to the left. With so many of these reflective light colored xls being very transparent there's always something that creates a lighting problem. A stack of 115 and 6 um increments."
MILARITE Government Pit, Albany, NH 5 mm field of view	Species: MILARITE Locality: Government Pit, Albany, NH Specimen Size: 5 mm field of view Field Collected: Catalog No.: u2662 Notes: A "nest" of acicular milarite crystals. Photo from a stack of 131 images illuminated by a LED light with a ping-pong ball diffuser.
EPIDOTE Wheeler Mtn., Winchester, NH 6 mm vertical cluster	Species: EPIDOTE Locality: Wheeler Mtn., Winchester, NH Specimen Size: 6 mm vertical cluster Field Collected: Tom Mortimer - 1995 Catalog No.: u2271 Notes: A stacked image photo with Hayear digital camera.