fuckyeahmineralogy:

Aquamarine with Schorl Tourmaline on Albite matrix; Erongo Region, Namibia

neuraldamage:

tourmaline polychrome and muscovite - Paprock, Nuristan, Afghanistan

monolithzine:

That Odd Flower by Lyle Hatch

atomstargazer:

APOD | 2013 May 20 | Blue Sun Bursting
Image Credit & Copyright: Alan Friedman (Averted Imagination)

Explanation: Our Sun is not a giant blueberry. Our Sun can be made to appear similar to the diminutive fruit, however, by imaging it in a specific color of extreme violet light called CaK that is emitted by the very slight abundance of ionized Calcium in the Sun’s atmosphere, and then false color-inverting the image. This solar depiction is actually scientifically illuminating as a level of the Sun’s chromosphere appears quite prominent, showing a crackly textured surface, cool sunspots appearing distinctly bright, and surrounding hot active regions appearing distinctly dark. The Sun is currently near the maximum activity level in its 11 year cycle, and has emitted powerful flares over the past week. During times of high activity, streams of energetic particles from Sun may impact the Earth’s magnetosphere and set off spectacular auroras.

(Source: moshita)

exogenerian:

Diatoms are generally the most important primary producers of marine and freshwaters. By absorbing CO₂ in the production of organic material during photosynthesis they play a decisive role in the global carbon cycle. The complex, species-specific pattern in the structure of the cell-wall, composed chiefly of silica, can be extremely beautiful. Following death of the alga, the empty cell wall may be deposited in the sediments of lakes and oceans and be preserved as a valuable record about past environments and climate changes; as such they are important fossils for the reconstruction of millions of years of the Earth’s history.