Finley Gilchrist

Vote in Round 1 Match 1 — Mineral Cup Click here to vote in Chrysotile vs Pectolite

#MinCup25 Round 1 Match 1: Hazardous (but useful!) #Chrysotile faces off against stunning gem #Pectolite. Do you pick the forbidden cotton candy, or the anti-pulverization beauty?

VOTE: www.mineralcup.org/2025/vote/r1...

Check RESULTS: www.mineralcup.org/2025/results...

Photo of the poster pointing at the fossil ribcage of an unknown creature in a limestone block at the base of the Great Pyramid of Giza

Close up of the previous picture, showing more details of the fossil, including a foot for scale

A second fossil ribcage found at this location, including a foot for scale

A little unexpected #FossilFriday this week. I was in Cairo for a wedding and we stumbled upon (literally!) the ribcages of some sea creatures on the platform of the great pyramid! Possibly from some early whales, would love to hear what people think

Photograph of a chevron fault on a beachside cliff, approximately 4 metres tall

Close up of the centre of the previous photograph, showing smaller more complex folds in the shales in the folds axis

Large series of two chevron folds in a beach side cliff. The outcrop is approximately 10 metres tall

Large single chevron fold on a beach with a cave formed in the interior. Height of the outcrop is approximately 8 metres

For #FoldFriday some beautiful chevron folds from the Pembrokeshire coast

Approximately 15 cm wide ammonite in a pale grey coloured paving stone made of nodular limestone.

Approximately 20 cm wide ammonite set in a paving stone of red nodular limestone

Approximately 30 cm wide ammonite set in a paving stone of pale red nodular limestone

A little #urbangeology for this #fossilfriday: the pavements of Verona are covered almost completely with Ammonitico Rosso, preserving these beautiful ammonites. It proves quite a hazard for a geologist walking the city head down!

Awesome! Thanks for explaining

How are the features in panel c formed? They look so cool

Interviewer: Can you explain this gap in your resume?

Me: That's just a Daly gap

Plane polarised light image of a thin section of a crystalline xenolith, showing plagioclase and orthopyroxene as the dominant phases, as well as a biotite and amphibole-rich cluster in the right of the image.

⚒️For this weeks #ThinSectionThursday a biotite and amphibole cluster found within a plagioclase-orthopyroxene xenolith. From the Cerro del Oro parasitic cone on Volcán Tolimán, Guatemala. Not entirely sure how it was formed, possibly through a hydrothermal reaction.

Resin cast of a crab drinking a glass of beer

The Looks Delicious! exhibition in Japan House is all incredible, but this crab is on another level. I felt a deep connection to them for some reason

View of the Langdales Pikes and Stickle tarn looking moody in sunshine and shadows

Finely bedded volcanic sediments

Now that volcano twitter (currently known as X) seems to have migrated here, it would be great to restart #volcanomonday! Here are the Langdales, they may be a little eroded but still stunning

I tried my hand at making a volcano scientist starter pack… but the number of people on bluesky has been changing almost too fast to keep up with!

go.bsky.app/3WDgNKf

Lava Lakes xkcd.com/2980

We're so back!

#MinCup24 ROUND 1 MATCH 1: Kaolinite vs Abelsonite
www.mineralcup.org/2024/vote/r1...

It’s the many-times-returning classic clay going against a quirky newcomer of mysterious origins. Go on, learn, share, & VOTE!

So, I made a starter pack for people interested in volcanoes and things related to volcanoes. It is far from comprehensive and some folks on the list don't post much (yet), but there are some great people here. Let me know if you have suggestions of folks to add! go.bsky.app/K4x4NBu

We’re getting ready for #MinCup24 #MinCup. Follow the Mineral Cup feed and use the hashtags above to play. No prior knowledge of minerals needed. Just a curiosity about these wonderful and diverse wonders of nature, and a sense of fun! @mineralcup.bsky.social Starting September 1st!

BSE image of highly zoned plagioclase crystals

A little #ThinSectionThursday for my first post on Bluesky. Spectacularly zoned plagioclase from the Atitlán volcanic centre in Guatemala 🌋🔬