Nadine, Hunter of Rocks 💎
LightNews LightNews
banner
nadwgab.bsky.social
Nadine, Hunter of Rocks 💎
@nadwgab.bsky.social
17K followers 1K following 1.6K posts
Geologist | Mineralogy Curator @ the Natural History Museum, London | Creator of #365Minerals | Views are my own | She/Her

Posts about: #minerals #museums #geology #fossils #science #nature

Geology memes: #GeologistProblems

🐘 mas.to/@NadWGab
Posts Replies Media Videos
Pinned
nadwgab.bsky.social
Nadine, Hunter of Rocks 💎 @nadwgab.bsky.social · Oct 25
Finally making use of the pinned post feature...

Hello! I'm a geologist and mineral curator. Follow for posts about #minerals, #museums, #science and more! 📜🧪⚒️ #AddToBlackSky
A ginger cat labelled "Me", pressing a grey cat's head labelled "Bluesky" into a red feeding bowl labelled "Minerals". Black, translucent crystals of smoky quartz rising out of a white feldspar groundmass sprinkled with tiny orange spessartine crystals, a type of garnet. Specimen from the Natural History Museum, London's collections.
Reposted by Nadine, Hunter of Rocks 💎
nataliajagielska.bsky.social
When people say "There weren't many women in palaeontology/palaeoart in the 19 & 20th century" they pretend that women in the Central & East Europe did not exist, despite ladies ruling the show in that corner of the world for a century.
Elga Kurik on a fossil site Geoloogia Instituudi ja Majanduse Instituudi töötajad: Elga Kurik Aime Vilippus and Elga Kurik
November 11, 2025 at 5:14 AM
Reposted by Nadine, Hunter of Rocks 💎
nadwgab.bsky.social
314 of #365Minerals 🧪⚒️

Riebeckite:
- An amphibole group mineral
- Forms in some volcanic rocks and schists
- Blue asbestos (crocidolite) is fibrous riebeckite
- Named after Emil Riebeck (1853-1885), mineralogist and explorer #minerals #MineralMonday
A group of shiny black bladed riebeckite prisms with some orange-brown powdery matrix in between. From Masokani Hill, Kenya. Specimen on display in the Natural History Museum, London. Fibrous masses of bluish-grey riebeckite (variety crocidolite) in a orange-brown quartz matrix. From Mooseck, Austria. Specimen on display in the Natural History Museum, London.
November 10, 2025 at 10:43 AM
Reposted by Nadine, Hunter of Rocks 💎
andersonmineral.bsky.social
The metamorphic mineral staurolite with its distinctive penetration twinning forming a cross. It’s positively delightful!! #MineralMonday #GeoscienceBluesky ⚒️🧪
Brown crystals forming a cross in white matrix. It sits on a black background. At the Sorbonne.
November 10, 2025 at 12:23 PM
Reposted by Nadine, Hunter of Rocks 💎
nadwgab.bsky.social
313 of #365Minerals 🧪⚒️

Alunite:
- A sulphate mineral
- A source of aluminium and potassium
- Forms when acid solutions alter potassium-rich volcanic rocks
- Its name comes from the Latin word "alunit" (alum) #minerals
A white compact mass of alunite. From Caden, France. Specimen on display in the Natural History Museum, London. A pale pink massive mass of alunite with some pale orange patches. From Tochihara, Japan. This information is repeated on its display label. Specimen on display in the Natural History Museum, London.
November 9, 2025 at 10:28 AM
Reposted by Nadine, Hunter of Rocks 💎
nadwgab.bsky.social
312 of #365Minerals 🧪💎

Phenakite:
- A silicate mineral
- Forms in pegmatite veins and mica-schists
- Sometimes used as a gemstone
- Its name comes from the Greek word "φέναξ/phénax" (deceiver) because it looks like quartz #minerals
A very elongate prism of cream, opaque phenakite. From Kragerø, Norway. Specimen on display in the Natural History Museum, London.
November 8, 2025 at 1:05 PM
nadwgab.bsky.social
🦐
"Shrimp for fried rice" written in Zohran Mamdani's campaign font, i.e., a bright blue background with all-caps orange-yellow font and red shadows on the word "shrimp".
November 8, 2025 at 10:46 PM
Reposted by Nadine, Hunter of Rocks 💎
shatteredneedle.bsky.social
My favorite plush works I've done

#PlushArtist #transformers #plushie #macaddam
Custom handmade Prowl plush with a flipped over mini table Custom handmade TF Prime Optimus & Ratchet plushes posed in snow Custom handmade WFC Optimus & movie Bumblebee posed with peaches Custom handmade TF Prime Soundwave & Laserbeak plushies posed with a standard soda can
October 17, 2024 at 2:34 PM
Reposted by Nadine, Hunter of Rocks 💎
nadwgab.bsky.social
311 of #365Minerals 🧪⚒️

Benstonite:
- A carbonate mineral containing barium
- Fluoresces red under UV and x-rays
- Forms in baryte deposits and in some carbonatites
- Named after Orlando J. Benston (1901-1966) an American ore metallurgist who collected the first specimens #minerals
Clusters of pale beige, translucent benstonite crystals on yellow fluorite. From Cave-in-Rock, Illinois, USA. Specimen on display in the Natural History Museum, London.
November 7, 2025 at 10:02 AM
Reposted by Nadine, Hunter of Rocks 💎
wolfskulljack.bsky.social
An old wolf trots towards your campfire.
-2022
My art, 2022z a wolf by a fire. The text reads ‘she spoke your name in fire and in teeth
November 7, 2025 at 7:42 PM
Reposted by Nadine, Hunter of Rocks 💎
geoscientistmag.bsky.social
Geoscientist's Ruth Allington recently attended the launch event for @anjanakhatwa.bsky.social's new book The Whispers of Rock, which @volcanologist.bsky.social describes as "a gift to Earth science" in her review: geoscientist.online/sections/boo...

#geoscience #geology #earthscience #bookreview
Two women stand smiling at the camera at a launch event for the book The Whispers of Rock. Anjana wears her dark hair in curls, red tassel earrings, a white blouse and a floral skirt. Ruth wears glasses, a green top and floral jacket.
October 1, 2025 at 1:05 PM
Reposted by Nadine, Hunter of Rocks 💎
softmossdog.bsky.social
This is one of my favorites!!! It's also often mistaken for fossils because it can form these dendritic patterns in rock. It's beautiful!!
Photo of rock with dendritic pyrolusite. It's a white-ish rock and the pyrolusite looks like a bunch of little ferns across the rock.
November 7, 2025 at 11:48 AM
Reposted by Nadine, Hunter of Rocks 💎
nadwgab.bsky.social
310 of #365Minerals 🧪⚒️

Pyrolusite:
- Mineral form of manganese dioxide
- A very common manganese mineral
- An important manganese ore
- Used as a pigment in ancient cave paintings
- Forms in oxidised manganese-bearing hydrothermal deposits #minerals
Radiating groups of jet black to shiny grey acicular pyrolusite crystals. From Tennycape, Nova Scotia, Canada. Specimen on display in the Natural History Museum, London. Radiating groups of jet black to shiny grey acicular pyrolusite crystals. From Eigersburg, Thuringia, Germany Specimen on display in the Natural History Museum, London.
November 6, 2025 at 10:14 AM
Reposted by Nadine, Hunter of Rocks 💎
nhm-london.bsky.social
Are you ready? ⚡

The next (and last) ticket release for the Pokémon x Natural History Museum pop-up shop is coming soon!

Here’s how to get tickets ⬇️
Graphic reading “Pokémon x Natural History Museum pop-up shop November ticket release, swipe through to find out how to get tickets” over a photo of two Pokémon, Pikachu and Eevee, using the earth hall escalator.
November 6, 2025 at 10:19 AM
Reposted by Nadine, Hunter of Rocks 💎
nadwgab.bsky.social
309 of #365Minerals 🧪⚒️

Ruby:
- The red/pink variety of corundum
- Its colour is caused by chromium
- Heat treatment can improve its colour
- 9 on the Mohs hardness scale
- Its name comes from the Latin word "ruber" (red) #minerals
A corundum (var. ruby) crystal mounted on a metal stem like a little lollipop. It has an elongate bipyramidal shape - like a long tube with tapered ends - and is slightly translucent and cherry red in colour. Specimen on display in the Natural History Museum, London. A hexagonal corundum (variety ruby) prism, opaque and reddish-pink in colour. From Sanarka River, Russia. Specimen on display in the Natural History Museum, London. A pale pink corundum (variety ruby) prism embedded in white dolomite. From Campolungo, Switzerland. Specimen on display in the Natural History Museum, London.
November 5, 2025 at 10:41 AM
Reposted by Nadine, Hunter of Rocks 💎
charnwoodforest.bsky.social
We have amazing minerals in Charnwood Forest!

🔷 Azurite
🟩 Malachite

They both contain copper, but with vividly different colours!

📍 New Cliffe Hill Quarry
🏛 Oxford University Museum of Natural History
November 5, 2025 at 11:02 AM
Reposted by Nadine, Hunter of Rocks 💎
nadwgab.bsky.social
308 of #365Minerals 🧪⚒️

Diopside:
- Pyroxene mineral
- Forms in ultramafic igneous rocks, xenoliths & metamorphic rocks
- Can turn into chrysotile when hydrothermally altered
- Name comes from the Greek "dis" (twice) & "òpsè" (face) because its vertical prism can be orientated in two ways #minerals
Pale green diopside prisms with cherry red hessonite crystals. Some of the diopside crystal faces are annotated with crystal face numbers. From Ala, Italy. Specimen on display in the Natural History Museum, London. A chunk of rock with pale green diopside crystals filling its cavity, There's also white, anhedral diopside and some pale brown grossular crystals. From Ala, Italy. Specimen on display in the Natural History Museum, London. A rough pale green and opaque diopside crystal which is slight flattened. It contains some inclusions of brown phlogopite (two patches) and apatite. Label text: Flattened prism with phlogopite. From Perkins, Quebec, Canada. Specimen on display in the Natural History Museum, London. Three translucent diopside gemstones. Left: A rectangular step-cut, pale brownish-green and from an unknown locality. Top right: An oval mixed-cut, green and from Madagascar. Bottom right: A rectangular cut whose colour varies from colourless to green, from an unknown locality. Specimens on display in the Natural History Museum, London.
November 4, 2025 at 11:07 AM
Reposted by Nadine, Hunter of Rocks 💎
nhm-london.bsky.social
We’re so excited to share our exclusive Christmas jumper with you! 🦖🎄
November 4, 2025 at 10:03 AM
Reposted by Nadine, Hunter of Rocks 💎
jobium.bsky.social
So yeah, uh, if anyone wants to hire a scientist next year, hit me up. My specialties include Raman spectroscopy, FTIR, astrobiology, plastic pollution, environmental degradation, meteorites, and Mars
November 4, 2025 at 9:27 AM
Reposted by Nadine, Hunter of Rocks 💎
nadwgab.bsky.social
307 of #365Minerals 🧪⚒️

Hummerite:
- A potassium magnesium vanadate mineral
- Forms via the leaching of vanadium oxide ores
- Named after its type locality Hummer Mine in Paradox Valley, Colorado, USA #minerals #MineralMonday
Orange veins of hummerite, resembling lichen, in grey clay. From Hummer, Colorado, USA. Specimen on display in the Natural History Museum, London.
November 3, 2025 at 12:51 PM
Reposted by Nadine, Hunter of Rocks 💎
nadwgab.bsky.social
306 of #365Minerals 🧪⚒️

Leadhillite:
- A carbonate mineral
- Has a high density since it contains lead (~2.5 times more dense than quartz)
- Can be yellow, blue or green
- Forms in the oxidised zone of lead deposits
- Named after Leadhills in Scotland, its type locality #minerals #MineralMonday
Translucent, pale yellow and green leadhillite crystals with some bright blue caledonite on matrix. From Leadhills, Lanarkshire, Scotland, UK. Specimen on display in the Natural History Museum, London.
November 3, 2025 at 12:37 PM
Reposted by Nadine, Hunter of Rocks 💎
nadwgab.bsky.social
305 of #365Minerals 🧪⚒️

Sylvanite:
- A telluride mineral
- Contains gold and silver
- Forms in hydrothermal vein deposits
- Named after sylvanium, the obsolete name for the element tellurium. Its name is also partially derived from Transylvania, where it was discovered #minerals #MineralMonday
Bright metallic and platy crystals embedded in grey-white quartz. From Cripple Creek, Teller County, Colorado, USA. Specimen on display in the Natural History Museum, London.
November 3, 2025 at 12:34 PM
Reposted by Nadine, Hunter of Rocks 💎
blacksmoke1033.bsky.social
MCM absolutely sucked for sales, so I’m having a blast sale on my shop for the next 2 days, 10% off everything 🫠 I uploaded a tonne of new stickers and restocked the glasses cloths though! blacksmoke1033.etsy.com
November 3, 2025 at 2:23 PM
nadwgab.bsky.social
I messed up the thread again so had to repost some #365Minerals!
nadwgab.bsky.social Nadine, Hunter of Rocks 💎 @nadwgab.bsky.social · 8d
306 of #365Minerals 🧪⚒️

Leadhillite:
- A carbonate mineral
- Has a high density since it contains lead (~2.5 times more dense than quartz)
- Can be yellow, blue or green
- Forms in the oxidised zone of lead deposits
- Named after Leadhills in Scotland, its type locality #minerals #MineralMonday
Translucent, pale yellow and green leadhillite crystals with some bright blue caledonite on matrix. From Leadhills, Lanarkshire, Scotland, UK. Specimen on display in the Natural History Museum, London.
November 3, 2025 at 12:42 PM
Reposted by Nadine, Hunter of Rocks 💎
tomsharperocks.bsky.social
I don't usually do #MineralMonday, but sorting through some photos taken back in 2014 on a visit to the island arc volcanoes of the Kuril Islands north of Japan, I came across these spiky native sulphur crystals precipitated around a fumarole vent.
Sharp, pointed yellow crystals of native sulphur.
November 3, 2025 at 11:03 AM
Reposted by Nadine, Hunter of Rocks 💎
mineralcup.bsky.social
#OreCup is launching with two famous & beloved ore minerals, #Galena vs #Copper!

Vote: www.mineralcup.org/vote-results...
Results: www.mineralcup.org/vote-results...

You have 24 hours to campaign. Go!
www.mineralcup.org
November 3, 2025 at 12:01 AM