Erika Anderson
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andersonmineral.bsky.social
Erika Anderson
@andersonmineral.bsky.social
680 followers 110 following 620 posts
Former Curator of Mineralogy and Petrology. MSc in Volcanology. Views are my own.
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andersonmineral.bsky.social
Green epidote from an old teaching collection. It was fun to see minerals that trained geologists in the past. #MineralMonday #GeoscienceBluesky ⚒️🧪
Blue nitrile gloved fingers holding a specimen consisting of wide tabular blades of shiny green epidote. It is held above a wooden background with a white tray on it. At the Hunterian.
December 22, 2025 at 12:44 PM
andersonmineral.bsky.social
A folded schist from Scotland showing that the different layers react to the tectonic forces, some folding easier than others. #FridayFold ⚒️🧪
Large slab of grey schist with white and grey stripes of various thicknesses that are folded making squiggly lines. It sits on a black plinth in front of a yellow placard with a map of the world and a green column. At National Museums Scotland.
December 19, 2025 at 1:01 PM
andersonmineral.bsky.social
The answer to this Guess the Gem is fire opal. Opal is not a mineral, it’s actually a mineraloid!! #GuessTheGem #GeoscienceBluesky ⚒️🧪💎
andersonmineral.bsky.social Erika Anderson @andersonmineral.bsky.social · 7d
Guess the Gem Tuesday!! What do you think these gems are? Hint: it’s made up of spheres. #GuessTheGem #GeoscienceBluesky ⚒️🧪💎
Two gems on white foam in white plastic gem boxes surrounded by the edges of other boxes. The left hand gem is deep orange rectangular cut. The right is an bright orange oval cabochon with a slight play of colours. At the Hunterian.
December 17, 2025 at 12:35 PM
andersonmineral.bsky.social
Guess the Gem Tuesday!! What do you think these gems are? Hint: it’s made up of spheres. #GuessTheGem #GeoscienceBluesky ⚒️🧪💎
Two gems on white foam in white plastic gem boxes surrounded by the edges of other boxes. The left hand gem is deep orange rectangular cut. The right is an bright orange oval cabochon with a slight play of colours. At the Hunterian.
December 16, 2025 at 12:28 PM
andersonmineral.bsky.social
Fluorite crystal looking as cool as ice.
#MineralMonday #GeoscienceBluesky ⚒️🧪
Large cracked crystal cube of fluorite that is clear with a large patch of bright turquoise. It sits on a frosted plinth with a frosted label block with "Fluorite/Fluorite" in front of it. It sits on a glass shelf in front of a grey background. At the Royal Ontario Museum.
December 15, 2025 at 12:34 PM
andersonmineral.bsky.social
Just a beautiful fold!! I hope even non-geologists can appreciate the beauty of what pressure can do to a rock. #FoldFriday #GeoscienceBluesky ⚒️🧪
Pale whitish rock with black flecks with a black curvy bed going through it in the shape of a mirror image S. The background is pale green. At the Field Museum.
December 12, 2025 at 12:39 PM
andersonmineral.bsky.social
The answer to this Guess the Gem is kornerupine!! Prismatine has been established as a separate mineral with a different chemical composition. #GuessTheGem #GeoscienceBluesky ⚒️🧪💎
andersonmineral.bsky.social Erika Anderson @andersonmineral.bsky.social · 14d
Another Guess the Gem !! What mineral do you think this gem is? Hint: also known as prismatine. #GuessTheGem #GeoscienceBluesky ⚒️🧪💎
A dark olive green oval mixed cut gem on a white batting on white paper. At the Canadian Museum of Nature.
December 10, 2025 at 11:35 AM
andersonmineral.bsky.social
Another Guess the Gem !! What mineral do you think this gem is? Hint: also known as prismatine. #GuessTheGem #GeoscienceBluesky ⚒️🧪💎
A dark olive green oval mixed cut gem on a white batting on white paper. At the Canadian Museum of Nature.
December 9, 2025 at 12:39 PM
andersonmineral.bsky.social
Fiery topaz from Minas Gerais, Brazil!! Helped by some dramatic lighting. The region is known for its pegmatites, a rock type made of large crystals that can sometimes get massive!! #MineralMonday #GeoscienceBluesky ⚒️🧪
Bright orange columnar crystal of topaz set into a grey plinth in front of a grey wall. The crystal is lit from within the plinth making it glow. At the Museum national d’Histoire naturelle.
December 8, 2025 at 12:32 PM
Reposted by Erika Anderson
dystopian-fashion.bsky.social
Orbicular granite
December 6, 2025 at 4:18 AM
andersonmineral.bsky.social
This Megarachne may not actually be a spider, but my spidey senses are still pretty scared of it. #FossilFriday⚒️🧪
Fossil of Megarachne showing its body in a flat piece of rock. At the bottom corner is part of a white paper label with a red symbol of a circle with a line through it over the outline of a spider. At the Sedgwick Museum.
December 5, 2025 at 12:43 PM
andersonmineral.bsky.social
Been looking for her and her husband’s mineral collection, if anyone has any info. #GeoscienceBluesky ⚒️🧪
November 29, 2025 at 10:35 PM
andersonmineral.bsky.social
This is a skull of one of the biggest duck-billed dinosaur species, Edmontosaurus regalis. #FossilFriday⚒️🧪🦖
Fossil skull of Edmontosaurus regalis mounted on a red plinth behind glass. There are edges of specimens and labels around it. At the Royal Ontario Museum.
November 28, 2025 at 12:24 PM
andersonmineral.bsky.social
The answer to this Guess the Gem is spinel!! This one was part of the Treasury of Saint-Denis in France. #GuessTheGem #GeoscienceBluesky ⚒️🧪💎
andersonmineral.bsky.social Erika Anderson @andersonmineral.bsky.social · 28d
Guess the Gem time!! What mineral do you think this gem is? Hint: in the past gems of this mineral were called rubies, though now the term refers to corundum. #GuessTheGem #GeoscienceBluesky ⚒️🧪💎
A pink oval cabochons mounted on a metal rod on a grey shelf with a grey background. There are some fractures in it. At the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle.
November 26, 2025 at 12:41 PM
Reposted by Erika Anderson
kwh.bsky.social
Kīlauea is erupting! 🌋 Here’s a link to one of the three @USGS live cams - enjoy! www.youtube.com/live/tk0tfYD...
November 26, 2025 at 2:04 AM
andersonmineral.bsky.social
Guess the Gem time!! What mineral do you think this gem is? Hint: in the past gems of this mineral were called rubies, though now the term refers to corundum. #GuessTheGem #GeoscienceBluesky ⚒️🧪💎
A pink oval cabochons mounted on a metal rod on a grey shelf with a grey background. There are some fractures in it. At the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle.
November 25, 2025 at 12:37 PM
andersonmineral.bsky.social
Great little crystal of bright orange scheelite. It would be surprisingly heavy if you held it due to the tungsten in this mineral. #MineralMonday #GeoscienceBluesky ⚒️🧪
Bright orange crystal octahedra of scheelite in white crystals. It sits on a black background. Edges of a plexiglass label and white specimen can be seen to the upper right. At the Sorbonne.
November 24, 2025 at 12:20 PM
Reposted by Erika Anderson
aussiastronomer.bsky.social
It's Friday, and apparently bluesky is ready for this fun revelation:

Dinosaurs lived on the other side the Galaxy.
November 21, 2025 at 5:11 PM
Reposted by Erika Anderson
scottishgeology.bsky.social
Want to visit Siccar Point but can’t get out or it’s too far away?

@callanbentley.bsky.social has made this amazing online field-guide, including gigapan images and some fantastic virtual outcrops that you can explore in 3D. Check it out!

opengeology.org/historicalge...
VFE: Siccar Point, Scotland – Historical Geology
opengeology.org
November 22, 2025 at 10:38 AM
andersonmineral.bsky.social
The skull of a giant sloth, Megatherium americanum, from South America. This species went extinct, along with most other megafauna, in the Late Pleistocene Extinction Event thought to be caused by humans and changes in the climate. #FossilFriday
The skull of the giant sloth, Megatherium americanum, mounted on a metal rod on a wood plinth. Wood plinths with other specimens can be seen behind it. A white label sits to the lower left. At the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle.
November 21, 2025 at 12:27 PM
andersonmineral.bsky.social
The answer is topaz!! It’s a mineral that can be a few different colours. #GuessTheGem #GeoscienceBluesky ⚒️🧪💎
andersonmineral.bsky.social Erika Anderson @andersonmineral.bsky.social · Nov 18
Guess the Gem!! What mineral do you think these two gems are? Hint: the blue one is irradiated and heated to get that colour.
#GuessTheGem #GeoscienceBluesky ⚒️🧪💎
Two gems on a beige background. The top is a large round light brown Portuguese-style cut gem. The bottom is a small bright blue oval cute gem. The edges of white labels can be seen at the top and bottom. At the Natural History Museum in London.
November 19, 2025 at 11:54 AM
andersonmineral.bsky.social
Guess the Gem!! What mineral do you think these two gems are? Hint: the blue one is irradiated and heated to get that colour.
#GuessTheGem #GeoscienceBluesky ⚒️🧪💎
Two gems on a beige background. The top is a large round light brown Portuguese-style cut gem. The bottom is a small bright blue oval cute gem. The edges of white labels can be seen at the top and bottom. At the Natural History Museum in London.
November 18, 2025 at 11:41 AM
andersonmineral.bsky.social
Have you ever heard of this mineral? Pachnolite was discovered in Greenland and the name translates to frost stone, which is a very cool name. #MineralMonday #GeoscienceBluesky ⚒️🧪
Specimen of pachnolite showing bright brown yellow sharp crystals in a cavity in white crystals. It sits on a frosted plinth on a glass shelf on a grey wall. The edge of a green and brown specimen on a plinth can be seen to the top left. The plinth has a label that says « Pachnolite/Pachnolite » on it.At the Royal Ontario Museum.
November 17, 2025 at 12:34 PM
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
andersonmineral.bsky.social
As cool and cute as sabre-toothed tigers are, at least I don’t have to fear staring down the maw of Smilodon populator these days. #FossilFriday ⚒️🧪
Looking down the jaw of mounted skeleton of a fossil sabre-toothed tiger with its mouth open. It stands on a wooden plinth on a wood floor among glass display cases. At the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle.
November 7, 2025 at 12:43 PM