Celestine from Lime City, Ohio
Contributed by: Michael Crawford
minID: K56-Y08
Date: Jul 3rd, 2025
Locality: Stoneco Lime City Quarry, Lime City, Wood County, Ohio, USA (See on Mindat)
Size: 9.5 x 11.5 cm
Description:
A cluster of celestine (SrSO4) crystals from the Stoneco Lime City Quarry, Lime City, Wood County, Ohio. The specimen consists of a group of bluish-white columnar crystals. The crystals look hexagonal, but they are parallel orthorhombic crystals of celestine. This columnar habit is unique to the Lime City Quarry. Collectors nicknamed these crystal structures “marshmallows”. A discussion of this unique celestine habit can be found in the 2024 UV Waves, V53, N0.3.
The some of the crystals have a blue-gray core of celestine. When these marshmallow crystals were first discovered, it was thought that they may have been strontianite (SrCO3) pseudomorphing to celestine. Subsequent work has shown that the core and rim are both celestine.
The specimen has a similar bluish-white, fluorescent response in longwave and shortrwave UV illumination. The longwave and shortwave emission spectra show the similarity of the fluorescence. Both have a broad peak with a maximum of 448 nm. This fluorescence is likely activated by organics. The specimen also has strong afterglow after exposure to both longwave and shortwave illumination. The longwave and shortwave fluorescence have a similar color, but the afterglow has different colors. The longwave afterglow has a greenish hue and the shortwave afterglow color is bluish white like the fluorescence.
Summary of luminescence responses:
Celestine (Mindat) (RRUFF)
- Fluorescence under Longwave (365nm LED) UV light: White
- Fluorescence under Shortwave (255nm LED) UV light: White
- Afterglow after exposure to Longwave (365nm LED) UV light: Green
- Afterglow after exposure to Shortwave (255nm LED) UV light: White