Originally posted on Nature's Rainbows in June 2016. I have a nickname for esperite pieces – I call them “hard rocks”, very hard to photograph. Our rocks “glow” like a lightbulb. Imagine trying to take a picture of a Christmas tree. The lights end up looking...
This article was originally published on Nature’s Rainbow in 2022. While visiting my granddaughter in Florida I had time to revamp my daughter's UV light box. The old one was too small for the large specimens she's been photographing lately, and the lighting was...
This article was originally published on Nature’s Rainbow. Seems to go without saying for most experienced fluorescent mineral collectors; rocks that sit exposed to the elements for millennia (give or take a few million years) develop a "rind" on the outside, oxidize,...
This article was originally published on Nature’s Rainbow. Many minerals exhibit an “afterglow” when the UV light is turned off. This glow can last for milliseconds or hours depending on the mineral. Some are very bright while others are barely perceptible. Examples...
This article was originally published on Nature’s Rainbow. Tenebrescence of Greenland sodalite is amazing. This is a piece of a deeply tenebrescent sodalite. Note how when the SW light is first turned on the sodalite fluoresces a bright orange but almost immediately...
This article was originally published on Nature’s Rainbow in August 2017. A major component of rock collecting (for me) is simply getting out in nature. A buddy dragged me out to a very remote area here in middle TN to hunt for agate. Since I'm a pure "Glow Hound" I...
This article was originally published on Nature’s Rainbow. The Ilímaussaq complex is one of the world's most fascinating igneous complexes. The abundance of rare elements has resulted in more than two hundred and twenty-five different minerals and many unique...
Folks are very creative and we’ve seen some great displays filled with glowing rocks and lit by powerful UV lights. But, as we know, UV can be dangerous to your eyes; viewers must be protected from the harmful UV rays. And a front cover helps keep that pesky dust and...
Over the 2018 holidays my daughters were in town. One left after Christmas but was replaced by my BFF Howie Green and his wife. Always looking for something to do besides explore the many fluorescent rocks down at my barn, this year we got lucky. My local glowhound...
There is something I call the "feldspar effect". When people first start collecting fluorescent minerals in the field they usually are amazed at the typical fluorescence of your average feldspar. As they gain experience and see more fluorescent minerals they realize...