Bless the memory of Stanislav Yevgrafovich, the Man Who Saved the World. At a moment when it mattered, he chose humanity.

Ed Maibach@maibached.bsky.social · 3d ago

Happy Stanislav Petrov Day He passed in 2017. As Encyclopedia Britannica puts it, “He is survived by his two children, two grandchildren, and the entire human race.” If you don't know his story, please take 3 minutes now to learn it. @gchalliance.bsky.social @docsforclimate.bsky.social

#MinCup26 Round 2 Match 7 It's blue skies ahead as multicoloured cubes of #Halite are up against the bubbly cool-toned #Chrysocolla. VOTE: www.mineralcup.org/2026/vote-re... RESULTS: www.mineralcup.org/2026/vote-re...

#Quartz has been a favorite since childhood. I know it's like the pumpkin spice latte of minerals, but I still love it. #MinCup26

Mineral Cup & Ore Cup@mineralcup.bsky.social · last wk.

#MinCup26 Round 2 Match 4 Both colourful yet opposite in almost every other way, it’s abundant and hard #Quartz against rare and very soft #Stichtite. VOTE: www.mineralcup.org/2026/vote-re... RESULTS: www.mineralcup.org/2026/vote-re...

I enjoyed learning about #Cassiterite today, but I like writing too much not to vote for #graphite. (Also was juat having a conversation about allotropes with a friend the other day, so it's sort of on my mind.)

Mineral Cup & Ore Cup@mineralcup.bsky.social · 2w ago

#MinCup26 Round 1 Match 16 It's a pair of industrially-vital minerals for the final match of the first round as tin ore #Cassiterite is up against elemental carbon #Graphite. VOTE: www.mineralcup.org/2026/vote-re... RESULTS: www.mineralcup.org/2026/vote-re...

In my inbox today: a couple press releases about the ESA-JAXA BepiColombo mission getting ready for Mercury orbit arrival in November! Super exciting -- only the second Mercury orbiter ever!

Voting for underdog #Xocolatlite today in #MinCup26.

Mineral Cup & Ore Cup@mineralcup.bsky.social · 2w ago

#MinCup26 Round 1 Match 15 It's blue vs red for vibrant cyan-blue #Chrysocolla vs rich chocolatey red-brown #Xocolatlite. Are you with the hydrous copper silicate or the tellurate? VOTE: www.mineralcup.org/2026/vote-re... RESULTS: www.mineralcup.org/2026/vote-re...

#MinCup26 Round 1 Match 14 Average hardness and dark colours are camouflage for crystalline oddness lurking within blue asbestos #Riebeckite vs rare earth element #Gadolinite-(Y). VOTE: www.mineralcup.org/2026/vote-re... RESULTS: www.mineralcup.org/2026/vote-re...

Prehistoric builders transported Devil’s Arrows 11 miles. Isotopic analysis revealed the most likely source to be Brimham Rocks, not the nearby Plumpton Rocks. arstechnica.com/science/2026...

Prehistoric builders transported Devil's Arrows 11 miles

Isotopic analysis revealed the most likely source to be Brimham Rocks, not the nearby Plumpton Rocks.

arstechnica.com

I had the privilege of working on a handful of freelance stories for Hakai with Colin as editor. He's fantastic and you should hire him.

Colin Schultz@colinschultz.bsky.social · 2w ago

So, now, I'm looking for what's next. If you know of any open positions--especially those involving editing science, news, or science news--I'd love to hear about them. Please let me know at clnschltz@proton.me

"AI is coming for archaeology." Buddy. Get off ketamine. Those of us in the satellite/drone space using LLMs- local, single computer, no data centers required, have used them for decades (below). They are useful for parsing through datasets, but give NO meaning. www.frontiersin.org/journals/ict...

Frontiers | Algorithmic Identification of Looted Archaeological Sites from Space

In response to widespread looting of archaeological sites, archaeologists have used satellite imagery to enable the investigation of looting of affected arch...

frontiersin.org

#MinCup26 Round 1 Match 13 It's a match between a mineral you want to be cautious breathing near and one you eat every day as arsenic-rich #arsenopyrite is against table salt #halite. VOTE: www.mineralcup.org/2026/vote-re... RESULTS: www.mineralcup.org/2026/vote-re...

Today's #MinCup26 match is excellent because I got to learn about two minerals I hadn't previously heard of!

Mineral Cup & Ore Cup@mineralcup.bsky.social · 2w ago

#MinCup26 Round 1 Match 12 Grey hides complexity for these metal-rich minerals as trickster #Pyrrhotite battles geometrically-unusual #Cylindrite in this monochromatic matchup. VOTE: www.mineralcup.org/2026/vote-re... RESULTS: www.mineralcup.org/2026/vote-re...

Wow, an almost unique cylindrical crystal form! That's a very good argument. But #Pyrrhotite weathers to gypsum next to other things, and I'm still grumpy that gypsum was kicked out. Thus this is a revenge vote.

Untitled, Goose Game. Not coin-operated, but too good to not share.

#Calcite #MinCup26 ⚒️ 📸 My own at collection of Institute of Mineralogy at @uni-muenster.de

I am going to keep voting for #Calcite every year until the year it finally wins. And it will. I believe in it. #MinCup26

Mineral Cup & Ore Cup@mineralcup.bsky.social · 3w ago

#MinCup26 Round 1 Match 11 It's a pair of minerals that pull off near-magical tricks with their properties as ubiquitous #Calcite is up against rarity #Julienite. VOTE: www.mineralcup.org/2026/vote-re... RESULTS: www.mineralcup.org/2026/vote-re...

*Cough and put on her geologist cap* Sorry pyrromorphite but you fell in face of the wrong adversary. Gypsum isn't just beautiful or useful, gypsum move mountains. Literally. Thick gypsum layers act as a slippy layers for the rocks on top of it, allowing them to deform separately of what is below

Mineral Cup & Ore Cup@mineralcup.bsky.social · 3w ago

#MinCup26 Round 1 Match 10: It’s a pair of soft minerals that form near the surface as heavyweight #pyromorphite is up against evaporate #gypsum. VOTE: www.mineralcup.org/2026/vote-re... RESULTS: www.mineralcup.org/2026/vote-re...

Only one of these can be BIOMINERALIZED BY A FUNGUS. And it shows. Because only one of these looks like green beans. Go go pyromorphite you glorious green monster.

Mineral Cup & Ore Cup@mineralcup.bsky.social · 3w ago

#MinCup26 Round 1 Match 10: It’s a pair of soft minerals that form near the surface as heavyweight #pyromorphite is up against evaporate #gypsum. VOTE: www.mineralcup.org/2026/vote-re... RESULTS: www.mineralcup.org/2026/vote-re...

Pyromorphite sounds like some kind of fire demon, the name actually coming from its behaviour of reforming crystals after being melted into a globule! Old names included 'plumbo viridis' (green lead - pyromorphite being lead phosphate chloride). Vanadinite (V swapped for P) shares this structure!

Mineral Cup & Ore Cup@mineralcup.bsky.social · 3w ago

#MinCup26 Round 1 Match 10: It’s a pair of soft minerals that form near the surface as heavyweight #pyromorphite is up against evaporate #gypsum. VOTE: www.mineralcup.org/2026/vote-re... RESULTS: www.mineralcup.org/2026/vote-re...

I have a soft spot for #Gypsum (haha I am funny dang it) because it was also one of the first things in my childhood rock collection, but I've really enjoyed learning about #pyromorphite today, and poison green lead crystals are very tempting. Decisions, decisions... #MinCup26

Mineral Cup & Ore Cup@mineralcup.bsky.social · 3w ago

#MinCup26 Round 1 Match 10: It’s a pair of soft minerals that form near the surface as heavyweight #pyromorphite is up against evaporate #gypsum. VOTE: www.mineralcup.org/2026/vote-re... RESULTS: www.mineralcup.org/2026/vote-re...

Did too many things yesterday and now I feel like I got hit by a truck. On the plus side, I got to meet the county coroner, who is also a volunteer firefighter, because small towns are just... like this.

#MinCup26 Round 1 Match 9: It’s a pair of tiny minerals with unusual chemistry as hafnium-containing #Hafnon battles with strontium/chromium-containing #Putnisite. VOTE: www.mineralcup.org/2026/vote-re... RESULTS: www.mineralcup.org/2026/vote-re...

We used to be a PROPER internet...

Sorrel@sorrelish.bsky.social · 3w ago

I want to make straw dollies but Google sucks so fucking much and I can’t find any decent tutorials so I was trying to find a book about it instead and in so doing found this BEAUTIFUL Web 1.0 page about straw work. We used to be a country. www.strawcraftsmen.co.uk/resource.php

Archaeology meets Star Trek! Today, we celebrate Star Trek. Like Star Trek’s spirit of exploration, archaeology encourages us to discover the human past and broaden our global understanding. Happy Star Trek Day! Live long and prosper 🖖 #archaeology #StarTrek #StarTrekDay

My neighbors were setting of fireworks last night. For... Labor Day? Listen, I'm a good union member and all, but that is bonkerspants.

We evolved these incredible brains and you don’t want to use yours? Weak

Accusing AI critics of not doing the reading is funny because usually it’s AI users are the most likely to have not done the reading So what now then

Exactly and I refuse to be lectured to about research or due diligence by anyone who thinks the greatest thing to happen to them is the opportunity to do even less thinking than they do already.

Chanda Prescod-Weinstein 🌌@chanda.blacksky.app · 3w ago

Accusing AI critics of not doing the reading is funny because usually it’s AI users are the most likely to have not done the reading So what now then

Team #sitchtite for the pretty purple and green combination! #MinCup26

Mineral Cup & Ore Cup@mineralcup.bsky.social · 3w ago

#MinCup26 Round 1 Match 8: It’s a pair of soft and lovely minerals as Stichtite and Talc compete for your votes. VOTE: www.mineralcup.org/2026/vote-re... RESULTS: www.mineralcup.org/2026/vote-re...

I'm voting for #Minazite-(Ce) solely on the basis that it can trap helium in its crystals, because how flippin' cool is that?! #MinCup26

Mineral Cup & Ore Cup@mineralcup.bsky.social · 3w ago

#MinCup26 Round 1 Match 7 It's a color-changing match of informative minerals! Time-tracker #Monazite-(Ce)'s yellow in sunlight darkens to orange in incandescent light while index mineral #Andalusite is pleochroic VOTE: www.mineralcup.org/2026/vote-re... RESULTS: www.mineralcup.org/2026/vote-re...