Posted on 06/08/2005 5:29:04 PM PDT by Coleus
Picture this: Fluorescent rocks
It could be argued that New Jersey is the rock capital of the world - just ask any Springsteen fan.
But did you know that the Garden State is also the fluorescent rock capital of the world, long regarded as the "Promised Land" of fluorescent minerals by rock collectors worldwide?
Stuart Schneider has written a book about it called "Collecting Fluorescent Minerals." He has an extensive collection of fluorescent rocks, with more than 800 species from around the world, but mostly his rocks are New Jersey-grown.
The photography darkroom in his basement has been converted into a mineral room, with shelves lined with rare fluorescent rocks, such as Esperite, Willemite, Hardystonite, Bustamites and other "rare Franklin's." There's even a Roeblingite.
"Found only in New Jersey," Schneider says. "It's super-rare. Named after George Roebling. A piece the size of your thumb is worth $300."
Collecting for four years, Schneider got interested after a Scouting trip by his son.
"Ben came home with some rocks, fluorescent rocks. So we went to a rock show and bought a light. Then another show, and another. My son said, OK Dad, this can be your collection."
Schneider was hooked.
"What are they good for?" he asks aloud. "They are good for nothing. But they look good. I equate it to fireworks. It's like indoor fireworks."
Rocks, in general, are made of minerals. Some rare minerals actually glow with magnificent color when viewed in the dark with ultraviolet light. Under these "black lights," seemingly ordinary rocks transform magically into a spectacularly radiant glow of greens, reds, yellows and oranges. The basic process is that they absorb ultraviolet light and lose some of the absorbed energy as heat, and the rocks emit the remaining heat as light that we can see.
Many of these magical rocks can be found at Franklin, in Sussex County, where old zinc mines created an excess of unneeded mined rock from deep in the earth. That rock turned out to be filled with fluorescent minerals. The Franklin-Sterling Hill region contains 361 different mineral species, 25 of which are found nowhere else on earth.
"It has produced 86 different fluorescent species," says Dr. Earl Verbeek, the resident geologist at the Sterling Hill Museum in Ogdensburg.
"The species tend to contain two or more minerals, sometimes as many as seven. That's very rare. And the colors of fluorescent tend to be rich, pure colors."
"Basically, northern New Jersey has some old rocks with zinc deposits," Verbeek explains. "In all the rest of the world, there are thousands of zinc deposits, but none have the similarities of Franklin.
It has a huge number of minerals that "fluoresce."
"People come from all over the world to dig in Franklin," says Schneider. "It's known for having the brightest fluorescents."
Schneider and Verbeek agree that fluorescent rock collecting is in its infancy. They cite the rise of mineral prices and the availability of rocks in New Jersey.
"It's one of the last available places to find rare minerals," Schneider says.
The photography darkroom in his basement has been converted into a mineral room, with shelves lined with rare fluorescent rocks, such as Esperite, Willemite, Hardystonite, Bustamites and other "rare Franklin's." There's even a Roeblingite.
"Found only in New Jersey," Schneider says. "It's super-rare. Named after George Roebling. A piece the size of your thumb is worth $300."
Now we're talking! I want royalties!
"What are they good for?" he asks aloud. "They are good for nothing. But they look good. I equate it to fireworks. It's like indoor fireworks."
Someone seriesly needs a life.
Do rockhounds really refer to the "species" of rocks?
[edited in later] To clear up any confusion, Minerals also have species and varieties.
No, but they refer to species of minerals and rocks are made up of one or more minerals. Minerals are divided into groups, species, and varieties.
THere's a whole exhibit of NJ glowing rocks in the Smithsonian Natural History Museum in Washington.
I grew up in Ogdensburg. We picked so many rocks out of the garden and cursed them as we threw them away. Everyone had a blacklight, and that was fun, the there were rocks everywhere.
Dang. I got some seemingly ordinary velvet posters of tigers and other animals around here somewhere. They magically transform into spectacular radiant colors under a black light also. I could be rich!
Ooohhhhh! I want some of those!! They're so preeeeettty!
I saw that stuff years ago on tv...Kryptonite was it???
Bump!
Franklin is a great trip!
Touring an underground mine and gazing at stars may seem to be contradictory pursuits, but they actually can be complementary, said Bill Kroth, a member of the museum's board of directors and amateur astronomer behind the observatory project.
"It seemed to be a natural progression, from underground geology to astronomy," Kroth said. "It's all science. Everything (in the universe) is composed of the same elements. It's the same stuff, just in different combinations."
Visitors who come to the mine to see rare fluorescent minerals found in meandering tunnels also will be able -- on certain nights -- to peer at the heavens through telescopes in the observatory.
The white dome built a few months ago contains three telescopes -- a 20-inch and a 12.5-inch reflector telescopes for typical night-sky viewing, and a hydrogen-alpha solar telescope to see fiery flares dancing off the sun.
The idea for the observatory arose about four years ago, when Kroth conducted a tour at the mine for a school group and brought along one of his own telescopes for a mini-astronomy lesson at night after the mine tour was over.
"I said, 'Gee, it would be nice to have an observatory' there, recalled Kroth, a Wood-Ridge, Bergen County, resident who works as a civil engineer.
The project began more than two years ago. Along the way, Kroth was joined by Ogdensburg resident Gordon Powers, who works as a mechanical engineer at Picatinny Arsenal in Rockaway Township and also is an amateur astronomer.
Earlier this year, the two men and other volunteers constructed the observatory from a kit. It took about seven weekends to build the 170-square-foot stainless-steel and fiberglass structure that has a rotating dome and retractable shutter on the roof. All of the work, including building a concrete pad for it and installing electricity, was donated by museum volunteers.
On a recent stargazing night last month, Kroth trained a telescope on the Ring Nebula 2,000 light-years from Earth, which means the light seen through the telescope at that time left the nebula 2,000 years ago.
The mining museum also has meteorites on display, including chunks of the moon and Mars that were blasted off their surfaces by asteroids and sucked in by Earth's gravity.
"I think it's exciting to hold a piece of Mars or the moon in your hand when you're looking at those bodies" through a telescope, Kroth said.
The museum's thousands of visitors each year are mostly schoolchildren who walk through dank, craggy tunnels to glimpse fluorescent minerals that glow eerily under ultraviolet light.
Now, the observatory is envisioned to be another attraction for school or scouting groups, as well as for various other events or celebrations, such as birthdays or anniversaries, Kroth said.
"We're just trying to plant the science spark," Kroth said. "It's all part of getting kids interested in science. If you get the science bug when you're young, it stays with you."
Or, as Powers put it, "Once a science geek, always a science geek."
A new astronomy club at the museum also has formed and has about 30 members. The Sterling Hill Astronomy Group tries to meet twice a month, when the moon is not out and it's not raining or cloudy. They have held three sessions so far.
The cost for regular monthly viewing is $25 per person, or $35 for a family membership, and stargazing will take place year-round. For more information, see the museum Web site at www.sterlinghill.org .
What's it look like under regular light?
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