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Stellarite Pictures

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CHEMISTRY - CaAl₂Si₇O₁₈^.7H₂O

CRYSTALLOGRAPHY - Orthorhombic

CRYSTAL GROWTH AND HABITS - Stellarite seldom forms individual crystals.  Typically it forms radiating masses or spherical botryoidal aggregates.

COLOR AND OPTICAL PROPERTIES - Stellarite is commonly colorless to white.  It is transparent to translucent.

HARDNESS - ~2

SPECIFIC GRAVITY - 2.12 - 2.13

LUSTER - Vitreous to silky

STREAK - White

BREAKABILITY - Perfect cleavage along {010} and it is brittle.

OCCURRENCE - Stellarite is found in altered basaltic rocks as a vein filling mineral or filling voids.

ASSOCIATED MINERALS - Zeolites, Prehnite, Tridymite

MINERAL NAME - Named after Wilhelm Steller, the Russian discoverer of the Commander (Komandorskiye) Islands, Russia.