Image: <bdi><a href="https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q56247090" class="extiw" title="d:Q56247090"><span title="mineral collector and dealer">Robert M. Lavinsky</span></a></bdi> (CC BY-SA 3.0)
orthorhombicuncommonSulfates
Celestine
SrSO₄
This specimen features well-formed, light blue to colorless celestine crystals, exhibiting a vitreous luster and transparent clarity.
Celestine Physical Properties
Mohs Hardness
3Crystal System
orthorhombicLuster
vitreousStreak Color
whiteCleavage
Perfect on {001}, good on {210}, imperfect on {110}Fracture
conchoidalSpecific Gravity
3.96Colors
light blue, colorless, whiteTransparency
transparentType Locality
Wessels Mine (Wessel's Mine), Hotazel, Kalahari manganese fields, Northern Cape Province, South AfricaMineral Group
SulfatesUses
source of strontium, collector's mineralAssociated Minerals
gypsum, anhydrite, halite, sulfur, calcite, dolomite, fluoriteRarity
uncommonGeological Context
Celestine typically forms in sedimentary rocks, particularly in evaporite deposits, limestones, and dolomites, often as a result of diagenetic replacement or precipitation from hydrothermal solutions. It can also be found in geodes.
