Carry the torch

Ancient earth
saved from the fangs of time 
brought through 
melted
formed
melted
formed
melted 
seeping from pressure
screeching
beseeching
longing
for the freedom of
utter
incineration

exploding with rage from 
a prison of 
stone 
screaming at the joy of freedom
yelling from sheer
delight 

shouting at gleeful sizzling pitches
at the lust for death by flame
saved from time
killed by fire
I am the torch that has burned long before
the earth knew fire
and I will burn long after your ancestors are a forgotten memory
lost in the smoky dusk
of a Yellowstone night.

By: Valor Gentian

 

The Wonders of Rubies: The Science and Stories of a Fiery Gem

 By Liam Middaugh 

Rubies are the earth's red, beautiful treasures. They come in different colors, such as hot pink, flaming red, the highly prized pigeon blood, or Thai deep red. They also have deep cultural roots in mythology and in the places where they're found. 

A stone's bright red does not mean it is a ruby. To check whether it is glass or plastic, test it under a black or UV light; if it fluoresces, it will tell whether the ruby is real or fake. Rubies fluoresce bright red under UV light because of chromium in their chemical composition. This is one of several tests used to determine if a ruby is real. 

 

Figure 1. A ruby from Mozambique under natural light. From the collection of L. Middaugh. Photo date 2026 by L. Middaugh.

  

     Figure 2. A ruby from Mozambique under UV light. From the collection of L. Middaugh. Photo date 2026 by L. Middaugh.

The ruby in the picture above was faceted by a gemologist, and Fig. 2 is a representation of a ruby under UV light. People often mistake pink sapphires for rubies, especially because they are in the same mineral family and grow similarly. Ruby crystals commonly develop hexagonal-looking forms. However, many rough rubies are irregular, fractured, or rounded by weathering and transport in rivers. Often, they grow in a hexagonal shape, but most grow irregularly or are water-worn. In Mozambique, paleochannels are abundant, prehistoric rivers that have either completely dried out or shifted position. These paleochannels often have a few rubies and, if you are lucky, a small treasury. Also, most newfound rubies must be cleared of a white partner rock called amphibolite, which grows in small white veins around the ruby.

 

Figure 3. Natural Mozambique ruby. From the collection of L. Middaugh. Photo date 2026 by L. Middaugh.

             Another, older name for the ruby is the red sapphire because it belongs to the corundum family, the same mineral class as sapphires; however this name is no longer used by gemologists. If you are in an advanced stage of gem identification, rubies can be characterized by microscopic parallel lines of golden red called rutile needles, and these small needles intersect; when heavily concentrated, they cause a certain shine known as silk (not the cloth). Ruby ranks 9 on the Mohs hardness scale, making it one of the hardest natural minerals. Only diamond, at 10, is harder

In regions where they were found, rubies were often considered sacred or magical because they defeated most primitive tools of the time. This planted many beliefs about the ruby. Rubies were said to cure digestive problems, energize the blood, and heal heart and liver ailments; they also cured snakebites, and in China, people thought they could prolong life. In South Asia, it was believed that the ruby was formed from the blood of a demon and tossing it into water made it boil instantly, while the Greeks thought it could melt wax. In Jewish tradition, it represented warmth and freedom from anxiety. In Western South America, a legend describes a mythical beast called the carbuncle: an armadillo with a ruby on its forehead; similarly, unicorns are said to have a hidden ruby in their skull, which further purifies their presence. Hindus call the gem the Ratnaraj: the gem of gems, the one that surges with unquenchable flame.

The ruby is one of the most popular gemstones and is easily recognizable for its fiery, brilliant shade of red; fiction often uses it to describe an extremely radiant red. Whether admired for their fiery brilliance under light, their intriguing geological origins, or the rich folklore woven around them throughout history, rubies remain among the world’s most captivating gemstones. Fascinating us through the many centuries the human race has lived, they remain one of Earth's most captivating treasures.

Acknowledgments:

Thank you, Steven Veatch, for helping me research and photograph the rubies. I’d also like to thank the Pebble Pups/Earth Science Scholar group for helping me learn more about the geological world.

References:

Anderson, B.W. (2011). Gem testing. In Ruby gemstones (pp. 22-37). Read Books Ltd.

Baerwald, M. (2011). Gems and jewellery today: An account of the romance and value of gems, jewellery, watches and silverware. In Ruby gemstones (pp. 38-50). Read Books Ltd.

Hsu, T., Lucas, A., & Pardieu, V. (2015). Mozambique: A ruby discovery for the 21st century. Gems & Gemology, 51(1), pp.44-54. https://www.gia.edu/gems-gemology/spring-2015-mozambique-ruby-discovery-21st-century

Identifying raw and uncut ruby. (2021, March 9). The Natural Ruby Company. https://thenaturalrubycompany.com/education/ruby-characteristics/natural-rubies-and-synthetics/identifying-a-raw-uncut-ruby/

Morgan, D. (2008). Fire and blood: Rubies in myth, magic, and history. Praeger Publishers.

Author bio: Liam Midddaugh is a member of the Earth Science Scholars division of the Grand Traverse Area Rock and Mineral Club's Pebble Pup Program. He is 11 years old and is in the 7th grade.

 

Coloring by Brody Dymond

Coloring by Hunter Maeder

Coloring by Hunter Maeder

Prehistoric Life by Hunter Maeder

 

Unlocking the Secrets of Anyolite!

By Broden Dymond

Have you ever seen a rock that looks like it has a ruby hidden inside it? If you have, you might have seen anyolite! Anyolite is a metamorphic rock made up of three different minerals: zoisite, ruby, and sometimes amphibole. It is also known by its trade name, “ruby in zoisite.”

Figure 1. Anyolite from Mundarara Mine, Tanzania. Red colored ruby inclusions are visible. Specimen on display at the Idaho Museum of Natural History, Pocatello, Idaho. Photo source Wikimedia Commons.

The Discovery and Trade of Anyolite

Anyolite was first discovered in 1954 in Longido, in northeastern Tanzania. The mine where it was first discovered is still in use today, and anyolite is still exported from Tanzania.

Anyolite is also used in artwork and decorative items. It can be made into sculptures, figurines, ornamental objects, and jewelry designs. Some people also use it in meditation practices because they believe it can help relieve stress and support emotional healing.

But be careful! There is a similar-looking mineral called ruby in fuchsite that can be confused with anyolite. One way to tell them apart is with a hardness test. Fuchsite has a hardness of only 2–3.

The Geology of Anyolite

Anyolite is a metamorphic rock, and it usually has a Mohs hardness of 6–6.5. It contains three minerals that give it an interesting appearance.

The first mineral is zoisite. Zoisite contains chromium, which causes its vibrant green color.

The second mineral is ruby. Ruby is made of corundum crystals, which are a crystalline form of aluminum oxide. The ruby is what makes anyolite especially interesting because the bright red ruby crystals stand out against the green zoisite.

The third mineral is amphibole. Sometimes you can see black specks in anyolite that are made of a type of amphibole called hornblende tschermakite.

Figure 2. Anyolite from Tanzania, Africa. Note rubies. Photo by Hannes Grobe Creative Commons CC-BY-SA-2.5.

The Fluorescence of Anyolite

The cool thing about anyolite is that the ruby in the rock actually glows!

When you hold a UV light to anyolite, the ruby glows. This makes anyolite even more interesting because you can see something happening inside the rock that you normally wouldn't be able to see.

Figure 3. View of anyolite. From the collection of B. Dymond. Photo by B. Dymond.

Figure 4. View of anyolite fluorescing under a UV light. From the collection of B. Dymond. Photo by B. Dymond.

So, the next time you see a green rock with red spots, take a closer look. You might just be looking at anyolite!

About the author

BRODY DYMOND is a member of the Grand Traverse Area Rock and Mineral Club’s Pebble Pups in Traverse City, Michigan. He is from Glen Arbor, Michigan, where he lives. Brody is thirteen years old and will be starting 7th grade at Glen Lake School this year. He has been involved with Pebble Pups for over four years. He has a keen interest in rocks and fossils, and also enjoys being outdoors, biking on trails, robotics, engineering, art, gaming, and Legos. He is currently a Scout from Troop 131 in Suttons Bay, Michigan. He is a program assistant with the Pebble Pup program.

Studying A Fossilized Fern

 By Wyatt Maeder

The fossilized fern pictured in this paper (Figure 1) was found in the famous Mazon Creek fossil beds near Morris in Grundy County, Illinois. Paleontologists have identified this specific specimen as Ptychocarpus unitus. These renowned fossil beds have been actively studied since the middle of the nineteenth century.

Together, the matrix and fossil weigh 14 grams (0.5 ounces). The fossil and its surrounding matrix measure 3 centimeters (1.2 inches) in length. The fossil itself is 1 centimeter (0.4 inches) wide, while the matrix is slightly over 2 centimeters (0.8 inches) wide. This specimen is estimated to have formed during the mid-Pennsylvanian, roughly 309 million years ago.

Figure 1. Ptychocarpus unitus is an extinct fossil fern from the Pennsylvanian Period, preserved in the Mazon Creek Fossil Beds Photo date 2026 by Wyatt Maeder.

As you can see in figure 1 the fern fossil and matrix are a reddish-brown color. This means it is preserved in an ironstone concretion. Some studies show that there could be traces of organic carbon. I do not know this because I don’t have access to a gas spectrometer. 

 

Table. 1 Identification
Taxon:	Ptychocarpus unitus
Family:	Marattiaceae
Locality:	Mazon Creek, IL
Time Period:
Era	Paleozoic
Period	Middle Pennsylvanian

Thanks to exceptional preservation like that found in this fern, scientists can reconstruct ancient equatorial ecosystems, helping us learn more about late Paleozoic plant life, climate, and evolutionary history.

References

Hoskins, J. H. (1933). A Ptychocarpus Type of Fructification from Illinois. The American Midland Naturalist, 14(6), 726–728. https://doi.org/10.2307/2420131

Jennings, J. R., & Millay, M. A. (1979). Morphology of the fertile Pecopteris unita from the Middle Pennsylvanian of Illinois. Palaeontographica Abteilung B, 170(1-3), 51–65.

Tripp, M., Schwark, L., Brocks, J. J., Mayer, P., Whiteside, H. J., Rickard, W., Greenwood, P. F., & Grice, K. (2023). Rapid encapsulation of true ferns and arborane/fernane compounds fossilized in siderite concretions supports analytical distinction of plant fossils. Scientific Reports, 13(1), Article 19851. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-47009-8

About the author: Wyatt Maeder is a member of the Grand Traverse Area Rock and Mineral Club’s pebble pups. He is 11 years old and in 6th grade.

.

Pebble Pup Dinosaur Artwork

 

Hunter Maeder is in second grade and is 8 years old.