"What the...?" Part 2; How to identify a mystery substance.

Hey guys,
Where did we leave off? Oh yeah, there were two "mysteries of nature" that I was trying to solve:

1. A yellow flour-like powder veins in the clay; and a 
2. Very thin white crystalline crust on the soil surface.  

So I sampled them both.

Freestyle soil sampling.

Here is Mystery #1 in the field.  See the yellow powder, look how fine it is.  Can you see it spread on my fingers?

Here is Mystery #1 by microscope magnification. I think it is pollen!

They appear circular, but I can't quite tell due to their small size.
I'm gonna try and get some mineral oil magnification soon.

Here is Mystery #2 in the field.  To obtain the crystalline crust,  I dug out a chunk, which revealed fresh clay (you see the yellow veins, Mystery #1, very clearly).  The rest has that thin layer of white crystal crust on it.

Here, I'll "magnify" again, using my special magnifying lens.

Here is Mystery #2 magnified under the microscope and at various angles.

Thank you Eastside Memorial Green Tech and Mr. Moldenhauer for hosting my curiosity! 

Here are my future plans (if I can acquire a few supplies with limited effort on my part, ahem):

• Mystery #1 (yellow "flour" powder): Access a microscope with greater magnification and hopefully identify the pollen.  
• You see, each type of pollen looks different when you get up close.
• Mystery #2 (tiny white crystalline crust): Attempt to dissolve the crystals in water.  Then, add acetone to see if there is any precipitation reactions. 
• Why? I'm testing to see if it is gypsum.  I think it is gypsum because gypsum is a very common white evaporite. Also, the presence of gypsum indicates arid environments (like where I was standing at the time).

UPDATE: I haven't found a higher resolution microscope yet.  Also, I tried the acetone experiment, but I don't believe I had enough crystal sample to get significant results; it's a very thin layer.  Alas, the mystery continues... 

Have a great weekend, everyone!

"What the...?" Part 1

Once upon a time, I started to write a blog post that went like this:


Recently I went to, according my zero research, the world's largest antique fair(!!!) in Round Top, TX.  Fried pickles, fried mushrooms, funnel cake, fresh fried pork rinds, and popcorn may or may not have been devoured ravenously.

We may or may not have found the perfect vintage accessories.

While in town, in a pine forest, I also happened upon a cut in the soil that showed the native clay a few inches below. It had weird yellow veins going through it.  The veins were very fine grained, like a flour-fine powder.  I dug deeper to see if they thinned out, but after several inches of digging through dry clay, the veins were still there.  Can you see them below?

You don't see the yellow veins?  Let's try again, with "magnification."

OK? 
OK.

"What the...?" I was being SoilDuck's good kind of stupid: stupid yet curious.

Internet research was boring, so I checked in with my fellow twits, to see what they thought.  Here were some ideas:

• Fungus.
• But the location (deep) and orientation (horizontal) look wrong.  
• Sulfur.
• But sulfur precipitates as gypsum, and gypsum is white (ahem, it can actually come in different colors).
• Pollen.
• But the powder goes preeeeeetty deep into the cracks...
• Microscope it!
• Oh yeah, and I work at a high school, so this is feasible...
• Do you know the series?
• Maybe.

 I forgot to mention that there was something else interesting too: a white crystalline crust on the outer surface of the clay.

Here is your first official look at the '"mystery of nature" observed under a stereoscope.

See? It is right there, under the stereoscope.

(Thank you, young scientist, Manuel Lopez for taking this picture.

Thank you Mr. Moldyenhaur for setting up the learning apparatus.

Thank you Eastside Memorial HS for hosting this scientific inquiry.)

Actually, were looking at the white crystalline crust here, not the yellow vein powder. Our computer screen is showing a blurry version of it.


But then I hit a stopping point.  I hit Publish anyway.  I hope this post finds you well, and if we don't chat sooner, Happy Mother's Day!  Thank you to both Granny Sharon and Mother Earth.

Join us next time, in "What the...?" Part 2, How do you identify a mystery substance?

How to get in on tonight's Perseid meteor shower.

Did you know that tonight (Texas Standard Time) is the best time to watch the Perseid "shooting stars"?  They come around every August.  I have some great memories of watching them with many a BFF.  So fun.  The good news is that, even A-town's night-light pollution won't block out the brightest comets in this meteor shower!  Of course, according to Bill Cooke of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office at the Marshall Space Flight Center, the best show will be away from city lights.  "The greater flurry of faint, delicate meteors is visible only from the countryside," he says.

Here is a pic from the same webpage.  Imagine lots of these at once [well you know, within an hour]! Weee!

Further details lifted from NASA:

Peak Activity: Aug. 12-13, 2010, approximately 50 meteors per hour. The crescent moon will set early in the evening, allowing for dark skies all the way up until peak viewing just before dawn.  Meteor Velocity: 61 kilometers (38 miles) per second.   

Note: The Perseid meteor shower is one of the most consistent performers and considered by many as 2010's best shower. The meteors they produce are among the brightest of all meteor showers. 

What is the Perseid meteor shower? I lifted this next info from the Discovery magazine  blog.

WHAT: The height of the Perseid shower comes every August, because that’s the time our planet passes through a certain debris path.

The Perseids are created by the tiny remnants left behind by comet Swift-Tuttle. The Earth passes through this material once a year, creating a spectacular show as the cometary particles burn up in the atmosphere.

 So,  in the spirit of pondering that which is greater than us, here is a youtube link.

More links:

Earthsky.org

news.discovery.com