The Earth Story

Fire agate, close up. Fire agate is one of the most beautiful minerals, with its iridescent shimmers of colour and optical illusion of depth within the stone (seehttp://tinyurl.com/kxfh644). Here is how it looks in close up in an image that received an honourable mention in the Nikon small world photomicrography competition in 2009. The magnification is 10 times, and the lighting diffused side illumination, Loz Image credit: David Millard

Agate under the microscope.

This image depicts bands in a marine sedimentary agate containing blebs of iron oxides at 32 times magnification. It was awarded image of distinction in the 2012 Nikon small world photomicrography competition.

Loz

Image credit: Douglas Moore