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Deeply tenebrescent, these two tumbled sodalite stones display a bright fluorescence under UV light. The larger tumbled stone also contains light purple ussingite. The purple ussingite on this piece fluoresces a very rare green color under UV.
Ussingite from Ilimaussaq has three possible states: it can be non-fluorescent, fluoresce orange just like sodalite, or can fluoresce green as in this piece. The green fluorescing variety is by far the rarest. The rare green fluorescence comes from mixing with chkalovite. When ussingite fluoresces a more common orange, it is due to being mixed with Sodalite.
The smaller tumbled piece is almost solid green sodalite with excellent tenebrescence.
They were nicknamed "Yooperlites" which is derived from the name “yooper”. A yooper is a nickname for the Upper Peninsula natives and these fluorescent stones quickly gained fame. After data was published on these fluorescent stones, it was discovered that sodalite is the actual true mineral that is fluorescing orange.
365nm UV light is often called "blacklight". Before the advent of longwave UV LEDs, blacklight fluorescent tubes, (the kinds used in hippie days to light up psychedelic posters) were the standard longwave UV light for our hobby. They were not very powerful but they did light a large area.
Enter 365nm UV LEDs
First, an animation showing the difference between the UV flashlight we recommend (365nm filtered UV flashlight) versus unfiltered 395nm UV flashlights we see many folks carrying around at shows. So. much. visible purple light. We selected a bunch of rocks as a demonstration. Took pictures of them under his flashlight without the filter and then with the filter.
