Crystallography365

Blogging a crystal structure a day in 2014

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Helen Maynard-Casely

Bath salts on the moons of Jupiter

What does it look like?

Image generated by the VESTA (Visualisation for Electronic and STructual analysis) software http://jp-minerals.org/vesta/en/

Image generated by the VESTA (Visualisation for Electronic and STructural analysis) software http://jp-minerals.org/vesta/en/

What it is?

Epsomite is a magnesium sulfate hydrate. It forms with seven water molecules for every magnesium sulfate molecule. It is a common evaporatic mineral that was first identified in the caves of Epsom in Surrey, UK in 1816. Then it was first called Epsom salts and became a nice thing to put in your bath to ease aches and pains. But it's also thought to be found on the moons of Jupiter!

Where did the structure come from?

Epsomite is #1100091 in the Crystallography Open Database.

Tags: Jupiter moon   bath   evaporite   hydrate   mineral