Heliotrope (mineral) Heliotrope (mineral) The mineral aggregate heliotrope (from Greek ἥλιος, "hḗlios" “Sun”, τρέπειν, "trépein" “to turn”), also known as bloodstone, is a variety of jasper or chalcedony (which is a cryptocrystalline mixture of quartz). The "classic" bloodstone is green jasper (chalcedony) with red inclusions of hematite. The red inclusions are supposed to resemble spots of blood, hence the name "bloodstone". The name "heliotrope" derives from various ancient notions about the manner in which the mineral reflects light. These are described, e.g., by Pliny the Elder ("Nat. Hist." 37.165). Heliotrope was called "stone of Babylon" by Albert the Great and he referred
Mineral evolution of mineral species. However, mineral extinction is not truly irreversible; a lost mineral could emerge again if suitable environmental conditions were re-established. In the early Universe, there were no minerals because the only elements available were hydrogen, helium and trace amounts of lithium. Mineral formation became possible after heavier elements, including carbon, oxygen, silicon and nitrogen, were synthesized in stars. In the expanding atmospheres of red giants and the ejecta from supernovae, microscopic minerals formed at temperatures above 1500 degrees Celsius (°C). Evidence of these minerals can be found in interstellar grains incorporated into primitive meteorites called chondrites, which are