As the globe turns...
Celebrate your birth month with gems
By Kailee Finnigan
Did you know that each month has an assigned birthstone? Many people wear their birthstones as jewelry to show off the beauty associated with their birth month.
January’s birthstone is the garnet. Garnets form in many colors, such as red, orange, green, and even blue! There are also color-changing garnets that react to certain wavelengths of light. The alternative stone for January is Rose Quartz, a pink stone. Garnet is the stone of commitment.
February’s birthstone is amethyst. Amethyst is a form of quartz that typically forms in geodes, but it can take on other forms. There are many variations of Amethyst, such as Brandberg Amethyst and Ametrine. The alternative stone for February is Onyx, which is also a type of quartz. Amethyst is the crystal of sobriety.
March’s birthstone is aquamarine. Aquamarines are a type of Beryl, along with Emeralds. Aquamarines are usually blue, but they can have green tinges to it. There are several mines in Connecticut that produce these beautiful stones, such as Case Quarry in Haddam and Strickland Quarry in East Hampton. The alternative for aquamarine is jade, a green stone considered precious to the Chinese and the Incas. Aquamarine is the stone of breathing.
April’s birthstone is the diamond. Diamonds are lustrous and strong. They form in many colors, but red is the rarest. Red diamonds sell for over a million dollars a carat, and there are only 26 known natural specimens. Diamonds are polymorphs, or minerals that share the same chemical composition as other minerals, but have different crystal structures. They share the same chemical structure as graphite, which is the material in your pencil. The alternate is Herkimer Diamond, which is a type of quartz that was originally mistaken for a Diamond. Diamonds are the stones of marriage.
May’s birthstone is the emerald. Emeralds are green Beryls that are related to Aquamarines. The world’s largest faceted Emerald is 57,500 carats.
June has multiple birthstones. One of them is Alexandrite. It is a type of Chrysoberyl that changes colors when exposed to incandescent light. It changes from green to purple as soon as it reaches the light. Another stone is the pearl. Pearls are organic and are made of nacre, which is the shiny material you see on the inside of oyster shells.
July’s birthstone is the ruby. Rubies are considered the king of all gems, and represent love, wisdom, and wealth. The ruby is also the most expensive gemstone, and its value depends on its color.
August's birthstone are certainly unique. August now joins June and December as the only months represented by three gems. The original birthstone for August was Sardonyx, and then peridot was added, becoming August’s primary gem. Now the stunning spinel has also been added, giving those of you born in August several color choices!
September’s birthstone is sapphire, a precious gem that signifies wisdom, loyalty and nobility. When people say “sapphire”, they are usually referring to the royal blue variety of this gem, though it can occur in all the colors of the rainbow (except red, which is classified as ruby instead). Because the sapphire comes in so many colors it gives September born people a lot of options when choosing the shade that best represents them.
October’s birthstones are tourmaline and opal. People born in this birth month get choose between two beautiful gems. Each one comes in a rainbow of shades and colors. There is a legend that claims October's birthstones came to earth through a journey involving rainbows. In fact, both of October’s birthstones came to earth through a journey involving rainbows, according to legend.
November’s birthstones are sunny topaz and citrine, are both know for their calming energies, bringing warmth and fortune to those who wear them. Topaz and citrine look so similar, in fact, that they’ve often been mistaken for one another throughout history. They are actually unrelated minerals, and topaz occurs in a wide spectrum of colors far beyond yellow.
December’s birthstones are three different stones, tanzanite, zircon and turquoise – all of them, appropriately, best known for beautiful shades of blue. These gems range from the oldest on earth (zircon), to one of the first mined and used in jewelry (turquoise), to one of the most recently discovered (tanzanite).
Visit the link below for more information about birthstones and to see a gallery of these beautiful stones.
Did you know that each month has an assigned birthstone? Many people wear their birthstones as jewelry to show off the beauty associated with their birth month.
January’s birthstone is the garnet. Garnets form in many colors, such as red, orange, green, and even blue! There are also color-changing garnets that react to certain wavelengths of light. The alternative stone for January is Rose Quartz, a pink stone. Garnet is the stone of commitment.
February’s birthstone is amethyst. Amethyst is a form of quartz that typically forms in geodes, but it can take on other forms. There are many variations of Amethyst, such as Brandberg Amethyst and Ametrine. The alternative stone for February is Onyx, which is also a type of quartz. Amethyst is the crystal of sobriety.
March’s birthstone is aquamarine. Aquamarines are a type of Beryl, along with Emeralds. Aquamarines are usually blue, but they can have green tinges to it. There are several mines in Connecticut that produce these beautiful stones, such as Case Quarry in Haddam and Strickland Quarry in East Hampton. The alternative for aquamarine is jade, a green stone considered precious to the Chinese and the Incas. Aquamarine is the stone of breathing.
April’s birthstone is the diamond. Diamonds are lustrous and strong. They form in many colors, but red is the rarest. Red diamonds sell for over a million dollars a carat, and there are only 26 known natural specimens. Diamonds are polymorphs, or minerals that share the same chemical composition as other minerals, but have different crystal structures. They share the same chemical structure as graphite, which is the material in your pencil. The alternate is Herkimer Diamond, which is a type of quartz that was originally mistaken for a Diamond. Diamonds are the stones of marriage.
May’s birthstone is the emerald. Emeralds are green Beryls that are related to Aquamarines. The world’s largest faceted Emerald is 57,500 carats.
June has multiple birthstones. One of them is Alexandrite. It is a type of Chrysoberyl that changes colors when exposed to incandescent light. It changes from green to purple as soon as it reaches the light. Another stone is the pearl. Pearls are organic and are made of nacre, which is the shiny material you see on the inside of oyster shells.
July’s birthstone is the ruby. Rubies are considered the king of all gems, and represent love, wisdom, and wealth. The ruby is also the most expensive gemstone, and its value depends on its color.
August's birthstone are certainly unique. August now joins June and December as the only months represented by three gems. The original birthstone for August was Sardonyx, and then peridot was added, becoming August’s primary gem. Now the stunning spinel has also been added, giving those of you born in August several color choices!
September’s birthstone is sapphire, a precious gem that signifies wisdom, loyalty and nobility. When people say “sapphire”, they are usually referring to the royal blue variety of this gem, though it can occur in all the colors of the rainbow (except red, which is classified as ruby instead). Because the sapphire comes in so many colors it gives September born people a lot of options when choosing the shade that best represents them.
October’s birthstones are tourmaline and opal. People born in this birth month get choose between two beautiful gems. Each one comes in a rainbow of shades and colors. There is a legend that claims October's birthstones came to earth through a journey involving rainbows. In fact, both of October’s birthstones came to earth through a journey involving rainbows, according to legend.
November’s birthstones are sunny topaz and citrine, are both know for their calming energies, bringing warmth and fortune to those who wear them. Topaz and citrine look so similar, in fact, that they’ve often been mistaken for one another throughout history. They are actually unrelated minerals, and topaz occurs in a wide spectrum of colors far beyond yellow.
December’s birthstones are three different stones, tanzanite, zircon and turquoise – all of them, appropriately, best known for beautiful shades of blue. These gems range from the oldest on earth (zircon), to one of the first mined and used in jewelry (turquoise), to one of the most recently discovered (tanzanite).
Visit the link below for more information about birthstones and to see a gallery of these beautiful stones.
Elon Musk, a man of many endeavors
By Scott Angilly and Samuel Hurlburt
Elon Musk, is one of the world’s foremost visionaries when it comes to advancing humanity’s knowledge and exploration of both the universe and the Earth. Born on June 28th, 1971 in Pretoria, South Africa, Musk immigrated to Canada when he was 17, and later attended Stanford University in the United States before dropping out after one day. Since then, Musk has created multiple companies, which are on track to change the world. As of 2018, Musk is the 53rd richest man in the world with a net worth of $20.8 billion.
SpaceX
Elon Musk’s main company is SpaceX. Currently headquartered in Hawthorne, California, SpaceX specializes in Aerospace engineering and manufacturing, with the goal of colonizing Mars. They’ve recently launched the new Falcon Heavy rocket which is now the most powerful rocket in existence. The rocket is now heading out to orbit Mars with Elon Musk’s red Tesla convertible on its tip with a dummy astronaut with a screen that says “Don’t Panic". The Falcon Heavy’s to side rockets that carried it out of the atmosphere were landed back on Earth to be reused.
Tesla, INC
Tesla Incorporated, formerly known as Tesla Motors, was founded in 2003 by Elon Musk. The company’s specialties include electric cars and lithium-ion batteries. Every time a new model comes out from Tesla, there is always high demand. The models include the Tesla Model X, the Tesla Model S, the Tesla Model 3, and the Tesla Roadster. Through Tesla, Musk has pioneered in solar power. His solar panels which are in the shape of roof shingles are in high demand by consumers. They end up costing less than the typical roof shingles.
The Boring Company
On December 17, 2016, Musk, known for his high social media presence, tweeted a series of four tweets saying, “Traffic is driving me nuts. I am going to build a tunnel boring machine and just start digging. It shall be called The Boring Company. Boring, it’s what we do. I am actually going to do this.” The Boring Company was officially founded the same day. On February 17, 2017 the company started digging a 15 foot deep hole on the premises of SpaceX’s Hawthorne, CA Headquarters. In March of 2017, Musk stated that the company would be using a tunnel boring machine by April, and one was spotted with the company’s name later that month. The Boring Company hopes to create a nationwide underground transport system, and even has plans to colonize Mars. The Boring Company started selling hats to fund the company in late December 2017, and sold out in January 2018. Soon after they sold out, they started selling flamethrowers. Each flamethrower costs $500, and is legal in all states except for Maryland. After all 20,000 flamethrowers were pre ordered, customs officials stated that they would not allow anything called “flamethrowers” to be sold. Musk stated that he would either rename them “Temperature Enhancement Devices,” or “Not a Flamethrower." He eventually decided on the latter.
SolarCity
SolarCity was founded in 2006, and is currently a subsidiary of Tesla Inc. It specializes in solar energy devices. Founded by Lyndon and Peter Rive, Elon Musk’s cousins. Originally selling solar panels, they became the number two overall solar company in the country. In 2013, they bought Paramount Solar, a company owned by Paramount Equity, a large mortgage lending company. In 2016, SpaceX bought $90 million dollars of stock from the company. Later that year, SolarCity was bought by Tesla Inc. Currently, SolarCity produces electric car chargers, and are currently working on making solar roofs. To quote Elon himself, “It’s not a thing on the roof, it is the roof.” This means that in the near future, people could have roofs made entirely out of solar panels installed.
Neuralink
Musk’s newest company is Neuralink. Founded in early 2017, it is so new that we know little about it. Musk stated that he is working on creating brain-computer interfaces, a device that wires a brain to an external object, like a computer or tablet. Neuralink’s goal is to treat brain diseases, and to overcome the limits of the human body (human enhancement).
SolarCity was founded in 2006, and is currently a subsidiary of Tesla Inc. It specializes in solar energy devices. Founded by Lyndon and Peter Rive, Elon Musk’s cousins. Originally selling solar panels, they became the number two overall solar company in the country. In 2013, they bought Paramount Solar, a company owned by Paramount Equity, a large mortgage lending company. In 2016, SpaceX bought $90 million dollars of stock from the company. Later that year, SolarCity was bought by Tesla Inc. Currently, SolarCity produces electric car chargers, and are currently working on making solar roofs. To quote Elon himself, “It’s not a thing on the roof, it is the roof.” This means that in the near future, people could have roofs made entirely out of solar panels installed.
Neuralink
Musk’s newest company is Neuralink. Founded in early 2017, it is so new that we know little about it. Musk stated that he is working on creating brain-computer interfaces, a device that wires a brain to an external object, like a computer or tablet. Neuralink’s goal is to treat brain diseases, and to overcome the limits of the human body (human enhancement).