How to identify Hypersthene

To correctly identify Hypersthene (Hypersthene), check each of these features in order. Many rocks and minerals look alike, so cross-reference multiple properties before deciding.

Step-by-step identification

1. 1

   Color

   Overall color and any zoning or banding

   Dark brown, greenish-black, black, grayish-brown. Often exhibits a bronze-like sheen or schiller.

2. 2

   Luster

   How the surface reflects light: metallic, vitreous, dull

   Vitreous to pearly on cleavage surfaces, often with a submetallic to bronze-like schiller (chatoyancy).

3. 3

   Texture

   Grain size and surface feel: coarse, fine, glassy

   Typically massive, granular, or in lamellar aggregates. Crystals are usually prismatic.

4. 4

   Crystal Form

   Shape of visible crystals or crystal faces

   Orthorhombic system, typically forming prismatic crystals, often with a rectangular cross-section. Can also be massive or lamellar.

5. 5

   Cleavage

   How it breaks: flat cleavage planes vs irregular fracture

   Perfect cleavage in two directions at nearly 90 degrees (orthopyroxene characteristic).

6. 6

   Geological Environment

   The rock formation and setting where it occurs

   Mafic and ultramafic igneous rocks (norites, gabbros, pyroxenites), high-grade metamorphic rocks (granulites, charnockites), and some meteorites.

Key Facts

Hardness

5 - 6 on the Mohs scale

Specific Gravity

3.4 - 3.9 (increases with Fe content)

Crystal System

Orthorhombic

Color

Dark brown, greenish-black, black, grayish-brown; often with a bronze-like schiller.

Luster

Vitreous to pearly on cleavage surfaces, submetallic to bronze-like schiller.

Transparency

Translucent to opaque

Fracture

Uneven to conchoidal

Cleavage

Perfect on {210} and {100} at nearly 90 degrees.

Composition

(Mg,Fe)SiO3 (Magnesium Iron Silicate)

Physical characteristics

• Crystal Habit: Prismatic, tabular, massive, lamellar, granular.
• Cleavage Type: Perfect in two directions at nearly 90 degrees (orthopyroxene cleavage).
• Fracture Type: Uneven to conchoidal.
• Tenacity: Brittle.
• Luster Type: Vitreous to pearly, often with a submetallic to bronze-like schiller.

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