Posted on 06/11/2021 11:51:04 AM PDT by Red Badger
At 563 carats, the Star of India is the world’s largest gem-quality blue star sapphire, and is approximately 2 billion years old. (Image credit: D. Finnin/Copyright AMNH)
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What does the legendary Star of India — a 563-carat star sapphire the size of a golf ball — have in common with a 35-million-year-old petrified redwood slab; a massive cluster of sword-like crystals that looks like it came from "Game of Thrones;" and a 5-ton (4.5-metric ton) stone pillar that can "sing?"
You can see all of them, along with 5,000 other amazing stones, in the newly renovated Mignone Hall of Gems and Minerals at the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) in New York City, which is reopening after a four-year closure on Saturday (June 12). There, one-of-a-kind precious gems appear alongside odd-looking rocks — some of which date to billions of years ago — that have been uniquely warped and twisted by extreme temperatures and pressures.
Individually and together, these objects tell a story of the diverse geologic processes that shape minerals on Earth's surface and deep inside our planet, beginning when the world was young and continuing to this day, museum representatives told Live Science.
Related: 13 mysterious and cursed gemstones
The Star of India, which formed about a billion years ago, was discovered in Sri Lanka in the 18th century. It is one of the best-known gems in the world, in part because it was famously and brazenly stolen from AMNH in 1964, along with several more of the museum's prized stones, by a pair of thieves named Jack "Murf the Surf" Murphy and Allan Kuhn, Smithsonian reported in 2014, on the heist's 50th anniversary. (The one-of-a-kind sapphire was recovered and went back on display in 1965).
(Excerpt) Read more at livescience.com ...
Welp, that’s it for me. Have a good night and I’ll see you in the morning!
I was sitting out in the yard listening to Shannon’s complaints. She has a very hard life.
I’m planning on an early night.
You have personal mail on a very discrete and circumspect channel.
I was too tired to wait. It’s rude, I know, but that’s me.
Hiya, Bob!
Missed ya!
The password was ostensibly reset, so I’ll reply as soon as I can read the personal mail. It isn’t working just yet.
Going to bed is always a priority. I went to bed before 8:00.
Placido Domingo, kitteh friends. This kitten is a Norwegian Forest Cat and lives in Iceland.
What a gorgeous floof!
Good morning. Did you sleep well, for going to bed early?
I’ve had my shower and I’m almost dressed “but ‘cept” for my stockings (support socks) and I’m as ready for the day as I’ll ever be.
The nights are getting cooler now, and I don’t want to have to unpack my winter clothes. Not until I get to Dogpatch.
Wear your new jacket!
I slept okay. There were some Jake disruptions, but being in bed for ten hours is something, and I have only one Mass today.
I plan on wearing it a lot, actually, once it’s washed and dried and has the “new” smell out of it! I will dress in layers. I did keep a couple of long-sleeved shirts out, and not all of my hoodies are packed, but I still don’t want to unpack. Anything.
So I’ll finish packing and see what happens.
Good for you, getting 10 hours!! You must have been exhausted and didn’t realize it.
Oh, I realized it! I was sitting out in the yard watching birds and Shannon and falling asleep in my lawn chair, so once I got the dishes and laundry and whatall squared away, I said good night.
Good job!
I’m sure your sleep was better all around than mine. I didn’t get into a deep sleep last night at all. Sometimes, it’s only 15 minutes, most times less and more often, not at all.
I made the bed, set out my clothes, said my prayer and was surprised when I came out here and found it’s getting light outside! Time flies when you’re elsewhere.
It will soon be time to start getting ready for church. I hate to be in a hurry when I do it because nothing goes on right, from makeup to clothes. I leave feeling half put-together. And from my view, I look it, too!
One gal that sits in front of me says I “always look beautiful.” She’s very kind to old people!
I’ve met you, the gal that sits in front of you is right.
I’ve met her, too. Beautiful, tidy, and dignified!
Aww...Thanks, Nully! You’re an amazing person, and not too bad looking into the deal!
Thanks! You’re pretty amazing as well! (I’m sure where you came up with “dignified” from, but I’ll take it!)
And that was before I lost 40 lbs...
OK, now I’m looking around me to see who you both are talking about. I had to completely re-do my outfit today.
It was going to be red top, white skirt and blue and white shoes, but now, it’s blue top, white skirt and red shoes, (in honor of tomorrow - I always wear red, white and blue on Patriotic Holidays.)
It’s left me feeling rather breathless, as I prepare to head out the door in a few.
I hope you both have a great morning.
I’m glad to see you’ve escaped the fires, Nully. It makes my heart hurt having them so close to the place where I was born and where so much of my family history took place. You’re not the only person I know who lives in that valley, so I’m watching the fires closely.
And before I lost over 60 lbs! We need to meet again before I move, Nully, to make sure we still know who we are! ;o]
(Congratulations on your weight loss!! I’m proud of you for that!)
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