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 ...
Good morning.
Good morning to you!
I hope you had a good evening and that you slept well.
Are you finding time to actually vacate your duties this time?
Pretty good night. I have plenty of duties, but they don’t take long. Just watched the sunrise. In a little while I’ll take the golf cart over to the marsh. Later, we’re going to the state park to see the alligators.
It will be a while before the sun comes up over the mesa, here. I’m really going to miss this valley. I’ll only miss a few of the people, but I can say, in all honesty, that even fewer will miss me. Most folks don’t know how to deal with PWDs. (Persons With Disabilities)
Not sure I want to see alligators, but I don’t think there’s much chance of it, that far north. It’s actually cooler than here, for the most part. The biggest difference in the climate is the humidity.
I need to sort pills in a minute. I got up on time, but was checking Facebook, and for whatever reason, I can reply to or comment on some posts but not to others. Mostly, since I’ve blocked so many people, it’s only my old school friends and family members left. Or extended family members and specific groups. Go figger.
We're not really seeing any leaves turning yet, but it won't be long.
LOL! Good morning! And thank goodness for Friday Eve!
It’s cooling off here, and I haven’t seen much in the way of color change on the trees, but there are quite a few leaves on the ground, probably from the drought.
It’s official. Move-in date is October 15. I got a call from the manager yesterday afternoon, and she offered me the apartment that is now vacant, but wants me there in two weeks. I can’t pull it together that fast.
Normally, a refusal would mean that my name be placed at the bottom of the list, but she said that since I had been so diligent about calling every month, she would allow me to have the next apartment, which will be available Oct. 2.
Right now, I don’t feel ready, but I’m sure that’s the disability talking.
There’s a lot of that going around right now...
One day at a time. We saw nice birds at the marsh.
Yes, thanks for the reminder!
The pills are sorted, the face is on, the head is combed, the bed is made, and I’m still waiting for the sun to some over the yardarm.
I will pack two boxes today. I will also go to the library. And soon, I’ll be going to a different library. I hope there’s no charge for membership. I’m so used to free libraries...
I try to take my days one at a time, but lately they’ve all been ganging up on me.
LOL!
I’ve had a few weeks like that!
We have some leaves on the ground, actually a fair number since I last sweep off the porch.
These are all dry, brown leaves, a mixture of the time of year, and a bit from the drought. Though we had a lot more rain over the summer than usual, and still, as of this date, not one day with triple digits registered on the thermometers... which is extremely rare for here.
Going to stay seasonally warm and humid until middle of next week, then it really dries out and cools down... see some forecast overnight lows in the upper 50s.... beautiful!
Good to have a definite date for the move, takes away one less variable!
Yes, the fixed information is great for the illusion of stability.
The variables are great for understanding the reality.
That is certainly true!
Good morning.
We haven’t had a good rain in the valley for over a year. In fact, not since the winter I moved here. But then, I often have that effect on an area’s weather patterns when I move somewhere. ;o]
The Admiral Fitz is telling me storms are on the way, but the barometer doesn’t agree with him. Which is OK. As long as it’s cool when the truck has to be loaded and unloaded!
I kinda knew what the date would be, but I didn’t want to tempt fate, as it were. It’s all good. I’m nearly done packing, and once that’s taken care of, I can focus on other things.
As I always say.
But thanks for hanging in there with me through this whole sordid thing — for the last 18 months. Your wit does wonders!
Robt here!
You’re half right, anyway.
You never left, Rob’t! You’ve always been on my list! LOL!
You’d fit in perfectly with my family! No, my parents are no longer adopting children.
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