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 ...
LOL!
I’d be excited if I was moving, too.
It’s taken a while for me to get to this point, but its a good thing. And of course, I blame CFIDS for it not happening sooner, because of the disability/change thing that likes to insert panic where excitement ought to be.
Anyway, I’m glad I can recognize it for what it is.
Tomorrow will be a busy morning before the sale of the Tracker takes place, but it’s necessary. I don’t want to run errands again, but I have to. So when the Tracker goes down the street without me, I may shed a tear or two. I’ll miss it.
I’m taking my tired self to bed. I can handle these semi-sleepless nights less and less. See you in the AM!
G'deve ning, y'all!
Lol!
Sweet dreams, y’all.
Bad spellers of the world, untie.
Yes. Indeed.
Last night, it was Grandson #3, telling me how excited he is that I’m moving to Dogpatch.
But three seconds is actually a little long...
No matter how many times I see that, it’s still funny!
Pretty long-haired floof! Not going to get much traction on those floors!
Good morning. Did you sleep well?
Other than going to Walmart and getting my prescription filled, the only thing going on today is selling the Tracker. I’ll be worn out again.
But I have tomorrow and Saturday to finish up on the packing and right now, it’s down to the “Misc.” boxes. The numbers of the boxes will tell me what’s in them!
I had a conflict with Jake about my pillow, but it was brief. He won. Other than that, okay, thanks, and hope you are the same!
I have shopping to do, as well, and later, Kathleen has a riding lesson. Hot and humid again. Last night when we came home from church, the neighborhood smelled like chicken farms.
Good morning. Happy Friday Eve!
We have plenty of fog if anyone needs some.
SG is it okay to have Sweat Dreams ? Those are more entertaining and enjoyable imho ……
I wouldn’t mind some fog.
OK. I’ll see if that’s something DarkFax can handle.
Woke Up this morning my mind was in a fog. Must have been caused by that log I dreamed I hit while driving in my dream …..
If DarksFAX can’t handle FOG, then something is really askew in the universe.
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