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 ...
Kathleen’s riding lesson is postponed because it’s raining at the stable, but not here. Oh, well.
What. Are they afraid the horses will shrink? What a deal.
It’s not much fun riding when you’re drenched.
Oh. I always thought it was fun, but then...Intermountain West, horses, fields, foothills...
You’re probably right!
Kathleen is not a frontier child.
Well, that’s true, and my apologies for being so rude.
No problem. I didn’t consider it rude - just a different view, because your life was different.
Kathleen isn’t used to doing all her outdoor activities regardless of the weather. Even if we wanted to, most organized activities are called off or rescheduled if the weather is at all bad
My mind isn’t where it should be today, so I think it’s time I go to bed before I have a melt down and make a complete fool of myself.
See you tomorrow...
I hope you have a good night and feel spiffy tomorrow. I know this is a very challenging time for you!
I salute both the UTers and the BB SUV.
Yes. There are two groups that I miss after moving: people and food.
Then I’d have to get up and change my nightgown. If you don’t, it’s probably OK.
We have tons of fog and moisture here. I wasn’t even aware that the South experienced a drought because we’re usually drenched.
Gave my daughter a T-shirt with that on it for one of her birthdays. Hallmark had a really good T-shirt with a cat on it. He wore sunglasses and flip flops and carried a 6-pack. The following message: “I’m just a party waiting to happen.” Got that one for my weight-lifting partner. Never found another one like it. *sniff*
Soooooo cute!
“Izzat mai tail?”
They're predicting we'll get 5 or 6 times as much tomorrow!
Kitteh is pensive for a Friday.
Good morning. Did you sleep well?
Today will be a day of packing up what little is left, after the shower and the letter to Charlie. I’ll take the wind chimes down, as well. I’ll probably pack up the printer, but common sense tells me to wait for FS to lift it.
It will be strange to not see the BB SUV in its usual parking spot when I go out to mail Charlie’s letter.
Good morning, and not bad, thanks. Jake was out. How about you?
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