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 ...
Oh, my goodness! I love mimosas!
Poor Bill. Are you sure he doesn’t have blond roots?
After seeing what went on yesterday, I’m thinking names should have been drawn. But I don’t have any say in the matter, as I’m still an outsider.
We take names, although there are always people who go beyond their assignments. The cats got sunbeams!
Enjoy the day!!
The choir party will be leaving for church in about 20 minutes. The non-choir party - Patrick and the Teenbros, which is not a band but could be - gets another half hour or so.
Merry Christmas Y’all everywhere and everywhy’s!
Thanks... Family all in Michigan... stayed back for work...
Treating myself to a 24 oz. T-Bone Steak on the Grill this afternoon...
+ Thanks for the daily Cat/Kitten picture 🐱
You’re welcome, and Merry Christmas.
My cats are having a nice day: Jake has the sunbeam in the dragon room, but Shannon has the sleeping bag, so it’s a tie. And Jack the dragon has sun, too. He rarely moves this time of year.
It’s a good day for that! :o])
Merry Christmas
May everyone have a pleasant evening!
😎...
Good to see you, Darks. I hope this Christmas was a little easier for you and that your family is well. <3
Perfect kitteh for Boxing Day!
Good morning.
Did you sleep well?
I woke up around 0400 and decided it was stupid to lie there and toss and turn so I got up. I’ll probably be sorry later on...
Not bad, thanks. I hope your day goes better than you expect! I don’t have to leave for church until 12:00, so I have plenty of time to do laundry, empty the dishwasher, and otherwise square life away.
Our meeting today is only an hour and then we’ll come home instead of going to our next meetings, so it hardly seems worth the effort of getting all dressed up. But it is.
I’ll come home and strip the bed because in this place, other people like to wash clothes early. I want to be in the laundry room as shortly after 0400 as I can be.
Unless, of course, the Other Folks want me to eat with them, which doesn’t seem plausible.
I suppose this week, I’ll also be putting my Nativities away, but only so I can get to work with the final phase of getting settled in — making room for the sofa I can’t afford, yet! LOL! It just means having to wash the walls and get the bookcases moved around so they face out instead of each other.
Anyway, I have to go finish putting my face on. Then I’ll finish getting dressed.
I’ve done the dishes. I’m waiting for the English-speaking group to leave before I take a shower.
Even in my limited travels I’ve found it beneficial to know a few words in a second or even a third language. But I also learned to my frustration that I could understand a lot more than I could speak!
Now, I need to finish getting dressed. I’m starting to feel chilly!
*tagline*
I mopped the floors and cleaned the stove. When I finish eating this apple, I’ll take a shower and dress for church.
I’m home and I lost an earring. That’s two since moving here.
I just too my 0900 pill dose and am about halfway through a tomato and cheese sandwich. I’ll cook a small pork chop for the main meal. I realized today that I have to start taking a piece of candy or two with me to church for when my blood sugar drops.
Because FS is diabetic, I’ve resisted it, but I can’t afford to any more.
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