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. Happy Twosday!
I have rested my chin in my hand before, but not in my foot!
Good morning. I don’t even want to think about bending in that manner.
Before I finish the article or comment, I thought it said, “Today’s special animal friend is the deluded leopard.”
:ducking and running:
Heh.
Back from Walmart in record time. While I was waiting for Robert to come and open the doors, I was watching the clouds moving along in the wind, and down by the southern horizon, there were some lightning strikes. They were hugh, but far enough away so there was no sound.
It’s going to be overcast most of the day, but the chance of rain is 24%. Radar shows scattered showers all over the area, but nothing major.
The new fan is excellent! I have to assemble the one for the kitchen, but that can wait until the pain subsides.
In addition to emptying out that storage tub before I left, I also got the laundry folded and put away. We’ll see how I feel when the second dose settles in. I may get something else packed today!
So, get busy, ArGee! There’s your billion dollar idea, right there.
I just watched a Nat Geo on clouded leopards, and it seems the focus now is to educate the people to not poach them, though that’s pretty hard to do. It seems several different parts of the animal are used in oriental medicines, so the demand probably won’t go down by much.
There was a time when my very agile and athletic self could bend in that manner. Not any more! It hurts to think about!
Two more boxes packed just now, and that almost empties out the kitchen! There are still drawers to pack, but that won’t be difficult because most of the stuff is in little plastic trays.
Pantry tomorrow... maybe.
If they called this week, I could be ready to load up by mid-July! Two weeks! ;o])
Dogpatch USA, here I come! The only thing that’s holding me back is a place to move into. :o|
My ‘puter is back from the shop! I have much catching up to do.
In fact, I’m over do...
I almost pinged you!! Woo-HOO! Good deal!
Welcome back, Nully!
I’m sure there’s a different thread covering Joe Biden.
LOL! He’s not a deluded leopard. He’s a deluded octopus.
We had friends over to practice setting up a tent before the little girls go to camp again (next week). Now it’s lunchtime.
I've had this one for quite a while...
I don’t know why but for some reason, I’m tired! The odd thing is, I still want to get busy! Maybe I’ll pack one more box in the kitchen before I call it quits.
The Space Bags will be here on Friday, so once I write to Charlie, I’ll put a dent in the bedroom and maybe that will be the final work in there until the day before the U-Haul comes. My brain! Suddenly, it went on overload! GAH!
Tell your brain to knock it off!
Jake says we should go to bed. Maybe I’ll feel up to a Driving Adventure later. Even a half hour each would be something.
A half hour each would be much better than any longer with just one! They’ll get too tired and disinterested anyway, so you all win with just 30 minutes.
I did one more box. It was the utensil drawer so it was an easy box to pack and not too heavy. I really need to get the table out of here. I know Chuck read my note yesterday, but I don’t know how long he was here.
I’ll plan on dragging it out myself if he won’t help me. Making room to open the door and maneuver the table so it goes out the door will be the hardest part. I can drag it out and off the step and if Brian sees me, maybe he can help me drag it. He’s got a bad shoulder so he can’t lift. All I need to do it get it out of my way so I can shift some boxes into the kitchen. I’m really having a hard time navigating in here without tripping over my own feet.
No, no, no! Do not move the table out yourself!
For sure don’t strain yourself. Just have the table self-identify as an outside table. Then it won’t be in your way.
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