In the News:
Rocket
Makes Fiery Reentry - At first the fireball seen streaking through
the east coast's sky last month was thought to be another meteorite, but
Navy officials said it was a Russian rocket that reentered the atmosphere
after orbiting Earth since 1975. The SL3 rocket body reentered the atmosphere
about 100 miles off Delaware, according to a Navy spokesperson. He went
on to state that the object was one of 8,300 that the U.S. Space Command
tracks in space. Some 17,000 such objects have reentered Earth's atmosphere
since the late 1950s.
Hungarian's
Claim Life on Mars - A team of Hungarian scientists claim they have
found evidence of living organisms on Mars in photos taken by the Mars
Global Surveyor probe. The photos show thousands of dark spots that appear
similar to organisms found near Earth's South Pole. According to team
member Tibor Ganti these dark spots are organisms living below the surface
of the ice in Mars' southern polar region. During the harsh winter the
creatures are protected by ice and during the summer they are uncovered
and dry out to be reactivated by the next winter. A similar mechanism
works for organisms in ice covered lakes at the Earth's South Pole. The
European Space Agency may include experiments in their Mars probe, which
is planned to launch in 2003, to test the Hungarian theory.
Spend
More on Tracking Dangerous Asteroids, says Researcher - Not enough
is being done to track asteroids or other near-Earth objects which could
cause a catastrophe if they hit Earth says British physicist Duncan Steel,
of the University of Salford. Scientists are already tracking very large
near-Earth objects which would cause the most damage and kill millions,
but the chances of these few big objects hitting the Earth are slim, he
says. Steel argues that there should be more funding to track the more
numerous smaller space objects which would cause less damage but have
a higher risk of colliding with the our planet. As evidence of such a
risk Steel cited the case of what was thought to be an asteroid that explored
over Tunguska in Siberia in 1908. Huge areas
of forests were flattened with a force equivalent to a 10-megaton hydrogen
bomb.
Deep
Space 1 Probes Comet - From 137 million miles away NASA's Deep Space
1 craft began transmitting black-and-white images of the comet Borrelly
last month. The probe flew within 1,240 miles of the frozen ball of dust
and ice making it only the second such a flyby has been achieved. "The
images are coming along fantastically," said an excited NASA spokesman.
The probe transmitted information about the comet's surface including
measuring and identifying gases it gives off. Adding to the scientists
enthusiasm was the fact that the probe was never designed to intercept
the comet. Its original main mission was to test new propulsion systems
and researchers view this flyby as a bonus.
Octopus
Impersonator - Scientists have found an octopus that lives off the
coasts of Bali and Indonesia that protects itself by mimicking a host
of dangerous sea creatures. This makes it the only known species that
can imitate more than one organism, says says Tom Tregenza, a zoologist
at the University of Leeds. The 24-inch-long invertebrate, which has not
yet been given a name, can impersonate sea snake, a sole fish and a lion-fish,
probably for the purpose of evading predators. For example, to imitate
a sea snake it hides its body in a hole in the ocean floor then waves
two tentacles around mimicking the motion of two individual snakes. The
discovery was announced in an article in September issue of Proceedings
of the Royal Society written by London B. Tregenza, Mark Norman, and
Julian Finn.
Dinos
Fed Like Ducks? - Researchers have found two dinosaur skeletons with
beaks built like those of modern ducks. The beak has a unusual sieve-like
structure inside that may have been used for filter-feeding. Paleontologist
Mark Norell of the American Museum of Natural History, and his colleagues,
writing in the British journal Nature, reported they discovered
the beaks while examining two ornithomimid dinosaur skeletons, one found
in the Gobi Desert last year, the other found at Dinosaur Provincial Park
in Alberta, Canada.
What's New at the Museum:
Sea
Monsters On Your Computer - What's that in the
water? A log? A fish? A sea serpent? Find out by watching our latest ten
minute long mini-documentary There be Sea Monsters Here. Make sure
your sound is on and your computer has a flash player: There
be Sea Monsters Here
Those
Fabulous and Foolhardy Flyers III - The newly
invented airplane shows its darker side as the First World War brings
the globe into conflict. Read the final installment in our series: Those
Fabulous and Foolhardy Flyers.
Bigfoot
in New Hampshire? - In October of 1987 Walter Bowers, Sr. was hunting
near Salisbury, New Hampshire, when he spotted a creature "at least
nine feet tall" watching him from between two trees. Bowers claimed
that the thing's "the whole body was covered with hair...like a gorilla,
but this here wasn't a gorilla." Bowers ran for his car, and the
creature ran for the swamp, never to be seen again.
In the Sky:
Orionid
Meteor Shower - Check out the Orionid meteor shower this month. The
best viewing should start late on Saturday the 20th and peak on Monday
the 22nd. The the Orionid shower doesn't produce the large number of meteors
other showers do, but the lack of a moon should mean good viewing conditions.
Observation is best made by lying on your back and scanning as much of
the sky as possible.
Observed:
British
Children Make Quake - Thousands of schools around Britain had their
students go outside at 11AM local time on September 7th to jump up and
down for one minute to see if they could generate an earthquake. Organizers
of the event called it a success pointing out that every single seismometer
in the country registered something. It was estimated the energy released
was perhaps one-hundredth that of a serious quake.
Icelandic
Gators to Clean Up- Mayor Reinhard Reynisson of the Icelandic town
of Husavik is proposing the village reduce some of the waste created by
its fishing industry by importing alligators as a part of a all-natural
disposal system. The cold-blooded animals would survive the town's cool
climate by living in pools warmed by the region's local hot springs. They
would be fed on fish heads and tails. The gators would also add to the
town's coffers by becoming a tourist attraction. A similar operation has
been run successfully in the town of Mosca, Colorado (7,500 feet up in
the Rocky Mountains) for a number of years and this inspired Reynisson's
interest.
On the Tube:
Currently we are only able to give accurate times and dates for these programs in the United States. Check local listings in other locations.
The
Occult Conspiracy - The Third Reich's use of
the occult to win World War II is examined. The Nazis used the mystical
arts to make battle decisions, train SS officers, indoctrinate the German
public, and to influence the Allies. On the Discovery Channel October
3 at 8PM and 12AM, October 6 at 12PM ET.
Mastodon
In Your Backyard-- The Ultimate Guide - Learn how the mastodon evolved,
migrated out of Africa, and survived in the North American forests for
roughly 3.7 million years and dozens of climate changes. Explore the controversy
among theories explaining how and why this species disappeared. Airs on
the Discovery Channel on October 7 at 9 PM and 1AM, October 14 at 7PM,
October 17 at 9PM and 1AM and October 20 at 6:00 PM, ET.
Anaconda:
Giant Snake of the Amazon -Up to 30 feet long and weighing nearly
500 pounds, the deadly Amazon anaconda is
the world's largest and most powerful snake. In swamps and shallow streams,
it coils around prey, causing total circulatory collapse in seconds. On
the Discovery Channel: October 7 at 6PM, October 15 at 8PM and 12AM, and
October 20 11AM, ET.
The Secret of Stonehenge -Delve into the mysteries of Stonehenge,
the monolith constructed during the same period as Egypt's pyramids. Explore
how prehistoric man moved stones 100 miles for its construction and examine
how it may have been used in ceremonies honoring the dead. On TCL: October
23 at 10PM and 1AM, October 27 4PM, ET.
Atlantis
- The Lost Continent - Explore the myth, history and science fiction
surrounding the legend of Atlantis using
computer graphics and state-of-the-art digital video. Sophisticated imagery
depicts the environment on the lost continent and dramatizes life as it
may have existed. On TCL: October 16 at 9PM and 12AM, October 20 at 3PM,
ET.
Giants
- The Mystery and the Myth - Examine both credible and incredible
evidence that supports the existence of giants and giant races. Explore
references, from Goliath and other Biblical characters to alien giants
of modern imagination, to assess the impact of this phenomenon on mankind.
On TCL: October 12 at 10 PM and 1AM, ET.
The
Bermuda Triangle-Secrets Revealed - Is it a fatal twilight zone, a
graveyard for the lost, or simply stormy waters? Scientists employ the
latest technology to search for the countless planes, ships and people
that disappear each year. On TCL: October 2 at 9PM and 12AM, and October
6 at 3PM, ET.
Bigfoot
and Other Monsters - Part of the History's Mysteries Series.
The mermaid, Abominable Snowman, giant squid, and dragons are all
parts of myths and mysteries. But are some real? The Komodo Dragon was
merely the stuff of local legend--until the dinosaur-like, very real giant
reptile with an orange tongue and a fierce disposition was tracked down.
Giant squids, measuring as long as 100 feet, have been found to really
exist. We'll explore every possible explanation for these and other legendary
creatures and find out if some might really exist. On the History Channel:
October 23 at 11PM, October 24 at 3AM.
LGM:
Science over the Edge Archives
LGM Archive 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001.
Copyright Lee Krystek 2001. All Rights Reserved.