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The UnMuseum Newsletter for July 2006.
Science Over the Edge
A Roundup of Strange Science for the Month
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In the News:
*Ancient Temple/Calendar Unearthed - Archaeologists in Peru have discovered
what is thought to be the oldest known calendar device in the Western
Hemisphere. The calendar, part of the Temple of the Fox located in Buena
Vista, is an enormous circle formed of prehistoric sculptures. The circle is
positioned so that celestial alignments can be used to tell the beginning of
different parts of the year. The 4,000 year-old structure would have been a
fantastic sight during it heyday with its huge sculptures, made of mud
plaster covered with clay, that were painted bright yellow and red. There
are indications that different parts of the temple were used for sacrificial
offerings, though no human sacrifices are evident. The temples most striking
object is a gigantic disc carved as a frowning face. The disc faces the sun
on June 21, the traditional start of the harvest.
*Shrunken Dinosaurs - Researchers have found the remains of a species of
dwarf sauropod dinosaurs. Europasaurus holgeri, lived 154 million years ago
in what is now northern Germany, and was a close relative of the giant
Camarasaurus which measured some 59 feet in length. Europasaurus, in
contrast, was 20 feet long and weighed only a ton. German scientist P.
Martin Sander, a paleontologist at the University of Bonn in Germany, was
the lead author of a report on the animals that appeared in last month's
issue of the journal Nature. He believes the relatively small size of
Europasaurus was due to an effect called "island dwarfism." The researchers
think that animals who find themselves in an environment with limited
resources - like an island - evolve smaller bodies over time because it
allows them to be more efficient. Europasaurus apparently lived on an island
at a time in which that portion of Germany was covered by shallow seas.
Initially the scientists who studied the bones of these dinosaurs thought
they were from juvenile animals, but as they took a closer look at the
structure of these bones they realized that they came from adults.
*When Storms Collide - Scientists are anxiously watching to see what happens
when the Great Red Spot, a massive storm on Jupiter twice as wide as the
Earth, comes in close contact with a smaller storm wandering across the
planet's surface. Both storms have wind speeds in excess of 350 miles per
hour, faster than any hurricane on our planet. Scientists are curious to see
if the collision will weaken either of the storms or cause the smaller one
to lose its spin. Astronomers speculate that the Great Red Spot storm, which
has been raging for centuries, pulls up material from the depths of Jupiter,
to give it the reddish color. Recently the smaller storm started to show
signs of turning red also, which may be an indication that it is getting
stronger. The storms are estimated to make their closest approach on July
4th.
*Where is Mr. Ed when You Need Him? - Scientists are trying to figure out
how horses talk. The Equine Vocalization Project is compiling a database of
horse sounds and behaviors that they hope to be able to match up with their
stress levels. Horses can produce a number of different sounds in a wide
range of methods, unlike other animals such as cows, goats, and sheep. So
far the scientists have focused on the whinny as it can be produced in a
wide variety of ways. Researchers hope they will be able to identify a
particular type of whinny for a particular situation. The results of the
study could help veterinarians, behaviorists, breeders or other handlers
understand how to take care of the animals. The study may also enlighten
scientists about the communication methods of other equines, such as donkeys
and zebras.
*Small Asteroids Not as Dangerous - Results from the Japanese Hayabusa space
probe, which visited the Itokawa asteroid, show that smaller asteroids may
pose less of a threat to earth than originally thought. Data from the probe
shows that the 2,300-foot object is a loose collection of material barely
held together by its gravity. If this is generally true of smaller asteroids
then it means that they are more likely to break into smaller, pieces and
burn up when they enter the earth's atmosphere without doing damage on the
surface. These asteriods would also be easier to deflect or destroy with
weapons. Itokawa is thought to be typical of the many small asteroids
floating between Earth and the inner rings of the asteroid belt beyond Mars.
Some of these asteroids are considered dangerous to Earth because they cross
our planet's orbit.
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What's New at the Museum:
*The Pirate Room: As long as there have been ships and trading the seas have
been plagued with scoundrels ready to steal cargo.
(http://www.unmuseum.org/pirateroom.htm)
*The Littlest Pirate: In the remains of a wrecked pirate ship on the bottom
near the dangerous shoals of Cape Cod, scientists have found the remains of
John King, the youngest pirate ever known.
(http://www.unmuseum.org/piratelittle.htm)
*From The Curator's Office: Fun with 50's SciFi Movie Posters - Computer
wallpaper from the past's future
(http://www.unmuseum.org/notescurator/poster50s.htm)
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Ask the Curator:
*Will Space Exploration Effect Earth's Orbit? - How much of earth's mass
would need to be lost to space by means of man's explorations in order for
the orbit of earth to be affected? - Dan S.
This reminds me of story from Douglas Adam's Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy
(the original BBC production, not the recent movie). There was a planet so
beautiful that it attracted billions of visitors each year. Soon the
government there began to worry about the cumulative effect of erosion as
each of these visitors took bits of the planet back home with them on their
clothes, etc., so they instituted a law that the net difference between what
a visitor ate and secreted while on the planet would be surgically removed
from the visitor's body before he left (And, of course from then on it
became imperative if you where a tourist there to get a receipt whenever you
visited a rest room).
Could we be facing this kind of planetary erosion because we are sending so
much stuff out to explore space? Fortunately, of all the terrible things we
may be doing to mother earth these days, giving her anorexia by launching
space probes and the like is not something we need to be concerned about.
The Earth is big. Really big. On the order of 5,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
tons. Now that doesn't begin to measure up in size to the Sun or even the
planet Jupiter, but from a human point of view it is still pretty
gargantuan. What's more our ability to send things into space is terribly
puny. Most space probes weigh a few hundred pounds - remember we are only
counting the amount of the rocket that makes it into space, not the lower
stages that fall back to earth. Even if we launched a probe a day, and each
probe weighed a fairly massive one ton, that's only 365 tons a year. What's
more, most of that material goes into earth orbit. This means it will,
sooner or later, likely fall back to the planet Skylab style. The probes
that we send into deep space and never come back, like Viking or Voyager,
are actually pretty rare.
So the amount we send into space compared to the size of the planet is, and
will be for some time, negligible. But wait, there's more.
As the earth proceeds along its orbital path it operates like a giant vacuum
cleaner sucking up dust, meteorites and even the occasional comet or
asteroid. This all adds to the earth's mass. Though estimates vary, it seems
at least 100 tons of debris is added to Earth's bulk everyday. At this point
we are in no way able to even send enough stuff into space to keep up with
the incoming material, let alone make planet any lighter.
Just one more note. The planet also loses mass by way of hydrogen escaping
from the atmosphere and the decay of radioactive materials. It is hard to
say just how large that figure is, however.
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In History:
*Lots of Sharp Teeth - Lake Monsters appear in some of the most unlikely
places. In 1892 two boys were fishing along the south shore of Lake Geneva
when they suddenly saw the head of a serpent-like creature appear out of the
lake. The monster, which rose out of the water some about seventy feet from
them, started swimming toward them with its gigantic mouth open showing
several rows of sharp teeth. For whatever reason the creature turned before
it got to them and headed out into the middle of the lake. As they watched
the boys estimated the monster was near a hundred feet in length. Is the
story a hoax? Perhaps so. The boys report is extremely unusual as Lake
Geneva is not known for sightings of lake monsters.
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In the Sky:
*Jupiter and Meteors - This is a good month to observe the planet Jupiter
which sits low in the evening sky giving off a peach shaded glow. If that
isn't enough excitement for you, might try to observing the South Delta
Aquarids. This meteor shower occurs on July 29th and runs through the 31st.
>From the northern hemisphere the meteors will appear in the SSE sky. The
shower is more easily visible in the southern hemisphere looking east. Best
viewing is after midnight local time.
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Observed:
*Alien Head Fetches $9,600 - The International Bird Rescue Research Center
in Fairfield, CA, auctioned off on Ebay an x-ray of a duck stomach that
resembled an alien's face and got $9,600. Jay Holcomb, Director of
International Bird Rescue Research Center (IBRRC), stated, "Proceeds from
the sale of this one-of-a-kind x-ray will go towards funding our continuing
efforts to rescue and rehabilitate oiled, orphaned and injured waterfowl and
aquatic birds." The x-ray first came to the center staff's attention on
Sunday, May 21st, when an adult male mallard was brought to the IBRRC, with
what appeared to be a broken wing. Marie Travers, assistant manager of the
center, radiographed the mallard and was immediately shocked by what was
revealed on the x-ray. A very clear image of what appeared to be the face,
or head, of an extraterrestrial alien was in the bird's stomach. Despite the
efforts of the staff at IBRRC, the bird died, but the center intends to use
the cash from the auction to further their work.
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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.
*NOVA - The Elegant Universe: Einstein's Dream - Eleven dimensions, parallel
universes, and a world made out of strings. It's not science fiction, it's
string theory. On the PBS: July 11 at 8 pm ET/PT
*Hunt for the U.S.S. Alligator: U.S. Navy's First Sub - The hunt has begun
for a lost piece of American Civial War history. The Alligator, the first
military submarine commissioned by the U.S. Navy, disappeared somewhere of
the coast of the Carolinas. Can a team of top ocean scientists find her? On
the Science Channel: JUL 06 2006 @ 09:00 PM JUL 07 2006 @ 12:00 AM, JUL 07
2006 @ 04:00 AM, JUL 07 2006 @ 10:00, AM JUL 07 2006 @ 02:00 PM, JUL 08 2006
@ 02:00 PM; ET/PT
*Alien Planet - A futuristic mission to search the galaxy for planets able
to support life. Darwin IV is a planet 6.5 light years from Earth, with two
suns and 60% gravity. An unmanned fleet is deployed to assess this planet
for the possibility of life. On the Science Channel: JUL 04 2006 @ 09:00, PM
JUL 05 2006 @ 12:00 AM, JUL 05 2006 @ 04:00 AM, JUL 05 2006 @ 10:00 AM, JUL
05 2006 @ 02:00 PM, JUL 09 2006 @ 05:00 PM; ET/PT
*Seven Wonders of Ancient Egypt - The ancient Egyptians showed the world how
boundless ambition and vast quantities of human labor could transform rock
and stone into the most incredible monuments ever created. Meet the
pharaohs, engineers and laborers who built the wonders of Egypt. On The
Science Channel: JUL 17 2006 @ 09:00 PM, JUL 18 2006 @ 12:00 AM, JUL 18 2006
@ 04:00 AM, JUL 18 2006 @ 10:00 AM, JUL 18 2006 @ 02:00 PM, JUL 22 2006 @
05:00 PM ; ET/PT.
*Jane: Mystery Dinosaur - Sometimes a discovery forever changes what we
think we know, altering our perspective and re-writing history. This is the
story of a mystery dinosaur called Jane, that affled the greatest minds in
paleontology from the moment she was unearthed On The Science Channel: JUL
24 2006 @ 09:00 PM, JUL 25 2006 @ 12:00 AM, JUL 25 2006 @ 04:00 AM, JUL 25
2006 @ 10:00 AM, JUL 25 2006 @ 02:00 PM, JUL 29 2006 @ 05:00 PM ; ET/PT.
*Tomb Builders: Secrets of the Valley of the Kings - More than 20 pharaoh
tombs rest in this famous funerary valley. Follow the work of Dr. Kent Weeks
as he maps the entire valley of dynastic tombs, profiles each of the
pharaohs, and tells the story of how each tomb was constructed. On The
Discovery Channel: JUN 22 2006 @ 10:00 PM, JUN 23 2006 @ 02:00 AM, JUL 08
2006 @ 09:00 PM, JUL 09 2006 @ 01:00 AM; ET/PT.
*UFO Files Texas' Roswell - In April 1897--50 years before the alleged UFO
crash in Roswell, New Mexico--a mysterious airship crash rocked the small
town of Aurora, Texas...or at least, that's how the legend goes! The tale
includes the wreckage from the ship, a funeral for the dead "alien" pilot,
and thousands of witnesses from across the country. And the Aurora crash
allegedly took place five years before the Wright Brothers flew at Kitty
Hawk, so whatever was in the air was not manmade. Eyewitness accounts of the
crash, mysterious metal found at the site, and the hunt for the only known
alien graveyard are all combined into a story that has even the most adamant
debunkers baffled. Is this the case that finally proves that UFOs are real?
Join us as we separate fact from fiction. On History Channel: July 3 @ 8pm
ET/PT.
*Ancient Marvels Cities of the Underworld - Istanbul is undoubtedly one of
the most dynamic and exotic cities in the world. Once the capital city of
three of the world's most powerful empires--The Roman, Byzantine, and
Ottoman--its strategic location made it the perfect spot for empires to
rise, fall...and rise again. Today Istanbul's residents are walking on top
of remnants of these fallen civilizations...literally. Taxis drive over
parts of Constantine's Lost Great Palace; children play on cobblestone
streets concealing a massive Byzantine dungeon; a high school sits on a 3rd
century wall leading to the bowels of a 100,000 seat ancient Roman
Hippodrome; and basement's of old Ottoman homes lead to subterranean tunnels
and secret cisterns. Join host Eric Geller as he leaves the buzz of the city
streets behind and follows the pull of the past. Teamed with leading
archeologists and experts, Eric peels back the layers of the past--to reveal
a hidden history that hasn't seen the light of day for ages.On History
Channel: July 6 @ 8p ET/PT.
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