PLEASE NOTE:
*
CCNet, 42/2000 - 3 April 2000
-----------------------------
"The [martian meteorite] contains
evidence for both terrestrial
contamination along with unique
signatures of biogenic activity
which are not from earthly contaminants.
Among the indigenous
Martian biogenic signatures are: (a)
magnetites which are
distinctly from magnetotactic bacteria
and are clearly within
carbonates which are of Martian origin,
(b) Reduced carbon
components which are not
terrestrial-i.e. they contain no C-14
signatures, (c) carbonate formation
temperatures of 50 degrees
Centigrade, (d) biofilms (polysaccarides
which are from colonies
of bacteria which appear not to be
terrestrial), and (e) unique
morphological structures which match
those seen by fossilized
bacteria on Earth-but those features
are distinctly within clays
which are of Martian origin. ALH84001
does contain evidence of
terrestrial contamination in the form of
bacteria signatures which
have infiltrated the sample. However,
those are distinct from the
indigenous components. Our team has
reported both contaminants and
also indigenous features."
-- Everett
K. Gibson, NASA, Johnson Space Center
(1) APRIL FOOL'S CRATER
Ron Baalke <baalke@jpl.nasa.gov>
(2) BRITAIN OPENS WAY TO STAR WARS BASE
The Sunday Timnes, 2 April 2000
(3) ULTRAVIOLET HISTORY OF TERRESTRIAL PLANETS
& BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION
C.S. Cockell, BRITISH ANTARCTIC SURVEY
(4) ATMOSPHERIC DUST DEPOSITION DURING THE HOLOCENE
C.M. Zdanowicz et al., GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
CANADA
(5) DISCOVERY OF MINOAN TSUNAMI DEPOSITS
K. Minoura et al., TOHOKU UNIVERSITY
(6) DENDROCHRONOLOGY & ANNUAL CLIMATE VARIABILITY IN
THE HOLOCENE
K.R. Briffa, UNIVERSITY OF EAST ANGLIA
(7) ABRUPT HYDROLOGICAL CHANGES IN THE AFRICAN TROPICS
SINCE 20ka BP
F. Gasse, CEREGE
(8) GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGES: PAST & FUTURE
R.S. Bradley, UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS
(9) REPORTS ABOUT THE DEATH OF MARTIAN METEORITE CONTROVERSY
HAVE BEEN GREATLY EXAGGERATED ...
Benny J Peiser <b.j.peiser@livjm.ac.uk>
(10) MARTIAN METEORITE DEBATE ALIVE AND KICKING
James Oberg <JamesOberg@aol.com>
(11) IRIDIUM SATELLITE DECAY
Tony Beresford <starman@camtech.net.au>
(12) EXTRASOLAR PLANETS
Stephen Ashworth <sa@astronist.demon.co.uk>
(13) AND, FINALLY: ARMAGEDDON 2001 - ANOTHER END OF THE WORLD?
==========
(1) APRIL FOOL'S CRATER
From Ron Baalke <baalke@jpl.nasa.gov>
NEAR image of the day for 2000 Mar 31
http://near.jhuapl.edu/iod/20000331/index.html
April Fool's Crater
Lighting and viewing geometries make a huge
difference in the
appearance of Eros' surface features. One of the most
striking
examples is the 2.7-kilometer (1.68-mile) diameter crater shown
in
these two images. The image at left, looking at the
crater nearly
edge-on, was taken February 16, 2000, from a
range of 341 kilometers
(212 miles). The image at right was
taken high over the crater on
March 2, 2000, from a range of 226 kilometers (140 miles).
In the
first image the only visible part of the crater's interior
is the far,
bright wall, which at the time was well-lit. The lighting, in
combination with the particular viewing angle,
make the crater
appear stunningly bright. In the second
view, the brighter
material occupies only part of
the slightly-shaded interior,
greatly reducing the overall
brightness contrast between the
crater and the surrounding terrain.
--------------------------------------------------------
Built and managed by The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics
Laboratory, Laurel, Maryland, NEAR-Shoemaker was the first
spacecraft
launched in NASA's Discovery Program of low-cost, small-scale
planetary missions. See the NEAR web site for more details
(http://near.jhuapl.edu) .
==============
(2) BRITAIN OPENS WAY TO STAR WARS BASE
From The Sunday Timnes, 2 April 2000
http://www.the-times.co.uk/news/pages/Sunday-Times/frontpage.html
Michael Prescott, Political Editor
BRITAIN has significantly softened its opposition to an
American-led
"son of Star Wars" system that would use RAF bases,
Washington
officials have confirmed. Disarmament campaigners and many
European
countries say the system, to create an "anti-missile
umbrella" over
America, threatens a new nuclear arms race..
Last week, British officials denied press reports that Tony Blair
had
offered to host part of the system - a tracking radar - in
Britain,
probably at RAF Fylingdales in North Yorkshire. But Pentagon
staff told
The Sunday Times that not only had London made such an offer, it
was
interested in extending the umbrella to cover the British Isles
and
Europe as well.
"This possibility was discussed as a way of overcoming
opposition in
continental Europe," said one Washington source. Britain is
also
worried that a US-only missile shield would threaten the
viability of
its Trident nuclear deterrent.
The system is designed to intercept missiles fired by
"rogue" states
such as North Korea or Libya. Under the plan discussed with the
Pentagon, Britain's involvement could widen from hosting a radar
to
providing a large land base for the interceptors that would shoot
down
incoming missiles.
This would extend the area covered by the "umbrella"
thousands of miles
to the east, but threatens to ignite controversy on a scale last
seen
with the protests against Cruise in the 1980s.
Britain is actively studying the potential for ballistic missile
defence systems under its technology, readiness and risk
assessment
programme (Trrap), run by the RAF and the Defence Evaluation and
Research Agency. Wing Commander Phil Angus, former commanding
officer
of RAF Fylingdales, said that Trrap was aimed at giving "a
definition
and framework to UK ballistic missile defence. It looks at the
threat
and the technology options required to counter it".
Angus said 300 people were working full-time on the programme and
up to
half a dozen computer-simulated "war games" have been
held as part of
it. The study is expected to report at the end of the year.
All Britain's efforts may, however, founder on cost grounds.
British
officials made clear to their American counterparts that they
were
unwilling to spend much money on extending the umbrella and the
United
States would have to foot most of the bill.
Development of the anti-missile shield has been plagued by
technical
problems, with the prototype failing to work in one of the two
trials
and a third, decisive test postponed until June. The
initial cost of a
purely American-focused system is almost $13 billion (£8
billion), with
a through-life cost of up to $50 billion (£31 billion).
Pentagon plans call for 100 interceptors, based in Alaska to
protect
the US mainland, and a network of early-warning radar stations
including Fylingdales. Any extension to cover Europe could almost
double the cost.
Opponents of the system say it is "an international
idiocy" that will
provoke the Russians and destroy the anti-ballistic missile
treaty,
under which both superpowers agreed not to develop missile shield
systems. "If the West introduces an anti-missile missile,
then Russia
or China may decide to develop a system which can get round
that," said
Dan Plesch, director of the British American Security Information
Council.
"Destroying a major arms control treaty will give the green
light to
proliferators throughout the Third World and it is not the recipe
for a
stable planet," he said.
Opponents, including many in the Ministry of Defence, also
question the
need for a missile defence system at all. Rogue state missiles,
mostly
Chinese or North Korean-made, are primitive, poorly targeted and
with
little power.
Adam Baddeley, editor of the Defence Digitisation Bulletin, said:
"Missile defence is not irrelevant to British security, but
there
remain better choices in a limited budget."
Copyright 2000, The Sunday Times
=====================
(3) ULTRAVIOLET HISTORY OF TERRESTRIAL PLANETS
& BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION
C.S. Cockell: The ultraviolet history of the terrestrial planets
-
implications for biological evolution. PLANETARY AND SPACE
SCIENCE,
2000, Vol.48, No.2-3, pp.203-214
BRITISH ANTARCTIC SURVEY,CAMBRIDGE CB3 0ET,ENGLAND
A radiative transfer model is employed to investigate the
comparative
surface ultraviolet (UV) radiation histories of Earth, Mars and
Venus
from 4.5 Ga to the present and thus their comparative theoretical
photobiological histories. Earth probably began with a period of
higher
ultraviolet radiation fluxes during the anoxic Archean. During
the
early Proterozoic UV fluxes declined as oxygen partial pressures
and
thus ozone column abundance rose, but the ozone column became
subject
to stochastic depletion events caused principally by impact
events and
possibly large-scale volcanism and less frequently, close cosmic
events
such as supernovae. In contrast Mars has been subject to a
history
dominated by a slow increase in solar luminosity and a reduction
in
partial pressures of CO2, both of which have resulted in an
increase in
UV flux. The UV radiation history of Venus has been dominated by
the
greenhouse effect through which high partial pressures of CO2
made the
surface UV radiation environment clement. These distinct
histories
influence the potential comparative evolutionary photobiology of
the
three planets. On Earth, life transitioned from the Archean, when
tolerance to UV radiation, particularly for exposed organisms,
must
have been high to a more photobiologically clement era. In this
latter
era the predominant evolutionary selection pressure is one that
allows
for tolerance of sudden and unpredictable increases in UVB
radiation
above seasonal and diurnal maxima caused by exogenous
perturbation of
the ozone column. In the case of Mars, the UV radiation flux has
increased over time. Today the biologically effective irradiances
to
DNA are not considerably different from those that are calculated
for
Archean Earth. If the planet suffered an atmospheric collapse
then it
may have been subject to an ultraviolet crisis at some point in
its
past when DNA-weighted irradiance would have increased three to
five-fold. Venus transitioned into a photobiologically clement
era soon
after late bombardment. The lifeless surfaces of Mars and Venus,
when
in the former case DNA-weighted irradiances are not much greater
than
Archean Earth and in the latter case, insignificant, are
testament to
the unimportance of UV radiation as an evolutionary selection
pressure
when other physical factors, particularly lack of liquid water,
become
limiting to life. Understanding the comparative evolutionary
differences in surface UV flux of the terrestrial planets can
help us
understand the influence, and lack of influence, of UV radiation
in
determining their suitability as abodes for life at different
stages in
their past. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
====================
(4) ATMOSPHERIC DUST DEPOSITION DURING THE HOLOCENE
C.M. Zdanowicz*), G.A. Zielinski, C.P. Wake, D.A. Fisher,
R.M. Koerner: A holocene record of atmospheric dust deposition on
the
Penny ice cap, Baffin Island, Canada. QUATERNARY RESEARCH, 2000,
Vol.53, No.1, pp.62-69
*) GEOLOGICAL SURVEY CANADA,TERRAIN SCI DIV,601 BOOTH ST,
OTTAWA,ON K1A 0E8,CANADA
An >11,550-yr-long record of atmospheric dust deposition was
developed
from an ice core (P95) drilled through the Penny ice cap, Baffin
Island, The P95 record documents environmental changes that
affected
the production and transport of dust in the eastern Canadian
Arctic
during the late Pleistocene and Holocene. Dust deposition on the
Penny
ice cap was greatest in late-glacial time when the climate was
dry and
windy and comparatively low in the Holocene. Microparticles
deposited
during late-glacial time are finer than in Greenland cores,
suggesting
distinct dust sources and transport trajectories to each region.
Dust
deposition at the P95 site increased after ca. 7800 yr ago as the
Penny
ice cap receded and distance from local dust sources was reduced.
Deflation of newly exposed marine sediments on southwestern
Baffin
Island may have contributed to this dust increase. The P95 and
GISP2
(Greenland) dust records show diverging trends in the middle to
late
Holocene, reflecting the growing influence of regional
environmental
conditions (e.g., dust source area, snow cover extent) on
atmospheric
dust deposition. This study further demonstrates how valuable
records
of regional-scale paleoenvironmental changes can be developed
from
small circum-Arctic ice caps, even those affected by considerable
(C)
2000 University of Washington.
=============
(5) DISCOVERY OF MINOAN TSUNAMI DEPOSITS
K. Minoura*), F. Imamura, U. Kuran, T. Nakamura, G.A.
Papadopoulos,
T. Takahashi, A.C. Yalciner: Discovery of Minoan tsunami
deposits.
GEOLOGY, 2000, Vol.28, No.1, pp.59-62
*) TOHOKU UNIVERSITY,FAC SCI,INST GEOL & PALAEONTOL,
SENDAI,MIYAGI 9808578,JAPAN
The Hellenic are is a terrane of extensive Quaternary volcanism.
One of
the main centers of explosive eruptions is located on Thera
(Santorini), and the eruption of the Thera volcano in late Minoan
time
(1600-1300 B.C.) is considered to have been the most significant
Aegean
explosive volcanism during the late Holocene. The last eruptive
phase
of Thera resulted in an enormous submarine caldera, which is
believed
to have produced tsunamis on a large scale. Evidence suggesting
seawater inundation was found previously at some archaeological
sites
on the coast of Crete; however, the cause of the tsunami and its
effects on the area have not been well understood. On the Aegean
Sea
coast of western Turkey (Didim and Fethye) and Crete (Gouves), we
have
found traces of tsunami deposits related to the Thera eruption.
The
sedimentological consequences and the hydraulics of a
Thera-caused
tsunami indicate that the eruption of Thera volcano was earlier
than
the previous estimates and the tsunami did not have disruptive
influence on Minoan civilization. Copyright 2000, Institute for
Scientific Information Inc.
=============
(6) DENDROCHRONOLOGY & ANNUAL CLIMATE VARIABILITY IN
THE HOLOCENE
K.R. Briffa: Annual climate variability in the Holocene:
interpreting
the message of ancient trees. QUATERNARY SCIENCE REVIEWS, 2000,
Vol.19,
No.1-5, pp.87-105
*) UNIVERSITY OF EAST ANGLIA,CLIMAT RES UNIT,NORWICH NR4
7TJ,NORFOLK,ENGLAND
Over vast areas of the world's landmasses, where climate beats
out a
strong seasonal rhythm, tree growth keeps unerring time. In their
rings, trees record many climate melodies, played in different
places
and different eras. Recent years have seen a consolidation and
expansion of tree-ring sample collections across the traditional
research areas of North America and Europe, and the start of
major
developments in many new areas of Eurasia, South America and
Australasia. From such collections are produced networks of
precisely
dated chronologies; records of various aspects of tree growth,
registered continuously, year by year across many centuries.
Their
sensitivities to different climate parameters are now translated
into
ever more detailed histories of temperature and moisture
variability
across expanding dimensions of time and space. With their
extensive
coverage, high temporal resolution and rigid dating control,
dendroclimatic reconstructions contribute significantly to our
knowledge of late Holocene climates, most importantly on
timescales
ranging from 1 to 100 years. In special areas of the world, where
trees
live for thousands of years or where subfossil remnants of long
dead
specimens are preserved, work building chronologies covering many
millennia continues apace. Very recently, trees have provided
important
new information about major modes of general circulation dynamics
linked to the El Nino/Southern Oscillation and the North Atlantic
Oscillation, and about the effect of large volcanic eruptions. As
for
assessing the significance of 20th century global warming, the
evidence
from dendroclimatology in general, supports the notion that the
last
100 years have been unusually warm, at least within a context of
the
last two millennia. However, this evidence should not be
considered
equivocal. The activities of humans may well be impacting on the
'natural' growth of trees in different ways, making the task of
isolating a clear climate message subtly difficult. (C) 1999
Elsevier
Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
=============
(7) ABRUPT HYDROLOGICAL CHANGES IN THE AFRICAN TROPICS
SINCE 20ka BP
F. Gasse: Hydrological changes in the African tropics since the
Last
Glacial Maximum. QUATERNARY SCIENCE REVIEWS, 2000, Vol.19,
No.1-5,
pp.189-211
CEREGE,BP 80,F-13545 AIX PROVENCE 04,FRANCE
Paleohydrological data from the African tropics and subtropics,
including lake, groundwater and speleothem records, are reviewed
to
show how environments and climates from both hemispheres are
inter-related. Although orbitally induced changes in the monsoon
strength account for a large part of long-term climatic changes
in
tropical Africa, the Late Pleistocene-Holocene hydrological
fluctuations rather appear to have been a series of abrupt events
that
reflect complex interactions between, orbital forcing,
atmosphere,
ocean and land surface conditions. During the Last Glacial
Maximum
(23-18 ka BP), most records indicate that generally dry
conditions have
prevailed in both hemispheres, associated with lower tropical
land- and
sea-surface temperatures. This agrees with simulations using
coupled
ocean-atmosphere models, which predict cooling and reduced summer
precipitation in tropical Africa; the global hydrological cycle
was
weaker than today when the extent of large polar ice-sheets and
sea-ice
was a prominent forcing factor of the Earth's climate.
Glacial-interglacial climatic changes started early: a first
wetting/warming phase at ca. 17-16 ka BP took place during a
period of
rapid temperature increase in Antarctica. Next, two drastic
arid-humid
transitions in equatorial and northern Africa occurred around
15-14.5
ka BP and 11.5-11 ka BP. Both are thought to match the major
Greenland
warming events, in concert with the switching of the oceanic
thermohaline circulation to modern mode. However, part of the
climatic
signal after 15 ka BP also seems related to the Antarctica
climate.
During the Holocene, Africa has also experienced rapid
hydrological
fluctuations of dramatic magnitude compared to the climatic
changes at
high latitudes. In particular, major dry spells occurred around
8.4-8
ka and 4.2-4 ka BP in the northern monsoon domain. Comparison
with
other parts of the world indicates that these events have a
worldwide
distribution but different regional expressions. In the absence
of
large polar ice sheets, changes in the continental hydrological
cycles
in the tropics may have a significant impact on the global
climate
system. Climate information gathered here allows to identify
geographical and methodological gaps, and raise some scientific
questions that remain to be solved to better understand how the
tropics respond to changes in major climate-forcing factors, and
how
they influence climate globally. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd.
All
rights reserved.
===============
(8) GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGES: PAST & FUTURE
R.S. Bradley: Past global changes and their significance for the
future. QUATERNARY SCIENCE REVIEWS, 2000, Vol.19, No.1-5,
pp.391-402
UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS,DEPT GEOSCI,CLIMATE SYST RES
CTR,AMHERST,MA,01003
Placing the short instrumental record of climate into a
longer-term
perspective provides valuable insights into the envelope of
climate
variability on timescales of significance to society today.
Numerous
paleotemperature records reveal that the 20th century has been
exceptionally warm in the context of the last millennium, and
perhaps
many millennia. Furthermore, the coldest decades of the last
century
(the nadir of the 'Little Ice Age') were among the coldest times
in the
late Holocene. Thus, the world has experienced both the warmest
and the
coldest extremes of the late Holocene within a brief interval of
less
than 200 years. Extending the climate record back in time enables
the
underlying forcing factors (prior to global-scale anthropogenic
effects
on the climate system) to be identified. Paleoclimatic data are
essential to obtain a comprehensive understanding of the climate
system, without which reliable forecasting of future conditions
will
not be possible. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights
reserved.
=============================
* LETTERS TO THE MODERATOR *
=============================
(9) REPORTS ABOUT THE DEATH OF MARTIAN METEORITE CONTROVERSY
HAVE BEEN GREATLY EXAGGERATED ...
From Benny J Peiser <b.j.peiser@livjm.ac.uk>
Almost 5 years ago, on 7 August 1996, NASA held a historic press
conference at which a team of researchers presented tentative
evidence
of fossilised extraterrestrial microbes detected on the Martian
meteorite ALH 84001. The resesarch team, led by planetary
scientists
David McKay, Everett Gibson, and Kathie Thomas-Keprta of the
Johnson
Space Center, however, stressed that their claim could not be
entirely
verified yet. Nevertheless, since that memorable day back in
1996,
the claims about ALH 84001 have lead to heated debates about
primitive
life forms on Mars.
The press conference made the headlines round the world and
triggered
even an official statement by US President Bill Clinton. Since
then,
ALH 84001 has become the world's most famous meteorite and
certainly
most controversial space object. Not surprisingly, a never-ending
stream of of researchers have been trying to proof or disproof
the
existence of extraterrestrial life forms on this Martian
meteorite.
Yet despite many hundreds of studies and research papers, there
is
still no agreement about the true nature of the tiny globules of
carbonate minerals deposited in the cracks of the meteorite.
Recently, a conference report was published on the Arthur C
Clarke
mailing list (see CCNet 24 March), claiming that "a leader
of the team
that in 1996 reported evidence for fossil life in martian
meteorite
ALH84001 stated that it is now clear that terrestrial
contamination is
the explanation." However, reports of the death of martian
fossil life
on ALH 84001 seem premature. In a statement forwarded to CCNet by
senior space journalist James Oberg, NASA's Everett Gibson has
clearly
denied these claims (see below). In short, the controversy about
Martian meteorite ALH 84001 is alive and kicking! Good for us.
Benny J Peiser
===================
(10) MARTIAN METEORITE DEBATE ALIVE AND KICKING
From James Oberg <JamesOberg@aol.com>
Benny,
here's a response from Everett Gibson re the Mars meteorite
controversy. He gave me permission to relay it to you for
LETTERS.
Subj: RE: alh84001
Date: 03/31/2000 12:47:16 PM Central Standard Time
From: everett.k.gibson1@jsc.nasa.gov
(GIBSON, EVERETT K. (JSC-SN2))
To: JamesOberg@aol.com ('JamesOberg@aol.com')
This report is absolutely incorrect! The rock contains evidence
for
both terrestrial contamination along with unique signatures of
biogenic
activity which are not from earthly contaminants. Among the
indigenous
Martian biogenic signatures are: (a) magnetites which are
distinctly
from magnetotactic bacteria and are clearly within carbonates
which are
of Martian origin, (b) Reduced carbon components which are not
terrestrial-i.e. they contain no C-14 signatures, (c) carbonate
formation temperatures of 50 degrees Centigrade, (d) biofilms
(polysaccarides which are from colonies of bacteria which appear
not to
be terrestrial), and (e) unique morphological structures which
match
those seen by fossilized bacteria on Earth-but those features are
distinctly within clays which are of Martian origin. ALH84001
does
contain evidence of terrestrial contamination in the form of
bacteria
signatures which have infiltrated the sample. However, those are
distinct from the indigenous components. Our team has reported
both
contaminants and also indigenous features. Dan McCleese should
sit and
listen to our papers and not roam the halls of meetings. He
might
learn something.
Everett
> From Bill Wheaton <waw@ipac.caltech.edu>
> [as posted on the ACC mailing list, 17 March 200]
>
> Forwarded by Larry Klaes <lklaes@bbn.com>
>
> "Jerry Palmer and I happen to have just attended a Von
Karmann
> lecture at JPL last night, a panel discussion on the Mars
program.
> Dan McCleese (the Mars Program Scientist at JPL) was on the
panel.
> He said that, last month, a leader of the team that in 1996
reported
> evidence for fossil life in martian meteorite ALH84001
stated that it
> is now clear that terrestrial contamination is the
explanation. Thus
> it appears that the case on ALH84001 is pretty nearly
closed. Even
> so, educated opinion about the prospects for eventually
finding some
> life, past or present, on Mars, ranges all over the map --
it's a
> wide open question."
==================
(11) IRIDIUM SATELLITE DECAY
From Tony Beresford <starman@camtech.net.au>
Benny,
The item in the March 30 CCNET, pointing to an space.com article,
only
shows how false information can be amplified so easily by modern
communications.
It relies on believing an earlier post on CCNET, forwarded on by
David
Dunham about Iridium satellite deorbit. The expectation of
controlled
re-entry (in the sense of returning US or Russian manned
spacecraft, or
the dumping of unwanted garbage in Russian progress freighters),
is a
false expectation. It is so because the Iridium satellites
have only
low thrust orbit adjustment ability. This is proved by the time
and
orbital history they took to go from their circular orbit at
launch,
of some 500Km altitude to the working orbit at 782Km.
All the satellite controllers can do is lower the orbit , so
air-drag
will cause the satellites to decay naturally, in a short time
period.
Some statements by Motorola or Iridium personnel suggested a 2
year
interval before decay, which seems reasonable to me. If left in
the
current orbits they would take 25-50 years to decay naturally. To
do
controlled re-entry requires moving the low point of the orbit
from
substantially over 110km (say 150km) to below 110Km in one
impulse.
Tony Beresford FBIS,FRAS
==================
(12) EXTRASOLAR PLANETS
From Stephen Ashworth < sa@astronist.demon.co.uk
>
Dear Benny Peiser,
** Reference CCNet, 30 March 2000, item (5) PLANET HUNTERS
ON TRAIL OF
WORLDS SMALLER THAN SATURN **
The statement "Of the 30 extrasolar planets around Sun-like
stars
detected previously, all have been the size of Jupiter or
larger" is
incorrect.
I have been keeping a list of discoveries, using mainly the
Extra-solar
Planets Catalog and the list published by Astronomy magazine. In
7
cases out of 29 extra-solar planets orbiting normal stars, the
minimum
mass is given as being between 0.42 and 0.84 Jupiter masses. But
since
Saturn's mass is 0.30 Jupiter masses, it remains true that an
interesting threshold has now been crossed.
In six of those seven cases, the planet's orbital inclination is
unknown, and the true mass is likely to be greater than the
minimum
mass given. The seventh, that of the planet of HD 209458, is
interesting in that the planet's transit was observed by Dr Greg
Henry
of Tennessee State University on 7 November 1999. We are
therefore
seeing the orbit edge-on, and the mass measured by the doppler
effect
is therefore equal to the planet's true mass. This was 0.63
Jupiter
masses, or only two Saturnian masses.
Stephen Ashworth
Fellow of the British Interplanetary Society
Webmaster, Space Age Associates
================
(13) AND, FINALLY: ARMAGEDDON 2001 - ANOTHER END OF THE WORLD?
"Armageddon 2001: Yet Another End of the World?"
(ArmageddonCon) is a
joint venture of Mishkenot Sha'ananim and the Israeli Society for
Science Fiction and Fantasy, an international conference that
examines
the idea of Apocalypse as presented in Religion, Myth and Science
Fiction. Participants will include historians, scholars of
religion and
myth, science fiction creators and experts from other fields. The
conference will take place at the Laromme Hotel in Jerusalem and
will
climax with a midnight countdown to the end of the millennium,
January
1st, 2001, at the most likely location for the end of the world,
Armageddon.
We are currently seeking sponsorships for the Con with the aim of
reducing cost for participants. If you can help us in this,
please
contact us.
Read more about the planned events, scheduled guests and the
venue, and
pre-register today to secure a place.
When (or: doesn't the millennium end with 1999)?
When will the millennium end? Back in 1959, Arthur C. Clarke
wrote:
"I'd like to point out something that a good many people
seem to have
overlooked. The twenty-first century does not begin tomorrow
[that is,
on January 1, 2000]; it begins a year later, on January 1, 2001.
Even
though the calendar reads 2000 from midnight, the old century
still has
twelve months to run. Every hundred years we astronomers have to
explain this all over again, but it makes no difference. The
celebrations start just as soon as the two zeros go up..."
Well, we at the Israeli Society for Science Fiction and Fantasy
(ISSF&F) respect Sir Arthur too much to celebrate the new
millennium on
any other date than the night of December 31, 2000. But then, it
will
be some celebration!
Actually, we'll start a few days earlier, on December 27. There
will be
a large-scale SF con, complete with speakers, panel discussions,
workshops, art, filk, films, fun and as much rampant
commercialism as
we can muster. Read more about all that here. But then, on the
night of
December 31, we'll move the con to the single most appropriate
site in
the world in which to close the millennium.
Where?
Nobody is quite sure when exactly the world will end, but
everyone
knows where: At Armageddon.
"And he gathered them together into a
place called in the
Hebrew tongue Armageddon. ... And there came a
great voice
out of the temple of heaven, from the throne,
saying, It is
done."
Revelations [16:16-17]
Well, will it be done? We don't think so. But... can you afford
not to
be there, to see for yourself? Join us for a con which will
culminate
in a midnight countdown from this millennium to the next. It will
be an
experience of a lifetime.
For any queries you may have, you can e-mail us at: con@sf-f.org.il.
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