PLEASE NOTE:
*
CCNet 39/2003 - 10 April 2003
----------------------------------
"A claim that the asteroid that struck Mexico 65 million
years ago did not cause
the mass extinction that wiped out dinosaurs triggered heated
debate at a meeting
this week. The announcement is based on preliminary analysis of
the first core
drilled into the 185-kilometre Chicxulub asteroid crater near the
Yucatan Peninsula.
Gerta Keller of Princeton University in New Haven, Connecticut,
says that she has
found microfossils there hinting that abundant plankton survived
for at least
300,000 years after the impact."
--Rex Dalton, Nature 10 April 2003
"Near Earth asteroids constitute the most accessible source
of pristine extraterrestrial
material in the solar system, apart from the Moon. Human
missions to NEAs are seen as
a logical first step to the utilization and settlement of the
solar system. The
acquisition of data on the composition and internal structure of
NEAs is also a
necessary prequisite to developing an effective strategy to
protect the Earth from
asteroid impacts."
--Apostolos Christou, Armagh Observatory
(1) MASS-EXTINCTION CONTROVERSY FLARES AGAIN
Nature, 10 April 2003
(2) REACHING FOR THE ASTEROIDS
Peter Bond <PeterRBond@aol.com>
(3) A UK FLOTILLA TO STUDY EARTH-GRAZING ASTEROIDS
Peter Bond <PeterRBond@aol.com>
(4) ARCHAEOASTRONOMY LINKS STONE-AGE TOMB BUILDERS WITH SUN
Jacqueline Mitton <aco01@dial.pipex.com>
(5) ULSTER'S BRONZE-AGE MONUMENTS LINKED BUILDERS WITH THE COSMOS
Jacqueline Mitton <aco01@dial.pipex.com>
(6) LIFE AND DEATH FROM SPACE
Peter Bond <PeterRBond@aol.com>
(7) VOYAGE TO THE ASTEROID BELT
BBC News Online, 10 April 2003
(8) CATCH A GLIMPSE OF ASTEROID VESTA
StarrySkies, April 2003
(9) NASA NEEDS NEW VISION FOR HUMAN SPACEFLIGHT, ASTEROID
PROTECTION, EXPERTS SAY
Space.com, 9 April 2003
(10) MORE ON CONTINENTAL HOTSPOT TRACKS
Hermann Burchard <burchar@math.okstate.edu>
(11) AND FINALLY: SADDAM'S REGIME IS A EUROPEAN IMPORT
National Post 10 April 2003
========
(1) MASS-EXTINCTION CONTROVERSY FLARES AGAIN
>From Nature, 10 April 2003
http://www.nature.com/nsu/030407/030407-7.html
Core from asteroid crater fuels debate on what wiped out the
dinosaurs.
REX DALTON
A claim that the asteroid that struck Mexico 65 million years ago
did not cause the mass extinction that wiped out dinosaurs
triggered heated debate at a meeting this week.
The announcement is based on preliminary analysis of the first
core drilled into the 185-kilometre Chicxulub asteroid crater
near the Yucatan Peninsula. Gerta Keller of Princeton University
in New Haven, Connecticut, says that she has found microfossils
there hinting that abundant plankton survived for at least
300,000 years after the impact.
Many believe that the impact shrouded the Earth in dust and
debris, shutting down plant photosynthesis and leading to the
rapid demise of most creatures, from marine microorganisms to
dinosaurs.
But Keller reckons that the signs of life in the crater core are
"the smoking gun" that the asteroid didn't cause the
widespread die-out, properly called the Cretaceous-Tertiary (K-T)
boundary. What's more, a lack of evidence of compaction in the
core hints that the impact crater was much smaller than was
thought, says Keller's colleague Wolfgang Stinnesbeck at the
University of Karlsruhe, Germany.
So the group subscribes instead to the idea that a series of
asteroid impacts brought about the K-T boundary.
Jan Smit, a geologist at Vrije University in Amsterdam who is
also studying the crater's sediments, disagrees. He counters that
what Keller's team labels 'fossils' are simply spheres of
crystal. Plus he cites seismology studies that support a major
asteroid having created the Chicxulub crater.
These divergent views were aired at a joint conference of the
European Geophysical Society, the American Geophysical Union and
the European Union of Geosciences in Nice, France. Listeners were
shocked and stunned that two groups could disagree so much.
But the story of the K-T boundary has been long been
controversial. It was first suggested about 25 years ago that a
life-obliterating asteroid plunged into the Earth to trigger the
extinction.
Now dozens of scientists around the world are analysing the
results of the first drill of the crater, completed in February
2002, to glean new data on the events of 65 million years ago.
Other drills are planned, including one closer to the centre of
the impact point, to provide further fuel for debate.
Rex Dalton is the West Coast Correspondent of the journal Nature
© Nature News Service / Macmillan Magazines Ltd 2003
===========
(2) REACHING FOR THE ASTEROIDS
>From PeterRBond@aol.com
[mailto:PeterRBond@aol.com]
ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY PRESS NOTICE
EMBARGOED FOR 00.01 A.M. (BST) ON THURSDAY 10 APRIL 2003
Date: 1 April
2003
Ref. PN 03/24 (NAM 16)
Issued by: RAS Press Officers
Peter Bond
Phone: +44 (0)1483-268672 Fax: +44 (0)1483-274047
E-mail: PeterRBond@aol.com
Mobile phone: +44 (0)7711-213486
AND
Dr. Jacqueline Mitton
Phone: +44 (0)1223-564914 Fax: +44 (0)1223-572892
E-mail: jmitton@dial.pipex.com
Mobile phone: +44 (0)7770-386133
NAM PRESS ROOM, Dublin, Ireland (8 -11 April only):
Tel.: +353 (1) 677-7608 and 7683 Fax: +353 (1)
677-7566
RAS Web site: http://www.ras.org.uk
UK/Ireland National Astronomy Meeting Web site:
http://star.arm.ac.uk/nam2003/
CONTACT DETAILS ARE LISTED AT THE END OF THIS RELEASE.
*******************************************************************
REACHING FOR THE ASTEROIDS
Humans hopping over the surface of asteroids. Extraction of
minerals from Earth-grazing chunks of rock. Sounds like science
fiction, but scientists are already looking ahead and trying to
identify the nearest objects whose resources may be exploited by
future entrepreneurs.
During the UK/Ireland Astronomy Meeting in Dublin, Dr. Apostolos
Christou (Armagh Observatory) will be presenting new results
concerning the most easily reachable Near Earth asteroids (NEAs)
so far discovered.
"Near Earth asteroids constitute the most accessible source
of pristine extraterrestrial material in the solar system, apart
from the Moon," he said.
"These bodies hold, in their chemical makeup, fundamental
information about the conditions under which the planets formed
and evolved. For a modest cost, inexpensive missions can be
mounted to rendezvous with or return samples from a selection of
these objects.
"Human missions to NEAs are also seen as a logical first
step to the utilization and settlement of the solar system,"
he added.
"Finally, the acquisition of data on the composition and
internal structure of NEAs is also a necessary prequisite to
developing an effective strategy to protect the Earth from
asteroid impacts."
Christou and his colleagues studied 27 candidate asteroids that
had previously been discovered through recent observational
surveys. They included boulder-sized objects no more than 40
metres across (1998 KY26), fragments of the large main-belt
asteroid Vesta (3361 Orpheus) and binary asteroids (1996 FG3).
They then assessed the asteroids in order to find out which are
the easiest to reach and the most accessible to visiting
spacecraft. Using a method similar to that used in designing
transfer paths to the planets, they found that one object (1999
AO10) requires less energy to achieve a rendezvous than placing
an orbiter around the Moon. A further four of the Earth-grazers
are easier to reach than Mars or Venus.
Based on these results, Christou concluded that there are no
insurmountable technical challenges to launching small,
inexpensive satellites to scrutinize these objects. Such missions
would typically require 1-2 years to reach their targets before
spending several months orbiting or on the surface of the
asteroid, studying composition, geology and internal structure.
Eventually, these NEAs may prove to be valuable targets for human
expeditions. However, detailed knowledge of their physical
properties is currently available for only a small fraction of
the known NEA population and only one quarter of the asteroid
sample studied by Christou's group.
"We need to know more about these small, elusive objects, so
ground-based observational studies of NEA sizes, rotations and
spectral types should be a near-term priority," concluded
Christou.
NOTES FOR EDITORS
The 2003 UK/Ireland National Astronomy Meeting is hosted by the
Astronomical Science Group of Ireland (ASGI) with support from
(inter alia) the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council,
the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS), the Armagh Observatory, the
Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, Trinity College Dublin,
the Royal Irish Academy and the British Council.
CONTACT:
On the afternoon of Thursday 10 April and on Friday 11 April Dr.
Christou can be contacted via the NAM press office (see above).
Normal contact details:
Dr. Apostolos Christou
Armagh Observatory
College Hill
Armagh
BT61 9DG
Northern Ireland
Tel: +44 (0)2837-522928
Fax: +44 (0)2837-527174
E-mail: aac@star.arm.ac.uk
FURTHER INFORMATION AND IMAGES CAN BE FOUND ON THE WEB AT:
Interplanetary Travel - Astrodynamics page (from Friday 4 April)
-
http://star.arm.ac.uk/~aac/astrodyn.html
Steve Ostro's asteroid radar site -
http://echo.jpl.nasa.gov/
Scott Hudson's asteroid shape modelling site (including a shape
model for 1998 KY26) -
http://www.eecs.wsu.edu/~hudson/Research/Asteroids/index.htm
=============
(3) A UK FLOTILLA TO STUDY EARTH-GRAZING ASTEROIDS
>From Peter Bond <PeterRBond@aol.com>
ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY PRESS NOTICE
EMBARGOED FOR 00.01 A.M. (BST) ON THURSDAY 10 APRIL 2003
Date: 1 April
2003
Ref.: PN 03/23 (NAM 15)
Issued by: RAS Press Officers
Peter Bond
Phone: +44 (0)1483-268672 Fax: +44 (0)1483-274047
E-mail: PeterRBond@aol.com
Mobile phone: +44 (0)7711-213486
AND
Dr. Jacqueline Mitton
Phone: +44 (0)1223-564914 Fax: +44 (0)1223-572892
E-mail: jmitton@dial.pipex.com
Mobile phone: +44 (0)7770-386133
NAM PRESS ROOM, Dublin, Ireland (8 -11 April only):
Tel.: +353 (1) 677-7608 and 7683 Fax: +353 (1)
677-7566
RAS Web site: http://www.ras.org.uk
UK/Ireland National Astronomy Meeting Web site:
http://star.arm.ac.uk/nam2003/
CONTACT DETAILS ARE LISTED AT THE END OF THIS RELEASE.
*******************************************************************
A UK FLOTILLA TO STUDY EARTH-GRAZING ASTEROIDS
On 30 June 1908, the seemingly endless forests of Siberia
received an unwelcome and unexpected visit by an intruder from
deep space. As it plunged headlong through the Earth's
atmosphere, the incoming asteroid exploded a few miles above the
tree tops, flattening the forest over an area about 50 km (30
miles) in diameter. If the 60 metre (200 ft) wide chunk of rock
had arrived a few hours later, it could have destroyed a city the
size of London or Paris.
Exactly how many of these threatening objects are lurking unseen
in the depths of the Solar System no one knows, but scientists
estimate that events such as Tunguska occur on average once every
200 years. Larger objects arrive less frequently but pack a much
greater punch.
How can we find out more about these Near Earth Objects (NEOs)
and possibly find a way of preventing them from sending the human
race the way of the dinosaurs? One way is to send spacecraft to
study them at close range.
At the UK/Ireland National Astronomy Meeting in Dublin, Simon
Green (Open University) will describe SIMONE (Smallsat Intercept
Missions to Objects Near Earth), a UK-led proposal to launch a
fleet of low-cost microsatellites that will individually
rendezvous with different types of Earth-grazing asteroids. This
would be the first interplanetary microsatellite mission.
With the first spacecraft costing less than 50 million Euro and
additional satellites costing 30 million Euro each, a flotilla of
five could be launched as a piggyback payload on an Ariane 5
rocket for the normal budget of one spacecraft.
Each 120 kg microsatellite would be despatched to a different
target, using onboard solar electric propulsion driven by
lightweight, high power solar arrays, a technology in which the
UK is a world leader. After rendezvous with the asteroid, five
state-of-the art experiments would map its surface in great
detail, in addition to determining its mass, density and
composition.
"SIMONE would greatly improve our knowledge and
understanding of the diverse NEO population," said Dr.
Green. "The data would be crucial for the development of
effective methods to deflect different types of objects that
might impact the Earth in the future."
Assuming a launch by Ariane 5 in 2008 and arrivals 2010-11, the
provisional target list includes:
1989 UQ - a C-type Aten asteroid
between 560 and 760 m in diameter
2001 CC21 - an X-type Apollo
asteroid with diameter between 390 and 1100 m
1996 FG3 - a 1100 m diameter
C-type Apollo asteroid with a large moon
1982 DB (Nereus) - an X-type
Apollo asteroid with diameter between 470 and 1330 m
1999 YB - an S-type Apollo
asteroid with diameter of about 640 m
SIMONE+, a larger spacecraft built using the same design
principles could provide a low-cost option for longer range
interplanetary missions including Mars.
NOTES FOR EDITORS
The mission design and feasibility study for SIMONE was recently
completed under contract to ESA as part of a Near Earth Objects
Space Mission Preparation contract. The mission responds directly
to one of the key recommendations of the UK Task Force Report on
NEOs, issued in September 2000.
The SIMONE mission study team is led by QinetiQ (UK) in
partnership with the Planetary and Space Sciences Research
Institute (PSSRI) of the Open University (UK), SciSys (UK),
Politecnico di Milano (Italy) and Telespazio (Italy).
A typical SIMONE payload would include:
· A Multispectral Imaging System, a camera to measure the
asteroid's size, shape, topography, morphology and albedo.
· A Radio Science Investigation to determine the asteroid's mass
from its gravitational influence on the spacecraft trajectory.
· An X-ray Spectrometer to determine its elemental composition.
· An Infrared Spectrometer for mapping minerals and surface
variations.
· A Laser Altimeter to measure the surface topography and range
from the spacecraft.
The explosion of the 1908 Tunguska object released energy
equivalent to a modern nuclear warhead, about 10 megatons or 500
times the destructive power of the Hiroshima atomic bomb.
The 2003 UK/Ireland National Astronomy Meeting is hosted by the
Astronomical Science Group of Ireland (ASGI) with support from
(inter alia) the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council,
the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS), the Armagh Observatory, the
Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, Trinity College Dublin,
the Royal Irish Academy and the British Council.
CONTACT:
>From Tuesday 8 April to Friday 11 April, Dr. Green can be
contacted via the NAM press office (see above).
Normal contact details:
Dr. Simon F. Green
Space Science Research Group
Planetary and Space Sciences Research Institute
The Open University
Walton Hall
Milton Keynes
MK7 6AA
UK
Tel: +44 (0)1908-659601
Fax: +44 (0)1908-858022
E-mail: S.F.Green@open.ac.uk
Nigel Wells
QinetiQ Ltd.
Room G061
Arthur C. Clarke Building
Cody Technology Park
Farnborough
Hants.
GU14 0LX
UK
Tel: +44 (0)1252-395791
Fax: +44 (0)1252-393009
E-mail: nswells@space.QinetiQ.com
FURTHER INFORMATION AND IMAGES CAN BE FOUND ON THE WEB AT:
http://pssri.open.ac.uk/missions/index.htm
http://www.esa.int/gsp/completed/neo/simone.html
===========
(4) ARCHAEOASTRONOMY LINKS STONE-AGE TOMB BUILDERS WITH SUN
>From Jacqueline Mitton <aco01@dial.pipex.com>
ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY PRESS NOTICE
EMBARGOED UNTIL 00.01 A.M. BST WEDNESDAY 9 APRIL 2003
1 April 2003 Ref. PN 03/21 (NAM13)
Issued by: RAS Press Officers
Dr Jacqueline Mitton
Phone: +44 (0)1223-564914
Fax: +44 (0)1223-572892
E-mail: jmitton@dial.pipex.com
Mobile phone: +44 (0)7770-386133
Peter Bond
Phone: +44 (0)1483-268672
Fax: +44 (0)1483-274047
E-mail: PeterRBond@aol.com
Mobile phone: +44 (0)7711-213486
National Astronomy Meeting Press Room (Dublin, Ireland):
Phones: (+353) 1 6777608 and +353 1 6777683 FAX
(+353) (1) 677 7566
RAS Web site: http://www.ras.org.uk
UK/Ireland National Astronomy Meeting Web site:
http://star.arm.ac.uk/nam2003/
CONTACT DETAILS FOR THIS RELEASE ARE LISTED AT THE END
**************************************************************************
ARCHAEOASTRONOMY LINKS STONE-AGE TOMB BUILDERS WITH SUN
Scientific research at the prehistoric Passage Tomb Cemetery at
Loughcrew, one of Ireland's premier archaeological sites, is
revealing new data on the astronomical orientations of the
passage tombs and relationships in the way they are laid out.
Using techniques from the science of archaeoastronomy, this
research has already identified significant astronomical
orientations
in the larger focal tombs and significant patterns in the
relative orientations of the monuments. Frank Prendergast of the
Dublin Institute of Technology will present the results of his
research to date at the UK/Ireland National Astronomy Meeting in
Dublin on Wednesday 9 April.
"By examing the relationship between the landscape, the
monuments and astronomy, we can complement existing
archaeological knowledge and hopefully gain insight into how
prehistoric communities might have perceived their place in the
cosmos," says Frank Prendergast.
Loughcrew is a nationally important archaeological landscape
located 70 km north-west of Dublin in County Meath. It is the
site of one of the four major passage tomb cemeteries in Ireland
and dates from the Middle Neolithic (3600-3100 BC) and later. The
principal type of monument is the passage tomb and some 30 of
these survive in varying condition. Typically they consist of
a circular cairn retained by a stone kerb. The tomb lies within
the cairn and may be roofed or unroofed. Megalithic art is often
inscribed on some of the stones within the tomb.
Previous investigations by archeologists indicate that these
monuments were landmarks on the Neolithic landscape, and the
larger focal tombs and their smaller surrounding satellite tombs
would have had a major impact on prehistoric communities and
their ritual and ceremonial practices.
Frank Prendergast's investigations show that two of the largest
focal tombs are oriented towards the rising Sun at the equinoxes.
On these days, at dawn and for a period of some 20 minutes
afterwards, the interior of the tombs are spectacularly
illuminated by a shaft of sunlight. At these times, the elaborate
engravings on some of the stones within both chambers are clearly
visible in the otherwise dark interior. Equinoctial orientations
are not common and their interpretation is controversial.
It is well known that many such tombs found elsewhere in Ireland
and beyond, such as at Newgrange, are oriented towards the
direction of the rising Sun on the solstices. These are the days
in December and June when the Sun's motion in the sky reaches a
'turning point'. The direction of the rising Sun reaches its most
northerly and southerly points on these dates and these are
observable events. Our prehistoric ancestors would therefore not
have required any advanced understanding or knowledge to pinpoint
them. By contrast, the equinoxes, which occur in late March and
September, are midway between the solstices and are not obvious
unique events: to locate them, an observer must track the total
annual range of the Sun's rising direction and then divide it in
half. The question that immediately arises is, "Why would
the tomb builders wish to do this?" Even more
intriguingly at Loughcrew, there is a pattern of orientation
between many of the smaller satellite tombs - both towards each
other and towards the two focal tombs.
CONTACT
Frank T. Prendergast, Department of Geomatics,
Faculty of the Built Environment, Dublin Institute of Technology
Bolton Street, Dublin 1, Ireland.
Tel: (+353) (1) 402 3674
Fax: (+353) (1) 402 3999
e-mail: frank.prendergast@dit.ie
IMAGES AND FURTHER INFORMATION
Images and further information about Loughcrew may be found at http://www.knowth.com/loughcrew.htm.
Images from the site can be reproduced free of charge providing
the "Knowth.com" stamp is retained and an advisory
email is sent to Michael Fox (Michael@Knowth.com)
when Knowth.com content is reproduced.
=============
(5) ULSTER'S BRONZE-AGE MONUMENTS LINKED BUILDERS WITH THE COSMOS
>From Jacqueline Mitton <aco01@dial.pipex.com>
ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY PRESS NOTICE
EMBARGOED UNTIL 00.01 A.M. BST WEDNESDAY 9 APRIL 2003
1 April 2003 Ref. PN 03/20 (NAM12)
Issued by: RAS Press Officers
Dr Jacqueline Mitton
Phone: +44 (0)1223-564914
Fax: +44 (0)1223-572892
E-mail: jmitton@dial.pipex.com
Mobile phone: +44 (0)7770-386133
Peter Bond
Phone: +44 (0)1483-268672
Fax: +44 (0)1483-274047
E-mail: PeterRBond@aol.com
Mobile phone: +44 (0)7711-213486
National Astronomy Meeting Press Room (Dublin, Ireland):
Phones: (+353) 1 6777608 and +353 1 6777683 FAX
(+353) (1) 677 7566
RAS Web site: http://www.ras.org.uk
UK/Ireland National Astronomy Meeting Web site:
http://star.arm.ac.uk/nam2003/
CONTACT DETAILS FOR THIS RELEASE ARE LISTED AT THE END
**************************************************************************
ULSTER'S BRONZE-AGE MONUMENTS LINKED BUILDERS WITH THE COSMOS
A unique and enigmatic group of prehistoric stone monuments in
mid-Ulster is helping archaeoastronomers learn more about the
meaning and significance of astronomy in prehistoric Ireland and
Britain. On Wednesday 9th April at the National Astronomy Meeting
in Dublin, Professor Clive Ruggles of the University of Leicester
will describe his research on a number of
distinctive and remarkably complex Bronze Age monuments,
consisting of interrelated stone circles, rows, and cairns, which
are located in an area centred around Counties Tyrone, Fermanagh,
Derry and Donegal. He has discovered a number of apparently
significant astronomical alignments amongst these mid-Ulster
monuments, including some particularly spectacular ones relating
to the Moon, and he will talk about how astronomers and
archaeologists interpret such alignments.
Clive Ruggles is Professor of Archaeoastronomy and has had an
interest in the mid-Ulster monuments ever since 1998, when he
took up a one-year Senior Visiting Research Fellowship at the
Institute of Irish Studies at Queen¹s University, Belfast.
Working with local archaeologists on both sides of the border, he
set out to survey the monuments looking for evidence of
astronomical alignments and other relationships between the
monuments and the surrounding landscape. "Archaeologists now
believe that such visible links between monuments and the
surrounding landscape and sky helped to symbolise the links
between living people, their ancestors, and the cosmos as they
perceived it", says Professor Ruggles. "The builders
were not 'astronomers' in the sense that we would mean it today,
but celestial objects and cycles were important to them in
keeping their own lives in harmony with their world. By studying
astronomical alignments we can learn something of how people
comprehended the world in the past."
The discovery of the astronomical alignments did not come as a
total surprise: these stone circles and rows, the best-know of
which is Beaghmore in County Tyrone, are located in a region
mid-way between other groups of broadly contemporary monuments
known to have significant associations with the Moon - one in the
south-west of Ireland and the other on the Hebridean
Islands and the western mainland of Scotland. Some alignments
relate to the Sun on the solstices (mid-summer's day and
mid-winter's day) but overall Professor Ruggles' results suggest
that the mid-Ulster builders were more interested in the Moon.
There is some evidence for two different traditions, very
possibly dating from different times. One is associated with the
wider tradition extending from Ireland to western Scotland, while
the other is highly distinctive of this particular area. But how
should they be interpreted?
"Great care is needed", cautions Professor Ruggles.
"Just because a monument is aligned in a direction that we
would be tempted to interpret as astronomically significant, such
as the direction of sunrise or sunset on one of the solstices,
this might not have been intentional. Everything has to point
somewhere and there might have been many different factors
influencing an orientation. Even if we can convince ourselves
that an astronomical alignment was intentional, this does not in
itself help us to theorise about its possible meaning and
significance to the people who built or used the monument. When
astronomers and archaeologists weigh up their theories against
the available evidence from their different academic backgrounds,
they can come to spectacularly different conclusions."
Many archaeoastronomers see repeated trends as the most
acceptable evidence for intentional astronomical alignments. In
some parts of Ireland and Britain there are distinctive local
groups of conspicuous stone monuments that show remarkably
consistent trends in design, orientation, and location in the
landscape. Some of them - such as the Neolithic recumbent stone
circles in Aberdeenshire and the Bronze Age short stone rows of
Counties Cork and Kerry - show clear relationships with the Sun
or Moon.
Archaeologists generally prefer to base their interpretations on
a much wider range of evidence about a particular monument or
place. From an archaeological perspective, it is not the mere
existence of an intentional alignment that matters but its
possible meaning and significance. That means taking into account
case studies from a range of human societies, past and present.
"The need to reconcile these two different approaches
becomes particularly clear when we are trying to interpret small
groups of monuments such as the mid-Ulster ones", says
Professor Ruggles.
CONTACT
Professor Clive Ruggles may be contacted at
School of Archaeology and Ancient History, University of
Leicester
Leicester LE1 7RH
Phone: 0116-252-3409 Fax: 0116-252-5006
e-mail: rug@le.ac.uk
Note: Prof. Ruggles will be unavailable until 3 April and will be
at the NAM in Dublin on 9 and 10 April.
============
(6) LIFE AND DEATH FROM SPACE
>From Peter Bond <PeterRBond@aol.com>
ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY PRESS NOTICE
EMBARGOED FOR 00.01 A.M. (BST) ON WEDNESDAY 9 APRIL 2003
Date: 4 April
2003
Ref. PN 03/28 (NAM 20)
Issued by: RAS Press Officers
Peter Bond
Phone: +44 (0)1483-268672 Fax: +44 (0)1483-274047
E-mail: PeterRBond@aol.com
Mobile phone: +44 (0)7711-213486
AND
Dr Jacqueline Mitton
Phone: +44 (0)1223-564914 Fax: +44 (0)1223-572892
E-mail: jmitton@dial.pipex.com
Mobile phone: +44 (0)7770-386133
NAM PRESS ROOM (8 -11 April only)
Tel: +353 (1) 677-7608 and 7683 Fax: +353 (1) 677
7566
RAS Web site: http://www.ras.org.uk
UK/Ireland National Astronomy Meeting Web site:
http://star.arm.ac.uk/nam2003/
CONTACT DETAILS ARE LISTED AT THE END OF THIS RELEASE.
*******************************************************************
LIFE AND DEATH FROM SPACE
Ever since its formation at the birth of the Solar System, some
4570 million years ago, planet Earth has resembled a giant
bulls-eye in space, a target for asteroids and comets of all
shapes and sizes.
Clearly, this violent history has influenced the planet's surface
and atmosphere, as well as the evolution of life. Some impactors
bring water and organic compounds, ingredients that may have been
the building blocks of life. Other, more massive, bodies may
arrive in a blaze of fire and fury, the results of their impacts
being death, destruction and extinction.
Meanwhile, with the discovery of planets orbiting other stars, we
must also assess their potential as impact targets.
On Wednesday 9 April, five experts in the study of asteroids,
comets and impacts will be explaining to the UK/Ireland National
Astronomy Meeting in Dublin their ideas about the effects on the
Earth and other planets of bombardment by extraterrestrial
objects. The convenor of the session is Dr. Monica M. Grady
(Natural History Museum, London).
The first two speakers consider the beneficial aspect of
bombardment. Professor Chandra Wickramasinghe (Cardiff
University) puts forward the controversial proposition that life
itself came from beyond the Earth, in the form of bacteria. He
describes experiments that have been carried out to test the
hypothesis and discusses his results. In contrast, Dr. Ian Wright
(Open University) considers the delivery of organic molecules to
the Earth in comet dust, and how they might have acted as the
building blocks for life.
The second part of the session includes three speakers who look
at the more destructive aspects of bombardment. Dr. Jane Greaves
(Royal Observatory Edinburgh) looks beyond our own Solar System
to consider evidence that some extra-solar planets might be
surrounded by much larger swarms of comets than the Oort Cloud
around our own Sun.
Following on from this, Professor Bill Napier (Armagh
Observatory) relates the rate of incoming cometary material to
periods of geological trauma on Earth, including mass
extinctions. Dr. Phil Bland (Imperial College London) considers
the impact rate of smaller asteroids, and, in an optimistic vein,
concludes that perhaps fewer than had been predicted actually
survive intact before striking the Earth's surface.
SESSION PAPERS.
C. Wickramasinge (wickramasinghe@cf.ac.uk):
Panspermia and prospects of testing from recoveries of
stratospheric cometary dust
Some form of panspermia is coming to be regarded as a plausible
mechanism for the beginnings of life on the Earth. I shall
discuss experiments to test this possibility which have been done
using cryosamplers collecting large volumes of air at 41km in the
stratosphere.
I. Wright (i.p.wright@open.ac.uk):
Insights into the potential delivery of organic materials to
Earth through the study of comets
Comets contain organic materials. Comets impact the Earth.
Therefore, comets may deliver organic materials to the Earth. At
an appropriate time in the history of the Earth such materials
may have become implicated in the processes which ultimately
spawned life on the planet. To assess the possibilities of such a
mechanism it is desirable to know first hand what comets are
actually made of. The European Space Agency's Rosetta mission
aims to address this issue. The talk will introduce Rosetta,
include a description of a UK experiment (Ptolemy) on board the
small craft that will land on a comet, and give an update on the
status of the mission (which is currently delayed because of
problems with the Ariane 5 launcher programme).
J. Greaves (jsg@roe.ac.uk):
Impacts on Extrasolar Earths
The search for planetary systems like our own is likely to
concentrate on Solar-type single stars within a few parsecs. I
present new data showing that some of these closest stars have
belts of dusty debris much brighter than our own Kuiper Belt.
This may trace a much larger population of comets that would
affect the development of life on Earth analogues.
15:25. B. Napier (wmn@star.arm.ac.uk):
Multiple Bombardments and Geological Trauma
Long-period comets occupy the borderland between solar system and
Galaxy, and their influx to the inner planetary system is
sensitive to interstellar perturbers such as passing stars,
nebulae, spiral arms and the periodic Galactic tide. Dust and
debris from the largest comets injected into the planetary system
may significantly reduce insolation on Earth and have prolonged
biotic, climatic and other effects. Correlations are thus
expected between multiple impacts, geological disturbances and
mass extinctions. The statistical status of these correlations is
examined.
P. Bland (p.a.bland@imperial.ac.uk):
The impact rate of small asteroids on Earth
Asteroids smaller than 1 km across constitute the most immediate
impact hazard to human populations, and yet the rate at which
they arrive at Earth's surface is poorly known. Small craters on
Earth are rapidly eroded, and many incoming objects are disrupted
in the atmosphere. New studies of more than 1000 simulated
impacts by small iron and stony bodies, together with the known
impact rate at the top of the atmosphere, indicate that even
large stony impactors may experience severe atmospheric
disruption, resulting in a calculated impact rate for these
objects 40 times lower than some earlier estimates.
NOTES FOR EDITORS
The 2003 UK/Ireland National Astronomy Meeting is hosted by the
Astronomical Science Group of Ireland (ASGI) with support from
(inter alia) the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council,
the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS), the Armagh Observatory, the
Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, Trinity College Dublin,
the Royal Irish Academy and the British Council.
CONTACT:
>From Tuesday 8 April to Wednesday 9 April, Dr. Grady can be
contacted via the NAM press office (see above).
Normal contact details:
Dr. Monica M. Grady
Department of Mineralogy
Natural History Museum
Cromwell Road
London
SW7 5BD
UK
Tel: +44 (0)207-942-5709
Fax: +44 (0)207-942-5537
E-mail: mmg@nhm.ac.uk
FURTHER INFORMATION AND IMAGES CAN BE FOUND ON THE WEB AT:
Open University Planetary and Space Sciences Research Institute -
http://psri.open.ac.uk/
(links to interplanetary dust and astrobiology)
Cardiff Centre for Astrobiology -
http://www.astrobiology.cf.ac.uk/
Comets and Asteroids -
http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/planets/asteroidpage.html
============
(7) VOYAGE TO THE ASTEROID BELT
>From BBC News Online, 10 April 2003
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/2930217.stm
By Helen Briggs
British scientists are planning to send a swarm of miniature
spacecraft beyond Mars to study the origin of asteroids that
might pose a threat to the Earth.
Small, cheap satellites can visit asteroids
Thirty or more microsatellites would be released by a mother
spacecraft on arrival at the asteroid belt, where billions of
space rocks orbit the Sun.
Like bees from a hive, the satellites, weighing as little as 20
kilograms, would fly past different asteroids.
They would collect images and other data, sending it all back to
Earth via the main spacecraft.
The European Space Agency (Esa) has given the go-ahead for a
feasibility study of the project, which is being led by the
British space company Astrium.
Project scientist Paolo D'Arrigo described the concept as a
"step change" in interplanetary exploration.
"The idea is for a swarm of spacecraft to visit 100
asteroids," he told BBC News Online. "Although it
sounds far-fetched, it's not very far from the current level of
technology that we have."
Smaller, further
Dr Simon Green, of the Space Science Research Group at the Open
University in Milton Keynes, said the probes would be the
smallest ever interplanetary spacecraft.
"They're going to where the asteroids have originated,"
he said. "This gives us a chance to get up close to a very
large range of these things.
"Each little 'bee' would have a very limited payload in
terms of mass but you would have very many of them."
The 'bees' would be powered by solar sails or perhaps small
conventional rocket engines.
The mission, known as Apies (Asteroid Population Investigation
and Exploration Swarm), is in its early stages, and would not be
possible for perhaps a decade.
UK flotilla
Other British-led proposals, such as Simone (Smallsat Intercept
Missions to Objects Near Earth), are further down the line and
have been selected by Esa for future consideration.
Simone consists of a flotilla of five 120-kg satellites that
would be sent to rendezvous with different asteroids.
The British company behind Simone, QinetiQ, based in Farnborough,
Hampshire, is lobbying for Europe to take the lead in asteroid
defences.
Although Esa is considering several proposals for such missions
it has not yet committed major funds.
Nigel Wells of QinetiQ, study manager for Simone, said he hoped
Europe would formulate a firm proposal to tackle near-Earth
objects.
"We are ready and the scientific community is ready but it's
up to the politicians now," he said.
Details of Simone are to be presented at the UK/Ireland National
Astronomy Meeting in Dublin.
Copyright 2003, BBC
===========
(8) CATCH A GLIMPSE OF ASTEROID VESTA
>From StarrySkies, April 2003
http://starryskies.com/articles/2003/04/vesta.html
For the next week there is a rare treat for the sky observer.
With the unaided eye, you will be able to view an asteroid called
Vesta. Vesta is the only asteroid that we can ever see with the
naked eye. There are countless asteroids in our Solar System,
around 50,000 have names or identifying numbers. But of all of
them, only Vesta ever becomes close and bright enough for us to
spot with the unaided eye. Ironically, the path that Vesta is
currently taking through the constellation Virgo is very close to
the path it was traveling 196 years ago when it was first
discovered.
Vesta was discovered March 29, 1807 by the German physician
Heinrich Olbers. Olbers thought he had found a new star but soon
realized he had found the an asteroid. Olbers is best know for
"Olbers Paradox," the question posing that if the
cosmos if full of stars, why is the sky dark at night? But Olbers
had other discoveries in addition to Vesta. He had also
discovered the asteroid Pallas in 1802, he had three comets to
his name as well as a clever way of computing their orbits that
is still in use today.
There are tens of thousands of known asteroids, and countless
other ones too small to be yet identified. They vary tremendously
is type and composition. Best known are the Main Belt Asteroids.
These reside in an orbit between Mars and Jupiter and have fairly
circular orbits. Originally, it was thought that there had once
been a planet in this orbit, and that something had caused it to
be destroyed and the asteroids were the remains. We now know that
there never was a planet in this orbit.
In addition to the Main Belt asteroids, many others have highly
irregular orbits and some cross Earth's orbit. These are called
the Apollo Asteroids. These asteroids were probably the source of
the bodies which impacted the Earth, Moon and other planets
during their early history. There are so far, about 1000
asteroids in the Apollo group.
Vesta is one of the brightest Main Belt asteroids and slightly
over 540km in diameter but it is slightly elongated in shape. It
is the second largest asteroid discovered to date. It is also
quite unusual as asteroids go.
Asteroids are perhaps the oldest remnants of the early Solar
System and what we learn from them tells us about our own
planet's early history. They are cold, dead, and airless worlds,
relatively unchanged since the first few tens of millions of
years in the life of the Solar System. These bodies remain
unchanged because most have not experienced the extreme
temperatures, pressures and chemical alteration and crustal
motion suffered by larger bodies such as planets and moons. Such
forces virtually destroy records of primordial history. From
clues from meteorites, we do know asteroids were heated to some
degree, probably in the first few million years. They were heated
enough for liquid water to permeate their interiors. Some were
heated to metamorphic temperatures and some even show signs of
melting but they did not reach the high temperatures the planets
did.
Vesta is unique among the asteroids studied so far because it
appears to have differentiated into layers like the planets.
Differentiation is the separation of material according to
density. This seems to imply some internal heat source. The
surface layer is composed of pyroxene rich rocks, like achondrite
meteorites. Underneath is an olivine mantle. Temperatures must
have been unusually high (for asteroids,) to allow melting.
Hubble Space Telescope imaged Vesta in 1996 and revealed a very
large, circular crater near the asteroid's south pole that is so
deep it exposes the mantle. The basin is about 460 km wide and
has a pronounced central peak. The floor is 12km below ground
level. Since Vesta displays variations in the light reflected
from its surface as it rotates, it is possible that the entire
end of the asteroid was broken off revealing underlying layers
which accounts for the variations in reflection. Given the size
of the impact, it is likely that enough material was ejected to
form a "family" of Vesta. We may well have a piece of
Vesta here on Earth as a recovered meteorite from Johnstown
Colorado.
NASA plans an even closer look at Vesta with a new mission called
Dawn, NASA's ninth Discovery mission to be launched in May 2006.
After a four year journey, the spacecraft will rendezvous with
Vesta on July 30 2010, staying in orbit around the asteroid for
almost an year, coming to a minimum distance of 100Km above the
asteroid's surface.
It is interesting to note that although Vesta is not the largest
or closest asteroid (and it is, in fact, dwarfed by Ceres 960km
diameter,) it is the only one which can be spotted with the naked
eye. The reason for this is that Vesta is so bright. It has a
very high surface reflectivity, or albedo. Ceres reflects only
about 11 percent of the sunlight striking it, which Vesta
reflects a whopping 42 percent! And that is why the unaided eye
can see Vesta but not Ceres.
On March 26th Vesta reached opposition to the Sun and was visible
throughout the night. Opposition is when a body forms a straight
line with the Earth and Sun, Earth being in the middle. For a few
weeks after opposition, Vesta may be glimpsed with the unaided
eye. Use the sky map to aid spotting the asteroid. Keep in mind
that Vesta is not a bright object and you will need dark skies,
away from artificial lights, to see it.
For those with binoculars or telescopes, Vesta will be in a
favorable position through June and July. During this time, it
will be highest in the sky just after dark. For those with larger
telescopes, and especially those who enjoy astrophotography,
Vesta will offer many great photographic opportunities as it
passes by Virgo's many galaxies.
Copyright 2003, Starryskies
==========
(9) NASA NEEDS NEW VISION FOR HUMAN SPACEFLIGHT, ASTEROID
PROTECTION, EXPERTS SAY
>From Space.com, 9 April 2003
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/asteroid_iss_030409.html
By Robert Roy Britt
A group of 30 scientists has formally urged NASA to use the
International Space Station (ISS) as part of an expanded program
of human and robotic missions to learn more about asteroids and
how to deflect one that might one day threaten Earth.
The suggested effort would lead to human missions to asteroids, a
stepping stone for a crewed trip to Mars.
In a letter to NASA, asteroid experts and other researchers
inside and outside the space agency suggest it seek to emerge
from the Shuttle Columbia tragedy with a fresh vision for
integrating human and robotic space exploration. That vision
should incorporate the space station in an effort to investigate
asteroid compositions and to understand how innovative propulsion
systems might be used to visit them or even to nudge an incoming
asteroid off course. Learning how to destroy an asteroid might
also be a goal.
The letter was signed by two former astronauts and 28 astronomers
and scientists at universities and space industry companies, as
well as institutions closely tied to or largely funded by NASA.
The space station could be used to test in microgravity
conditions machinery that would be used to examine an asteroid,
said former astronaut Thomas Jones, who is also a planetary
scientist and a consultant for space exploration efforts beyond
the space station. Eventually, material brought back from an
asteroid might be examined aboard the station, again taking
advantage of microgravity.
Robots, then humans
"If you're going to send people to follow up your robots ...
then the ISS is an essential stepping stone," Jones, one of
the signatories, said in a telephone interview.
Asteroid experts around the world have in recent years prodded
their governments to spend more on asteroid search programs,
deflection schemes and basic research of comets and asteroids.
NASA outspends all other agencies and countries in this
undertaking, investing about $3.5 million each year in the
search. Basic study of asteroid composition is not accounted for
separately but includes robotic missions to asteroids,
ground-based observations and theoretical studies.
Almost nothing is spent on investigating how to deflect or
properly pulverize a threatening space rock. Before scientists
can figure out how to do this, more information is needed about
the diversity of relatively nearby objects and the contents of
their deep interiors.
The letter suggests that various forms of nuclear propulsion --
stated development goals in the agency's 2004 budget -- could be
useful in the effort to travel to space rocks.
"A cogent new goal is needed for human space flight and
significant investments and experimentation are required to
develop in-flight power and propulsion systems for future solar
system exploration," the letter states. "In addition, a
new program needs to be started at NASA to create an adequate
scientific basis for a future mitigation system and,
simultaneously, to learn how to apply future collision mitigation
technologies."
Mitigation is a catchall term applied to the possible destruction
or deflection of space rocks as well as possible evacuation plans
that would be needed in the event an impact were deemed
inevitable and imminent.
The letter was dated April 4 and sent to NASA Space Architect
Gary Martin at the agency's headquarters in Washington, D.C.
Martin is seen as an official who has a view of the overall scope
of missions and programs needed to tackle the perceived problem.
Among the signatories are Donald Yeomans, an asteroid expert at
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Apollo 9 astronaut Russell
Schweickart and the University of Maryland's Michael A'Hearn, who
leads NASA's Deep Impact Mission to slam into a comet in 2005.
The letter was drafted primarily by Michael Belton, president of
Belton Space Exploration Initiatives in Tucson, AZ.
The researchers recommend the following new goal for NASA:
Show how humans and robots can work together on small objects in
near-Earth interplanetary space to:
1) accomplish new fundamental science on planetary objects;
2) aspire to previously unimaginable technical achievements on
objects in interplanetary space; and,
3) protect the Earth from the future possibility of a
catastrophic collision with a hazardous object from space.
"Since these activities would allow human spaceflight to
cross the threshold into interplanetary space, they could also be
thought of as a precursor activity to provide the essential
technical and medical experience for that more distant, but even
more challenging, goal -- a human exploratory mission to
Mars," the letter states.
Post-Columbia concerns
The scientists seek to avoid a divisive debate about the utility
of the space station as a science outpost as politicians, the
public and NASA officials sort out the role of human spaceflight
in the post-Columbia era.
"As space scientists, we believe [the divisiveness] can be
avoided by adding a new, exciting, and affordable goal for human
spaceflight and the use of the space station," they wrote.
The letter was an outgrowth of a new roadmap for attaining
"Scientific Requirements for Mitigation of Hazardous Comets
and Asteroids," which was developed at a workshop of
international researchers directed by NASA's Office of Space
Science.
Jones, the former astronaut, said the feeling behind the letter
is that the effort to learn how to mitigate potentially
threatening asteroids "is being underserved and underfunded
given the potential seriousness of that problem."
No asteroid is known to be on a collision course with Earth. But
experts agree that an impact, which might level a city or even
cause widespread regional damage, is inevitable unless thwarted
by technological intervention. Such an impact could occur this
year or not for thousands of years. Researchers would likely have
months or years of warning, but possibly not enough time to mount
the research effort being proposed in the letter.
Meanwhile, a NASA-led search program designed to find large
asteroids in the vicinity of Earth -- those that could cause
global devastation -- has discovered more than half of the
estimated 1,100 such rocks larger than 1 kilometer (0.62 miles).
Smaller asteroids, of which there could be hundreds of thousands
that might pose local or regional dangers, are not yet part of
any coordinated search effort.
Copyright 2003, Space.com
============================
* LETTERS TO THE MODERATOR *
============================
(10) MORE ON CONTINENTAL HOTSPOT TRACKS
>From Hermann Burchard <burchar@math.okstate.edu>
Dear Benny,
besides the spectacular Yellowstone hotspot track in Idaho,
Nevada, and Wyoming, the N American continent probably has
several more, but at least one that's much younger. This is
the Long Valley - Mono Lake hotspot that began with a gigantic
volcanic explosion 730 or 760 Ka ago in E California (explosive
degassing of pressure-relieved mantle). Again, we must suspect
impact causation. See map of ashfall over most of Western
US area in sites below.
The timing is suspiciously close to the time of the Australasian
tektite strewn field date. Indeed, more and more evidence
is being published for the multiple (cometary?) impact scenario,
as recently in Dallas Abbott's announcement of the Maine crater.
The Long Valley caldera is designated as
"resurgent," which is about the same as
"supervolcano." Comparison is made with
Yellowstone, another suspected impact hotspot. While
Yellowstone is 14.9 Ma old, and has traveled about an 800 mile
distance, the newer (and much smaller) Long Valley caldera seems
to have travelled only about 40 miles during its 730 Ka lifetime.
The exact relationship of Mono Lake to Long Valley is not too
clear from the various descriptions.
The eruptions are at intervals of about 600 a, vs. Yellowstone's
600 Ka period between explosions. The USGS web pages mention
increased uplift in the caldera since 1980. There is
increased emmission of CO2 since 1990 resulting in tree kills
(roots require oxygenated soil). A certain nervousness on the
part of geologists comes through discussion of alert status
levels from green to red, and the planning of responses.
"It's unlikely to stay as quiet for our benefit as it has
been during the last 500 years (paraphrasing)."
http://www.csupomona.edu/~geology/docs/sierra.html
http://lvo.wr.usgs.gov/GeologicMap.html
http://volcano.und.nodak.edu/vwdocs/volc_images/north_america/california/long_valley.html
Regards,
Hermann Burchard
PS.: Australians seem to have a spectacular continental hotspot
track in Shark Bay, which has its axis lined up with and its SE
terminus adjacent to famed the Woodleigh impact structure.
Unfortunately, its NW end breaks off where Australia's
continental shelf descends to the depth of the NE Indian Ocean.
Unfortunately, I have not been able to obtain a geological
description and or map of the Bay, which looks on maps much
reminiscent of the Yellowstone track (Snake River Plane).
-hgbw.
===========
(11) AND FINALLY: SADDAM'S REGIME IS A EUROPEAN IMPORT
>From National Post 10 April 2003
http://www.nationalpost.com/commentary/story.html?id=%7B0E39D93C-7FF7-43A9-9E5D-A0E7EF4CF6C4%7D
By Bernard Lewis
In the Western world, knowledge of history is poor -- and the
awareness of history is frequently poorer. For example, people
often argue today as if the kind of political order that prevails
in Iraq is part of the immemorial Arab and Islamic tradition.
This is totally untrue. The kind of regime represented by Saddam
Hussein has no roots in either the Arab or Islamic past. Rather,
it is an ideological importation from Europe -- the only one that
worked and succeeded (at least in the sense of being able to
survive).
In 1940, the French government accepted defeat and signed a
separate peace with the Third Reich. The French colonies in Syria
and Lebanon remained under Vichy control, and were therefore open
to the Nazis to do what they wished. They became major bases for
Nazi propaganda and activity in the Middle East. The Nazis
extended their operations from Syria and Lebanon, with some
success, to Iraq and other places. That was the time when the
Baath Party was founded, as a kind of clone of the Nazi and
Fascist parties, using very similar methods and adapting a very
similar ideology, and operating in the same way -- as part of an
apparatus of surveillance that exists under a one-party state,
where a party is not a party in the Western democratic sense, but
part of the apparatus of a government. That was the origin of the
Baath Party.
When the Third Reich collapsed, and after an interval was
replaced by the Soviet Union as the patron of all anti-Western
forces, the adjustment from the Nazi model to the Communist model
was not very difficult and was carried throughout without
problems. That is where the present Iraqi type of government
comes from. As I said before, it has no roots in the authentic
Arabic or Islamic past. It is, instead, part of the most
successful and most harmful process of Westernization to have
occurred in the Middle East.
When Westernization failed in the Middle East, this failure was
followed by a redefinition and return to older, more deep-rooted
perceptions of self and other. I mean, of course, religion.
Religion had several advantages. It was more familiar. It was
more readily intelligible. It could be understood immediately by
Muslims. Nationalist and socialist slogans, by contrast, needed
explanation. Religion was less impeded. What I mean is that even
the most ruthless of dictatorships cannot totally suppress
religiously defined opposition. In the mosques, people can meet
and speak. In most fascist-style states, openly meeting and
speaking are rigidly controlled and repressed. This is not
possible in dealing with Islam. Islamic opposition movements can
use a language familiar to all, and, through mosques, can tap
into a network of communication and organization.
This gave to religious arguments a very powerful advantage. In
fact, dictatorships were even helping them by eliminating
competing oppositions. They had another great advantage in
competing with democratic movements. Such movements must allow
freedom of expression, even to those who are opposed to them.
Those who are opposed to them are under no such obligation.
Indeed, their very doctrines require them to suppress what they
see as impious and immoral ideas -- an unfair advantage in this
political competition.
These religious movements have another advantage. They can invoke
the very traditional definition of "self" and
"enemy" that exists in the Islamic world. It is very
old. We see it, for example, in historiography. We can talk of
European history as a struggle against, for example, the Moors,
or the Tartars. If you look at contemporary historiography for
the Middle East's Muslim peoples, their struggle is always
defined in religious terms. For their historians, their side is
Islam, their ruler is the lord of Islam, and the enemy is defined
as infidels. That earlier classification has come back again.
Osama bin Laden's habit of defining his enemies as
"crusaders" illustrates this. By "crusaders,"
bin Laden does not mean Americans or Zionists.
"Crusaders," of course, were Christian warriors in a
holy war for Christendom, fighting to recover the holy places of
Christendom, which had been lost to Muslim conquerors in the 7th
century. Bin Laden sees it as a struggle between two rival
religions.
I say again: To blame the Saddam Hussein-type governments on
Islamic and Arabic traditions is totally false. Those traditions
led to the development of societies that, while not democratic in
the sense of having elected bodies, produced limited governments.
That is, governments limited by the holy law, limited in a
practical sense by the existence of powerful groups in society,
like the rural gentry and the military and religious
establishments. These acted as constraints on the power of the
government. The idea of absolute rule is totally alien to Islamic
practice until, sad to say, modernization made it possible.
What the process of modernization did was to strengthen the
sovereign power, and place at the disposal of the sovereign power
the whole modern apparatus of control and repression.
Modernization also weakened the intermediate powers, which
previously limited the powers of the state and had acted as a
countervailing force. Modernization meant a shift from old elites
living on their estates, to new elites who regarded the state as
their estate.
Modernization has not erased the fact that the peoples of the
Muslim Middle East have a tradition of limited, responsible
government. While not democratic, this tradition shares many
features of democratic Western governments. It provides, I
believe, a good basis for the development of democratic
institutions -- as has happened elsewhere in the world. I remain
cautiously optimistic for their future.
Bernard Lewis is the Cleveland E. Dodge Professor of Near Eastern
Studies, Emeritus, at Princeton University. He has written
numerous books about Islam, including, most recently, The Crisis
Of Islam: Holy War And Unholy Terror (March 2003). This essay is
adapted from the 8th Annual Barbara Frum Lecture delivered by
Prof. Lewis in Toronto which will be broadcast on CBC Radio's
IDEAS on April 24.
© Copyright 2003 National Post
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