PLEASE NOTE:
*
Date sent: Fri, 14 Nov
1997 11:24:11 -0500 (EST)
From:
Benny J Peiser <B.J.PEISER@livjm.ac.uk
Subject:
CC-DIGEST 14 November 1997
To:
cambridge-conference@livjm.ac.uk
Priority: NORMAL
CAMBRIDGE-CONFERENCE DIGEST 14 November 1997
Shortly before leaving for Washington, I have attached a
number of
new stories, articles and developments which might be of interest
to list members. Should you be interested in a copy of the
forthcoming Channel 4 TUNGUSKA documentary, please feel free to
contact me.
Benny J Peiser
===========================================================================
(1) THE DAY THE EARTH GOT HIT
(2) THE THREAT TO CIVILISATION DUE TO COMETS AND ASTEROIDS AND
WHY
WE NEED TO CHANGE THE COURSE OF NATURE
(3) NEAR EARTH ASTEROID PROSPECTOR FLYING HIGH
(4) BIG IMPACT CRATER ON MARS?
(5) NEWLY DISCOVERED WOODHENGE RIVALS STONEHENGE
========================================================================
(1) THE DAY THE EARTH GOT HIT
(TV Documentary)
Channel 4 (UK)
Monday 17 November, 9.00PM
[With many interviews shot during the 2nd SIS Cambridge
Conference
this summer.]
At 7.16am on 30 June 1908 in the skies above Tunguska in
remotest
Siberia, a gigantic fireball exploded, setting fire to 2000
square
kilometres of forest, toppling the trees like matchsticks and
sending a pressure-wave twice around the world. Scientists didn't
visit the site until 19 years later and when they finally did
they
found utter devastation.
Astonishingly, one eyewitness to the cataclysm still survives.
GRIGORY VERKHOTUROV, now 96, remembers the day that the fire came
by. "Everything shook. There was a flash, a roar. The sun
went in.
We ran to a neighbour's house. Everyone was just sitting there.
People came round to ask what had happened. Where had it come
from? No one knew."
Today, the scientists know a little more about The Day The
Earth
Got Hit. They believe an object penetrated the Earth's atmosphere
from outer space, blowing up about 6 kilometres above the ground
with a force of 15 megatons, many times greater than the nuclear
bomb dropped on Hiroshima. But what that object was exactly
remains a mystery.
Now every summer a team of Russian scientists struggles to
reach
Tunguska, one of the remotest places on earth, in the hope of
solving that mystery. Their mission is vital and urgent - for any
information on cosmic impact could help save this planet from
destruction. The expedition's goal lies deep in the trackless
forests of Siberia, on the banks of the Tunguska River, 2000
miles
from Moscow and two-and-a-half days' walk from the nearest
settlement, the
tiny trading post of Vanovara. Equinox joined the scientists on
their latest
trek - the first western documentary team allowed into one of the
former
Soviet Union's most secret areas.
Countless questions remain about the impact and there are many
rival
theories about what the object from outer space consisted of.
What
was it? The stone or iron core from an asteroid? The nucleus of a
comet? Or something in between, perhaps a stray fragment from a
meteorite shower that regularly orbits the earth?
The race is now on to find the answers. Scientists have
realised
that the Tunguska explosion is the latest of a series of
collisions between the Earth and objects from outer space.
"It's
the only thing we can point to and say directly where a large
object struck the Earth," says Dr DAVID MORRISON of NASA.
"Indeed,
if it hadn't been for Tunguska, we might not be aware today that
there's an impact hazard at all."
Astronomer DUNCAN STEEL believes knowing exactly what happened
at
Tunguska will help mankind decide what to do when - as it
inevitably
will, perhaps today, perhaps in 300 years time - another object
takes aim at our planet.
"We need to understand what happened there," he
says. "Was it an
asteroid? Was it a comet? How fast was it coming in? How did it
detonate? What debris did it leave behind if any? And we need to
do
that in order to build up a total understanding of the cosmic
shooting
gallery which the earth happens to move through."
At Tunguska itself, Equinox follows an investigation that
began as long ago
as 1927, when a pioneering meteorite expert, LEONID KULIK, first
reached the
area. His expedition, brought to life in the programme through
archive film,
searched for fragments of the object but found nothing. Today,
the hunt
continues, with the Russian scientists meticulously combing
through samples
of peat from the bog at the explosion's epicentre. Others
continue to map
the strange butterfly-shaped pattern of the fallen trees in the
hope of
establishing the size of the explosion with greater precision.
And a
geneticist is examining strange anomalies in the plant life of
the blast
area.
In the West, astronomers and NASA experts have begun their own
Tunguska
research programmes, among them ballistics expert MARK BOSLOUGH
of Sandia
Laboratories in New Mexico. Using one of the world's most
powerful
computers, he has simulated this extraordinary event with
surprising
results. The scientists, he suggests, have been searching for the
fragments
of the cosmic invader in the wrong place. The answer may lie
hundreds of
miles away beneath the waters of Lake Baikal, the world's deepest
freshwater
lake.
And in California, perhaps the greatest of all explosion
experts
keenly awaits results, in the hope that news from this remotest
of
places on the surface of the Earth may help avert a far greater
cataclysm in a more populated place sometime in the future. DR
EDWARD TELLER, 'father' of the H bomb, hopes that mankind will be
better prepared the next time the planet is hit:
"And I think that whenever it should occur," he
says, "whether it is ten
people in the middle of Siberia or a hundred thousand people in a
city or a
hundred million people on a continent or the whole human race, we
should do
what we can to prevent it."
Prod/Dir: Stephen White
Prod: Armorer Wason
Exec Prod: Simon Welfare
Prod Co: Granite Produtions
======================================================================
(2) THE THREAT TO CIVILISATION DUE TO COMETS AND ASTEROIDS AND
WHY
WE NEED TO CHANGE THE COURSE OF NATURE
Invited Talk at the NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION, WASHINGTON DC
20 November 1997, 3.00 pm
Benny J Peiser (Liverpool John Moores University)
COSMIC CONSCIOUSNESS: THE THREAT TO CIVILISATION DUE TO COMETS
AND
ASTEROIDS AND WHY WE NEED TO CHANGE THE COURSE OF NATURE (AND
THAT OF
SOME NEOs)
The crash of comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 on Jupiter in July of 1994
proved
to be a watershed in the development of mankind's cosmic
consciousness. The dramatic changes in the understanding and
perception of our cosmic environment, initially triggered by the
Cretaceous-Tertiary (K/T) boundary controversy during the early
1980s, appear to have gradually shifted from the geological to
the
historical time-frame.
During the last decade, most scientists have accepted the idea
of
global catastrophes caused by the impact of extraterrestrial
bodies.
Until fairly recently, their acceptance depended on the
assumption
that cosmic disasters were restricted to primordial times,
millions
of years before the origin of homo sapiens. This picture has
changed
significantly over the last couple of years. One of the most
noticeable changes to the 1980s, which focused primarily on the
demise of the dinosaurs and other mass extinctions, is the
growing
concern and risk assessment of the celestial threat to
civilisation.
Scholars have now started to investigate the implications of
catastrophic events on societal evolution, cultural anthropology,
human social behaviour and the development of religion. Some of
Britain's leading astronomers argue that both the emergence and
the
collapse of civilisations might be associated with episodes of
increased meteoric activity, multiple impacts and related climate
change. Such episodes punctuating the evolution of human cultures
are now looked upon as a primary agency determining the rise and
fall of ancient civilisations.
The emerging paradigm of historical catastrophism also stems
from
the awareness that the celestial hazard is not limited to the odd
giant asteroid which hits the Earth every 100,000 or 1,000,000
years.
In contrast to the traditional risk assessment - based on a
statistical analysis of the number of known impact craters on the
Moon and Earth in addition to the currently known asteroidal flux
-
it has become evident that super-Tunguskas (i.e. multimegaton
atmospheric or oceanic impacts) are also capable of triggering
ecological and climatical downturns which, if severe enough, may
result in civilisation collapse.
In spite of mankind's rude awakening, there is no need for
desperation or apocalyptic fatalism. Terrestrial life has now,
for
the first time ever, developed the intelligence and technology to
discern the mortal dangers from space. It has also evolved to
such
a level that effective strategies of planetary defense can be
devised and implemented. By turning away Near Earth Objects
(NEOs)
and the threat they pose to civilisation, man has acquired the
capability of changing the course of nature and halting the
vicious cycle of cosmic cataclysms. Scientists have the
responsibility to meet this challenge head-on and to ensure that
mankind takes its fate into its own hands. This would certainly
mark the start of a new turning point in the development of
cosmic
consciousness and auto-evolution.
===================================================================
(3) NEAR EARTH ASTEROID PROSPECTOR FLYING HIGH
From: Ron Baalke <BAALKE@kelvin.jpl.nasa.gov
Media Information: Gretchen Jaspering 314.477.8400
Investment Information: Jamie Driscoll 617.695.6360
NEAR EARTH ASTEROID PROSPECTOR ANNOUNCEMENT OF OPPORTUNITY RELEASED
November 11, 1997, Steamboat Springs, CO -For the first time
in the
history of space exploration, a private company is offering the
scientific community, governments and companies a ride aboard a
spacecraft for their experiments or instruments at insured,
published, fixed prices.
SpaceDev, (www.SpaceDev.Com) the world's first commercial
space
exploration company, intends to launch the first private
spacecraft
to land on a near earth asteroid for the purpose of collecting
scientific data and to stake a claim to establish private
property
rights in space.
The spacecraft, Near Earth Asteroid Prospector (NEAP), first
in a
series of SpaceDev Space Prospectors, will carry three of its own
instruments to analyze its asteroids size, and determine its
composition and value. In addition to these, space is available
for
up to seven additional experiments or instruments of which four
are
canisters for instruments or experiments to be deployed into sun
orbit during the mission or to the surface of the SpaceDev
asteroid.
On the first mission, one canister will contain the NEAP alpha
proton
X-ray spectrometer which will be used to determine the elemental
composition of the asteroid surface, leaving three canisters
available to carry customer experiments or nano-rovers.
"Until today, scientists, universities, companies and
governments
have had one avenue to space-the government. NEAP is the new
spacecraft on the launchpad, and its science costs only
one-fourth
what a recent government mission costs," said James W.
Benson,
Chairman, SpaceDev.
"This unique opportunity to use a private spacecraft
offers these
customers inexpensive access to space on short notice and also
offers
quick turn around on experiment results-results in approximately
half
the time of current missions. Furthermore, the mission represents
minimal risk to the customer, because customer's instruments are
fully insured against launch failure," said Benson.
NEAP intends to launch between mid 1999 and mid 2000, with
flight
time estimated at between nine and fifteen months. Potential
target
asteroids include 1993 BX3 and 1996 FO3.
Construction and testing of NEAP will begin during the first
quarter
of 1998 and will take approximately 18 months to complete.
SpaceDev
is a public company (OTC:PSDM) specializing in private space
missions
and consulting.
Full details of the Announcement of Opportunity are available
on the
SpaceDev website:
http://spacedev.com/SpaceDev/PriceLst.html
===========================================================================
(4) BIG IMPACT CRATER ON MARS?
From: E. Grondine <epgrondine@hotmail.com
For the last four months I have really enjoyed the postings on
Pathfinder. But there is one thing that seems strange: there has
been very little mention about effects observed at the Pathfinder
landing site from the impact that formed the Big Crater.
Nuclear "device" experts that I have talked to given
me estimates
for the Big Crater impact explosion ranging from 35
megatons to 100
megatons. Even at a mere 35 megatons, the effects of this
explosion at the
Pathfinder landing site must have been immense.
I know Dan Goldin is running a tight ship, but I find it hard
to
believe that he has laid off all the impact specialists there at
JPL and cut
off the grants for the rest of them.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Ron Baalke <BAALKE@kelvin.jpl.nasa.gov
Pathfinder did see ejecta material from a nearby crater, which
was
reported just 2 days after it had landed on July 6 (see below).
Also, the spacecraft wasn't in a crater, so the odds of finding
any effects from an impact drops off the farther away you are
from the crater. Pathfinder only observed surface rocks,
and did not dig down into the ground to find shatter cones, and
probably wasn't close enough to the crater anyway.
Mars Pathfinder Mission Status
July 6, 1997
9 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time
Scientists pointed out other interesting
rocks, soil deposits and
features on the horizon in this evening's press briefing. A pair
of
mountain peaks, nicknamed "Twin Peaks," revealed
ribbons of different
colored rock. Scientists noted that the horizontal bands could be
sedimentary layers or terraces cut by erosion. Angular rocks
appearing in the foreground, all leaning in the same direction,
suggest they were ejected from a nearby impact crater. A variety
of
smooth round rocks suggested that they were transported by water
in
Mars' early evolution.
===========================================================================
(5) NEWLY DISCOVERED WOODHENGE RIVALS STONEHENGE
From: THE TIMES, 11 November 1997
Woodhenge find rivals stone circles
By Nigel Hawkes, Science Editor
ARCHAEOLOGISTS have discovered traces of a huge and
elaborate wooden temple dating back 5,000 years. Evidence
shows that it was once one of the most important
ceremonial
sites in England, comparable in significance to
Stonehenge.
Nine concentric rings of oak pillars once stood on the
site at
Stanton Drew in Somerset, surrounded by an enormous
ditch. Each upright would have been up to a metre across
and probably stood eight metres above the ground. All that
can be seen today is a later stone circle. Such wooden
henges are unique to Britain, and this one is twice as
large as
any of the other seven known.
The traces were found by archaeologists from English
Heritage while they were carrying out a routine survey,
using
instruments that can detect small magnetic anomalies in
the
soil without disturbing the surface.
"To our surprise and delight what emerged was a
timber
temple of about 3000 BC," said Geoffrey Wainwright,
chief
archaeologist at English Heritage. "There is now no
timber left
­ it would have decayed long ago. But the
disturbance of the
soil when the pits were dug to take the uprights shows
clearly."
Andrew David, head of archaeometry at English Heritage,
estimates that there would have been between 400 and 500
oak uprights making up the nine rings. Each would have
weighed five tons or so, nearly as much as the stones at
Stonehenge.
Some wooden henges had a roof, but Dr Wainwright said
Stanton Drew was far too large to roof over. He sees it as
a
local centre where people would go ask the supernatural
powers to provide them with plentiful crops, or healthy
herds
of animals.
"By this period, a social structure was
developing, with
distinct tribal areas. The temples were focal points for
these
tribes, where they gathered and held feasts. Other wooden
henges contain masses of pig bones, along with decorated
fragments of pottery. It looks as if the people
deliberately
broke the pots and scattered them around."
At the time, the population of Britain may have been as
great
as one million, according to Dr Wainwright. "It's a
great
mistake to think the people who built this place were
rude,
untutored, starving individuals. They were very
sophisticated
with successful agriculture and made beautiful items such
as
carved stone axes used for barter."
The technique used to find the hidden rings makes use
of the
fact that any disturbance of soil tends to affect its
magnetism.
Until a few years ago, magnetometers sensitive enough to
detect the anomalies at Stanton Drew did not exist. The
existence of the post holes could have been found by
conventional digging, but the site has not been dug in
recent
times.
The ring shows no evidence of having been orientated
with
any astronomical purpose in mind. Nor is it known whether
the uprights were carved or decorated, although Dr
Wainwright believes that they were. "It is very hard
to think
of a structure like this with nine concentric circles not
being
carved in some way," he said.
He suspects that the carving might have been like that
on
contemporary pottery, which carries geometrical patterns
and
spiral motifs. "The patterns are quite stylised and
relate to
tribal territories, we believe. It would be very
surprising if
these motifs were not replicated on the timber
uprights."
A complete excavation of the site is not planned, as it
would
be unlikely to provide much more information than the
magnetic survey. A small dig may be conducted to confirm
that the rings are indeed the remains of post holes,
although
there is little doubt that they are.
Sir Jocelyn Stevens, chairman of English Heritage, said
that
Britain was apparently the only place in the ancient world
where these extraordinary temples were built. "They
were
expressing their power by building these great rings, just
as
we are celebrating the Millennium by building a huge dome.
This is clearly a very British habit, and it is 5,000
years old."
Builders of the oak tree marvel beat Great
Pyramid by four centuries
The Great Pyramid at Giza was not even on the drawing
board when the wooden henge at Stanton Drew was built.
The building of the henge dates from about 3000 BC, while
Cheops did not build the pyramid until 2590 BC.
The builders of the henge were near-contemporaries of
those
who invented the wheel in Mesopotamia, and the sail in
Egypt, both in about 3500 BC. Bronze casting and the
plough were known in the Middle East, but not in Britain.
Writing had just been invented in Sumer. Stonehenge itself
existed, but like the temple at Stanton Drew it was made
of
wood, not stone. The Stonehenge we know today did not
assume its final form until 2000 BC.
The henge was built in much the same way as Stonehenge.
Pits up to four metres deep were dug, and ramps arranged
alongside them. The oak pillars were dragged and pushed
until they overbalanced into the pits, and were then
pulled
upright. The wooden henges would have lasted for up 400
years before needing replacement.
Bride eager to dance had Devil to pay
THE ancient mysteries of Stanton Drew are no secret to
the
landlord of the Druid's Arms. John Newcombe has three of
the standing stones in his beer garden, the largest 12ft
high.
"The local legend is that they were the guests at
a wedding
party who were turned to stone," he said. "The
ones in my
back garden are the bride, bridegroom and best man."
Every midsummer's eve, he says, a small group of
strangely
dressed people arrive to dance around the stones. "I
don't
know who they are but they aren't druids," he said.
"They
wear little capes and hats and carry things like Devil's
forks.
"As long as they don't scare away my regulars I
don't care
what they get up to. They have these little candles like
night-lights and I go out in the morning to clear them
away but
they never make any other mess."
According to Robin Bush, the Somerset historian and
member of Channel 4's Time Team, Stanton Drew means
"Drew's town near the stones" and is mentioned
in the
Domesday Book. One of the stones has a hole in it and was
once much larger. Mr Bush said: "It was called
Hautville's
Quoit, after a medieval lord, Sir John Hautville, whose
tomb
is in a church near by.
"The local legend was that he had thrown it there.
It once
stood in the middle of the road but over the years has
been
chipped away at, partly to get stone to put on the road
itself."
The stones at Stanton Drew were considered to be the
third
most important prehistoric monument in Wessex after
Stonehenge and Avebury. The 17th-century antiquary John
Aubrey recorded the legend of the wedding party in 1664.
According to Aubrey, the fiddler went home before
midnight
to avoid playing on the Sabbath and the bride announced
that
she would "go to hell for another fiddler".
Another fiddler
appeared and played until dawn, when he revealed himself
as
the Devil and turned the assembled throng to stone.
No one believes that story any longer. Except, of
course, on
midsummer's eve.