PLEASE NOTE:
*
CCNet 128/2000 - 7 December 2000
--------------------------------
"If these recommendations were to be implemented, what would
be the
consequences for UK scientists? Firstly, UK participation in the
construction and running of a new dedicated telescope would be an
exciting opportunity which one hopes would be firmly grasped. The
redeployment of the JKT and the reservation of a small amount of
time on
larger telescopes for NEO work would inevitably have some
consequences
on existing programmes, but one hopes that within the context of
the wider
programme these changes would be insignificant. The promotion of
impact
and mitigation studies could generate considerable activity
within the
atmospheric physics, geophysics, and space science communities.
The
organizational consequences could affect RAS Council, as the RAS
is now the
adhering body to the IAU
(which will certainly be involved in any new forum). Finally, if
a
British Centre were to be set up, then one might expect a more
coordinated
framework for UK studies, and a higher profile for NEO work both
in
scientific and public arenas."
-- David A Williams, Astronomy &
Geophysics, December 2000
"The broad and enthusiastic response by politicians from all
parties
and regions in the North West shows that there is not only widest
support, but real expectation that the recommended Spaceguard
Telescope
will be built on Merseyside. Clearly, this is a golden
opportunity for TTL
and Merseyside to become one of the world's top producers of
high-
technology telescopes and their associated equipment."
-- Benny Peiser, Daily Post, 7 December 2000
(1) SUPPORT FOR BID TO BUILD SPACEGUARD TELESCOPE
DAILY POST, 7 December 2000
(2) THE TASK FORCE ON NEAR EARTH OBJECTS
David A Williams
(3) ANOTHER BLOW FOR GEOLOGICAL GRADUALISM: CONTINENTAL LAND
MASSES CREATED
IN FAST BURSTS
Andrew Yee <ayee@nova.astro.utoronto.ca>
(5) MAD COW DISEASE 'MAY HAVE COME FROM STARDUST'
Andrew Yee <ayee@nova.astro.utoronto.ca>
(6) MARS ROCK FORMATIONS MAY CONTAIN FOSSILIZED LIFE
Space.com, 5 December 2000
(7) OH DEAR: GREEN SENATOR DOWN UNDER IN PROTEST OVER STARRY
POLUTION ......
NINEMSN, 5 December 2000
(8) AND FINALLY: ORBIT SOMETHING FOR FUN
Matthew Genge <M.Genge@nhm.ac.uk>
=======================
(1) SUPPORT FOR BID TO BUILD SPACEGUARD TELESCOPE
From DAILY POST, 7 December 2000
Politicians have joined the growing support for Liverpool's bid
to build a
giant telescope to search for potentially hazardous asteroids and
comets.
The funding and building of the proposed telescope was
recommended by a task
force set up by Science Minister, Lord Sainsbury.
Spaceguard UK is lobbying the government to commission JMU's
Telescope
Technologies Ltd (TTL) to design and build the instrument.
Dr Benny Peiser, a JMU researcher and spokesman for [Spaceguard
UK], said he
had received a letter from 11 MPs, MEPs Den Dover and Brian
Simpson, Lord
Alton of Liverpool and Lord Wade of Charlton pledging their full
support for
the campaign.
He said: "The broad and enthusiastic response by politicians
from all
parties and regions in the North West shows that there is not
only widest
support, but real expectation that the recommended Spaceguard
Telescope will
be built on Merseyside."
"Clearly, this is a golden opportunity for TTL and
Merseyside to become one
of the world's top producers of high-technology telescopes and
their
associated equipment."
TTL is a wholly owned subsidiary of JMU and is the only company
in the UK
designing and producing professional astronomical telescopes.
Dr Peiser said if successful the £15m project would create up to
50 new jobs
and safeguard 220 jobs already created by the university's
telescope
building initiative.
Copyright 2000, Daily Post
====================
(2) THE TASK FORCE ON NEAR EARTH OBJECTS
From Astronomy & Geophysics. The Journal of the Royal
Astronomical Society
December 2000, vol 41, p.6
David A Williams, one of the three eminent scientists chosen to
assess this
field, summarizes deliberations of the committee
On 4 January 2000, to considerable media interest, the Minister
for Science,
Lord Sainsbury, announced the setting up of a Task Force on
Potentially
Hazardous Near Earth Objects. Did he know something that others
didn't? That
was the question being asked then. In fact, the reasons for
setting up the
Task Force were more prosaic: the Task Force was to assess the
hazard and
the risk associated with the impact of such objects (NEOs) on
Earth, and to
advise the government on possible UK contributions to the
international
efforts. Its members were Dr Harry Atkinson (chairman), Sir
Crispin Tickell,
and Prof. David Williams, none of whom were NEO experts and who
would
therefore be expected to take an independent view.
The Task Force consulted widely and published its report to
renewed media
interest on 18 September 2000 (you can read it at
www.nearearthobjects.co.uk).
It describes the nature of asteroids and comets
and the threat they pose to Earth by collision. It reviews
observational
techniques currently in use (see, for example, Harris and Davies
1999), and
noted the on-going debate about mitigation of the threat. There
are several
useful annexes, including a history of the recognition of the
threat, and a
list of notable impacts and of recent near- misses. The report
concludes
that there is a significant yet small risk to life on Earth from
NEOs; it is
at such a level that we should take it seriously. It is not a
joke; neither
is it a worry to keep us awake at night. The main effort should,
in the view
of the Task Force, be to improve the information that we have
about the
population of NEOs. The essence of the report is contained in its
14
recommendations. Lord Sainsbury is now considering the report and
it is
hoped that he will be able to respond by the end of this year.
The Task Force recommendations cover three broad areas:
observations;
mitigation and impact; and organization to meet the threat. Here,
I have
only space to highlight the main issues and to reflect briefly on
the
consequences of implementation of the recommendations.
The USA leads the world in its programmes to detect potentially
hazardous
NEOs of 1 km size and larger. Currently, only about half of the
estimated
total of such objects have been detected. The most pressing need,
therefore,
is for more complete knowledge of these and smaller objects, and
the first
recommendation is for the construction by international partners
of a new
dedicated 3m class telescope to be located in the southern
hemisphere. This
would greatly enhance the discovery rate.
Many discovered NEOs are, however, lost because the requisite
follow-Up
observations have not been made. The Task Force recommends that
the Johannes
Kapteyn telescope on La Palma be dedicated to follow-up. In
addition,
observations using larger telescopes to confirm orbits and to
identify the
chemical and physical properties should be possible outside the
normal
allocation procedures. The huge data flow from discovery and
follow-up is
currently co-ordinated at the Minor Planet Center in Harvard. The
Task Force
recommends that the unique and vital worth of the MPC be secured
through
international funding.
Mitigation implies both civil defence and deflection; these are
areas of
continuing debate at present, by scientists in a wide range of
disciplines.
The Task Force hopes to see such studies encouraged within the
wider
scientific community.
The threat is, of course, global. Any response should also
involve the whole
planet. The Task Force believes that it isn't sufficient to wait
until a
serious threat materializes, and encourages the UK government to
begin now
to work with other governments to establish an international
forum in which
the science can be discussed and the response to a threat
formulated.
European cooperation is also desirable; Europe has the capability
to
contribute equally with the USA to NEO studies, and the Task
Force calls on
the UK government to work with others to achieve that
complementary role.
Finally, the Task Force recommends the setting up of a British
Centre for
NEO studies, to provide advice to the government and to the
public, and to
promote British involvement in international activities.
If these recommendations were to be implemented, what would be
the
consequences for UK scientists?
Firstly, UK participation in the construction and running of a
new dedicated
telescope would be an exciting opportunity which one hopes would
be firmly
grasped. The redeployment of the JKT and the reservation of a
small amount
of time on larger telescopes for NEO work would inevitably have
some
consequences on existing programmes, but one hopes that within
the context
of the wider programme these changes would be insignificant. The
promotion
of impact and mitigation studies could generate considerable
activity within
the atmospheric physics, geophysics, and space science
communities. The
organizational consequences could affect RAS Council, as the RAS
is now the
adhering body to the IAU (which will certainly be involved in any
new
forum). Finally, if a British Centre were to be set up, then one
might
expect a more coordinated framework for UK studies, and a higher
profile for
NEO work both in scientific and public arenas.
Reference
Harris and Davies 1999 A&G 40 110
Copyright Astronomy & Geophysics. The permission by the
A&G editor and the
author to post this article on CCNet is kindly acknowledged.
=================
(3) ANOTHER BLOW FOR GEOLOGICAL GRADUALISM: CONTINENTAL LAND
MASSES CREATED
IN FAST BURSTS
From Andrew Yee <ayee@nova.astro.utoronto.ca>
University of Toronto
CONTACT:
Alexander Cruden
U of T Department of Geology
ph: (416) 946-7284; email: cruden@geology.utoronto.ca
U of T Public Affairs
ph: (416) 978-6974; email: jf.wong@utoronto.ca
Dec. 6, 2000
Earth's continental land masses created in short, fast bursts
Findings challenge multi-million year continental crust theory
By Janet Wong
Scientists believe they have unraveled one of geology's most
enduring
mysteries about how the Earth's continental crust was built, and
they say it
happened in a relative blink of an eye.
According to Alexander Cruden, associate professor of geology at
the
University of Toronto and second author of the paper to appear in
the Dec. 6
issue of Nature, the way that granite forms -- a rock that makes
up about 70
to 80 per cent of the Earth's continental crust -- is not the
sluggish,
multi-million year process that scientists previously believed.
In fact,
Cruden and his co-authors argue that the process occurs in rapid,
dynamic
and possibly catastrophic events
that take between 1,000 and 100,000 years, depending on the size
of the
granite intrusion. And that's changing how scientists look at the
formation
of the Earth's continents.
Cruden conducted the research with Nick Petford of Kingston
University and
Ken McCaffrey of the University of Durham, both in England, and
Jean-Louis
Vigneresse of the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique in
Nancy,
France.
"In the past, we thought that granite magma -- which cools
and crystallizes
to form very large granite intrusions -- moved up through
kilometres of
crust as large, solid blobs at rates of about a metre per year.
Because the
continental crust is largely made up of these intrusions, the
prevailing
view was that the continents grew slowly and steadily over
millions of
years. But we've found that magma actually has quite low
viscosity and is
relatively runny," says Cruden.
"Because it is runny, it's able to channel its way from the
mantle and lower
crust through fractures and cracks that are as small as one metre
thick.
This way, the magma can ascend 20 to 30 kilometres into the upper
crust
quite rapidly."
Therefore, says Cruden, a 50 km wide intrusion of granite, in say
Greenland
or the Canadian Shield, that geologists would have once estimated
to have
taken millions of years to form may have actually taken only
50,000 years.
Smaller intrusions that are 10 km across may form in as little as
1,000
years. And from a geological point of view, that's
extraordinarily fast, he
adds.
The researchers used experimental studies that involved melting
rock samples
to understand how granite magma initially forms in the upper
mantle and
lower crust and how fast it can move. That data was then applied
to
theoretical models to determine its method and rate of ascension.
New models
for the emplacement stage -- where the granite is intruded into
older rock
in the upper crust -- are based on a combination of theoretical
studies and
fieldwork in areas such as the Canadian Shield, Sweden, the
Sierra Nevada of
California, Greenland and the Andes of South America. A unique
aspect of the
research is that the three main stages of granite formation --
generation,
ascent and emplacement -- are regarded together as a system.
Historically,
these processes have been studied by different geological
specialists in
isolation from each other.
Cruden likens the granite formation process to subterranean
volcanic
eruptions. Like Lego blocks built on top of one another, large
parts of the
Earth's continental land masses were created by tens of thousands
of quick
eruptions or bursts of molten magma that were transferred rapidly
from the
mantle and lower-most crust and then injected as large horizontal
sheets
into the upper
crust. These sheets then cooled and crystallized to form the
large granite
intrusions that we see exposed at the surface of all continents
today, he
says.
The Earth's continents began forming approximately four billion
years ago,
Cruden explains. "This research has important implications
for how we
understand the basic physics and chemistry of crust formation
processes as
well as the formation of economic ore deposits -- gold and
copper, for
example -- many of which are associated with granite
intrusions."
This study was funded by Natural Environmental Research Council
of the
United Kingdom, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research
Council of
Canada and the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique of
France.
[Janet Wong is a news services officer with the Department of
Public
Affairs.]
IMAGE CAPTION:
[http://www.newsandevents.utoronto.ca/bin1/001206a.asp]
A cliff on a mountainside in Greenland. The cliff is about 800 m
high (i.e.
two CN Towers) and is made up of granite (brown rocks) and
"rafts" of older
rock that were intruded by this granite (grey rocks). Photo: John
Grocott,
Kingston University, England
================
(4) THE NEAR EARTH ASTEROID THREAT
From Larry Klaes <lklaes@bbn.com>
NSS/Boston Meeting - Thursday, December 7, 2000, 7:30 p.m., MIT
http://www.spaceviews.com/boston/
The Near Earth Asteroid Threat
Near Earth objects present an opportunity for exploration
and development
but there is also risk of Earth impact. Detection efforts
are still in
their infancy with incomplete sky coverage.
Should NASA lead these efforts? What part should the Department
of Defense
(DoD) play? Consultant Drake Mormet will present a summary of the
latest
reports and discuss the efforts to detect Earth
crossing asteroids and access the risk of impact.
=================
(5) MAD COW DISEASE 'MAY HAVE COME FROM STARDUST'
From Andrew Yee <ayee@nova.astro.utoronto.ca>
[From U.K. Press Association,
http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_136568.html?nav_src=newsIndexHeadline]
Wednesday, 6th December 2000 15:10 GMT
Mad cow disease 'may have come from stardust'
Two top academics believe comets bombarding the earth with
extra-terrestrial
bacteria could have caused mad cow disease.
Cattle left to winter outside in England and Wales could have
developed mad
cow disease after eating grass laced with a sprinkling of
inter-stellar
dust.
Professor Chandra Wickramasinghe, of the University of Wales,
Cardiff, says
there is growing evidence to suggest all life on Earth came from
the stars.
The Professor of Applied Mathematics and Astronomy at Cardiff's
University
of Wales has put forward the radical theory in conjunction with
Cambridge
University counterpart, Professor Sir Fred Hoyle.
Both believe that particles from passing comets can enter the
Earth's
atmosphere, bringing with them micro-bacteria. It is these which
explain
sudden outbreaks of disease in past centuries, the astronomers
claim.
"It may seem a way-out position but the fact is the theory
is starting to
gain currency throughout the academic world," said Professor
Wickramasinghe.
"It's like Sherlock Holmes says to Watson 'If all the other
possibilities
have been ruled out, whatever is left, however unlikely, must be
the truth.'
We maintain that life on Earth is far too intricate to have
started here and
so it had to come from outside.
"We know Earth and the Moon were being pummelled by comets
four billion
years ago, when life started, which we believe brought microbial
life and
DNA. It was this process that seeded the Earth with life and, of
course, it
is still going on now."
Professor Wickramasinghe said bacteria recently discovered in
South America
had been dormant for a quarter-of-a-billion years. That made it
uniquely
well qualified to be a space traveller and underpinned their
theory about
BSE.
"We believe that the almost unique Welsh and English
practice of
out-wintering cattle explains why BSE hit more severely here than
elsewhere.
Out-wintering cattle does not happen in Scotland, or Ireland or
anywhere on
the Continent. "
He added: "There are between 10 to 100 tons of organic
material raining down
on the Earth every day. Small particles of bacterial and viral
sizes descend
through the stratosphere in the winter months when cattle in this
country
are outside.
"The particles would obviously rain down on the grass, and
you cannot think
of a better way to mop it up than to have cattle roaming from
field to
field.
"Once a genetic fragment or piece of infected protein got
into a few cattle,
man took a hand, by grinding up infected animals and including
them in
feed."
Copyright © 2000 Ananova Ltd
==================
(6) MARS ROCK FORMATIONS MAY CONTAIN FOSSILIZED LIFE
From Space.com, 5 December 2000
http://www.space.com/cgi-bin/email/gate.cgi?lk=T5&date=001206&go=/scienceastronomy/solarsystem/fossil_life_mars_001205.html
By Andrew Bridges
Pasadena Bureau Chief
and Robert Roy Britt
Senior Science Writer
PASADENA, Calif. - The layers upon layers of rock formations seen
in newly
unveiled images of Mars may contain beds of fossilized Martian
life ripe for
the picking by future missions to the Red Planet, scientists
said.
The beds of rock may have formed as sediments settled to the
bottom of
primordial seas or lakes - bodies of water that once may have
teemed with
Martian life in the planet's ancient past.
As such, the bands of rock may contain evidence that life is not
unique to
Earth.
Sedimentary rock outcrops in the Grand Canyon record a rich,
detailed
history of events that occurred in a given place. The same might
be true of
Mars.
"This is where you would go to look for life or for a record
of life," said
Michael Malin, the principal investigator on the camera aboard
the Mars
Global Surveyor spacecraft used to make the discoveries.
"There is no
argument these would be great candidates for that purpose."
Malin and fellow scientist Ken Edgett, both of Malin Space
Science Systems,
San Diego, presented their findings on Monday during a hastily
arranged
press conference held at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).
On Earth, life exists wherever there is water. And if water
persisted on the
surface of Mars even 3.5 billion or more years ago, there is no
reason why
it would not have represented an attractive abode for life as
well,
scientists say.
"If you want to look for evidence of past life on Mars, go
where the water
is," said Wes Huntress, NASA's former space science chief
and current
director of the Geophysical Laboratory, Carnegie Institution of
Washington.
"And if, in fact, it is confirmed that this is where water
once was, then
this is the right haystack to be looking in to see if you can
find that
needle."
Scientists have seen evidence of layering on Mars since Mariner 9
first
began returning data after arriving in orbit around the planet in
late 1971.
And they have long theorized that early in Martian history, the
planet was a
warm, wet place.
FULL STORY at
http://www.space.com/cgi-bin/email/gate.cgi?lk=T5&date=001206&go=/scienceastronomy/solarsystem/fossil_life_mars_001205.html
=================
(7) OH DEAR: GREEN SENATOR DOWN UNDER IN PROTEST OVER STARRY
POLUTION ......
From NINEMSN, 5 December 2000
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/sci_tech/story_5286.asp
The last generation to see a natural night sky: Brown
AAP --
Poets and lovers around the world would suffer when the space
station
Endeavour lit up as they would no longer enjoy a natural night
sky,
parliament was told today.
Greens senator Bob Brown (Tas) told Environment Minister Robert
Hill the new
space station, Endeavour, would be brighter than the brightest
star in the
sky, Sirius.
"As it grows close to Christmas, I want to ask the minister
about stars,"
Senator Brown said.
"Are we the last generation ever to see a natural night
sky?" he asked.
"Who has consulted the people, not least poets and lovers,
about this loss
of the starry commons?
"Does not the government regret that we will be the last
generation ever to
see the natural starry climes of night?"
Senator Hill said he did take the matter seriously, but it was a
product of
progress.
"The best I can suggest is we conduct some form of global
plebescite over
the next 10 years, funded no doubt by AusAID - perhaps the AFP
would be
prepared to make a contribution," he said.
Senator Hill said the only stars he could see in the chamber were
on the
coalition side.
"I look at Senator Herron, at Senator Minchin and at Senator
Vanstone - real
stars within the Australian parliamentary process," Senator
Hill said.
Copyright 2000, Ninemsn
===============
(8) AND FINALLY: ORBIT SOMETHING FOR FUN
From Matthew Genge <M.Genge@nhm.ac.uk>
Warning - tiredness can kill [careers], ensure you take regular
breaks in
between doing high quality science.
A highly recommended method that can absorb many happy hours of
in between
time is to launch satellites with the "Earth to Moon
Experiment". This JAVA
applet simulates the orbital behaviour of truly Near Earth
Objects and best
of all is loads of fun.
http://timeline.aps.org/multimedia/satellites.html
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