PLEASE NOTE:
*
CCNet 131/2001 - 7 December 2001
================================
"With the telescope, we aim to discover so-called near earth
objects
(NEO), such as asteroids and comets, some of which may threaten
to hit the
Earth. We will also detect space debris. Another mission is to
determine the orbits of these objects....It is possible to push
the
orbit of a huge asteroid off collision course. Mankind has the
means of
avoiding such a collision, say by readjusting the orbit by a mere
one
centimetre or so, if there is ample time to prepare with the
world's best
in space science and technology."
--Syuzo Isobe, Bisei Spaceguard Centre, 6 December 2001
"Jonathan Hensleigh, who wrote "Armageddon," about
an asteroid
hitting Earth, confesses that he hadn't really worried much about
the
scenes of devastation in his movie, which included computerized
images
of a smoldering twin towers. The documentary juxtaposes these
movie
illusions against the moment when the smoke billowing out of the
World Trade
Center was real. "When we made `Armageddon,' we all of us
certainly didn't
think we were going to be seeing any of those images in real
life," Mr.
Hensleigh says. Later, he says, when it actually does happen and
you're watching it on CNN, "frankly, it gives you the
creeps."
--Julie Salmon, The New York Times, 4 December 2001
(1) JAPAN'S SPACEGUARD CENTRE TO TRACK CELESTIAL CLUTTER
Space Daily, 6 December 2001
(2) MOON OR CAPTURED ASTEROID?
The Christchurch Press, 3 December 2001
(3) EXPLORERS VIEW 'LOST CITY' RUINS UNDER CARIBBEAN
Carlos Trenary <carlos.trenary@vanderbilt.edu>
(4) THE SUN'S CHILLY IMPACT ON EARTH
Andrew Yee <ayee@nova.astro.utoronto.ca>
(5) WHAT MAKES EUROPE PINK?
Andrew Yee <ayee@nova.astro.utoronto.ca>
(6) ROSETTA REUNION AS LANDER IS DELIVERED AND MATED
Andrew Yee <ayee@nova.astro.utoronto.ca>
(7) UK ASTRONOMERS TO BUILD UNIQUE RADIO TELESCOPE
Jacqueline Mitton <aco01@dial.pipex.com>
(8) MAGI WERE PERSIAN PRIESTS
Hermann Burchard <burchar@mail.math.okstate.edu>
(9) NEW DATING SYSTEM
S. Fred Singer <singer@sepp.org>
(10) SCIENCE RESEARCH IN AUSTRALIA REACHES NEW HEIGHTS (DEPTHS?)
Michael Paine <mpaine@tpgi.com.au>
(11) A SIGN FROM ETI?
Michael Paine <mpaine@tpgi.com.au>
(12) AND FINALLY: BETTER THAN VIAGRA - CHRISTMAS TREES CAN BUILD
LOVE BONDS
Ananova, 7 December 2001
=================
(1) JAPAN'S SPACEGUARD CENTRE TO TRACK CELESTIAL CLUTTER
>From Space Daily, 6 December 2001
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/011206122014.4a54dyc0.html
TOKYO (AFP) Dec 06, 2001
A Japanese space observatory started work Thursday to install a
wide-angled
telescope to track celestial debris with the ultimate aim of
preventing a
disastrous impact on Earth.
The telescope's aperture is just one metre (39.4 inches) but it
boasts a
field of view at three degrees, one of the largest in the world,
according
to Bisei Spaceguard Centre executive director Syuzo Isobe.
The two-year-old centre, managed by the Tokyo-based non-profit
organisation
Japan Space Forum, is located in the mountain town of Bisei, some
600
kilometres (375 miles) west of Tokyo.
"With the telescope, we aim to discover so-called near earth
objects (NEO),
such as asteroids and comets, some of which may threaten to hit
the Earth.
We will also detect space debris," Isobe told AFP.
"Another mission is to determine the orbits of these
objects," he said.
Isobe noted the probability that an asteroid with a diameter of
one
kilometre or more hits the Earth every 500,000 years. "It
will cause a
global catastrophe and destroy civilisation," he said. He
added, however,
there had been so far no discovery of an NEO posing such danger.
It is possible to push the orbit of a huge asteroid off collision
course,
Isobe said.
"Mankind has the means of avoiding such a collision, say by
readjusting the
orbit by a mere one centimetre or so, if there is ample time to
prepare with
the world's best in space science and technology."
The telescope, scheduled to be set in place by the end of the
year, will
also be used to monitor a stationary orbit at an altitude of
36,000
kilometres (22,500 miles), where satellite debris is
concentrated.
This debris has been growing in amount and significance,
following recent
events in which old satellites and space stations have fallen
back to the
Earth, including Russia's Mir.
At Bisei, a smaller telescope will take hundreds of images of
different
parts of the sky every night to discover new asteroids.
The new telescope will then follow up the new asteroids and make
the
measurements needed to work out their orbits, according to the
centre's
website (http://www.schoolsobservatory.org.uk/tel/bo).
It says that discovering an asteroid is only the first part of
the
telescope's mission: tracking it to ward off a potential
collision with
Earth is also imperative.
All rights reserved. İ 2000 Agence France-Presse
===========
(2) MOON OR CAPTURED ASTEROID?
The Christchurch Press, 3 December 2001
Natalie Jones, of Rangi Ruru Girls' School, asks: Why does
Triton, a moon of
Neptune, rotate in the opposite direction to Neptune?
Alan Gilmore, an astronomer at the University of Canterbury's
Mount John
Observatory, responds:
We think this is because Triton is not an original moon of
Neptune but an
asteroid captured by Neptune's gravity. Other planets also have
maverick
moons. Saturn's satellite Phoebe and several of Jupiter's small
distant
moons move in orbits different from the big moons.
The current idea is that moons formed at the same time as their
planets. A
cloud of dust and gas gathered together, and most of it became
the planet. A
small amount of it went into a disc spinning around the planet's
equator,
like Saturn's ring but much bigger. The disc coalesced into
moons, all
moving in circular orbits in the same plane.
Later, some planets captured asteroid-sized objects that strayed
into their
neighbourhood. Since these captured moons were not part of the
disc, their
orbits are quite different from the other moons.
There is an old theory that Pluto was once a moon of Neptune
until it and
Triton got into a gravitational tangle. This resulted in Pluto
being kicked
into an orbit around the Sun while Triton's orbit was reversed.
We don't
believe this now.
Since 1992, we've learned that Pluto is merely the biggest of a
belt of icy
asteroids that orbit beyond Neptune. Triton was almost certainly
one of
those asteroids before it was captured.
Copyright 2001 Independent Newspapers Limited.
=============
(3) EXPLORERS VIEW 'LOST CITY' RUINS UNDER CARIBBEAN
>From Carlos Trenary <carlos.trenary@vanderbilt.edu>
I don't know whether or not you had heard about this yet. Very
fascinating.
------------
http://abcnews.go.com/wire/SciTech/reuters20011206_346.html
Explorers View 'Lost City' Ruins Under Caribbean
By Andrew Cawthorne
HAVANA (Reuters) - Explorers using a miniature submarine to probe
the sea
floor off the coast of Cuba said on Thursday they had confirmed
the
discovery of stone structures deep below the ocean surface that
may have
been built by an unknown human civilization thousands of years
ago.
Researchers with a Canadian exploration company said they filmed
over the
summer ruins of a possible submerged "lost city" off
the Guanahacabibes
Peninsula on the Caribbean island's western tip. The researchers
cautioned
that they did not fully understand the nature of their find and
planned to
return in January for further analysis, the expedition leader
said on
Thursday.
The explorers said they believed the mysterious structures,
discovered at
the astounding depth of around 2,100 feet and laid out like an
urban area,
could have been built at least 6,000 years ago. That would be
about 1,500
years earlier than the great Giza pyramids of Egypt.
"It's a really wonderful structure which looks like it could
have been a
large urban center," said Soviet-born Canadian ocean
engineer Paulina
Zelitsky, from British Columbia-based Advanced Digital
Communications (ADC).
"However, it would be totally irresponsible to say what it
was before we
have evidence," Zelitsky told Reuters.
Zelitsky said the structures may have been built by unknown
people when the
current sea-floor actually was above the surface. She said
volcanic activity
may explain how the site ended up at great depths below the
Caribbean Sea.
In July 2000, ADC researchers using sophisticated side-scan sonar
equipment
identified a large underwater plateau with clear images of
symmetrically
organized stone structures that looked like an urban development
partly
covered by sand. From above, the shapes resembled pyramids, roads
and
buildings, they said.
"ULISES" ASSISTS UNDERWATER ODYSSEY
This past July, ADC researchers, along with the firm's Cuban
partner and
experts from the Cuban Academy of Sciences, returned to the site
in their
ship "Ulises." They said they sent a miniature,
unmanned submarine called a
Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) down to film parts of the
7.7-square-mile
area.
Those images confirmed the presence of huge, smooth, cut
granite-like blocks
in perpendicular and circular formations, some in pyramid shapes,
the
researchers said. Most of the blocks, measuring between about 6.5
and 16
feet in length, were exposed, some stacked one on another, the
researchers
said.
Others were covered in sediment and the fine, white sand that
characterizes
the area, the researchers said.
The intriguing discovery provided evidence that Cuba at one time
was joined
to mainland Latin America via a strip of land from the Yucatan
Peninsula,
the researchers said.
"There are many new hypotheses about land movement and
colonialization, and
what we are seeing here should provide very interesting new
information,"
Zelitsky said.
ADC's deep-water equipment includes a satellite-integrated ocean
bottom
positioning system, high-precision side-scan double-frequency
sonar, and the
ROV. The company currently is commissioning what it calls the
world's first
custom-designed ocean excavator for marine archeology to begin
work both at
the Guanahacabibes site and at ship wrecks.
ADC is the deepest operator among four foreign firms working in
joint
venture with President Fidel Castro's government to explore Cuban
waters
containing hundreds of treasure-laden ships from the colonial
era.
The Canadian company already has discovered several historic
sunken Spanish
ships.
In an earlier high-profile find, ADC was testing equipment in
late 2000 off
Havana Bay when it spotted the century-old wreck of the American
battleship
USS Maine. The ship had not been located since it blew up
mysteriously in
1898, killing 260 American sailors and igniting the
Spanish-American War.
The rush of interest in Cuba's seas in recent years is due in
part to the
Castro government's recognition that it does not have the money
or
technology to carry out systematic exploration by itself,
although it does
have excellent divers.
American companies are prohibited from operating in Cuba by the
long-running
U.S. embargo on the Communist-run island.
Copyright 2001 Reuters News Service.
==============
(4) THE SUN'S CHILLY IMPACT ON EARTH
>From Andrew Yee <ayee@nova.astro.utoronto.ca>
Cynthia O'Carroll
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt,
Md. December 6, 2001
Cynthia.M.OCarroll.1@gsfc.nasa.gov
Phone: (301) 614-5563
Release No. 01-111
THE SUN'S CHILLY IMPACT ON EARTH
A new NASA computer climate model reinforces the long-standing
theory that
low solar activity could have changed the atmospheric circulation
in the
Northern Hemisphere from the 1400's to the 1700's and triggered a
"Little
Ice Age" in several regions including North America and
Europe. Changes in
the sun's energy was one of the biggest factors influencing
climate change
during this period, but have since been superceded by greenhouse
gases due
to the industrial revolution.
During the Little Ice Age, access to Greenland was largely cut
off by ice
from 1410 to the 1720's. At the same time, canals in Holland
routinely froze
solid, glaciers advanced in the Alps, and sea-ice increased so
much that no
open water was present in any direction around Iceland in 1695.
Drew Shindell of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, New
York, N.Y.,
and other researchers have used a computer model to reconstruct
climate and
atmospheric conditions from the present back to the Little Ice
Age.
They determined that a dimmer sun reduced the model's westerly
winds,
cooling the continents during wintertime. Shindell's model shows
large
regional climate changes, unlike other climate models that show
relatively
small temperature changes on an overall global scale. Other
models did not
assess regional changes.
During the coldest part of the Little Ice Age, from 1645 to 1715,
there is
believed to have been a decrease in the total energy output from
the sun, as
indicated by little or no sunspot activity. Known as the Maunder
Minimum,
astronomers of the time observed only about 50 sunspots for a
30-year period
as opposed to a more typical 40-50,000 spots. The sun normally
shows signs
of variability, such as its eleven-year sunspot cycle. Within
that time, it
goes from a minimum to a maximum period of activity represented
by a peak in
sunspots and flare activity.
Beginning in 1611, Galileo Galilei made drawings of lower sunspot
activity
before the Maunder Minimum. Records of sunspot activity during
the Minimum
from other astronomers confirm the lower number of sunspots over
the70 year
event.
During those periods of low solar activity, levels of the sun's
ultraviolet
radiation decrease, and can significantly impact ozone formation
in the
stratosphere. "The changes in ozone that we modeled were key
in producing
the enhanced response," Shindell said. "The changes in
the upper atmosphere
then feed down to the surface climate."
Between the mid-1600's and the early 1700's the Earth's surface
temperatures
in the Northern Hemisphere appear to have been at or near their
lowest
values of the last millennium. European winter temperatures over
that time
period were reduced by 1.8 to 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit (1-1.5
Celsius). This
cool down is evident through derived temperature readings from
tree rings
and ice cores, and in historical temperature records, as gathered
by the
University of Massachusetts-Amherst and the University of
Virginia.
Shindell noted that the effects of this period of a dimmer sun
were
concentrated more regionally than globally. "Global average
temperature
changes are small, approximately .5 to .7 degrees
Fahrenheit (0.3-0.4C), but regional temperature changes are quite
large."
Shindell said that his climate model simulation shows the
temperature
changes occurring mostly because of a change in the Arctic
Oscillation/North
Atlantic Oscillation (AO/NAO).
This oscillation is basically a hemispheric-scale see-saw of
atmospheric
pressure and temperature between the mid latitudes and the Arctic
which
modulates the strength of the westerly jet stream winds. These
winds are
reduced as the AO/NAO shifts in response to a dimmer sun. Because
the oceans
are relatively warm during the winter due to their large heat
capacity, the
diminished flow creates cold land temperatures by reducing the
transport of
warm Pacific air to America, and warm Atlantic air to Europe.
During this
shift, winter temperatures cooling of as much as 2 to 4 degrees
Fahrenheit
(1-2 C).
The paper, "Solar forcing of regional climate change during
the Maunder
Minimum," by authors Shindell, Gavin Schmidt and David Rind
from NASA's
Goddard Institute for Space Studies and co-authors Michael Mann
and Anne
Waple, from the Universities of Virginia and Massachusetts
respectively,
appears in the December 7 issue of the journal Science.
"The period of low solar activity in the middle ages led to
atmospheric
changes that seem to have brought on the Little Ice Age. However,
we need to
keep in mind that variations in solar output have had far less
impact on the
Earth's recent climate than human actions," Shindell said.
"The biggest
catalyst for climate change today are greenhouse gases," he
added.
For more information, see:
http://www.gsfc.nasa.gov/topstory/20011207iceage.html
==============
(5) WHAT MAKES EUROPE PINK?
>From Andrew Yee <ayee@nova.astro.utoronto.ca>
New Scientist
UK CONTACT:
Claire Bowles, New Scientist Press Office, London
Tel: +44(0)20 7331 2751 or email claire.bowles@rbi.co.uk
What makes Europa pink? Does Europa's rosy glow betray a
flourishing colony
of bugs?
THE red tinge of Europa, one of Jupiter's moons, could be caused
by frozen
bits of bacteria. Their presence would also help explain Europa's
mysterious
infrared signal. Europa is mostly frozen water, but it absorbs
infrared
radiation differently to how normal ice does. Researchers think
this is
because something is binding the water molecules together. Salts
of
magnesium sulphate frozen within the ice, for example, would make
the
molecules vibrate at different frequencies. But no one has
managed to come
up with the perfect mix of salts to explain all of Europa's
spectrum.
Astrogeophysicist Brad Dalton wondered if something else was
bound up with
the water molecules. "Just on a lark, I asked a colleague of
mine at
Yellowstone if he had any IR spectra of extremophile
bacteria," he says, and
he was shocked by how well they matched Europa's mysterious
spectrum. Then
he analysed three kinds of bacteria under the same sort of
conditions as
Europa: its temperature is about -170 C and at 0.01 millibars it
has
virtually no atmosphere.
Preliminary results show that all three species, the ordinary gut
bacteria
Escherichia coli, and extremophiles Deinococcus radiodurans and
Sulfolobus
shibatae, are just as good at explaining Europa's IR spectrum as
the salts.
However Dalton says the two species that thrive under extreme
conditions are
obviously more likely candidates for life on the icy moon. They
also happen
to be pink and brown, which would help explain the red patches on
the moon's
face.
Bacteria couldn't survive on Europa's surface, but there might be
liquid
water inside Europa's icy crust capable of supporting life.
"They could be
blasted out to the surface in some kind of eruption and flash
frozen," says
Dalton. He plans to present his results at the Lunar and
Planetary Science
conference next spring.
Glenn Teeter from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in
Washington
state says bacteria aren't the simplest explanation for Europa's
spectrum.
"It does strike me as a bit far fetched," he says. But
it can't be ruled out
until we go there to see.
Author: Nicola Jones
New Scientist issue: 8th December 2001
PLEASE MENTION NEW SCIENTIST AS THE SOURCE OF THIS STORY AND, IF
PUBLISHING
ONLINE, PLEASE CARRY A HYPERLINK TO: http://www.newscientist.com
=============
(6) ROSETTA REUNION AS LANDER IS DELIVERED AND MATED
>From Andrew Yee <ayee@nova.astro.utoronto.ca>
ESA Science News
http://sci.esa.int
06 Dec 2001
Rosetta reunion as Lander is delivered and mated
The Rosetta Lander, designed to be the first spacecraft in the
history of
space exploration to make a soft-landing on the icy nucleus of a
comet, has
now joined its 'mother craft' at the European Space Research and
Technology
Centre (ESTEC) in the Netherlands.
Over the coming months, the two elements of the most ambitious
mission ever
to explore a comet will undergo a complex test programme to
prepare them for
their eight-year trek to the depths of the Solar System.
"The Lander successfully completed a comprehensive series of
environmental
tests in Germany," said Philippe Kletzkine, ESA manager for
the Rosetta
Lander. "These included vibration tests, thermal-vacuum
tests and magnetic
tests, as well as measurements of its electromagnetic
characteristics, mass and centre of gravity."
"In other words, the respective engineering specialists
weighed it, checked
its balance when spinning, and measured how magnetic it is,"
he explained.
"Then they simulated the hazardous conditions associated
with the launch and
the trek through space by shaking it and changing
its temperature by more than 100 degrees Celsius in an airless
chamber."
After the prolonged programme of testing at the premises of IABG
in Munich,
the Rosetta Lander was transported inside an air conditioned
container to
the ESA test facilities in Noordwijk, the Netherlands. No time
was wasted
upon arrival, as the engineers worked long shifts over the
weekend to
unload, check out and attach the 96 kg Lander to its eject
mechanism and
Lander interface. By 3 December, the Lander was ready to be mated
to its
much larger 'mother craft'.
Over the next few weeks, the combined spacecraft will undergo a
major
'integrated systems' test to ensure that the Orbiter control
computers can
communicate with the attached Lander and that the Lander responds
in the
correct way. This will be followed in late January with a
four-week
thermal-vacuum test, when the spacecraft will be alternately
baked and
frozen to check its ability to survive the extreme temperatures
they will
experience during the long journey to Comet
Wirtanen.
ESA's comet chasing Rosetta spacecraft comprises an Orbiter and a
Lander.
The Orbiter is scheduled to arrive at Comet Wirtanen and brake
into orbit
around its solid nucleus in the summer of 2011. Once the surface
of the
comet's nucleus has been surveyed in unprecedented detail and a
suitable
landing site has been selected, the Lander will separate from the
Orbiter
and slowly descend a few kilometres to the pristine surface.
Over a period of several weeks, the suite of nine instruments
will send back
close-up pictures, drill into the organic crust, sample the
primordial ices
and gases and probe the internal structure of this cosmic
snowball.
"Working in unison, the Lander and the Orbiter will
revolutionise our
understanding of comets," said Rosetta project scientist,
Gerhard Schwehm.
"They will lead to amazing discoveries about the most
primitive building
blocks of the Solar System."
For more information please contact:
Philippe Kletzkine
Lander manager in the Rosetta project
ESTEC
The Netherlands
Tel: +31 71 565 3761
E-mail: Philippe.Kletzkine@esa.int
Dr. Gerhard Schwehm
Rosetta project scientist
ESTEC
The Netherlands
Tel: +31 71 565 3539
E-mail: Gerhard.schwehm@esa.int
USEFUL LINKS FOR THIS STORY
* Rosetta Lander home page at MPAe
http://roland.mpae.gwdg.de/
* Rosetta Lander home page at DLR
http://www.rosetta-lander.net
* More about the Rosetta Lander
http://sci.esa.int/content/doc/e0/2272_.htm
* More about Rosetta
http://sci.esa.int/rosetta/
IMAGE CAPTIONS:
[Image 1:
http://sci.esa.int/content/searchimage/searchresult.cfm?aid=13&cid=12&oid=29101&ooid=29087
]
Rosetta Lander during thermal vacuum testing at IABG, Munich. The
Lander is
seen from above (with respect to the attitude at launch),
illuminated by the
artificial Sun. The Landing gear is extended (3 legs). The
'bright columns'
in the lower half of the picture are a support stand, or 'test
adaptor'; it
is not part of the Lander but its purpose is to let the Lander
stand in the
right position in the test facility.
Scale: when the landing gear is stowed the Lander forms a cube of
(roughly)
1m x 1m x 1m.
Rosetta Lander photo taken on 2 November 2001 at IABG, Ottobrun
(near
Munich).
[Image 2:
http://sci.esa.int/content/searchimage/searchresult.cfm?aid=13&cid=12&oid=29101&ooid=29092
]
The Rosetta Lander is integrated with the Orbiter at ESTEC, 3
December
2001: the spacecraft is lying on its side while the Lander is
lowered
down onto the Orbiter.
[Image 3:
http://sci.esa.int/content/searchimage/searchresult.cfm?aid=13&cid=12&oid=29101&ooid=29093
]
The Rosetta Lander after integration with the Orbiter at ESTEC, 3
December
2001: the Lander is now attached to the Orbiter and the
spacecraft has been
rotated to be in the correct orientation.
[Image 4:
http://sci.esa.int/content/searchimage/searchresult.cfm?aid=13&cid=12&oid=29101&ooid=29094
]
Another view of the Rosetta Lander integrated with the Orbiter at
ESTEC, 3
December 2001: in the foreground the (stowed) landing gear can be
seen
attached to the baseplate (lower face) of the Lander. The side
faces, which
are covered with a solar array, are shielded by non-flight black
protective
covers.
================
(7) UK ASTRONOMERS TO BUILD UNIQUE RADIO TELESCOPE
>From Jacqueline Mitton <aco01@dial.pipex.com>
THE FOLLOWING PRESS NOTICE HAS BEEN RECEIVED FROM JODRELL BANK
OBSERVATORY,
UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER, UK, AND IS FORWARDED FOR YOUR
INFORMATION. NOTE
THAT CONTACT INFORMATION IS AT END OF THE MAIN TEXT.
Jacqueline Mitton (Royal Astronomical Society Press Officer)
Manchester. Wednesday 5 December 2001. 3.00 p.m. GMT
UK Astronomers to Build Unique Radio Telescope
UK astronomers are poised for a new era of discovery with the
development of
e-MERLIN, the world's most powerful radio telescope. This
ambitious project
will use new technology to connect antennas across the UK,
creating the
largest and most sensitive linked network in the world.
The 217km MERLIN radio-telescope array, run by The University of
Manchesterıs Jodrell Bank Observatory, is to be given a £7.8m
upgrade. This
has been made possible by the agreement, announced today, of the
Particle
Physics and Astronomy Research Council (PPARC) to continue
funding MERLIN
operations, so assuring the future of Jodrell Bank.
Professor Andrew Lyne, Director of the Jodrell Bank Observatory,
welcomed
the PPARC announcement:
"The enhancement to MERLIN will give UK astronomers access
to one of the
worldıs major astronomical research instruments. This
development reflects
the proven technical excellence of the University staff and their
world-leading research programmes."
Dr. Philip Diamond, Director of the MERLIN/VLBI National Facility
added:
"In combination with the newly resurfaced 76m Lovell
telescope, the upgrade
will give a 30-fold increase in sensitivity. This will
enable the enhanced
instrument, called e-MERLIN, to probe far deeper into the
Universe,
achieving in one day what would currently take three years of
continuous
observation."
The upgrade is to be funded by the North West Development Agency
(NWDA) and
a consortium of three universities Manchester, UMIST and
Cambridge. The
NWDA have agreed in principle to a contribution of up to £2.5
million, and
its Chief Executive, Mike Shields, welcomed today's news:
"I am delighted that the NWDA's funding contribution will
help to secure the
future of Jodrell Bank - a longstanding symbol of scientific
endeavour in
the North West. This package will not just maintain Jodrell
Bank's position
at the leading edge of world astronomy, but will also help to
maintain the
region's reputation for excellence in the future."
MERLIN is the UK's national radio-imaging facility and the only
world-class
astronomical facility based solely in the UK. No other
radio facility in
the world can routinely match the resolution of the Hubble Space
Telescope.
The completion of the new instrument in 2007 will help keep the
UK at the
forefront of astronomical research for years to come.
Radio-astronomy is crucial to the understanding of our Universe
because
radio waves penetrate the clouds of dust and gas that hamper
observations at
other frequencies. e-MERLIN will have unprecedented sensitivity
and an
imaging capability equivalent to viewing a 1p piece at a distance
of 50
miles. It will thus open up new areas of science,
particularly in fields
such as extragalactic astronomy and cosmology, star formation
across the
Universe and studies of the extreme conditions around black
holes.
The current MERLIN telescope is made up of seven radio-antennas
sited around
the UK. Much of the increase in sensitivity created by the
upgrade will be
due to the introduction of optical fibre connections between the
antennas.
This will allow a far greater proportion of the radio waves
actually
collected by the individual antennas to be brought back to
Jodrell Bank than
by the existing microwave radio links.
Dr. Diamond thanked Sir Martin Harris, Vice-Chancellor of the
University of
Manchester, for playing such a crucial role in putting together
the capital
funding package. He warmly welcomed the various partners involved
in the
project and also wished to thank the Cheshire County Council,
North West
Members of Parliament, and local Councillors for their great
support,
without which the project may well not have come to fruition.
Professor Tom Millar, Head of UMIST's Astrophysics Group said:
"I and my colleagues are very pleased to be part of this
exciting
development and look forward to using e-MERLIN to advance
significantly our
research on star formation and the late stages of stellar
evolution."
Richard Hills, Professor of Radio Astronomy at Cambridge, said:
"This is very good news for the future of UK Radio
Astronomy. One of the
MERLIN antennas is located here and we are delighted to be
playing a part in
the project. We are very much looking forward to using the
enhanced
facility."
End of release.
Related images may be downloaded from the following URL:
http://www.jb.man.ac.uk/news/e-MERLIN/
============================
* LETTERS TO THE MODERATOR *
============================
(8) MAGI WERE PERSIAN PRIESTS
>From Hermann Burchard <burchar@mail.math.okstate.edu>
Dear Benny,
in several fascinating CCNet notes, Mark Kidger debates the
question of
whether the Magi of the nativity were Persian or from Babylon
(CCNet Aug 31,
Sep 7, Dec 5). As I tried to explain (CCNet Sep 5), this really
should not
be a debatable issue as the Magi were the priests, or priestly
clan, of the
Persian religion of Zoroastrianism, GENERICALLY (similiar to the
Jewish
tribe of the Levites furnishing the priestly caste of the
Hebrews). There
might have been an occasional impostor, a magician (see below).
>From Cyrus on, Babylon remained in the Persian realm, under
one dynasty or
another, (until the Moslem conquest 629 CE). Hundreds of Magi
would have had
residence in Babylon. Thus, "Persian" and
"Babylonian" are in no way
contradictory or mutually exclusive terms when applied to the
Magi.
Of course, the Persians are given huge credit in the Bible for
releasing the
Jews from the Babylonian captivity after the Persians under Cyrus
the Great
in 538 BCE took the city. The Persian kings even supplied
monetary funds,
building materials, and letters of protection for the returning
Jews to
rebuild Jerusalem.
Hence Mark is certainly wrong when he writes (CCNet Sep 7)
"..Persians did
sack Babylon and would have taken Jews as booty in the same way
that the
Babylonians themselves had taken many thousands of Jews to
Babylon after
they sacked Jerusalem... The issue of how settled it is that the
Magi were
Persian or not is less clear to me. Most writers do assume
that they were
Babylonian..."
The English word MAGIC is of Greek origin. The connection is not
without
interest: As a part of the Zoriastrian religion they
believe in good angels
(amesha spentas, etc) and evil spirits (devas - demons) with a
special
scripture for defeating demons (Vendidad). Among the Hellenes
this gave them the reputation that they had power over spirits -
magical
powers. These facts may not be as widely known as they could, but
all this
is easily found (start with Mary Boyce although she has a
somewhat narrow
focus on occasion).
The Christian religion was initially heavily influenced by the
Magi, as can
be seen from many aspects of New Testament (NT) stories,
theology, and
ethics. A concurrent and probably related revival of
Zoroastrianism existed
in Armenia during the early decades of the Common Era sponsored
by their
Parthian kings. For this reason the Armenian Church became the
oldest
national church. The Parthians were non-Persian rulers of
Persia from about
200 BCE - 250 CE. The 800 year rivalry between Rome and
Persia in the
Middle East, with Rome generally but not always having the upper
hand,
precluded any enduring Zoroastrian legacy within Christianity.
The memory of the nexus was lost until the 18th century when
Europeans made
contact with Parsis of Bombay, surviving Zoroastrians. But see
Mark Kidger's
wonderful accounts of Persian allusions in the church in Ravenna
and Marco
Polo's Persian encounters. Contact was not lost instantly!
Also, there are still small pockets of Zoroastrianism in Persia
in remote
mountains of Persia, see recent PBS (BBC?) series on Alexander
the Great.
Zoroastrianism came to be denounced as gnosticism, and the rise
of
Manicheism did more damage. Mohammed wisely included angels and
other
Zoroastrian features in Islam.
The true meaning of the Star of Bethlehem (to me) is the
acknowledgement of
the Zoroastrian heritage in the NT, properly veiled. This
indebtedness
submerged in the Judaism of Jesus and his apostles is evident in
ethical and
theological concepts such as the kingdom of heaven, faith (amen),
peace
(shalom), the beatitudes (blessed - ashri), immortality, the holy
spirit,
angels, and demons (which the Pharisees - Parsis also had brought
home upon
their return from the Captivity under Ezra and Nehemia). The
religions of
other, neighboring nations were known to ancient peoples, and
largely
co-mingled outside of temple precincts, where jealous priesthoods
ruled.
Probably there were significant astronomical events, feared if
suggestive of
a possible comet. Personally, I like the nova possibility
the best. If
bright enough it must have inspired awe, that conjunctions did
not, as Mark
Kidger tells us. A nova would be quickly distinguished as benign
in
distinction from a comet, were it is necessary to wait out its
development.
The star is adduced by Matthew to give legitimacy to the story.
The thought
of legitimacy is said to have motivated much of his writing,
emphasizing
myth and mythological allusions from the Hebrew Bible. Is
the myth
important or the ethics? I think the latter. Under the Parthians,
Christianity was allowed to spread into Persia, the Marco Polo
story could
have had its origin then. Afterwards, the Persians got rid
of the Parthians
and of Christianity along with the foreign rulers, clearly a
measure
designed to stiffen their backs vis-a-vis the constant struggle
against an
increasingly Christian Rome, even with persecutions continuing
for several
more decades.
Regards,
Hermann
=============
(9) NEW DATING SYSTEM
>From S. Fred Singer <singer@sepp.org>
Dear Benny
The learned discussions about the Star of Bethlehem and the
Calendar brings
to mind the ingenious proposal by my late colleague, the noted
geologist
Cesare Emiliani;
Set the beginning of the calendar in the early Holocene by simply
adding
10,000 years to all dates after Christ and restating the dates
BC. It would
eliminate the Year Zero problem and get rid of the BC/AD
business.
He published the idea in Nature and organized a special session
of the AGU
on this topic a few years ago.
Best
Fred
===========
(10) SCIENCE RESEARCH IN AUSTRALIA REACHES NEW HEIGHTS (DEPTHS?)
>From Michael Paine <mpaine@tpgi.com.au>
Dear Benny
Although nothing to do with the CCNet Charter, CCNet subscribers
might be
interested in some recently "published" scientific
research in Australia:
BELLY BUTTON LINT - THE HOLE STORY
The results are finally in the bag for Dr Karl's Belly Button
Lint Survey.
What causes belly button lint and who gets it? All is revealed.
You can also
see belly button lint up-close-and-personal, be boggled by belly
button
facts and peruse the astute observations of our survey
respondents. A big
thank you to everyone who contributed.
http://www.abc.net.au/science/k2/lint/default.htm:)
Michael Paine
PS Dr Karl Kruszelnicki is a brilliant promoter of science in
Australia and
occasionally mentions Spacegaurd on his popular radio show.
=============
(11) A SIGN FROM ETI?
>From Michael Paine <mpaine@tpgi.com.au>
Benny,
Please see http://www.improbable.com/news/2001/nov/friendship-finger.html
HotAIR: The Cosmic Finger of Friendship! - does this Hubble image
reveal a
message from ETI?
I certainly see this sign quite often driving on Sydney's
roads!:)
Michael Paine
===========
(12) AND FINALLY: BETTER THAN VIAGRA - CHRISTMAS TREES CAN BUILD
LOVE BONDS
>From Ananova, 7 December 2001
http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_466991.html?menu=news.scienceanddiscovery
US psychologists say couples who decorate their Christmas trees
together
have happier marriages.
A study into relationship satisfaction found those who share
religious
rituals have a better chance of building a stronger bond.
It found many couples use festivals such as Christmas to make
their
relationships stronger.
Psychologists Barbara Fiese and Thomas Tomcho, of Syracuse
University,
interviewed 120 couples who had been married for an average of
nine years.
Each was asked about the importance of religion when they were
growing up
and in their current families.
They were also asked questions like "Do you confide in your
mate?" and "How
often do you laugh together?".
Fiese and Tomcho found that religion, through its rituals, is
related to
marital satisfaction.
The authors write: "In the context of a changing society in
which marriage
is a vulnerable institution, religious ritual practices may
preserve
relationships and serve as a positive template for future
generations."
The findings are reported in the Journal of Family Psychology
published by
the American Psychological Association.
Copyright 2001, Ananova
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