April 2008
April showers may bring May flowers, but they also bring clear nights for skywatching. Rain showers clear the air of pollution, pollen, and other particles that can make the sky look murky. And at this time of year, the showers often are generated by cold fronts that keep the air clear and stable. With the combination of moderate temperatures, that makes April nights some of the best of the year for skywatching. Take advantage of them to look for such spring stalwarts as Leo and Virgo. The planet Saturn is in view most of the night, while Jupiter and Venus highlight the pre-dawn hours.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Huge Meteorite Impact Found In UK
Huge Meteorite Impact Found In UK -- Britain's Largest
![[image]](http://www.sciencedaily.com/images/2008/03/080330190410.jpg)
If there had been human observers in Scotland 1.2 billion years ago they would have seen quite a show. (Credit: Image courtesy of University Of Oxford)
ScienceDaily (Mar. 31, 2008) — Evidence of the biggest meteorite ever to hit the British Isles has been found by scientists from the University of Oxford and the University of Aberdeen. The scientists believe that a large meteorite hit northwest Scotland about 1.2 billion years ago near the Scottish town of Ullapool.
Previously it was thought that unusual rock formations in the area had been formed by volcanic activity. But the team report in the journal Geology that they found evidence buried in a layer of rock which they now believe is the ejected material thrown out during the formation of a meteorite crater. Ejected material from the huge meteorite strike is scattered over an area about 50 kilometres across, roughly centred on the northern Scottish town of Ullapool.
Ken Amor of Oxford University’s Department of Earth Sciences, co-author on the Geology paper, said: ‘Chemical testing of the rocks found the characteristic signature of meteoritic material, which has high levels of the key element iridium, normally only found in low concentrations in surface rocks on Earth. We found more evidence when we examined the rocks under a microscope; tell-tale microscopic parallel fractures that also imply a meteorite strike.’
The proposed volcanic origin for the rock formations has always been a puzzle as there are no volcanic vents or other volcanic sediments nearby. Scientists took samples from the formations during fieldwork in 2006 and have just had their findings published.
Professor John Parnell, Head of Geology & Petroleum Geology at the University of Aberdeen, also a co-author on the paper, said: ‘These rocks are superbly displayed on the west coast of Scotland, and visited by numerous student parties each year. We’re very lucky to have them available for study, as they can tell us much about how planetary surfaces, including Mars, become modified by large meteorite strikes. Building up the evidence has been painstaking, but has resulted in proof of the largest meteorite strike known in the British Isles.’
‘If there had been human observers in Scotland 1.2 billion years ago they would have seen quite a show,’ commented Oxford University’s Ken Amor. ‘The massive impact would have melted rocks and thrown up an enormous cloud of vapour that scattered material over a large part of the region around Ullapool. The crater was rapidly buried by sandstone which helped to preserve the evidence.’
Scott Thackrey, a PhD student at the University of Aberdeen, and also co-author of the paper, said: ‘The type of ejected deposit discovered in North West Scotland is only observed on planets and satellites that possess a volatile rich subsurface, for example, Venus, Mars and Earth. Due to the rare nature of these deposits, each new discovery provides revelations in terms of the atmospheric and surface processes that occur round craters just after impact.’
Since the formation of the solar system leftover space material has collided regularly with the Earth and other planets. Some of these impacts are large enough to leave craters, and there are about 174 known craters or their remnants on Earth.
Oxford’s Ken Amor said: ‘This is the most spectacular evidence for a meteorite impact within the British Isles found to date, and what we have discovered about this meteorite strike could help us to understand the ancient impacts that shaped the surface of other planets, such as Mars.’
Adapted from materials provided by University Of Oxford.
If there had been human observers in Scotland 1.2 billion years ago they would have seen quite a show. (Credit: Image courtesy of University Of Oxford)
ScienceDaily (Mar. 31, 2008) — Evidence of the biggest meteorite ever to hit the British Isles has been found by scientists from the University of Oxford and the University of Aberdeen. The scientists believe that a large meteorite hit northwest Scotland about 1.2 billion years ago near the Scottish town of Ullapool.
Previously it was thought that unusual rock formations in the area had been formed by volcanic activity. But the team report in the journal Geology that they found evidence buried in a layer of rock which they now believe is the ejected material thrown out during the formation of a meteorite crater. Ejected material from the huge meteorite strike is scattered over an area about 50 kilometres across, roughly centred on the northern Scottish town of Ullapool.
Ken Amor of Oxford University’s Department of Earth Sciences, co-author on the Geology paper, said: ‘Chemical testing of the rocks found the characteristic signature of meteoritic material, which has high levels of the key element iridium, normally only found in low concentrations in surface rocks on Earth. We found more evidence when we examined the rocks under a microscope; tell-tale microscopic parallel fractures that also imply a meteorite strike.’
The proposed volcanic origin for the rock formations has always been a puzzle as there are no volcanic vents or other volcanic sediments nearby. Scientists took samples from the formations during fieldwork in 2006 and have just had their findings published.
Professor John Parnell, Head of Geology & Petroleum Geology at the University of Aberdeen, also a co-author on the paper, said: ‘These rocks are superbly displayed on the west coast of Scotland, and visited by numerous student parties each year. We’re very lucky to have them available for study, as they can tell us much about how planetary surfaces, including Mars, become modified by large meteorite strikes. Building up the evidence has been painstaking, but has resulted in proof of the largest meteorite strike known in the British Isles.’
‘If there had been human observers in Scotland 1.2 billion years ago they would have seen quite a show,’ commented Oxford University’s Ken Amor. ‘The massive impact would have melted rocks and thrown up an enormous cloud of vapour that scattered material over a large part of the region around Ullapool. The crater was rapidly buried by sandstone which helped to preserve the evidence.’
Scott Thackrey, a PhD student at the University of Aberdeen, and also co-author of the paper, said: ‘The type of ejected deposit discovered in North West Scotland is only observed on planets and satellites that possess a volatile rich subsurface, for example, Venus, Mars and Earth. Due to the rare nature of these deposits, each new discovery provides revelations in terms of the atmospheric and surface processes that occur round craters just after impact.’
Since the formation of the solar system leftover space material has collided regularly with the Earth and other planets. Some of these impacts are large enough to leave craters, and there are about 174 known craters or their remnants on Earth.
Oxford’s Ken Amor said: ‘This is the most spectacular evidence for a meteorite impact within the British Isles found to date, and what we have discovered about this meteorite strike could help us to understand the ancient impacts that shaped the surface of other planets, such as Mars.’
Adapted from materials provided by University Of Oxford.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
StarDate March 26, 2008
Antares, the brightest star of the constellation Scorpius, the scorpion, rises after midnight tonight, just a whisker away from the Moon. At their closest, they will be separated by about one degree, which is less than the width of a finger at arm’s length. The two remain huddled together as they scoot low across the south later on.
Friday, March 21, 2008
The Who
Last night I watched the dvd of 'The Kids Are Alright' plus bonus disc which I'd rented from Netflix. The best special feature has to be the isolated track of John Entwhistle playing on 'Won't Get Fooled Again'. You really get to see his genius at work.
In a Q&A with Daltrey, he reveals that Keith Moon bribed the piro guy on the Smothers Brothers show so that the bomb inside the bass drum wasn't some decorative little pop, but instead went off with the force of a hand grenade, knocking Roger off his feet, embedding shrapnel in Keith's arm, setting Pete's hair on fire, scaring Bette Davis waiting in the wings so that she passed out cold while Mickey Rooney jumped up and down screaming for more!
In a Q&A with Daltrey, he reveals that Keith Moon bribed the piro guy on the Smothers Brothers show so that the bomb inside the bass drum wasn't some decorative little pop, but instead went off with the force of a hand grenade, knocking Roger off his feet, embedding shrapnel in Keith's arm, setting Pete's hair on fire, scaring Bette Davis waiting in the wings so that she passed out cold while Mickey Rooney jumped up and down screaming for more!
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Fury at BBC's English history of Scotland
http://news.scotsman.com/scotland/Fury-at-BBC39s-English-history.3862893.jp
Fury at BBC's English history of Scotland
![[image]](http://editorial.jpress.co.uk/web/Upload/TS//TH1_103200850jewels.jpg)
Scotland’s crown jewels are the oldest sovereign regalia in the United Kingdom
By Tim Cornwell
Arts Correspondent
IT WAS hailed by BBC Scotland as one of its most ambitious projects ever. But already the ten-part series A History of Scotland has run into controversy, with a second senior Scottish historian publicly attacking the programme.
Professor Allan Macinnes told The Scotsman that he had resigned from the series' advisory board after its first meeting in November.
"I thought the whole production was dreadful," he said.
"The first provisional script I got was so Anglo-centric I couldn't believe it," Prof Macinnes said. "It was written on the basis as if Scotland was a divided country until the Union (with England] came along and civilised it. I felt it was just nonsense."
A History of Scotland's advisory board, which includes leading historians, agencies such as Historic Scotland and a history teachers' representative, meets for a second time this week.
But last week Professor Tom Devine, perhaps Scotland's best-known historian, revealed he had turned down the offer of a place on the board. While saying he "warmly welcomed" the show, he complained of an "old-fashioned" approach to Scottish history and the choice of archeologist Neil Oliver as presenter.
The programme is due on screen next November, with the first five parts ending with the Act of Union in 1707. It is the keystone of a "multi-platform" project from BBC Scotland, called Scotland's History. It includes linked live concerts from historic locations, and radio and website programming aimed at "bringing the country's history to life".
But the first script, Prof Macinnes said, was "very traditionalist", full of kings and queens. "Everything was written from the point of view of England and Scotland, as if Scotland didn't have any relations with any other country."
Mr Macinnes is a professor of early modern history at Strathclyde University, a published author and expert on the period up to and including the Union of the Crowns. He said another reason he resigned was the programme makers expected his time for free. "They seem to regard working for the BBC as an unpaid honour."
He conceded that the programme's second script might have changed,
but complained of an "awful phrase": "Scotland was a divided nation". He said: "At the time, England was divided, France was divided, Germany didn't even exist. I would like to see it put Scotland in its wider European context. You don't need to look at England all the time."
BBC Scotland said: "The whole point of the advisory group is to look at the bigger picture, and we have been very much working with them and taking on board their suggestions.
"No scripts as such have been issued. Early drafts are always open to discussion and differing interpretations."
Another top Scottish historian, Jenny Wormald, remains on the panel. She said: "I had my own worries: for example, I didn't want too much made of Robert the Bruce, because I wanted Scottish history to be made of more than our great heroes. I didn't win on that one."
EXPERT WITH AN INDIVIDUAL VIEW OF NATION'S PAST
PROFESSOR Allan Macinnes worked at the universities of Glasgow and Aberdeen before his appointment as professor of early modern history at Strathclyde University.
He has written on the history of the Highlands, including Scottish Jacobitism and the Highland clans. His book, Union and Empire: the Making of the United Kingdom in 1707, was published last year by Cambridge University Press, which called it a "major new interpretation" of the Act of Union in a "broad European and colonial context". Professor Macinnes was among a group of historians who lobbied the Scottish Parliament to commemorate officially the 300th anniversary of the Act of Union last January. He argues that Scottish politicians who negotiated the Treaty of Union were not "a parcel of rogues bought for English gold", but politically inept negotiators.
The full article contains 644 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
Last Updated: 10 March 2008 9:54 PM
Fury at BBC's English history of Scotland
Scotland’s crown jewels are the oldest sovereign regalia in the United Kingdom
By Tim Cornwell
Arts Correspondent
IT WAS hailed by BBC Scotland as one of its most ambitious projects ever. But already the ten-part series A History of Scotland has run into controversy, with a second senior Scottish historian publicly attacking the programme.
Professor Allan Macinnes told The Scotsman that he had resigned from the series' advisory board after its first meeting in November.
"I thought the whole production was dreadful," he said.
"The first provisional script I got was so Anglo-centric I couldn't believe it," Prof Macinnes said. "It was written on the basis as if Scotland was a divided country until the Union (with England] came along and civilised it. I felt it was just nonsense."
A History of Scotland's advisory board, which includes leading historians, agencies such as Historic Scotland and a history teachers' representative, meets for a second time this week.
But last week Professor Tom Devine, perhaps Scotland's best-known historian, revealed he had turned down the offer of a place on the board. While saying he "warmly welcomed" the show, he complained of an "old-fashioned" approach to Scottish history and the choice of archeologist Neil Oliver as presenter.
The programme is due on screen next November, with the first five parts ending with the Act of Union in 1707. It is the keystone of a "multi-platform" project from BBC Scotland, called Scotland's History. It includes linked live concerts from historic locations, and radio and website programming aimed at "bringing the country's history to life".
But the first script, Prof Macinnes said, was "very traditionalist", full of kings and queens. "Everything was written from the point of view of England and Scotland, as if Scotland didn't have any relations with any other country."
Mr Macinnes is a professor of early modern history at Strathclyde University, a published author and expert on the period up to and including the Union of the Crowns. He said another reason he resigned was the programme makers expected his time for free. "They seem to regard working for the BBC as an unpaid honour."
He conceded that the programme's second script might have changed,
but complained of an "awful phrase": "Scotland was a divided nation". He said: "At the time, England was divided, France was divided, Germany didn't even exist. I would like to see it put Scotland in its wider European context. You don't need to look at England all the time."
BBC Scotland said: "The whole point of the advisory group is to look at the bigger picture, and we have been very much working with them and taking on board their suggestions.
"No scripts as such have been issued. Early drafts are always open to discussion and differing interpretations."
Another top Scottish historian, Jenny Wormald, remains on the panel. She said: "I had my own worries: for example, I didn't want too much made of Robert the Bruce, because I wanted Scottish history to be made of more than our great heroes. I didn't win on that one."
EXPERT WITH AN INDIVIDUAL VIEW OF NATION'S PAST
PROFESSOR Allan Macinnes worked at the universities of Glasgow and Aberdeen before his appointment as professor of early modern history at Strathclyde University.
He has written on the history of the Highlands, including Scottish Jacobitism and the Highland clans. His book, Union and Empire: the Making of the United Kingdom in 1707, was published last year by Cambridge University Press, which called it a "major new interpretation" of the Act of Union in a "broad European and colonial context". Professor Macinnes was among a group of historians who lobbied the Scottish Parliament to commemorate officially the 300th anniversary of the Act of Union last January. He argues that Scottish politicians who negotiated the Treaty of Union were not "a parcel of rogues bought for English gold", but politically inept negotiators.
The full article contains 644 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
Last Updated: 10 March 2008 9:54 PM
Thursday, March 6, 2008
I'm a VERY naughty Dalek :(
Have you ever been put in your place by an angry Scot? It's a memorable experience believe me. Suffice it to say, something that was supposed to be a secret, which I didn't realize was a secret, is not so secret anymore.
Nothing death defying or life threatening, or even particularly revealing, unless you're a Scottish Dalek builder amongst equally obsessed British Dalek builders, and then it becomes a faux pas of Biblical proportions.
"So, they have returned to their creator. Like an errant child, they have come home once more. But this time, they shall not abuse me. This time, I shall take my rightful place as their supreme being! And, under my control, the Daleks shall once more become triumphant!"
Once again, apologies to Daddy Davros from your Little Orphan Android!
Nothing death defying or life threatening, or even particularly revealing, unless you're a Scottish Dalek builder amongst equally obsessed British Dalek builders, and then it becomes a faux pas of Biblical proportions.
"So, they have returned to their creator. Like an errant child, they have come home once more. But this time, they shall not abuse me. This time, I shall take my rightful place as their supreme being! And, under my control, the Daleks shall once more become triumphant!"
Once again, apologies to Daddy Davros from your Little Orphan Android!
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
StarDate March 5, 2008
The stars shine with all the hues of a rainbow: blue, white, yellow, orange, and red. The hotter the star, the bluer its surface. For some examples, look for blue-white Spica in the east in early evening, and orange Aldebaran in the west.
Sunday, March 2, 2008
StarDate March 2, 2008
If you’re out early tomorrow, look toward the southeast for a beautiful pairing: the crescent Moon and the planet Jupiter. They are low in the sky at first light. Jupiter looks like a brilliant ivory-colored star just above or to the upper right of the Moon.
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