One of todays links is to a site where NASA store moon rocks and meteorites - appparently there is an expedition every year, where meteorites are sought and gathered from Arctic slopes.
I sigh, and wonder how I never heard of such a job when I was younger.
Which brings me conveniently to our recurring mystery star:
A few months back , there was a brief flurry* of media interest in what might conceivably be an alien mega-structure around a nearby star .
By nearby, I mean 1500 light years away.
Astronomically, that's 'nearby'.
Anyway, I digress.
The point is that there is further uncertainty over the same star.
Although Keppler only has records of the star and its odd light fluctuations going back 4 years, photographic plates from previous observations have been found which trace back over a hundred years.
And light from the star was fluctuating back in 1890.
It's not the fluctuation itself that's significant, but the degree - up to 20 %, which is a lot.
The generally accepted theory was that the variance in light output was being caused by passing comets: but it has now been estimated that the amount of time involved would require 648,000 comets passing at regular intervals.
So that theory is abandoned .
Excited, yet ?
Perhaps it's just me, but then I was actually crestfallen when SETI failed to intercept any signals from that direction.
So there is scope for further investigation, as all current theories are null and void.
Something is causing massive fluctuations in light from this star that cannot be explained by natural phenomenon.
And it's been happening regularly for over a hundred years.
Which is also confusing, as there is no apparent pattern to the variances.
It seems to be one single mechanism which is changing over time, causing the dramatic dimming of the star.
With no audible or visible wavelength signals discernible, however, if it is aliens, then they are being very quiet...
Meanwhile, back on Earth...
There is a hidden canyon beneath the ice of Antarctica, twice as long as the Grand Canyon, and possibly culminating in a lake covering 480 square miles.
It appears that it was created in a time when Antarctica was free of ice, long ago.
However,that 'long ago' is a movable feast, as another recent discovery in the Siberian permafrost is a mammoth bearing signs of attack by ancient hunters.
Given its age and location, it seems to indicate that our ancestors were further North, some 10,000 years before our previous guesstimate: pushing back the date of humans crossing the Bering Strait into what is now North America.
Are we all immigrants from the dawn of time?
* A link to the original 'Invisible Words' post which mentions it in October last year. Not essential reading, just to say - hey, we're ahead of the curve - stay with us!
I sigh, and wonder how I never heard of such a job when I was younger.
Which brings me conveniently to our recurring mystery star:
A few months back , there was a brief flurry* of media interest in what might conceivably be an alien mega-structure around a nearby star .
By nearby, I mean 1500 light years away.
 |
| Apparently it's not comets... |
Astronomically, that's 'nearby'.
Anyway, I digress.
The point is that there is further uncertainty over the same star.
Although Keppler only has records of the star and its odd light fluctuations going back 4 years, photographic plates from previous observations have been found which trace back over a hundred years.
And light from the star was fluctuating back in 1890.
It's not the fluctuation itself that's significant, but the degree - up to 20 %, which is a lot.
The generally accepted theory was that the variance in light output was being caused by passing comets: but it has now been estimated that the amount of time involved would require 648,000 comets passing at regular intervals.
So that theory is abandoned .
 |
| KIC 8462852 artists impression pic via NASA/JPL/ Caltech |
Excited, yet ?
Perhaps it's just me, but then I was actually crestfallen when SETI failed to intercept any signals from that direction.
So there is scope for further investigation, as all current theories are null and void.
Something is causing massive fluctuations in light from this star that cannot be explained by natural phenomenon.
And it's been happening regularly for over a hundred years.
Which is also confusing, as there is no apparent pattern to the variances.
It seems to be one single mechanism which is changing over time, causing the dramatic dimming of the star.
With no audible or visible wavelength signals discernible, however, if it is aliens, then they are being very quiet...
Meanwhile, back on Earth...
There is a hidden canyon beneath the ice of Antarctica, twice as long as the Grand Canyon, and possibly culminating in a lake covering 480 square miles.
It appears that it was created in a time when Antarctica was free of ice, long ago.
However,that 'long ago' is a movable feast, as another recent discovery in the Siberian permafrost is a mammoth bearing signs of attack by ancient hunters.
Given its age and location, it seems to indicate that our ancestors were further North, some 10,000 years before our previous guesstimate: pushing back the date of humans crossing the Bering Strait into what is now North America.
Are we all immigrants from the dawn of time?
* A link to the original 'Invisible Words' post which mentions it in October last year. Not essential reading, just to say - hey, we're ahead of the curve - stay with us!
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