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... May-Jun 1988 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects A NEARBY RING OF COMETS?Some 589 long-period comets are known. They ply orbits around the sun that may take millions of years to complete. Astronomers are generally agreed that these bodies originate in a very distant (100,000 A.U .* ) halo of cometary material surrounding the entire solar system. J. Oort proposed this cloud, and it is named after him. Of course, we anomalists become wary when scientists "generally agree" on a hypothetical entity that no one can see. The Oort Cloud of comets, like the unseeable black holes, are given substance only by the effects they have on other solar-system denizens and seeable cosmic ... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 57: May-Jun 1988 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects A NEARBY RING OF COMETS?Some 589 long-period comets are known. They ply orbits around the sun that may take millions of years to complete. Astronomers are generally agreed that these bodies originate in a very distant (100,000 A.U .* ) halo of cometary material surrounding the entire solar system. J. Oort proposed this cloud, and it is named after him. Of course, we anomalists become wary when scientists "generally agree" on a hypothetical entity that no one can see. The Oort Cloud of comets, like the unseeable black holes, are given substance only by the effects they have on ...
Terms matched: 2 - Score: 168 - 15 May 2017 - URL: /sf057/sf057a04.htm
... Densities of Composite Terrestrial Planets ABS3 Multiple Primaries in the Solar System ABS4 Supposed Quantization of Planetary Orbital Periods ABS5 Solar System Mass Laws ABS6 The Quantized Nature of Orbital Systems AC COMETS ACB ORBITAL ANOMALIES OF COMETS ACB1 The Appearance of Comets in Cycles ACB2 Nonrandom Direction-of-Approach of Comets to the Sun ACB3 New Comets Have Almost Critical Velocity ACB4 Sun-Grazing Comets: The Kreutz Group ACB5 Changing Cometary Periods ACB6 Jupiter's Family of Comets ACB7 Low-Eccentricity Cometary Orbits ACB8 The Scarcity of Hyperbolic Orbits ACB9 Cometary Groups ACB10 Orbits of New Comets Diverge from Common Point ACB11 Excess of Retrograde Long Period Comets ACB12 Uranus-Neptune Region Favored as Comet Source ACB13 Cometary Perturbations Suggestive of Planet X ACB14 Rapid Attrition of the Oort Cloud by Molecular Clouds ACB15 Dynamical Improbability of the Oort Cloud ACO OBSERVATIONAL ... BHB). Some anomalies and curiosities that are listed below have not yet been cataloged and published in catalog format. These do not have the alphanumerical labels. AA ASTEROIDS AAB CELESTIAL MECHANICS PROBLEMS WITH ASTEROIDS AAB1 Anomalous Asteroid Orbits AAB2 Asteroid Distribution Anomalies AAB3 The High "Internal Energy" of the Asteroid Population AAB4 Peculiar Distribution of Asteroid Spin Rates AAB5 Unexplained Residual Precession of Icarus AAB6 Evidence against an Explosive Origin for Asteroids AB SOLAR SYSTEM "LAWS" AND INTERRELATIONSHIPS ABB DYNAMICS OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM AS-A -WHOLE ABB1 Solar-System Instability ABB2 Circularity of Planetary Orbits ABB3 Anomalous Split of Angular Momentum between Sun and Planets ABB4 Ubiquity of Resonances in the Solar System ABS REMARKABLE RELATIONSHIPS AMONG PLANETARY AND SATELLITE PARAMETERS ABS1 Solar System Laws of Distance ABS2 Similarity of Densities of Composite Terrestrial Planets ABS3 Multiple Primaries ...
Terms matched: 2 - Score: 157 - 15 May 2017 - URL: /cat-astr.htm
... sublimation of ices under solar radiation. Also, the concentration of expelled material in large, hypersonic jets carrying large quantities of fine dust further undermine the sublimation model. E.M . Drobyshevski has concluded "The new observations, together with some earlier data still poorly understood (e .g ., the appearance in the coma of large amounts of C3 ) can be accounted for by assuming the cometary ices to contain, apart from the hydrocarbons, nitrogen-containing compounds, etc., also of free oxygen (about 15 wt. %) . Under these conditions, burning should occur in the products of sublimation under deficiency of oxidizer accompanied by the production of 'soot,' 'smoke,' etc. The burning should propagate under the surface crust and localize at a few sites ... massive ice envelopes saturated with electrolysis products on distant moon-like bodies of the type of Ganymede and Callisto." (Drobyshevski, E.M .; "Combustion as the Cause of Comet P/Halley's Activity," Earth, Moon, and Planets , 43:87, 1988. Cr. L. Ellenberger.) Drobyshevski's combustion theory assumes a "local" origin (within the solar system) for Halley. But measurements of the ratio of carbon-12 to carbon-13, made during the 1986 flyby, produced a ratio of 65:1 . This compares to 89:1 for solar system material. The 65:1 ratio, it turns out, is more typical of interstellar material. This datum seems to place Halley's birthplace ...
Terms matched: 2 - Score: 153 - 15 May 2017 - URL: /sf064/sf064a03.htm
... glassy stones with drop-like and button-like shapes. They are found primarily in four strew fields in Europe, Australia, North America, and Africa. Just about everyone believes that tektites are once-liquid droplets of rock that were solidified in flight. The major question -- often intemperately debated -- is the location of the tektite source. Are they of terrestrial, lunar, cometary, or some other origin? A recent study by Shaw and Wasserberg, using element abundances as a guide, strongly favors a terrestrial origin, with meteor impacts serving as the liquefying and splashing agents. Indeed, specific craters have long been associated with the European and African strew fields. Those who believe that the tektites were splashed all the way from the moon by meteor impacts have not given ... yet. One provocative fact stressed in this article is that the ages of the four groups of tektites are 35, 14, 1.3 , and 0.7 million years. Tektites are all quite young! (Smith, Peter J.; "The Origin of Tektites -- Settled at Last?" Nature, 300: 217, 1982.) Comment. Were there no tektite-forming meteor impacts prior to 35 millions of years ago? Is this observation related to the great rarity of meteorites in sedimentary rocks? Just what is different about the past 35 million years? Reference. Twelve tektite "problems" are cataloged at ESM3: in Neglected Geological Anomalies. For more on this book, go to: here . From Science Frontiers #25, JAN-FEB 1983 ...
Terms matched: 2 - Score: 147 - 15 May 2017 - URL: /sf025/sf025p08.htm
... Meteorite," Nature, 340: 220, 1989.) But there are many "buts": Meteorite EETA 79001 may not have come from Mars after all, even though many scientists think it did. The organic material in EETA 79001 may have come instead from the comet that supposedly blasted the meteorite into space from the Martian surface, although the carbon-isotope ratios do not favor a cometary origin. The organic material may only be terrestrial contamination, despite the careful handling of the meteorite. Nevertheless, EETA 79001 has revived speculation about life on Mars. Could not the calcium carbonate, for example, have come from the shell of some Martian water creature? I.P . Wright does not avoid this possibility. "There is a remote chance that we're looking at ... Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Fossil from mars?Who would have thought that the dreary Antarctic wastes would harbor a piece of Mars, much less a fossil of Martian life? Yet, British scientists, I.P . Wright et al, in Nature, come close to such a conclusion. "The meteorite EETA 79001, which many believe to have originated on Mars, contains carbonate minerals thought to be Martian weathering or alteration products. Accompanying the carbonates are unexpectedly high concentrations of organic materials (defined here as carbonaceous matter that has a low stability towards oxidation, and so combusts at less than 600 C; the term 'organic' does not necessarily imply an origin by biogenic processes.) Although the carbon isotope composition of these materials is indistinguishable ...
Terms matched: 2 - Score: 136 - 15 May 2017 - URL: /sf065/sf065a04.htm
... C. Chyba and C. Sagan, in a major review article in Nature, see a two-fold problem: (1 ) identifying the source of the raw materials; and (2 ) identifying the source(s ) of energy required for the synthesis of complex organic chemicals. First, they point to the steady drizzle of tiny, organic-rich particles drifting down to earth from cometary debris. These particles, which even carry spacesynthesized amino acids down to the earth's surface, seem likely chemical precursors of life. However, the atmosphere is also a potential source of prebiotic chemicals -- providing energy sources are available. Chyba and Sagan suggest as sources: lightning, ultraviolet radiation, and the shock energy derived from meteorite/asteroid/comet impacts. Together these energy ... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 80: Mar-Apr 1992 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Life-creation from a different perspective The preceding discussion of life's origin at hydrothermal vents was penned by an oceanographer. Astronomers, it seems, prefer different scenarios. C. Chyba and C. Sagan, in a major review article in Nature, see a two-fold problem: (1 ) identifying the source of the raw materials; and (2 ) identifying the source(s ) of energy required for the synthesis of complex organic chemicals. First, they point to the steady drizzle of tiny, organic-rich particles drifting down to earth from cometary debris. These particles, which even carry spacesynthesized amino acids down ...
Terms matched: 2 - Score: 135 - 15 May 2017 - URL: /sf080/sf080b10.htm
... Astronomical Anomalies Sorry: Out of Print. No longer available. Our sun, powerhouse of the Solar System and an enigma itself, is orbited by clouds of asteroids, comets, meteors and space dust These "minor objects" cause "major headaches" to astronomers searching for explanations. Typical subjects covered: Solar svstem resonances * Bode's Law and other regularities * Blackness of comet nuclei * Cometary activity far from solar influences * Unidentified objects crossing sun * The 'missing' solar neutrinos * Pendulum phenomena during solar eclipses * Observations of Planet X * Meteorite geographical anomalies * Meteorites from the moon * Long fireball processions * Very long duration meteorites * Zodiacal light brightness changes * [Picture caption: One of the many possible modes of solar surface oscillation] Comments from reviews: "It is ... Catalogs and Handbooks of anomalies and curiosities. Major Paradigms Targeted Anomalies exist only when they challenge paradigms and hypotheses. It is unavoidable, therefore, that some paradigms, widely considered to be fact, will be contradicted by many of the phenomena listed in this Outline. For example, the following paradigms that presently dominate scientific thinking are her considered to be at risk: The expanding universe The Big Bang origin of the universe Neo-Darwinism (specifically, evolution via random mutation and natural selection) That genomes are the complete blueprint for lifeforms Plate tectonics/continental drift Special and General Relativity View Cart Buy online via PayPal with MC/Visa/Amex 296 pages, softcover, $17.95, 244 illus., Jan 2003. ISBN 0-915554-45-3 , 7x10" ...
Terms matched: 2 - Score: 129 - 10 Oct 2021 - URL: /sourcebk.htm
... into the fence about 10 feet away from them." The remainder of the article gives the opinions of some scientists who were contacted about the fall. The director of the observatory thought the ice probably fell off the wing of an aircraft. The director of the American Meteor Society suggested a cosmic origin, providing the ice were pure. An astronomy professor assured everyone that it couldn't be cometary, because the sun would melt particles of ice in outer space. Instead, he opted for strong thunderstorm winds picking the ice up from "somewhere" and dropping it on Hartford! (Anonymous; "1 ,500-Pound Ice Chunk Falls from Sky," Manchester (NH) Union Leader, June 27, 1985. Cr. B. Greenwood via L. Farish) Reference ... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 43: Jan-Feb 1986 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects 1500-POUND ICE CHUNK FALLS FROM SKY June 26, 1985. Hartford, Connecticut. "Scientists yesterday tried to determine the origin of a 1500-pound sheet of ice that mysteriously dropped from the sky and smashed into a backyard fence. David H. Menke, directory of the Copernican Observatory and Planetarium, said the ice was probably 6 feet long, 8 inches thick and moving at about 200 mph. 'It's unusual in the fact that it fell from the sky,' said Craig Robinson, curator at the planetarium. 'That does not happen often.' A 13year-old boy was in his backyard Monday ...
Terms matched: 2 - Score: 125 - 15 May 2017 - URL: /sf043/sf043p17.htm
... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 5: November 1978 Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues Last Issue Next Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Contents Archaeology How Ancient is Vermont? Early Man in Australia Even Earlier A 6,000-year-old Structure in Scotland Astronomy A Redshift Undermines the Dogma of An Expanding Universe Asteroids with Moons? Cometary Appearance of Venus Nine-tenths of the Universe is Unseen Petrol Channels on Mars? Biology Fish Creates Fish The Obscure Origin of Insects and Their Wings Sunspots and Flu Geology Halos and Unknown Natural Radioactivity Geophysics 70th Anniversary of the Tunguska Event Bioluminescent Patch Detected by Radar The So-called Green Fireballs of 1948-1949 Psychology Fire-walking: Anyone Can Do It ...
Terms matched: 2 - Score: 123 - 15 May 2017 - URL: /sf005/index.htm
... like markings on the moon's surface. The logical inference is that the swirls are surface patterns of highly magnetic substance -- but why the pecu-liar patterns and where did the strongly magnetic material come from? (Hood, L.L .; "The Enigma of Lunar Magnetism," Eos, 62:161, 1981.) Comment. The swirls were originally attributed to cometary impacts, but comets hardly seem likely carriers of highly magnetized materials. Reference. The lunar magnetic swirls are cataloged at ALZ3 in The Moon and the Planets. For a description of this catalog, got to: here . From Science Frontiers #16, Summer 1981 . 1981-2000 William R. Corliss ...
Terms matched: 2 - Score: 114 - 15 May 2017 - URL: /sf016/sf016p04.htm
... burn up high in the atmosphere. Astronomers are secure and comfortable with this explanation of the mid-November spectacle. Perhaps they shouldn't be. In November 1998, an intriguing anomaly cropped up -- way up, 120 miles up! Leonids were seen to burn up at this altitude where there is not enough atmosphere to create the friction required to vaporize the space debris. Perhaps the cometary fragments from comet Temple-Tuttle are unusually volatile. Perhaps there is something else going on at the outer fringes of the atmosphere. Who knows? (Witze, Alexandra; "Scientists Gain Insights into Meteors," Northwest Florida Daily News, May 27, 1999. Cr. B. Reid) Comments. Sometimes, comets flare up so far from the sun that solar heating is negligible ... This poorly understood phenomenon may be related to the highaltitude flare-ups of the Leonids. Some people claim they can sometimes hear meteors hiss as they streak through the sky at altitudes so high that there is not enough air to convey sound! Such "electrophonic sounds" may have an electromagnetic origin; that is, some people perceive electromagnetic bursts as sounds. From Science Frontiers #125, SEP-OCT 1999 . 1999-2000 William R. Corliss ...
Terms matched: 2 - Score: 106 - 15 May 2017 - URL: /sf125/sf125p03.htm
... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 115: Jan-Feb 1998 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Tektite Mysteries Tektites are small glassy bodies found strewn on and near the surface in several regions of the world. They come in various shapes: droplets, buttons, even dumbbells. By general agreement, tekites are attributed to meteoric or cometary impacts that melt terrestrial rocks and splash liquid droplets into the atmosphere. There they are shaped by aerodynamic forces and solidify. This scenario is all very reasonable, but some nagging problems remain. Where-o -where is that crater? 770,000 years ago, a huge meteor hit somewhere on earth and strewed an immense batch of tektites and microtektites over fully 10% of our planet's ... Ref. 2) So, this mystery persists. How were the Muong Nong tektites formed? Muong Nong tektites are unusually large (up to 24 kilograms), layered tektites. They are found in an area 1,000 kilometers in extent from Hainan Island to southern Indochina. Their large sizes imply that they are probably close to the missing crater mentioned above. Still unresolved is whether they were originally puddles of molten rock near the elusive crater or local ejecta analogous to volcanic bombs. (Ref. 1) Is the "age paradox" finally resolved? Some Australian geologists have stratigraphically dated the Australasian tektites as being just a few thousand rather than 770,000 years old. (SF#8 ) The 770,000-year figure is derived from the presence of Australasian microtekites at ...
Terms matched: 2 - Score: 105 - 15 May 2017 - URL: /sf115/sf115p10.htm
