[Unmuseum_newsletter] UnMuseum Newsletter July 2006

Sat Jul 1 16:12:14 EDT 2006

The UnMuseum Newsletter for July 2006.

Science Over the Edge
A Roundup of Strange Science for the Month
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In the News:

*Ancient Temple/Calendar Unearthed - Archaeologists in Peru have discovered 
what is thought to be the oldest known calendar device in the Western 
Hemisphere. The calendar, part of the Temple of the Fox located in Buena 
Vista, is an enormous circle formed of prehistoric sculptures. The circle is 
positioned so that celestial alignments can be used to tell the beginning of 
different parts of the year. The 4,000 year-old structure would have been a 
fantastic sight during it heyday with its huge sculptures, made of mud 
plaster covered with clay, that were painted bright yellow and red. There 
are indications that different parts of the temple were used for sacrificial 
offerings, though no human sacrifices are evident. The temples most striking 
object is a gigantic disc carved as a frowning face. The disc faces the sun 
on June 21, the traditional start of the harvest.

*Shrunken Dinosaurs - Researchers have found the remains of a species of 
dwarf sauropod dinosaurs. Europasaurus holgeri, lived 154 million years ago 
in what is now northern Germany, and was a close relative of the giant 
Camarasaurus which measured some 59 feet in length. Europasaurus, in 
contrast, was 20 feet long and weighed only a ton. German scientist P. 
Martin Sander, a paleontologist at the University of Bonn in Germany, was 
the lead author of a report on the animals that appeared in last month's 
issue of the journal Nature. He believes the relatively small size of 
Europasaurus was due to an effect called "island dwarfism." The researchers 
think that animals who find themselves in an environment with limited 
resources - like an island - evolve smaller bodies over time because it 
allows them to be more efficient. Europasaurus apparently lived on an island 
at a time in which that portion of Germany was covered by shallow seas. 
Initially the scientists who studied the bones of these dinosaurs thought 
they were from juvenile animals, but as they took a closer look at the 
structure of these bones they realized that they came from adults.

*When Storms Collide - Scientists are anxiously watching to see what happens 
when the Great Red Spot, a massive storm on Jupiter twice as wide as the 
Earth, comes in close contact with a smaller storm wandering across the 
planet's surface. Both storms have wind speeds in excess of 350 miles per 
hour, faster than any hurricane on our planet. Scientists are curious to see 
if the collision will weaken either of the storms or cause the smaller one 
to lose its spin. Astronomers speculate that the Great Red Spot storm, which 
has been raging for centuries, pulls up material from the depths of Jupiter, 
to give it the reddish color. Recently the smaller storm started to show 
signs of turning red also, which may be an indication that it is getting 
stronger. The storms are estimated to make their closest approach on July 
4th.

*Where is Mr. Ed when You Need Him? - Scientists are trying to figure out 
how horses talk. The Equine Vocalization Project is compiling a database of 
horse sounds and behaviors that they hope to be able to match up with their 
stress levels. Horses can produce a number of different sounds in a wide 
range of methods, unlike other animals such as cows, goats, and sheep. So 
far the scientists have focused on the whinny as it can be produced in a 
wide variety of ways. Researchers hope they will be able to identify a 
particular type of whinny for a particular situation. The results of the 
study could help veterinarians, behaviorists, breeders or other handlers 
understand how to take care of the animals. The study may also enlighten 
scientists about the communication methods of other equines, such as donkeys 
and zebras.

*Small Asteroids Not as Dangerous - Results from the Japanese Hayabusa space 
probe, which visited the Itokawa asteroid, show that smaller asteroids may 
pose less of a threat to earth than originally thought. Data from the probe 
shows that the 2,300-foot object is a loose collection of material barely 
held together by its gravity. If this is generally true of smaller asteroids 
then it means that they are more likely to break into smaller, pieces and 
burn up when they enter the earth's atmosphere without doing damage on the 
surface. These asteriods would also be easier to deflect or destroy with 
weapons. Itokawa is thought to be typical of the many small asteroids 
floating between Earth and the inner rings of the asteroid belt beyond Mars. 
Some of these asteroids are considered dangerous to Earth because they cross 
our planet's orbit.

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What's New at the Museum:

*The Pirate Room: As long as there have been ships and trading the seas have 
been plagued with scoundrels ready to steal cargo. 
(http://www.unmuseum.org/pirateroom.htm)

*The Littlest Pirate: In the remains of a wrecked pirate ship on the bottom 
near the dangerous shoals of Cape Cod, scientists have found the remains of 
John King, the youngest pirate ever known. 
(http://www.unmuseum.org/piratelittle.htm)

*From The Curator's Office: Fun with 50's SciFi Movie Posters - Computer 
wallpaper from the past's future 
(http://www.unmuseum.org/notescurator/poster50s.htm)

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Ask the Curator:

*Will Space Exploration Effect Earth's Orbit? - How much of earth's mass 
would need to be lost to space by means of man's explorations in order for 
the orbit of earth to be affected? - Dan S.

This reminds me of story from Douglas Adam's Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy 
(the original BBC production, not the recent movie). There was a planet so 
beautiful that it attracted billions of visitors each year. Soon the 
government there began to worry about the cumulative effect of erosion as 
each of these visitors took bits of the planet back home with them on their 
clothes, etc., so they instituted a law that the net difference between what 
a visitor ate and secreted while on the planet would be surgically removed 
from the visitor's body before he left (And, of course from then on it 
became imperative if you where a tourist there to get a receipt whenever you 
visited a rest room).

Could we be facing this kind of planetary erosion because we are sending so 
much stuff out to explore space? Fortunately, of all the terrible things we 
may be doing to mother earth these days, giving her anorexia by launching 
space probes and the like is not something we need to be concerned about.

The Earth is big. Really big. On the order of 5,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 
tons. Now that doesn't begin to measure up in size to the Sun or even the 
planet Jupiter, but from a human point of view it is still pretty 
gargantuan. What's more our ability to send things into space is terribly 
puny. Most space probes weigh a few hundred pounds - remember we are only 
counting the amount of the rocket that makes it into space, not the lower 
stages that fall back to earth. Even if we launched a probe a day, and each 
probe weighed a fairly massive one ton, that's only 365 tons a year. What's 
more, most of that material goes into earth orbit. This means it will, 
sooner or later, likely fall back to the planet Skylab style. The probes 
that we send into deep space and never come back, like Viking or Voyager, 
are actually pretty rare.

So the amount we send into space compared to the size of the planet is, and 
will be for some time, negligible. But wait, there's more.

As the earth proceeds along its orbital path it operates like a giant vacuum 
cleaner sucking up dust, meteorites and even the occasional comet or 
asteroid. This all adds to the earth's mass. Though estimates vary, it seems 
at least 100 tons of debris is added to Earth's bulk everyday. At this point 
we are in no way able to even send enough stuff into space to keep up with 
the incoming material, let alone make planet any lighter.

Just one more note. The planet also loses mass by way of hydrogen escaping 
from the atmosphere and the decay of radioactive materials. It is hard to 
say just how large that figure is, however.

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In History:

*Lots of Sharp Teeth - Lake Monsters appear in some of the most unlikely 
places. In 1892 two boys were fishing along the south shore of Lake Geneva 
when they suddenly saw the head of a serpent-like creature appear out of the 
lake. The monster, which rose out of the water some about seventy feet from 
them, started swimming toward them with its gigantic mouth open showing 
several rows of sharp teeth. For whatever reason the creature turned before 
it got to them and headed out into the middle of the lake. As they watched 
the boys estimated the monster was near a hundred feet in length. Is the 
story a hoax? Perhaps so. The boys report is extremely unusual as Lake 
Geneva is not known for sightings of lake monsters.

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In the Sky:

*Jupiter and Meteors - This is a good month to observe the planet Jupiter 
which sits low in the evening sky giving off a peach shaded glow. If that 
isn't enough excitement for you, might try to observing the South Delta 
Aquarids. This meteor shower occurs on July 29th and runs through the 31st. 
>From the northern hemisphere the meteors will appear in the SSE sky. The 
shower is more easily visible in the southern hemisphere looking east. Best 
viewing is after midnight local time.

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Observed:

*Alien Head Fetches $9,600 - The International Bird Rescue Research Center 
in Fairfield, CA, auctioned off on Ebay an x-ray of a duck stomach that 
resembled an alien's face and got $9,600. Jay Holcomb, Director of 
International Bird Rescue Research Center (IBRRC), stated, "Proceeds from 
the sale of this one-of-a-kind x-ray will go towards funding our continuing 
efforts to rescue and rehabilitate oiled, orphaned and injured waterfowl and 
aquatic birds." The x-ray first came to the center staff's attention on 
Sunday, May 21st, when an adult male mallard was brought to the IBRRC, with 
what appeared to be a broken wing. Marie Travers, assistant manager of the 
center, radiographed the mallard and was immediately shocked by what was 
revealed on the x-ray. A very clear image of what appeared to be the face, 
or head, of an extraterrestrial alien was in the bird's stomach. Despite the 
efforts of the staff at IBRRC, the bird died, but the center intends to use 
the cash from the auction to further their work.

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On the Tube:

Currently we are only able to give accurate times and dates for these 
programs in the United States. Check local listings in other locations.

*NOVA - The Elegant Universe: Einstein's Dream - Eleven dimensions, parallel 
universes, and a world made out of strings. It's not science fiction, it's 
string theory. On the PBS: July 11 at 8 pm ET/PT

*Hunt for the U.S.S. Alligator: U.S. Navy's First Sub - The hunt has begun 
for a lost piece of American Civial War history. The Alligator, the first 
military submarine commissioned by the U.S. Navy, disappeared somewhere of 
the coast of the Carolinas. Can a team of top ocean scientists find her? On 
the Science Channel: JUL 06 2006 @ 09:00 PM JUL 07 2006 @ 12:00 AM, JUL 07 
2006 @ 04:00 AM, JUL 07 2006 @ 10:00, AM JUL 07 2006 @ 02:00 PM, JUL 08 2006 
@ 02:00 PM; ET/PT

*Alien Planet - A futuristic mission to search the galaxy for planets able 
to support life. Darwin IV is a planet 6.5 light years from Earth, with two 
suns and 60% gravity. An unmanned fleet is deployed to assess this planet 
for the possibility of life. On the Science Channel: JUL 04 2006 @ 09:00, PM 
JUL 05 2006 @ 12:00 AM, JUL 05 2006 @ 04:00 AM, JUL 05 2006 @ 10:00 AM, JUL 
05 2006 @ 02:00 PM, JUL 09 2006 @ 05:00 PM; ET/PT

*Seven Wonders of Ancient Egypt - The ancient Egyptians showed the world how 
boundless ambition and vast quantities of human labor could transform rock 
and stone into the most incredible monuments ever created. Meet the 
pharaohs, engineers and laborers who built the wonders of Egypt. On The 
Science Channel: JUL 17 2006 @ 09:00 PM, JUL 18 2006 @ 12:00 AM, JUL 18 2006 
@ 04:00 AM, JUL 18 2006 @ 10:00 AM, JUL 18 2006 @ 02:00 PM, JUL 22 2006 @ 
05:00 PM ; ET/PT.

*Jane: Mystery Dinosaur - Sometimes a discovery forever changes what we 
think we know, altering our perspective and re-writing history. This is the 
story of a mystery dinosaur called Jane, that affled the greatest minds in 
paleontology from the moment she was unearthed On The Science Channel: JUL 
24 2006 @ 09:00 PM, JUL 25 2006 @ 12:00 AM, JUL 25 2006 @ 04:00 AM, JUL 25 
2006 @ 10:00 AM, JUL 25 2006 @ 02:00 PM, JUL 29 2006 @ 05:00 PM ; ET/PT.

*Tomb Builders: Secrets of the Valley of the Kings - More than 20 pharaoh 
tombs rest in this famous funerary valley. Follow the work of Dr. Kent Weeks 
as he maps the entire valley of dynastic tombs, profiles each of the 
pharaohs, and tells the story of how each tomb was constructed. On The 
Discovery Channel: JUN 22 2006 @ 10:00 PM, JUN 23 2006 @ 02:00 AM, JUL 08 
2006 @ 09:00 PM, JUL 09 2006 @ 01:00 AM; ET/PT.

*UFO Files Texas' Roswell - In April 1897--50 years before the alleged UFO 
crash in Roswell, New Mexico--a mysterious airship crash rocked the small 
town of Aurora, Texas...or at least, that's how the legend goes! The tale 
includes the wreckage from the ship, a funeral for the dead "alien" pilot, 
and thousands of witnesses from across the country. And the Aurora crash 
allegedly took place five years before the Wright Brothers flew at Kitty 
Hawk, so whatever was in the air was not manmade. Eyewitness accounts of the 
crash, mysterious metal found at the site, and the hunt for the only known 
alien graveyard are all combined into a story that has even the most adamant 
debunkers baffled. Is this the case that finally proves that UFOs are real? 
Join us as we separate fact from fiction. On History Channel: July 3 @ 8pm 
ET/PT.

*Ancient Marvels Cities of the Underworld - Istanbul is undoubtedly one of 
the most dynamic and exotic cities in the world. Once the capital city of 
three of the world's most powerful empires--The Roman, Byzantine, and 
Ottoman--its strategic location made it the perfect spot for empires to 
rise, fall...and rise again. Today Istanbul's residents are walking on top 
of remnants of these fallen civilizations...literally. Taxis drive over 
parts of Constantine's Lost Great Palace; children play on cobblestone 
streets concealing a massive Byzantine dungeon; a high school sits on a 3rd 
century wall leading to the bowels of a 100,000 seat ancient Roman 
Hippodrome; and basement's of old Ottoman homes lead to subterranean tunnels 
and secret cisterns. Join host Eric Geller as he leaves the buzz of the city 
streets behind and follows the pull of the past. Teamed with leading 
archeologists and experts, Eric peels back the layers of the past--to reveal 
a hidden history that hasn't seen the light of day for ages.On History 
Channel: July 6 @ 8p ET/PT.

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*LGM: Check out the antics of Meep and Zeep as they try to find their flying 
saucer! (http://www.unmuseum.org/soearch/over.htm#lgm)