Thursday, March 9, 2006 4:54:33 AM
Astrobiology, Meteorites, The Moon
Moon Written in Stoneby Lori Stiles, U. Arizona
Scientists have pinpointed the source of a meteorite from the moon for the first time. Their unique meteorite records four separate lunar impacts.
They are the first to precisely date Mare Imbrium, the youngest of the large meteorite craters on the moon. That date, 3.9 billion years ago, is a new key date for lunar and even terrestrial stratigraphy, the scientists say, because life on Earth would have evolved only after heavy meteorite bombardment ended.
Image: This is how meteorite SaU 169 looked when its discoverers initially inspected it in the lab. The maximum dimension is 7 centimeters, or not quite 3 inches. Credit: Peter Vollenweider
Geologists who found the meteorite and scientists from Swiss, Swedish, German, British, and Arizona laboratories who analyzed the unique stone report their work in the July 30 issue of Science. Swiss geologist Edwin Gnos is first author of the article titled "Pinpointing the Source of Lunar Meteorite: Implications for the Evolution of the Moon."
Gnos, Ali Al-Kathiri and Beda Hofmann found the 206-gram (7-ounce) meteorite in Oman on Jan. 16, 2002. The geologists were on a joint meteorite search expedition sponsored by the Government of Oman, the Natural History Museum of Berne and the University of Berne.
"The desert in Oman is the new place to find meteorites," said A.J. Tim Jull of the University of Arizona in Tucson. Jull directs the National Science Foundation - Arizona Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) Laboratory. He analyzed beryllium and carbon isotopes that told how long the meteorite was in space after it was launched from the moon and how long ago it fell to Earth at Oman. +
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Thursday, March 9, 2006 1:30:45 AM
The Moon, Lunar Alps, Olympics
based on a
Science@NASA report
It's only a matter of time. One day, winter Olympics will be held on the moon.The moon's dust-covered slopes are good places to ski. There's plenty of powder, moguls and, best of all, low-gravity. With only 1/6th g holding them down, skiers and snowboarders can do tricks they only dreamed of doing on Earth. How about an octuple-twisting quadruple backflip? Don't worry. Crashes happen in slow-motion, so it won't hurt so much to wipe out.
And there's a perfect spot for the Olympic Village: the crater Plato. Most people don't know it, but Plato of ancient Greece was not only a philosopher, but also an Olympic champion. Twice he won the pankration competition-a grueling mix of boxing and wrestling. A crater named after Plato sounds like a good place for Olympic athletes to stay. The site is flat-bottomed, filled with raw materials for building stadia and habitats, and like Torino, Italy, the site of this year's games, Plato is near the Alps. That is, the lunar Alps.
The lunar Alps are a range of mountains on the moon named after the Alps of Europe. They are similar to their Earthly counterparts in height, breath and spectacle. Since the modern Olympics began in 1896, most of the winter games have been held in the Alps. Why should the moon be different?
You can see the lunar Alps using a small backyard telescope. Step outside at sundown and look up at the moon. The Olympic Village, crater Plato, is a conspicuous dark oval on the northern shore of Mare Imbrium, the "Sea of Rains." Your unaided eye is sufficient to see it.
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Wednesday, March 8, 2006 12:29:52 PM
News, The Moon, Shackleton Crater
By MARK CARREAU
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle Resource-rich lunar south pole is seen as perfect area to exploreAt the south pole of the moon, a row of peaks juts from the gently sloping rim of Shackleton Crater, named for the early 20th-century Antarctic explorer Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton.
The 15-mile-wide crater and its rugged surroundings, including a vast depression created by the impact of an ancient asteroid or comet, starkly show the drama that marked the early history of Earth's companion.
Overlooked as a half-dozen Apollo expeditions landed on the moon two generations ago, the lunar south pole could figure prominently in NASA's plans to return to the moon with explorers. Satellite photos reveal that parts of Shackleton's rim are bathed in near-constant sunlight and hint that the frigid, permanently shaded recesses of the crater floor harbor ice deposits. Image Copyright © Bruce Campbell/Arecibo Observatory
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Wednesday, March 8, 2006 12:00:42 AM
The Moon
Seems highly unlikely, but check out some fascinating myths and legends at Rense.com
Monday, March 6, 2006 12:55:26 PM
The Moon, Hurricanes
This panoramic view of the eye of Hurricane Emily was shot by the crew of the International Space Station while they passed over the southern Gulf of Mexico looking eastward toward the rising moon. This July 16, 2005 image shows the eye of the hurricane, which appears as a depression in the cloud deck, stretches out to the horizon and fades into the limb (the bright blue cross-section) of the Earth’s atmosphere. At the time this image was taken, Emily was a strengthening Category 4 hurricane. With the formation of Hurricane Emily, 2005 became the first season in which there were two Category 4 storms before the end of July.
Image Credit: NASA
Thursday, March 2, 2006 2:13:48 PM
Phases, Astrology, The Moon
New Moon (0 - 45 degrees in front of the sun)
The energy of the new moon is birth and its metaphor is spring. It's a good time to start new projects, begin relationships and plant gardens. You might find yourself feeling impulsive, and you have access to a dynamic burst of start-up juice.
Crescent Moon (45 - 90 degrees ahead of sun)
Consciousness comes into the picture now with a little bit more light. In our own life cycle, the crescent moon symbolizes the period when you become aware that you're not part of your mother, that you are your own entity. A dawning realization shows you that you have a choice, that you can struggle against the established pattern.
Psychologically, it's the beginning of individuation, the setting apart of the self. You may find it very important during this time to broach your own ideas. Some religions have important celebrations honoring the crescent moon.
First Quarter Moon (90 - 135 degrees ahead of sun)
This is a time when things come to a head -- some might call it crisis time. You feel the friction in the air, but that's not necessarily bad -- friction starts a movement toward solution.
Think of starting a fire. You need friction to create the first spark. Rub two sticks together or strike a match; the fire will warm you and cook your food.
You may sense a problem but not know what it is. Awareness is still moving toward understanding. It's the time to implement ideas and look at possible solutions if you've identified the knot in a situation.
Gibbous Moon (135 - 180 degrees ahead of sun)
Now we move to analysis and evaluation, understanding why we've taken action. We appraise our personal progress. This is more intellectual than the first quarter, which was dynamic and intuitive.
Full Moon (180 -225 degrees ahead of sun)
The full moon is the pinnacle, the climactic point. Now we get answers. You'll see a lot of extremes now. The way you interpret those has a lot to do with your inner landscape -- you reflect what's going on around you.
With such a polarity, projection runs rampant. If you go outside and see people acting like lunatics, that's your projection. If everyone looks beautiful, that's also your interpretation. What you perceive depends on how you're feeling.
The gravitational pull of both sun and moon, with the earth in middle, sets up these extremes. The trick here is to find balance. If we're out of balance, we'll go one way or the other; we'll either be blinded by the light, or we won't even see it. The moon's magnetic pull makes this a very powerful time. Whatever Sun Sign the full moon is in has a strong effect on our energies. That effect will play out according to each person's individual chart.
A lot tends to happen around the full moon: more people end up in emergency rooms, the police scanners go wild. But it's also a time for romance. The play of light over the water, the moon hanging in the branches of trees, the huge orb rising over a cityscape -- all these put us more in touch with our creature sense. Time to howl at the moon. The full moon is also associated with fertilization and ovulation.
Disseminating Moon (135 - 90 degrees behind the sun)
By now, we've learned our lesson, received the information. The question is, what to do with it? A strong desire to demonstrate to others what you've learned makes this a time to share you knowledge. Your intellect is in charge: You see, you acknowledge, you tell somebody.
Last Quarter Moon (90 - 45 degrees behind the sun)
Like the first quarter, this phase is about movement. This time you can engage in conscious action. The choice is in your hands and you know it. It's up to you to create the outcome. This is dynamic, conscious movement. You decide whether to take action -- or not.
Balsamic Moon (45 - 1 degree behind sun)
We have another word for this moon phase -- Karma. This is the closing, the conclusion of the cycle during which you reap what you've sown. If you haven't learned the lessons, taken the action called for in the first seven phases, you can't move on. People born during this phase often have a mission, something bigger than themselves that they must carry out. This energy is greater than yourself. This time, the outcome of whatever's going on is not yours to decide. You have already taken the steps that set up this outcome. It's a time to release the past.
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