To say that the Universe is a big place would be a huge understatement. Â It is difficult to fathom just how big it is. Â When we hear that there are an estimated 10 sextillion to 1 septillion stars in the Universe we have few reference points to compare to those numbers. A number followed by... Continue Reading →
Do places on Earth exist where annual records have been stored for tens of thousands of years and can be accessed today? Ice-cores and tree rings can preserve long records of yearly events but some of the best records come from layers of sediment underlying some lakes which,  if formed under the right conditions, can be read like the annual rings of... Continue Reading →
Previously we explored some meteorites that have been found on Earth that are very likely from Mars (Finding Mars on Earth).  Only a small percentage of the meteorites found on Earth are from Mars with a few more (over 100) originating from the moon.  The remainder presumably come from the far reaches of the... Continue Reading →
The data flowing from Mars has been impressive the past two weeks. Each day brings hundreds of new images many of which contain scenes like no others ever sent back to Earth before.  I have followed the travels of previous rovers and looked at 10s of thousands of pictures they have beamed back over... Continue Reading →
Curiosity has beamed back some really remarkable images from Mars in the past couple of days. Â The site for its landing was chosen because it appeared from satellite images that there was layered rock and some diversity of chemical signatures at different elevations but the pictures taken from ground level reveal a more spectacular and... Continue Reading →
How could anyone not be curious about Mars Curiosity rover? Â NASA gambled by playing up the "7 minutes of terror" landing, using social media very adeptly to get a huge audience right in the middle of the Olympics. Â Failure of the rover to safely land surely would have been a crushing blow to the... Continue Reading →
There are thousands of sites with either human remains or artifacts (stone tools usually) that are known across southern Europe and many are found in locations where they are found in layers stacked on top of each other like in caves or flood plain locations along rivers. But, the exact pattern of Neanderthal and modern human population migrations and changes is not my main interest.
The human fossil record is probably one of these least understood yet frequently discussed topics in the Christian church.  I have neither the expertise nor the desire to attempt to resolve the debate over whether particular fossils represent human ancestors or not. I understand that human origins is a sensitive topic, especially within the conservative evangelical church... Continue Reading →
Update Feb 2014: Â I have rewritten this article with updated information here: Â Fishing For Fossils in the North Sea: The Lost World of Doggerland You may have seen reports of the discovery of the "British Atlantis" circulating the web. Â Those stories seem to have been sparked by a new display of recent research at... Continue Reading →
The PCA (Presbyterian Church of America) Â General Assembly includes a number of seminars on a wide variety of topics each year. Â This year one talk received considerable attention prior to the meeting because of the subject matter and the presenter. Â I made the 6 hour drive to Louisville, KY to hear the talk as... Continue Reading →
There are millions of asteroids orbiting the solar system most of which are found in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Studies of these asteroids, as part of an effort to assess the threats to earth, have allowed us to track and paths, sizes and rotational frequencies of over 1000 asteroids.
The Toba volcano is found near the center of Sumatra, Indonesia. It has been estimated that at least 2800 cubic kilometers of material was thrown into the air during the explosion or series of explosions. To put that in perspective the Krakatoa volcano threw just over 2 cubic kilometers of material into the air some of which circled the globe causing dazzling sunsets in Europe.
Dinosaur eggs are surprisingly (to the non-biologist) similar in size. Even the very largest dinosaurs laid eggs that were hardly any bigger than the largest eggs found today. These are observations from the fossil record and these observation make sense biologically even though all we see are fossilized eggs. Eggs are limited in the size they attain for several reasons but one of the most important is that the embryos in the eggs must have oxygen to grow.
Many people have a perception of scientists as white-coated individuals hunched over at a lab bench performing experiments.  They are doing experimental science which include the testing of hypotheses and determining which ones are supported and which should be discarded.  Others scientists are imagined as collecting observational data using  telescopes to describe distant planets and... Continue Reading →
I think it is safe to say that the average person has little appreciation for the diversity (eg. number of species) and the total numbers of whales in the world. What most people hear about whales is that there are some that are hunted to near extinction. This tends to create the impression that whales are rare animals. Yes, there are many rare and endangered species of whales but there there are many that are very abundant.
Naturalis Historia 