Gizmorama
October 11, 2010
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Good Morning,
An interesting discovery poses questions to prior theories
on the succession of dinosaurs. Read all the detail on this
prehistoric find in the last article of this issue.
Until Next Time,
Erin
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Moon of Saturn may have hidden ocean
GREENBELT, Md. - A moon of Saturn that should be frozen solid
may have liquid oceans, thanks to a "wobble" it experiences
as it orbits the ringed planet, researchers say. With temp-
eratures around 324 degrees below zero Fahrenheit, the sur-
face of Enceladus is indeed frozen, but in 2005 NASA's
Cassini spacecraft discovered a giant plume of water gushing
from cracks in the surface over the moon's south pole, sug-
gesting there was a reservoir of water beneath the ice, a
release from NASA's Goddard Space Center said Thursday.
Analysis of the plume by Cassini shows the water is salty,
indicating the reservoir is large, perhaps even a global
subsurface ocean. Scientists estimate the south polar heating
is equivalent to a continuous release of about 13 billion
watts of energy. Researchers say tidal heating may be keeping
Enceladus warm enough for liquid water to remain under its
surface. Enceladus' orbit around Saturn is slightly oval-
shaped and the moon moves closer in and then farther away as
it travels around the planet. The fluctuating gravitational
tug on Enceladus causes it to flex slightly, and the flexing,
called gravitational tidal forcing, generates heat from fric-
tion deep within Enceladus. Also, the moon's rotation as it
orbits may not be uniform, scientists say, and additional
heat caused by this "wobble" could be five times as much as
that created by tidal heating. The extra heat makes it likely
that Enceladus' ocean could be long-lived, significant to a
search for life on the orbiting moon, because life requires
a stable environment to develop, NASA scientists say.
Probe to eye Martian atmosphere 'theft'
BOULDER, Colo. - A NASA mission to Mars will study how the
sun has stolen the planet's atmosphere, condemning it to a
cold and sterile existence, researchers say. Mars once had
a thicker atmosphere and was warm enough for liquid water to
flow on the surface, scientists believe, but somehow that
thick atmosphere got lost in space, a NASA release says. The
sun with its solar wind is the principal suspect. All planets
in our solar system are constantly blasted by the thin stream
of electrically charged gas that continuously blows from the
sun's surface into space. Earth's global magnetic field
shields our atmosphere by diverting most of the solar wind
around it. "Mars can't protect itself from the solar wind
because it no longer has a shield, the planet's global mag-
netic field is dead," said Bruce Jakosky of the University
of Colorado, Boulder, principle investigator for NASA's MAVEN
(Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution Mission) probe.
Earlier Mars spacecraft missions such as NASA's Mars Global
Surveyor and the European Space Agency's Mars Express space-
craft have caught glimpses of the phenomenon. "Previous
observations gave us 'proof of the crime' but only provided
tantalizing hints at how the sun pulls it off -- the various
ways Mars can lose its atmosphere to solar activity," said
Joseph Grebowsky of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in
Greenbelt, Md. "MAVEN will examine all known ways the sun
is currently swiping the Martian atmosphere, and may discover
new ones as well," he said. MAVEN is scheduled for launch
between Nov. 18 and Dec. 7, 2013, NASA says.
U.S. approves 'power tower' solar project
WASHINGTON - The United States has approved the first large-
scale solar energy project on public lands that will use
"power tower" technology, government officials said. The
proposed project, to be located in San Bernardino, Calif.,
could produce up to 370 megawatts of clean energy, enough
to power 111,000 to 277,500 American homes when it is com-
pleted in 2013, a U.S. Department of the Interior release
said Thursday. "Power tower" technology uses fields of
mirrors to focus solar energy on tower receivers near the
center of each array. Steam from solar boilers in the
towers drive a turbine that generates electricity for the
transmission grid. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar approved
the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System after an
extensive review that significantly altered the proposal
in response to public comments in order to minimize environ-
mental impacts. "I am pleased with the changes we have made
to improve this project," Salazar said. "It is important
that we learn from our experience to ensure that environmen-
tally-responsible clean energy is developed wisely and in
the right places." "Ivanpah is one of several renewable
energy projects in the pipeline that will help California and
this nation build a clean energy economy," Salazar said.
Fossil challenges view of dinosaurs
TORONTO - Dinosaurs did not spread throughout the world by
fiercely overpowering other species but by a more stealthy
and patient advance, North American scientists say. Canadian
and U.S. researchers say a previously unknown species of
dinosaur discovered in Arizona suggests dinosaurs were oppor-
tunists, taking advantage of a natural catastrophe that
wiped out their competitors, a University of Toronto release
said. One of the five great mass extinction events in Earth's
history happened at the end of the Triassic Period -- about
200 million years ago -- wiping out many of the potential
competitors to dinosaurs. Evidence from the newly identified
dinosaur, named Sarahsaurus, and two other early dinosaur
species suggests each migrated into North America from South
America in separate waves long after the extinction and that
no such dinosaurs migrated there before the extinction.
"Until recently, we've viewed dinosaurs as very successful
animals that out-competed other species wherever they went,"
Robert R. Reisz, professor of biology at the University of
Toronto Mississauga, says. "But this study puts dinosaurs in
a very different light -- that they were more opportunistic
creatures that moved into North America only when a mass
extinction event made eco-space available to them."
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