[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

Re: Millions of comets coming--Yeah? Where are they?

>>Oh, sure, mass extinctions happen--some (but certainly NOT all) caused by
>>ET means.  But all this media hype still doesn't help the public's
>>understanding of the dynamics of the Earth-Moon system, the rarity of
>>planet-threatening impacts, and the many influences on extinction events.
>>But fueling the fear does keep a few astronomers employed as Chicken
>>Littles.  (My opinion.)
>
>  The majority of astronomers I would think also try to squash such
>nonsense, at least I would hope so.
>

Mass exctinctions are misunderstood by most non-scientists, and sound
omnious and foreboding, so the "Chicken-Littles" of the world gobble em up!

My understanding of the mass extinctions is that if you take the first and
last species considered to be within the "mass Extinction" the fossil
remains show that they are 100,000 years apart, between the "first" and
"last" species within the extinction.

When you look at a geological chart, a 100,000 doesn't look like much, on a
scale of 4.5 billion, but logically it doesn't make much sense that a single
event could affect organisms for 100,000 years.

I got this information from a Dr. Of Paleontology at the school I attended,
but I myself am not a paleontologist.

Also, the species counted are only those that leave fossil remains: many
species of soft bodied organisms may have existed and not left any fossil
remains.  I have a fossilized worm track, no worm, but it did leave trails
in the mud.

And think about the fact that species thought to be extinct show up.

There should be ongoing evolution, and new speciation.  As far as I can
tell, what makes a "Mass Extinction" is the "rapid" decline in the number of
species in a given time period vs. the "normal" extinction rate of species.
I think a comparison to new speciation must be made, but how can it be done?
We know there a hundreds, thousands of species as of yet classified, and new
ones are found every year, so how can you even make the comparison?

Regardless, if you think about, in the largest mass extinction, roughly 94%
of all fossil bearing life was wiped out, what does that say about life?  It
tells me that no matter what happens, short of vaporizing the planet, life
will continue.

Chris L. Ball
-----Original Message-----
From: Tom Randall <trandall@idsi.net>
To: meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com
<meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thursday, September 16, 1999 2:19 PM
Subject: Re: Millions of comets coming--Yeah? Where are they?


>At 09:21 AM 9/16/99 -0500, Louis wrote:
>>My overall reaction to the current spate of comet- and asteroid-impact
>>hysteria is that it is mostly just that--hysteria and hyperbole!  The
>>"Discovering Archaeology" piece--finding comets and asteroids at every
bend
>>and twist of history--is a real stretch of an overactive imagination!
>
>   Absolutely. The media overblows things (what else is new?!), that and
the
>few asteroid/comet movies of recent release. The UFO believing crowd and
>prophesy folks are claiming somethings coming and "we're not being told the
>truth!".
>So that deosn't help either. As an amateur astronomer I try to help squash
>such nonsense when it comes up.
>
>Regards,
>Tom Randall
>(who's getting hit by Floyd's REALLY heavy rains and winds as he types,
it's
>a real miss here in southern N.Y.)
>
>
>
>
>>
>
>----------
>Archives located at:
>http://www.meteoritecentral.com/list_best.html
>
>For help, FAQ's and sub. info. visit:
>http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing_list.html
>----------
>

----------
Archives located at:
http://www.meteoritecentral.com/list_best.html

For help, FAQ's and sub. info. visit:
http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing_list.html
----------