Wednesday, March 06, 2013

Hot Links

We have comets on the way: Pan-STAARS this month and Ison in November. Pan-STAARS is already visible in the Southern Hemisphere as you can see in this pic taken recently in Australia. It should be visible in parts of the Northern Hemisphere this week. There are articles here and here on the comets. I am afraid we may be too far north to see Pan-STAARS.

Pluvialis sighting! Read this fascinating article by Helen Macdonald in Aeon magazine entitled Nest of Spies. h/t Terrierman.

I think you might enjoy this profile of the Master Raven Keeper at the Tower of London.

Forensic scientists are studying the mummified heart of King Richard the Lionheart that was buried in a separate casket from the rest of his body. I know it's a far-fetched story, but I promise I'm not lion.

Another day, another theory about the demise of Neanderthals. Please ignore the cutesy title, "Bunnies Implicated in the Demise of Neanderthals," this new theory posits that the Neanderthals were no good at hunting small game which made it difficult for them to adapt to changing conditions. Not out of the realm of possibility - more data required.

Sacramento is being terrorized by giant beavers.

4 comments:

Darrell said...

If you're in Colorado PanSTARRs should be visible by March 12--as mentioned in one of the linked articles, it will be near the crescent moon on that date, and moving northward along the western horizon the following days. It might help if you put some distance between yourself and the mountains, though.

Anonymous said...

Great articles! Thanks! I was just sure(before I read it) that the King Richard article was going to profess they had found actual lion DNA(hhhrrrmmmppphh!)....And the Neanderthal one--I REALLY MUST disagree with the research methods. Just because they haven't found skeletal evidence of rabbits among Neanderthal shelters means little. I for one, know full well that some rabbits leave no bones behind when you eat them--like chocolate bunnies!....L.B.

Anonymous said...

....and "giant" beavers??? Apparently those folks aren't familiar with how large beavers can get. The sizes they mentioned are actually quite common. I knew of a trapper in Georgia that caught one that weighed 90 lbs.--now THAT was a big beaver!....L.B.

Anonymous said...

....and what a great job, that Raven Keeper--except for having to wear that outfit.....L.B.