Monthly Archives: September 2014

Hot Ash

Posted on September 28, 2014 by Ron Miksha

Yesterday’s news out of Japan was the unexpected eruption of a volcano. Hikers – some of them weekend strollers taking pictures of fall colours – were overtaken when the sleeping volcano expelled its nasty breath. Witnesses said that they thought … Continue reading →

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Those who can’t, teach…

Posted on September 25, 2014 by Ron Miksha

Today, September 25, would be the 171st birthday of Thomas Chrowder Chamberlin. A discouraging character to honour. Born in 1843, by 1900 his ideas about science education and the scientific method came to dominate American science. Not all of his … Continue reading →

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Popular, but Wrong

Posted on September 24, 2014 by Ron Miksha

We don’t usually celebrate a man’s death, and we are not doing that here. But William Matthew (1871-1930) died on this date in 1930, and his appearance on my geo-calendar was a reminder to me to think about this popular … Continue reading →

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Mud Flood

Posted on September 21, 2014 by Ron Miksha

Mud at 100 kilometres an hour? It happens. Mount Shasta, in northern California, let loose this afternoon with one heck of a mud flood, apparently caused by a sudden melt of one of its glaciers. Probably not at a hundred … Continue reading →

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A Cultural Backlash

Posted on September 20, 2014 by Ron Miksha

There seems to be a cultural backlash against science. Some of my liberal friends blame science for the evils of neonicotinoids, GMOs, and vaccines. They are wrong, of course. My conservative friends decry science for promoting Darwinism, the Earth’s real … Continue reading →

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The Billion Year Discovery

Posted on September 16, 2014 by Ron Miksha

About a century ago, a college student figured out that the Earth has rocks over a billion years old. Until Arthur Holmes’ experiments at Imperial College in London, geologists could only guess at the age of various rock formations. Geologist … Continue reading →

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The Bright Side of Solar Flares

Posted on September 14, 2014 by Ron Miksha

Electronics destroyed. Skin radiated. Mutations. Cancer. And if the GPS is down, how will anyone find their way home? But there is a bright side to solar flares. And that would be last night’s light show. For those of us … Continue reading →

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What’s that Smell?

Posted on September 12, 2014 by Ron Miksha

Yesterday’s odoriferous eruption of Iceland’s Bárðarbunga volcano got me thinking about the nasty stuff just below our feet. The volcano has begun gassing smelly poisons and the scent of Iceland’s rotten eggs has been whiffed as far away as Finland. Why … Continue reading →

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Signs of Plate Tectonics on Europa – Ice Plates, that is.

Posted on September 8, 2014 by Ron Miksha

There is a lot to like in this next story. Life may exist on an ice-world that glows red in the light of Jupiter’s torch. This is an interesting idea derived from NASA data that had been sitting on a … Continue reading →

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Sunday, September 7, 2014: Will it be Armageddon Day?

Posted on September 4, 2014 by Ron Miksha

This Sunday, nature is throwing an unexpected surprise our way. Scientists have just discovered that an asteroid the size of a house will narrowly miss striking the Earth. If it should hit us, it would almost certainly spoil your weekend. … Continue reading →

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