Category Archives: The Book

A Bad Day at the Beach

Posted on August 24, 2014 by Ron Miksha

Today marks the death of Gaius Plinius Secundus, aka Pliny the Elder. He died along with 20,000 of his friends and neighbors. On August 24, 79, Mount Vesuvius exploded and Pompeii and Herculaneum were no more. From the book, The … Continue reading →

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SWARM of Magnetism

Posted on July 17, 2014 by Ron Miksha

The popular press has been fretting about the impending demise of our protective magnetic field.  Rightly so. We can expect all sorts of nasties when the field fails. The European Space Agency recently placed a “swarm” of magnetism-sensing satellites in … Continue reading →

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The Death of Heezen

Posted on June 21, 2014 by Ron Miksha

The Des Moines Register described Bruce Heezen as a large man. This, they said, contributed to his early death at age 53, on this day in 1977. But when we look at photographs of Bruce Heezen, he doesn’t appear to … Continue reading →

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How Hot is Hot?

Posted on June 10, 2014 by Ron Miksha

How Hot is Hot?  4,000 degrees K, according to new study.  Researchers at the Magma and Volcanoes Laboratory (CNRS U Blaise Pascal) and the European Synchrotron (ESRF) have collided to make sense of the really hot temperatures at the core-mantle … Continue reading →

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Doodling Mary Anning

Posted on May 21, 2014 by Ron Miksha

Today Google has a doodle honouring Mary Anning, one of palaeontology’s pioneers. The reason Google chose Anning on this day?  It remembers her birthdate – she would have been 215 years old today. Alas, she didn’t reach 50. Here is … Continue reading →

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After Wegener

Posted on May 12, 2014 by Ron Miksha

May 12 is the 83rd anniversary of the discovery of Alfred Wegener’s body. Wegener, of course, was the meteorologist, physicist, and polar explorer who made the first really reasonable conjecture about moveable continents. There were others before him – as … Continue reading →

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Mountains as a mystery

Posted on May 9, 2014 by Ron Miksha

The release of the book, The Mountain Mystery, coincides with the 50th Anniversary of the discovery of how the Earth’s mountains were formed. It’s fascinating to think about – in our parents’ and grandparents’ lifetimes, geologists finally figured out why … Continue reading →

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