Friday Headlines, March 1, 2013
THE LATEST IN THE GEOSCIENCES
ANCIENT ALLIGATOR ANCESTORS UNEARTHED
The Panama Canal is under construction again. It’s being widened to allow for the passage of larger ships. Paleontologists, being the opportunists that they are, came in and are surveying the areas of construction for new fossil finds.
Scientists found a new species of caiman, aged between 19 and 20 million years old. This species may represent one of the earliest caimans, just after the lineage branched off of the rest of the alligators.
An important implication of this find is that is shows that, while the land bridge that now connects North and South America was absent, separating the two continents, the distance between the two continents was small.
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW: COMET PANSTARRS IN MARCH 2013
There will be a couple of comets this year for us to enjoy. The first is the comet PANSTARRS, which has been gracing the skies of the southern hemisphere for a while.
As March progresses, PANSTARRS will move up into the northern hemisphere for the rest of us to enjoy, before passing once more out of sight.
And speaking of comets…
MARS MAY GET HIT BY A COMET IN 2014
A comet by the name of C/2013 A1 (Siding Spring) was discovered on January 3rd. It will pass close and potentially strike the planet Mars on October 19th next year.
If it hits (or even if it doesn’t) it might be bad news for our probes and rovers studying Mars. Whatever happens, it should be an exciting event!
Penny Higgins - Storyteller • Artist • Scientist 