How Do You Know About The Geminids?!!

Hello everyone! It's been a couple weeks since I published a new article. Thankfully, I'm finished with all my finals and I don't think they went too badly. I'm excited to start writing again!

Anyone who knows me, knows that I've been really into Astronomy and space travel recently. I've been watching all the movies and documentaries about space that I can get my hands on. Virgin Galactic's unveiling of their new commercial spacecraft was easily the highlight of my week!

So, if you are as up to snuff on your astronomy as I am, you will know that this weekend our planet is going to enter the vicinity of an object called 3200 Phaethon.

This results in the Geminid Meteor Shower that we observe every December. But there is something that makes the Geminids very unique. Rather than beings bits of dust from a comet, the Geminid meteors that we observe burning up as they enter the atmosphere are actually fragments of 3200 Phaethon itself.

This is strange because 3200 Phaethon is thought to be an asteroid, and asteroids don't normally strew debris and dust into space in their wake. So where did the Geminid meteors come from? Astronomers have a handful of possible explanations. One theory is that a collision with another asteroid could have created the trail of dust and rock.

But the most recognized theory is that 3200 Phaethon used to be a comet. While the theory hasn't been proved yet, there is plenty of evidence to support it.The most convincing of which is 3200 Phaethon's path of orbit.

The orbital path is highly elliptical, which would typically be characteristic of a comet. And every 1.4 years, it takes 3200 Phaethon extremely close to the sun. Twice as close as Mercury, in fact. Just to give you an idea of the extreme temperature to which 3200 Phaethon would be subjected, the average temperature on Mercury is 800°F during the day.

So, while comets are defined by being made mostly of ice and dust, 3200 Phaethon could have easily been an enormous comet at one time that has since lost its ice and been reduced to a rocky skeleton by frequent close encounters with our sun.

Another interesting point is that the Geminid Meteors have only been visible for about 150 years. The first sightings were noted shortly before the US Civil War. At that time, they were weak and did not garner much attention. But the shower has been steadily intensifying each year since.

Recent showers have been recorded at 120-160 meteors per hour with optimal viewing conditions. This is attributed to the idea that Jupiter's gravity is pulling 3200 Phaethon's stream of debris closer to the earth each year. And the closer the debris gets, the more meteors we see.

Many astronomers predict that the recent ("recent" being a relative term here) appearance of the Geminids and their steadily increasing proximity to our planet means that in the next several decades, 3200 Phaethon will be an increasingly dynamic object to watch.

The Geminids get their name from the constellation, Gemini. They most often appear to come from a radiant in that constellation, but they can appear almost anywhere in the sky.

This year, the shower will reach it's peak at about local midnight on December 13th. This means that if you would like to watch the shower, the best time to do so will begin at midnight, no matter where you are, on Sunday evening.

Viewing conditions are going to be very nearly ideal. The optimal viewing window will be at least several hours wide, and the shower is going to occur two days before the new moon. Providing that the sky is clear that night, you should easily be able to catch a glimpse of the best meteor shower of 2009.

So if you are planning on staying up to watch, here are my tips to make the most of the evening:

• Find a good location ahead of time.
  
• You'll want to be somewhere where the night sky and your eyes won't be affected by bright city lights. 
  

• Bundle up.
• Depending on your location, it's probably going to be cold. So wear layers, warm socks and shoes, gloves, hats, and pack extra blankets.
  

• Know where to find the constellation Gemini.
• Gemini is one of the most easily recognized constellations so you should easily be able to locate it using a star map, or you can get a friend to show you.
  
• While you will be able to see the Geminids all over the sky, you will see the greatest number by knowing that they will appear to come from the vicinity of Gemini. 
  

• Pack furniture.
• Reclining lawn chairs are perfect. But a comfy blanket will work as well.
  

• Prep your eyes.
• You will want to give your eyes at least fifteen minutes to adjust to the dark before you will start to see all the meteors possible. 
• A good rule of thumb is when you can see each star in The Little Dipper, then your location is dark enough and your eyes have sufficiently adjusted.
  
• Also, if you plan on using a flashlight, find one with a red bulb. Or at the very least, cover the light with some red tissue paper and a rubber band. A red light will not affect your ability to see in the dark. 
  

• Bring snacks!
• Hot cocoa and cookies are never a bad idea!

Whether you choose to watch with friends, or in solitude, The Geminid Meteor Shower may be one of the most beautiful natural spectacles you will see in your lifetime!

Enjoy it! And if you get a chance, report your experience back to me in a comment on this article.

Also, Happy Hannukah tonight to all of my Jewish readers!

How Do You Know About Thanksgiving?!!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

I know it's a bit early, Thanksgiving isn't until next week. But my thinking was that if I post this article today, you'll have a whole week to absorb the contents. Then you'll be able to impress everyone at your Thanksgiving table with your extensive knowledge. Just don't forget to cite your source!

And with that, let the absorbing begin.

Most historians will agree that the first Thanksgiving celebration happened in 1621. After a long journey to the New World and an even longer first year trying to make a way of life, the pilgrims and the Wampanoag Native Americans sat down together and shared a Harvest Feast.

The Mayflower landed at Plymouth Rock the previous November and the pilgrims had faced an especially bitter winter they were scarcely prepared for. The following spring they were befriended by an English-speaking Indian named Tisquantum. He is more commonly known as Squanto.

Squanto had been to England several times. The first time he traveled there to serve as a translator. The second time an Englishman attempted to sell him into slavery. He escaped and lived in London for a time before he managed to make his way back to the New World. When he arrived he found that the majority of his tribe had been wiped out by an epidemic.

In their place he found the pilgrims that had spent the winter there. He soon realized that they didn't know how to survive in their new environment. It was miraculous that they had survived the first winter alone. Squanto set to work teaching the pilgrims how to cultivate and fertilize crops. He also showed them places to catch fish and eels.

It is widely agreed that without Squanto's assistance, the first settlements of the New World would have failed.

He also took part in the diplomatic missions led by some of the settlers to form an alliance with the Wampanoag tribe. Their efforts were successful and the tribe was willing to cooperate, mostly due to Squanto's example.

And so, to give thanks for the bountiful harvest and as a symbol of the cooperation between the English settlers and the Native Americans, a huge celebration was planned. The feast lasted for three days and nights and there were 53 pilgrims and approximately 90 Wampanoag in attendance.

We know much of what was prepared and served thanks to journal accounts of the celebration. It is written that the Wampanoag brought five deer to be roasted and served alongside ducks, geese, fish and lobster. Dried meat was also on the menu, as was dried fruit and berries.

Pumpkins and other types of squash were definitely served although the pilgrims lacked an oven to bake pies. Bread was not present on the table either since the supply of wheat flour brought over on the ship from Europe had long been used up. The same thing happened with the sugar supply, so sweets were not present on the table either.

Interestingly, the pilgrims had spoon and knives but not forks. They picked most of their food up with their fingers. They used cloth napkins to pick up hot food and to clean their hands. They also had salt on the table to sprinkle on their food.

It seems reasonable to assume that their food must have been bland by today's standards. But the pilgrims used many spices in their meal preparation. Cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and pepper were popular seasonings and dried fruit was useful in adding flavor as well.

After the first feast at Plymouth, the tradition of a harvest feast continued in America. But it wasn't formally endorsed as a federal holiday until 1941 when President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a bill designating the fourth Thursday in November as Thanksgiving Day.

Even after hundreds of years, a Thanksgiving feast is still an annual tradition in nearly every American household. And in today's world when so many holidays often seem to be overshadowed by commercialization, Thanksgiving Day has managed to remain centered around family, friends, and appreciation for the blessings in our life.

When all of this is taken into account, there is no doubt that Thanksgiving will continue to hold a special place in the hearts of Americans for many years to come.

How Do You Know About Friday The 13th?!!

A Friday the 13th will occur at least once a year, but today is the third time the 13th has fallen on a Friday in 2009. Three is the maximum amount possible in any given year.

It's not uncommon for people to refuse to board an airplane, act on a stock tip, or even buy a house when the thirteenth falls on a Friday. Some people suffer from so much anxiety that they will stay in bed for the day, even if it means calling in sick.

 

The irrational and disabling fear of today's date is called Paraskevidekatriaphobia. Symptoms of the phobia include; shortness of breath, increased heart rate, hot or cold flashes, feeling like you've lost your sense of self, and numbness or tingling sensations.

While true cases of true Paraskevidekatriaphobia are rare. There is no denying that there are many people who consider today's date to be an unlucky one. One source places the number of people affected in some way between 17 and 21 million. And that's just here in the United States.

Determining the origins of the fear surrounding today's date is a difficult task. The earliest known documentation exists in a biography about Giancho Rossini written in 1869. But it is very likely that the folklore was passed down orally for centuries before that.

It is commonly accepted that two ancient associations of bad luck with the number 13 eventually became intertwined and led to the superstitions that exist today.

The first comes from a Norse myth in which 12 of the Gods were having a dinner party together at Valhalla. Loki, known ambiguously as both a helpful servant to the Gods and a trickster, had not been invited. Angered by this, Loki took on the shape of an old hag and showed up to the party. Once there, he managed to convince Holdur, the blind God of darkness, to shoot his brother Baldur, God of joy and gladness. Baldur died and the whole earth mourned in darkness.

In many places around the world it is still considered terrible luck to have 13 eat together and many believe that the first to rise from such a table will be the first to die.

The second association comes from the story of the Last Supper. Judas, the apostle who betrayed Jesus, was the 13th guest to the last supper. It is also well known among Christians that Christ was crucified on a Friday. And some biblical scholars believe that Abel was slain by Cane on a Friday the Thirteenth.

Another association comes from ancient Rome. They believed that witches often gathered in groups of twelve, leaving a thirteenth place open for the Devil.

Between both Christian and Pagan associations of the number 13 with misfortune, it is no wonder that society continues to regard today's date with a sense of foreboding. Some Numerologists have pointed out that its position after twelve may play a factor as well.

There are 12 months in a year, 12 signs in the zodiac, Jesus had 12 apostles. There were 12 tribes of Israel, 12 Gods of Olympus and 12 labors of Hercules. The number 12 seems to signify a sense of completion in the human psyche. Therefore, 13 seems to have a sense of restlessness attached to it.

Indeed, even in today's culture there still seems to be an ominous sense surrounding the number. Many airports will not have a 13th gate. And hospitals and hotels will routinely skip over a 13th room. In Europe, oftentimes the house between number 12 and number 14 will be 12 1/2. And sometimes the designers of high rise buildings will go as far as to skip 13 when numbering the floors.

Whether this is more often due to quirky tradition or true superstition is debatable. But there is no doubt that the number 13 steadfastly remains associated with mishaps, setbacks, and tragedy in our minds.

If this article has managed to spook you into putting some stock into the superstitions, there are many ways to counter your bad luck. A Google search for "bad luck remedy" will return about 384,000 results. They range from simple and concise to outrageously complex and lengthy.

So if you feel that today might hold some misfortune for you, take your pick of charm or ritual and get to work. The next Friday the 13th will occur in August of 2010. Good luck!

How Do You Know About The Gunpowder Plot?!!

Remember, remember the Fifth of November,
The Gunpowder Treason and Plot,
I know of no reason
Why the Gunpowder Treason
Should ever be forgot.

Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes, t'was his intent
To blow up the King and Parli'ment.
Three-score barrels of powder below
To prove old England's overthrow;

By God's providence he was catch'd
With a darkened lantern and burning match.
So holler boys, holler boys, let the bells ring.
Holler boys, holler boys, God save the King!

Immortalized in nursery rhymes, the story of the Gunpowder Plot is introduced to children in the United Kingdom at an early age.

But seeing as most of my readers did not grow up in the U.K. there is a fair chance that you have never heard of Guy Fawkes.

Throughout the second half of the 16th century, Queen Elizabeth I ruled over England. She was very much loved by her subjects. Her moves to establish a protestant church in England and her defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588 had forever established her as the ruler of a golden age in the hearts of the English people.

In 1603, Queen Elizabeth died. And being The Virgin Queen, she had never married and therefore never produced her own heir to the throne. This meant that James I, son of Mary Queen of Scots, was next in line to succeed the throne.

English Catholics looked forward to James' succession in the hopes that he would be more tolerant of their religion since his own mother was Catholic. However, those hopes were in vain.

King James was not any more tolerant of Catholicism than Queen Elizabeth had been. So a number of young Catholics began to form a plan to both remove King James from the throne and rid England of Parliament members who supported Catholic repression.

A small group banded together under the leadership of Robert Catesby. Thirteen young men, coming mostly from affluent Catholic families, began to plot to restore Catholic rule to England. And they all agreed that violent action was warranted.

Indeed, it became obvious to them that the thing to do would be to blow up the Houses of Parliament during the State Opening of 1605. This would ensure that in one fell swoop, they would be able to assassinate King James I, The Prince of Wales, several disagreeable Parliament Members, and the Senior Bishops of The Church of England.

In doing so, they would make way for Princess Elizabeth II, King James' daughter, to take the throne at only nine years old and be taught to rule as a Catholic Monarch.

The young men managed to get their hands on 36 barrels of gunpowder and began to work out the best way to lay it under the House of Lords. They originally planned to mine their way underneath but that process proved to be too time consuming.

Parliament in those days was housed in a former royal palace that was surrounded by lodgings, shops, and taverns. Guy Fawkes knew that inside knowledge of the building would be necessary. So he used the pseudonym "John Johnson" (why that name never aroused suspicion is any man's guess) to secure a job as a servant.

One of the conspirators then heard, by chance, that a coal merchant had vacated a chamber directly beneath the House of Lords. He took action to secure a lease on that chamber immediately.

Fawkes then set to work slowly filling the room with gunpowder. It took him several months to do so since it had to be done in secret and when he wouldn't be missed from his servant's position. He had the job done by March of 1605. All 36 barrels had been stored in the underground chamber and concealed underneath piles of firewood and coal.

Then the conspirators had nothing to do but wait. The opening of Parliament had been postponed from September to November of 1605. Many of the thirteen Gunpowder Plot members left London for the summer with promises to reconvene in the fall to carry out their plan.

Over their summer holidays, some of the Plot members seem to have discovered a conscience of their own. They realized that many innocent people would be hurt or killed in the attack, including those who had been fighting for Catholic rights.

About a week before the assassination attempt was to take place, one of the group members even sent an anonymous letter to Lord Monteagle who had been a close friend. The letter warned him to stay away from Parliament on November 5th. Monteagle had the letter read aloud at an informal meeting, possibly to warn the conspirators that their plan was folly. News of the letter then made its way to the King.

The Plot members heard news that the letter had been publicized. Guy Fawkes inspected the chamber under the House of Lords and found that everything was exactly as he had left it. They decided to go ahead with their plans.

Fawkes offered to be the one to light the explosives and in the early hours of the 5th of November, he crept down to the chamber to make sure everything was in place for the coming evening. As he was leaving he was discovered by the King's men who had been ordered to search the cellars.  The men quickly discovered the gunpowder and arrested Fawkes.

He continued to tell them his name was John Johnson but made no attempt to conceal his intent. Under instruction from King James, Fawkes was taken to the Tower of London. While there he was tortured and interrogated. Throughout all of that he continued to insist that he had acted alone.

It didn't do much good though. Most of the remaining conspirators were caught when they attempted to lead a revolt. They were all tried and convicted of High Treason. Their sentence was to be hanged, drawn, and quartered.

Guy Fawkes had one last show of defiance in mind though. When he was to be hanged until almost dead, he jumped from the gallows and broke his neck. Therefore, skipping out on being drawn and quartered.

On the evening of November 5th, news had made it to the people that an assassination attempt on the King had been foiled. Though they knew little more than that, Londoners lit bonfires throughout the city in thanksgiving.

The celebrations became a tradition known as bonfire night and they grew more elaborate as the years went by. Soon, fireworks were included in the celebrations. And then children began to make effigies of Guy Fawkes which they simply referred to as, "The Guy." They would tote him through the streets and beg passersby for a, "Penny for The Guy." They would then use their pennies to buy fireworks.

In the evening, they would place The Guy on top of their bonfires and set the whole thing alight. Sometimes they would include an effigy of the Pope or a contemporary politician as well. The practices are still continued today in some areas, though they are viewed as quirky traditions rather than acts of hostility.

In recent times, Bonfire Night could be considered a cousin of Halloween, with begging for pennies taking the place of trick-or-treating. It is traditional to cook potatoes in the fire. And black treacle and toffee apples are quite popular as well. 

While the holiday has taken on an old-fashioned and almost childish reputation in modern times, some English continue to wonder, in a tongue-in-cheek sort of way, whether they are really celebrating the execution of Guy Fawkes or honoring his attempt to do away with the government.

How Do You Know About Snow?!!

Every morning this week I've woken up to a thin veil of snow covering everything outside my windows. I love when winter is just beginning and you can smell that unique crispness in the air that means that a good snowstorm is eminent.

It always puts me in a cozy, curl-up-by-the-fire sort of mood. And what does one do whilst curled up by the fireplace? In my opinion, there is nothing better than settling in with a good blog article! That's just me though.

Snow, as most everyone knows, forms when water droplets inside of a cloud freeze and then fall to earth. It is interesting however, exactly what the conditions must be for snow to form.

Snow must begin as a tiny nucleus and then form a crystal before it can take on the familiar flake shape. Inside the cloud, a few water molecules must become woven together and form a shape similar to a lattice. Then a water droplet must come into contact with this lattice and freeze around it. This forms a nucleus.

Dust, volcanic ash, or even sea salt particles can act as nuclei for an ice crystal as well. These nuclei allow condensation to take place. Without something to cause condensation to begin, water vapor in the atmosphere can remain unfrozen down to -40 degrees Fahrenheit.

Assuming that the temperature is 31 degrees Fahrenheit or lower, the water vapor begins to freeze into ice crystals and expand. As the crystals grow, parts of them break off and act as nuclei for other snowflakes to form. The crystals begin to fall through the air as they gain mass. As they fall through the air they collide with and stick to thousands of other crystals. This process forms the snowflakes that we all recognize.

The most beautiful snowflakes are those that are very wide, but very thin as well. Providing that the flake is large enough for the detail to be seen with the naked eye, this allows us to see one intricate layer of crystals all linked together.

The largest snowflakes on record were fifteen inches across and fell in Keogh, Montana in 1887.

Probably your whole life you have heard that every single snowflake is unique and there is not another like it. This is only partly true.  It is very possible that could spend your whole life searching for two identical snowflakes and never find them. But it is a statistical impossibility for each flake to have a unique shape and composition. Nature likes symmetry and patterns too much to be so original.

Another bit of trivia that is passed around is that the Innu eskimos have many words in their language for snow. Again this is partially true. The two most commonly spoken languages of these people are Innuit and Inuktitut. In these languages, they simplify the use of several adjectives into one word. For example, snow that drifts into a wave like pattern could be described with one word in Innuit. So, while they only have one word that translates literally to "snow," they do have many words that describe different conditions of snow.

One of my favorite natural phenomena is the peaceful quiet that seems to steal over everything after a fresh snowfall. This is occurs because air trapped between the crystals tends to trap sound waves and dampen vibrations. Once snow has been blown around by the wind or melted and packed down, it loses its ability to muffle sound.

Interestingly enough, if snow becomes hard enough, it can also enhance acoustics of a landscape. The snow in Antarctica is so hard and flat that researchers have reported the ability to hear human voices speaking at a normal volume from distances of up to a mile away.

Fresh snow can reflect more than 90% of ultraviolet light. This can cause a condition called Ultraviolet Keratitis. This is more commonly referred to as snow blindness. It is a painful condition that results from overexposure of the cornea to UV light. Essentially it's a sunburn inside your eyes. Snow blindness most commonly occurs in polar regions or at very high altitudes.

In addition to snow blindness, intense light reflections from the snow have caused a handful of documented cases of Poblokto. A syndrome also called Arctic Hysteria. Little is known about the cause of the syndrome other than it occurs when snow reflections are especially bright. The syndrome is seen almost exclusively in native societies that live close to the Arctic Circle. Symptoms can include hysteria, depression, echolalia (senseless repetition of words,) and insensitivity to cold. Sufferers are known to be so insensitive to the cold that they often strip off their clothing and run naked through the snow.

Everyone knows better than to eat yellow snow. Well, most everyone that is. But there are plenty of would be explorers who have never been warned against eating the pink snow. The color comes from a species of pigmented algae that grows in the ice. It is often called watermelon snow as it resembles the fruit and even gives off the same scent. Unfortunately, eating watermelon snow can cause illness due to the bacteria that feeds off the algae.

It is intriguing how much awe snow seems to inspire in us as humans. For most people, the fascination and curiosity caused by the different elements fades as we grow older. But snow never quite seems to lose its magical properties.

It is difficult not to feel a childlike sense of excitement as you watch the first snowfall. And a fresh white blanket of snow never ceases to steal our breath away with its beauty. 

How Do You Know About The Body Farm?!!

Alright, alright, before I begin this article and before I take any more flack from my readers, we need to address the elephant in the room. Yes, I took a two week hiatus from writing. I know, you all missed me and your Fridays just weren't quite the same without my articles to get you going in the morning...

But cheer up! I'm back in action and ready to bring you more useless information. Hopefully I can throw a little entertainment in there while I'm at it.  

Now, today's article may be unsuitable for those who are squeamish. Read on at your own risk! 

Behind the University of Tennessee Medical Center there is a 2.5 acre plot of woods sectioned off by a wooden fence. The outside of this fence is surrounded by a chain link fence. And just for good measure, the chain link fenced is crowned with a menacing coil of razor wire. 

As if the sickly, syrupy scent of something rotting isn't enough to keep curious passers-by from attempting entry, signs are posted along the outer perimeter of the fence that warn, "RESEARCH FACILITY. BIOHAZARD. NO TRESPASSING."  

This is The Body Farm.  

Dr. William Bass is the man responsible for establishing The Body Farm. He was appointed head of the University's anthropology department in 1971. He was also the official forensic anthropologist for the State of Tennessee. As such, he was often consulted by the police when cases involved decomposing human remains.  

However, at this point in history, little was known about human decay. And half of what was known was astonishingly inaccurate. As you can imagine, this was detrimental to Tennessee's finest when it came to solving cases that were any older than a few months.  

In one instance, Dr. Bass was called upon to estimate how long some human remains had been decomposing. Using the conventional methods for the time, he deduced that the individual had been dead for approximately one year. It couldn't have been any longer judging by the amount of  moist flesh that was still attached to the bones. Later on, other evidence proved that the body had been in it's coffin since the Civil War Era. The coffin was made of materials that contained lead which contaminated and effectively embalmed the body, making it nearly impervious to decomposition.   

This and other similar cases led Dr. Bass to ask the University to allow him to build a research facility where he and his Forensic Anthropology students could better understand the decomposition process of a human being.  

Nowadays, the farm receives around fifty bodies a year. All of them have requested that their body specifically be used for research on the farm. All of them are basically dumped somewhere in the woods and left for various periods of time.   

They are all left to decompose in different scenarios as well. They are left in cars, in shallow graves, submerged in water, inside cement vaults, in plastic bags, and some even in suitcases. Fairly often the bodies are subjected to chemical contact or fire to study the outcome.   

Students and their professors keep frequent and detailed records of their observations. Occasionally professional law enforcement members will take a field trip the the farm to take notes on a particular case study. They've even reported that several cub scout troops have requested to tour the farm. These requests were respectfully denied.  

Through the information gathered at The Body Farm and others like it, we have learned an immense amount about the process the human body goes through as it decomposes. Once death occurs, human decomposition begins to take place about four minutes later. Cells that are deprived of their usual supply of nourishment begin to die. Rigor Mortis takes place a few hours later because the chemicals that normally allow muscle fibers to slide freely have been metabolized by that point.   

Blood pools in the lowermost regions of the body causing the pallid color corpses are known for. Flies can detect the scent of a corpse from up to a mile away. They are attracted to the scent as a corpse is an ideal place for them to lay their eggs. Once the eggs hatch into maggots, the larvae will feed on the subcutaneous layer of fat.  

The brain tissue slowly begins to liquefy and seep out of the orifices in the head over the course of the next several days. The abdomen begins to turn green and bloat due to activity from the bacteria that naturally live their. The same thing can happen to the neck and face, especially the mouth area, making identification difficult at this stage.   

Blisters sometimes begin to form on the surface of the skin which eventually begins to peel off in large sheets. The skin on the hands will often slough off in one complete piece in a process known as "gloving."   

One of my personal favorite discoveries made by the iron-stomached students there is that they can soak the piece of skin that has sloughed off the hand in warm water to restore its flexibility. Then they can slip the "glove" right onto their own hand and take a perfectly good set of fingerprints.    

After most or all of the skin is gone and bone tissue is now exposed, the decomposition process begins to slow down. The process of skeletonization occurs when the last of the soft tissue is gone. But even at this stage, the corpses serve a purpose. The bones are removed from the farm and steam cleaned. Then they are added to the skeletal archives at the University so they may aid science even further.   

Dr. Bass does not teach any longer but he continues to occupy the position of Head of Forensics Anthropology. He has written a few books about his experiences at the University and continues to advocate the need for more decomposition research facilities. Unfortunately that is easier said than done due to the fact that no one wants to live next to a forest filled with rotting corpses and college-aged CSI fans.  

While it's obvious why the practice lacks general appeal, it is indisputable that the information gathered at The Body Farm has made forensic science what it is today. Countless cases that would have gone unsolved are now closed thanks to the work performed by the students and their professors.

How Do You Know About Lake Vostok?!!

On June 23, 1961, The Antarctic Treaty System was officially put into force. Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Chile, France, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, The Soviet Union, The United Kingdom, and The United States were the twelve original signatories.

Essentially, the treaty ensures that Antarctica will always be a place that all nations have free access to the continent in order to conduct scientific study, as long as all research has peaceful purposes. The treaty forbids any sort of military action, such as weapons testing, but not the presence of military personnel.

It is thanks to this treaty that Vostok Research Station exists. It sits about 800 miles from the geographic South Pole on an Australian piece of territory. Research conducted at Vostok consists of aerometeorology, actinometry, geophysics, medicine, climatology, and magnetometry. Due to its position on the globe, it is the most isolated research station in existence.

 Vostok is likely most well known to the public for two things. One, being the site of the lowest reliably recorded temperature on Earth. (-128.6 F) And two, the climate research they conduct by drilling massive core samples of ice out of the sheet they are situated on.

By analyzing the hundreds and hundreds of layers in these core samples, they are able to study Earth's bygone climates.  To date they have drilled through approximately 414,000 layers. This puts them about two miles deep in the ice.

However, once they reached this depth, the layers stopped. The samples that they began to pull from the hole at this point were clear and pretty much devoid of information. Scientists were baffled as to why this might be. In search of answers, the Russians drilled on.

It was not long until the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) used airborne radar and satellite altimetry to try to discover what was lying over two miles beneath the ice and causing the anomalies in the core samples. When the men and women at SCAR realized what could be seen using those imagery techniques, they urged their Russian colleagues to halt all drilling immediately.

As improbable as it was, it appeared that deep under Vostok there was a liquid freshwater lake. The core samples that the Russians had recently pulled from the ice were from where the liquid freshwater came in contact with the ice above it and froze. The hole they had bored stopped within a mere 300 feet of the surface of the lake.

The satellite and radar images showed that the lake had a surface area approximately equivalent to that of Lake Ontario but was more than three times as deep as the great lake. The temperature is estimated to be about 26 degrees Fahrenheit but due to the enormous pressure of the ice slab above it, the water remains in liquid form. It is also suspected that geothermal heat provides some ambient warmth at that depth.

If it's difficult to picture, Columbia University has published this diagram of the lake.

The clear samples at the bottom of the Russian most recent cores provided some insight into the conditions of the lake. We know the lake is made up of freshwater because there is no salt present in the samples. We also know thanks to these samples that there is an incredible amount of oxygen in the water. Oxygen dissolves much more readily into water under enormous pressure.

If the Russians had continued drilling for much longer they may have encountered a geyser of unheard of proportions thanks to the astonishing amount of pressure the lake was under. Also, had they actually drilled into the surface of the lake, it would have been contaminated by the sixty tons of kerosene and freon they had filled their borehole with to prevent it from re-freezing and all hopes of studying this entirely untouched environment would have been lost.

Of course, as soon as the lake was discovered, a huge debate arose concerning the likelihood of finding life under such conditions. Because of the frigid temperature, the absence of sunlight, and the toxic levels of oxygen in the water, many scientists are certain that the lake is sterile. That would be a breakthrough discovery in its own right since there are presently no completely lifeless bodies of water known to mankind.

Others suggest that it is not unreasonable to expect life of some form to be discovered there. After all, extremophile organisms had been discovered in the most unlikely of places on our planet. There are some that live in the volcanic vents on the ocean floor, others that have been found living in the frozen arctic soil, and even some that have been found living in the rocks deep within the earth's crust. With this evidence, it is not ridiculous to assume there could be creatures suited to life under such conditions.

Another interesting point that scientists have made is that the conditions of Lake Vostok are remarkably similar to the ocean beneath the surface of Jupiter's ice moon, Europa. Analyzing such a similar environment on our own planet could have interesting extraterrestrial complications.

Presently, researchers are still contemplating the best method to investigate the lake without contaminating it. The introduction of any chemical or even a single microorganism from the surface could irreversibly pollute the ecosystem. There are also some scientist who advocate avoiding the lake altogether. Millions of years of evolutionary isolation could have resulted in bizarre organisms that may present a very real danger to humans

It has also been reported that the Russian researchers very much intend to reach the lake before anyone of their rivals. If something prompts them to restart their drilling, little can be done to stop them.

However, if science does get the opportunity to study Vostok Lake, the amounts of knowledge to be gained would be enormous. If the lake is found to be sterile, it would finally provide some context to the practical limits of life. But if life is indeed discovered, even if it's only in microbial form, it will not only have immense scientific implications beyond the scope of our planet, but it will show that world that life is made up of truly resilient stuff.