Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2

Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 23 Jul 23 - 06:59 AM

not just archaeology - The Channel Islands were the only piece of British territory Germany ever managed to occupy during the Second World War. On this deserted island, the Germans left a fingerprint of the Holocaust: SS concentration camps run on U.K. soil ...

Wikipedia - Alderney Camps

Journal article - Nazi camps on British soil by Gilly Carr -Journal of Conflict Archaeology

Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2
From: Rain Dog
Date: 23 Jul 23 - 09:49 AM

From The Observer

"Were small-brained early humans intelligent? Row erupts over scientists’ claim

Homo naledi was claimed to be artistic, make tools and bury its dead, but warring experts now ask, where’s the evidence?"


Homo naledi’s resting place

Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 23 Jul 23 - 06:43 PM

A Trove of Rare Gold Coins Found In a Cornfield May Actually Be Worth More Than $2 Million The coins were minted between 1840 and 1863.

Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 25 Jul 23 - 11:41 AM

This goes farther back than archaeology topics, but still, it's fascinating: the late Miocene was relatively recent (10.4 to 5 million years ago). Exquisitely Preserved Fossil Forest Uncovered in Japan. The story is in Science Alert, and I think sometimes it throws up a paywall.

The forest was first seen in modern times during a severe drought in 1994, when roughly 400 fossilized tree stumps emerged from the water.

Most of the stumps have since been submerged once more, but researchers have successfully examined 137 of them, and the surrounding fossilized leaves.

They've now published their analysis of the site and provided a picture of the plants that once covered the wooded area.

They could build a coffer dam in the area if they really want to work on it.

This forest offers a rare opportunity because one type of trunk and one type of leaf were clearly dominant in the area. Of the 137 stumps examined, 130 were identified as Wataria parvipora.

Apparently all of the scientific names that things were called by were decided based upon particular items found individually, not together with other parts of the plant. So different parts of the plant found at different times or places received other names. Now they have to fit it all together.

Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 26 Jul 23 - 06:29 PM

a Miocene jigsaw!

Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 26 Jul 23 - 07:47 PM

We have a submerged forest a few miles north of here. You can only see it at very low spring tides, on the beach at Westward Ho! (Yes, the exclamation mark is part of the town's name). I went there on a field trip in 1990 and was able to pick up some wood and acorns, around six thousand years old. All to do with sea level changes during warmer and colder periods since the last Ice Age. I think the submerged forest is around 6000 years old. The town is also slightly famous because Rudyard Kipling lived there for a few years. One of the shoreline features is called Kipling Cliff.

Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 27 Jul 23 - 11:09 AM

The Olympic Peninsula in the northern coast of Washington State has a "ghost forest" from when the land level dropped in an ancient earthquake/tsunami event that bounced across the Pacific. Actually, a search on "ancient tsunami buried forest in Washington State" brings up results of "ghost forests" along the west coast. This may be the one I learned about years ago in Geology class. There's a similar place in Oregon where earthquake mud slides or a tsunami dropped debris, burying and killing them. Here is a US Geological Survey paper about that earthquake zone.

Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2
From: Donuel
Date: 27 Jul 23 - 12:26 PM

There are a few examples of living fossils. A forest variety of a very old remaining species is the Pando forest

Since it can clone itself or make seed there is no way to judge its ancient age. It is believed to be the last stand of what was a widespread species.

Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 27 Jul 23 - 01:54 PM

That's one of those huge organisms, along with things like creosote bush that when discovered open new avenues of study. There may be things like that all over the world, we just never thought to look. (Perhaps all of the hackberry trees in Texas are spreading from a huge old one somewhere Under the X in Texas.) :)

Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 27 Jul 23 - 06:40 PM

The Wollemi Pine is one of the world's oldest and rarest plants dating back to the time of the dinosaurs With less than 100 adult trees known to exist in the wild, the Wollemi Pine is now the focus of extensive research to safeguard its survival. Assist in the conservation effort by growing your own Wollemi Pine and becoming part of one of the most dramatic comebacks in natural history.

My neighbour was one of the many gardeners who seized the chance to have one in his garden.

Turning this into a music thread - Lyrics - THE DAYS OF THE DINOSAUR [The Wollemi Pine] by Jim Low

Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 27 Jul 23 - 07:28 PM

Fortunately, the Woolemi pine is easily propagated. Its future is secure. We have several (I think) at the Eden Project in Cornwall. Another brought back from the brink is the Dawn Redwood, Metasequoia glyptostroboides. It is the only surviving species of the genus Metasequoia, a genus previously thought to be extinct for over a hundred million years. s you could guess from the name, it's related to the giant redwoods. It was found in a small area of China in the 1940s, but it's threatened in its only known native habitat by land degradation and over-collecting of seeds. Luckily, it's also very easy to propagate, and it grows into a beautiful specimen tree.

Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 27 Jul 23 - 10:25 PM

Dawn redwood wasn't on the brink of extinction, it, along with the gingko, were thought to be extinct until pockets of them were discovered in remote Chinese forests at the turn of the last century. In Washington State at Vantage is a highway overlook and park called Ginkgo Petrified Forest State Park, and at one time it was thought that these were examples of an extinct tree. (This park has a lot of types of petrified wood and it also has great petroglyphs).

Metasequoia glyptostroboides is the scientific name of dawn redwood, and was one I loved for the way it rolled off my tongue when I learned about it in a college botany class. It was such a great story. I must have told my daughter about it, because as a fluke, when she was spending a semester abroad in Japan and had a ceramics class she made me a mug and spelled out the scientific name under the glaze around the base. (I tried planting one here at the house, but it got fried one summer, and I realized I'd set it too near to some overhead wires so would have had to trim it a lot if it had survived).

(Ginkgo were also brought to many places in the US after this discovery and it's a feature in many parks and arboretums.)

Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 28 Jul 23 - 03:09 AM

snip - From: Steve Shaw - PM
Date: 27 Jul 23 - 07:28 PM

Fortunately, the Woolemi pine is easily propagated. Its future is secure. - snip

yes, but bushfires don't know that! Inside top-secret mission to save NSW's last surviving Wollemi pines from bushfire - January 2020 the pine was saved but some were damaged

No doubt fires will approach their little corner again, but fire protection measures are in existence.

Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 28 Jul 23 - 04:15 AM

The fact that the trees we're talking about are easy to propagate and are popular does ensure their future existence, even if their habitat is degraded or damaged. This is indeed the case with the Dawn Redwood in China, where over-collecting of cones for its seeds is preventing its ability to propagate itself (its habitat has been degraded too). In an ideal world we'd fervently protect the habitats of rare species. I understand that this has happened in the case of the Aussie ravines which support the Woolemi pine, but it seems that this has not happened in those limited areas of China in which Dawn Redwoods are hanging on. Keeping species alive "in captivity" is second-best but it's better than letting species go extinct, or (as we do) force them towards extinction.

Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2
From: MaJoC the Filk
Date: 28 Jul 23 - 04:40 AM

As we're talking of long-lived trees: Many years ago, I heard a report about someone investigating the fungi in a wood. Much to their surprise, they found it constituted a single plant, which was basically wearing the wood like a wig. It was thought to be the world's largest-known organism, but they were expecting to find bigger ones, as it wasn't a particularly large wood.

.... If anyone can find the article, please do paste the link here. My google fu has deserted me this morning.

Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2
From: Donuel
Date: 28 Jul 23 - 06:49 AM

There will be many examples. https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/upsettingly-michigan-does-not-have-the-largest-fungi-on-earth-humongous-fungus

I discovered in my backyard a lifeform known to exist only in one small area in the world. It was an insect that made its own inch-long flying craft in the shape of a snow flake that was like stiff spider silk. It would repel being touched because of an electromagnetic charge. This tiny aphid like thing would sit in the middle and fly around. Unique LIFE can be very local to one small area.

Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2
From: Donuel
Date: 28 Jul 23 - 07:09 AM

btw Any mass extinction event or die off has been followed by an age of fungus. Fungi are not likely to leave any fossil trace. There were mushrooms as big as small trees.

Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2
From: Raggytash
Date: 28 Jul 23 - 07:17 AM

"Fungi are not likely to leave any fossil trace. There were mushrooms as big as small trees."

How do you know without evidence ?

Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 28 Jul 23 - 07:34 AM

Ancient Roman ruins of Nero's Theatre discovered under hotel garden Archaeologists had been excavating deep under the walled garden of the Palazzo della Rovere since 2020 as part of planned renovations on the frescoed Renaissance building

...The palazzo takes up a city block along the broad Via della Conciliazione leading to Saint Peter's Square near the Vatican.

It is home to an ancient Vatican chivalric order that leases the space to a hotel to raise money for Christians in the Holy Land.

Officials hailed the findings from the excavation as "exceptional", given they provide a rare look at a stratum of Roman history from the Roman Empire through to the fifteenth century AD.

Among the discoveries are 10th century AD glass coloured goblets and pottery pieces that are unusual because so little is known about this period in Rome ...

Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2
From: Rain Dog
Date: 28 Jul 23 - 02:19 PM

"I discovered in my backyard a lifeform known to exist only in one small area in the world."

What is the name of this lifeform?"

Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2
From: Donuel
Date: 28 Jul 23 - 03:10 PM

U of Rochester professors researched it for me but I forget the name.
The area was Binghamton NY.

Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2
From: Donuel
Date: 28 Jul 23 - 04:04 PM

Probably since I look Scandinavian/German Aryan, a German tour group asked me for directions in the DC metro. I did defer to my wife.
I don't have much sense of direction underground.

I gave up comic sarcasm on the web 10 years ago. Stevy has given no evidence for his one-trick pony claim.

Now can we get back to the topic.

Prototaxites

Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Prototaxites
ancient tree sized fungus from en.wikipedia.org
Prototaxites /?pro?to?'tæks?ti?z/ is a genus of terrestrial fossil fungi dating from the Middle Ordovician until the Late Devonian periods, ...
?Morphology · ?History of research · ?Species · ?Ecological context
People also ask
What is the largest prehistoric fungi?
Prototaxites - Wikipedia
Prototaxites
With a diameter of up to 1 metre (3 ft 3 in), and a height reaching 8.8 metres (29 ft), Prototaxites fossils are remnants of by far the largest organism discovered from the period of its existence.

Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 29 Jul 23 - 07:02 PM

43,000 year old fossil + living plant Ancient clonal tree, King's lomatia, excites scientists in Tasmania's remote south west.

Before the last ice age, deep in the mountains and valleys of south-western Tasmania an unusual little sprout grew from a seed.

The plant grew and grew, eventually unfurling deep red flowers, but as the curled petals dropped to the ground no viable seeds formed.

Today, its wild population is limited to just a 1.2 kilometre square and it may be among the world's oldest clonal plants — having grown from a single seed, genetically cloned many times over through the millennia ...

Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 19 Aug 23 - 09:26 AM

Plantation slavery was invented on this tiny African island, according to archaeologists A 16th-century sugar estate on the tiny African island of São Tomé is the earliest known example of plantation slavery.

Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 19 Aug 23 - 11:43 AM

I recognize the name because the island had a weird role in an odd novel I read (The High Mountains of Portugal by Yann Martel - save yourself the trouble and don't read it, it's just plain odd.)

From your article (it took a couple of tries to fix the link, but I'd seen this myself this week so figured out where it was):

While other Portuguese sugar mills relied on enslaved people solely for manual labor, in the São Tomé sugar plantation system, enslaved people — largely from what are now Benin, the Republic of the Congo, Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo — performed nearly all the tasks, from the harvesting and processing of sugarcane to the carpentry and stone masonry needed to build and run the mills.

This made São Tomé "the first plantation economy in the tropics based on sugar monoculture and slave labour, a model exported to the New World where it developed and expanded," the researchers wrote in a new study, published Monday (Aug. 14) in the journal Antiquity.

"The island's plantations were so successful that in the 1530s, São Tomé surpassed Madeira — an Atlantic archipelago that the Portuguese used for their lucrative sugar operations — in supplying the European markets with sugar, and dozens of sugar mills were built." - unpaid labor will do that.

Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 22 Aug 23 - 09:27 PM

oops, I always use DaveRo's https://revad.github.io/linkifier.html to post links, did I leave off the first character?

Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 28 Aug 23 - 05:18 PM

Archaeologists discover 3,000-year-old tomb honouring elite religious leader in northern Peru Archaeologists in northern Peru have unearthed a 3,000-year-old tomb which they believe might have honoured an elite religious leader in the Andean country some three millennia ago.

Dubbed the "Priest of Pacopampa," referring to the highland archaeological zone where the tomb was found, the priest would have been buried around 1200 BC, Peru's Culture Ministry said in a statement.

The body was buried under six layers of ash mixed with black earth, with decorated ceramic bowls and seals indicating ancient ritual body paint used for people of elite standing ...

Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2
From: Donuel
Date: 01 Sep 23 - 08:02 AM

https://greekreporter.com/2023/08/10/humans-neanderthals-lived-together-50000-years-ago/

Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2
From: Bill D
Date: 01 Sep 23 - 10:36 AM

https://www.npr.org/2023/09/01/1191263572/turkey-archaeology-zerzevan-castle-discoveries

Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2
From: Donuel
Date: 01 Sep 23 - 06:48 PM

https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20220810-derinkuyu-turkeys-underground-city-of-20000-people

Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 02 Sep 23 - 07:16 PM

3D maps of Swan River lead maritime archaeologists to unexplored wreck in Perth, Western Australia Detailed 3D maps of the bottom of the Swan River have led maritime archaeologists to a sunken barge right in the heart of Perth that has lain unexplored for about a century.

Patrick Morrison, who is completing a doctorate in archaeology at the University of Western Australia, said the find was made after studying maps of the riverbed released by the state government.

"We had seen … some of the shipwrecks that we knew existed, but we also saw some interesting lumps," Mr Morrison told Nadia Mitsopoulos, on ABC Radio Perth.

"We ended up diving one of those after checking on the sonar, and it was a shipwreck … it could be about 100 years old." (read on)

Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2
From: Donuel
Date: 05 Sep 23 - 02:52 PM

The Nova episode 'The Maya Metropolis' is highly recommended.

Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2
From: Bill D
Date: 06 Sep 23 - 10:28 AM

Old Roman swords found

Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 07 Sep 23 - 05:23 AM

can't read it cos I have an ad blocker. They politely ask me to turn it off, but 1. I dunno how, & more importantly 2. I wouldn't even if I knew how, so I asked google - roman swords dead sea caves - & found this on BBC site

sandra

Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 20 Sep 23 - 05:37 PM

World's oldest wooden structure discovered in Zambia, dating back 476,000 years, archaeologists say Archaeologists say they have unearthed the oldest wooden structure ever discovered, dating from nearly half a million years ago, which suggests that our ancestors may have been more advanced than previously thought.

The exceptionally well-preserved wooden structure was found at Kalambo Falls in the north of Zambia, near the border with Tanzania.

It dates back at least 476,000 years, well before the evolution of Homo sapiens, according to a study describing the find in the journal Nature.

The wood bears cut-marks showing that stone tools were used to join two large logs to make the structure, which is believed to be a platform, walkway or raised dwelling to keep our relatives above the water.

The ancestors of humans were already known to use wood at this time, but for limited purposes such as starting a fire or hunting.

Larry Barham, an archaeologist at the UK's University of Liverpool and the study's lead author, told AFP that to his knowledge the previous record-holder for oldest wooden structure dated back around 9,000 years. (read on)

Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2
From: Donuel
Date: 21 Sep 23 - 06:37 AM

WOW great find Sandra.



What separates homo sapiens from our smart and clever ancestors
seems to me to be art.

Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 21 Sep 23 - 12:46 PM

Following breadcrumbs from Sandra's story takes me to the Smithsonian entry about Homo heidelbergensis. In particular the description:

In 1908 near Heidelberg, Germany, a workman found the type specimen of H. heidelbergensis in the Rösch sandpit just north of the village of Mauer. This mandible was nearly complete except for the missing premolars and first two left molars; it is heavily built and lacks a chin. German scientist Otto Schoentensack was the first to describe the specimen and proposed the species name Homo heidelbergensis.

Before the naming of this species, scientists referred to early human fossils showing traits similar to both Homo erectus and modern humans as ‘archaic’ Homo sapiens.

A point to make here is that while it says it "lacks a chin" doesn't mean that part of the mandible broke off, it's one of those early humanoid features. It seems that only Homo sapiens have a pronounced chin on the bottom of the face. I read about this recently, that earlier humanoids didn't have chins.

Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 26 Sep 23 - 08:34 PM

Our friend gnu shared this with me on my FB page, but it needs sharing over here.

Temple of Aphrodite Discovered in Egypt’s Sunken City of Heracleion

The submerged city of Heracleion, discovered back in 2000, continues to yield stunning archaeological treasures. The city, once called Thonis-Heracleion, thrived near present-day Alexandria.

Exploration in the submerged city of Heracleion unveils a remarkable ancient gem: a temple dedicated to the goddess Aphrodite, shining new light on Greek presence in ancient Egypt.

It's not a very long article but it has a link out to more about Heracleion. And Googling this probably brings up other sites, perhaps with more photos.

Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 27 Sep 23 - 02:29 AM

Kofun Burial Chamber and Two Iron Swords Uncovered in Parking Lot Shrubbery - it's just a little round garden, surrounded by a low stone wall!!

lots more interesting articles

Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2
From: Donuel
Date: 29 Sep 23 - 10:51 AM

The discoverer of the submerged island cities in the Nile Delta was neither an archeologist or a scientist. His strength was in math.
He said he took a lot of flack from the empty-handed 'experts'.

Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 29 Sep 23 - 03:09 PM

The comprehensively-discredited politician, Michael Gove, "Britons have had enough of experts..."

Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 06 Oct 23 - 04:03 AM

Further evidence points to footprints in US National Park being the oldest sign of humans in the Americas New research has indicated fossil human footprints in New Mexico are likely the oldest direct evidence of human presence in the Americas, a finding that up-ends what many archaeologists thought they knew about civilisation in the region.

The footprints were discovered at the edge of an ancient lake bed in White Sands National Park and date back to between 21,000 and 23,000 years ago, according to research published Thursday in the journal Science ...

Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2
From: Donuel
Date: 06 Oct 23 - 06:00 AM

Animal footprints in that area include the giant sloth.

Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2
From: Donuel
Date: 06 Oct 23 - 08:49 AM

Basil John Wait Brown (22 January 1888 – 12 March 1977) was an English archaeologist and astronomer. Self-taught, he discovered and excavated a 6th-century Anglo-Saxon ship burial at Sutton Hoo in 1939, which has come to be called "one of the most important archaeological discoveries of all time".

Other innovative amateurs who were open without agendas were Leonardo D'Vinci and the Wright brothers. Government-funded Harvard experts like Samual Langley could not solve the problem of controlled flight.

An armchair amateur archeologist doesn't have to be a genius to make a discovery. If one could dig down 10 meters they would find more than gas and sewer lines or unexploded armaments. If one is curious enough and study twice before digging once, I bet people would be surprised by what they find. My grandmother found rare Eohippus fossils (tiny horses) in the Midwest that were millions of years old.

If you are spry
give it a try
you'll be surprised
by what you find

Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 06 Oct 23 - 12:52 PM

Leonardo da Vinci. Just so.

Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 10 Oct 23 - 05:41 AM

1,900-year-old Knot-Frilled Child’s Gown Discovered in Israel's Cave of Letters The Cave of Letters in Israel has yielded many artifacts from the famous Bar Kokhba revolt, offering deep insights into Jewish history. Recently, a 1,900-year-old child's nightgown with intriguing "knots" was discovered, prompting speculation regarding their protective significance within ancient Jewish practices and beliefs.

Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 10 Oct 23 - 05:49 AM

Coin hoard could be linked to 1692's Glencoe Massacre (2023 article)

The dig uncovering Glencoe's dark secrets (2019 article)

Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2
From: Bill D
Date: 11 Oct 23 - 09:33 AM

Earliest known wooden structure found

"Close to half a million years ago, someone built an ancient structure from wood near Kalambo Falls in modern-day Zambia, at a time in human prehistory that archaeologists would previously never have expected."

Subject: BS: Mac Iain's summer house
From: Thompson
Date: 11 Oct 23 - 04:07 PM

I find this story tragic, this family fleeing to their booleying house and burying some coins, perhaps enough to get the children away safely, but being killed by the guests they'd hosted.

---

This is the same story Sandra posted earlier today. It fits in the Archaeology thread - or you could start a music thread to discuss this kind of thing that might be the subject of a song (or many songs.) ---mudelf

Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 11 Oct 23 - 06:35 PM

Meanwhile, Far, Far Away . . .

Osiris-Rex: Nasa reveals first look at 'beautiful' asteroid sample

"It's beautiful, it really is - certainly what we've seen of it so far," said Dr Ashley King.

The UK scientist was in a select group to put first eyes and instruments on the rocky samples that have just been brought back from asteroid Bennu.

The materials, scooped up by a US space agency (Nasa) mission and returned to Earth 17 days ago, are currently being examined in a special lab in Texas.

"We've confirmed we went to the right asteroid," Dr King told BBC News.

The three-day analysis by the Natural History Museum (NHM) expert and five others on the "Quick Look" team showed the black, extraterrestrial powder to be rich in carbon and water-laden minerals.

That's a great sign. There's a theory that carbon-rich (organic), water-rich asteroids similar to Bennu may have been involved in delivering key components to the young Earth system some 4.5 billion years ago. It's potentially how we got the water in our oceans and some of the compounds that were necessary to kick-start life.

The asteroid samples will be used to test these ideas.

The rest at the link.