Thanks to a very patient British fossil hunter, the business end of a Pliosaur, including much of the skull and jaw, has been collected from the southern shores of England. What’s the big deal? Pliosaurs were genuine sea monsters, and the specimen Kevin Sheehan discovered is the largest Pliosaur ever found.

These gargantuan marine reptiles flourished during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, disappearing during the cataclysmic event that swept away the reptilian mega-fauna about 65 million years ago. They were related to the elegantly-shaped Plesiosaurs, of which the Loch Ness monster was thought by its proponents to be an example. The Plesiosaur, with its long neck and relatively small head, probably ate fish. The Pliosaur ate Plesiosaurs, or practically anything else that looked appetizing.

Sheehan’s example is the largest sea-going reptile ever found. It eclipsed in size ‘Predator X,’ the former champ, which had been unearthed in Svalbard, a Norwegian arctic island. That fossil is also a Pliosaur.

Unlike the depictions of sea monsters produced in the 17th through 19th centuries, which were embellished with horns, spikes, tentacles or other appendages of questionable utility, the Pliosaur’s physiognomy was simple and deadly. Like the smaller Plesiosaur, it was endowed with a set of four ‘paddles’ that propelled it through the water, but there the resemblance ends. The Pliosaur had a short neck and a very large, elongated head, somewhat like a crocodile. Its huge, strong jaws were festooned with razor-sharp teeth, a single bite from which could kill or maim the smaller meat-eaters upon which it prayed.

The skull of Sheehan’s Pliosaur measures 7’8” in length. Paleontologists have estimated that the creature was about 65’ long and weighed 12 tons. Those dimensions would have placed it at the pinnacle of the food chain in the ancient oceans.

Richard Forrest, paleontologist and Plesiosaur expert, said that compared to the Pliosaur, T. Rex was “a kitten.” Something like a T. Rex would have been breakfast for this beast he said. This Pliosaur would have taken a human in one gulp, and could have bitten a car in half. In an era when bigger was better, the Pliosaurs were kings of the sea.

Image via Wikipedia

Astronomers predict that more than 500 meteors per hour will streak across the early morning sky as the constellation of Leo appears in the East before sunrise on November 17th.  Since meteor showers receive their names from the constellation from which they appear to fall, or radiate, this slew of meteors is called the Leonids’ Meteor Shower.

These particular meteors come from the trail of dust formed by the 55/Tempel-Tuttle comet as this debris stream crosses the earth’s path–a yearly occurrence since 1466.  A comet, of course, makes an elongated orbit around the sun, its central mass, or nucleus, surrounded by a coma that extends into a steam, or tail, pointed away from the sun.  A meteor, in turn, is the streak formed by a piece of rocky debris, or a meteoroid, passing through the earth’s upper atmosphere.

To best observe the Leonids’ Meteor Shower, head away from city lights and toward the constellation.  Position the body so that the horizon appears on the edge of your peripheral vision. When it’s dark enough to see each star in the Little Dipper, sky watchers can see these falling stars.

Image via Wikipedia

The one end (southwest end) of the damaged area is at 39° 59′ 17″ N 77° 22′ 51 W and altitude 1435 Feet.  I am showing the eXplorist 200 in this picture to show how I recorded this information.   This GPS unit is actually on the ground along the side of PA 233.

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Picture by Author

To give a perspective of the view I have included a Google Earth view of the area with two push pins on PA 233 that show the end points on the road of the damaged area.  The south west end is near an access road, the north east end near an ATV trail.  Both can be seen in the Google view.  This is approximately 570 yards (521 m).   I have also drawn what I believe is the area the storm damage with a Google Earth path on the view.  I do not know which way the storm was moving.  

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Google Earth image noted by the Author

Let’s look at the area from ground level.

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Picture by Author

This picture is taken facing bearing 20 degrees (NNE – toward Pine Grove) from the point 39° 59′ 17″ N 77° 22′ 51 W – the south west push pin.  It shows one large tree in the background and other smaller trees in the foreground.  The tree in the background is much older and taller than the ones near us including the one on the right edge of the picture.  At the time of the storm nearly all of the mature trees were destroyed.   A very few of the very solid ones remained and some of the very small ones survived.  This may be a clue as to the nature of the storm.  Generally the destroyed trees were blown over at the roots, not snapped higher in the trunk.  

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Picture by Author

This picture is taken facing bearing 45 (NE) from the 39° 59′ 17″ N 77° 22′ 51 W – the south west push pin.  It shows the one large tree in the background to the left which we saw in the previous picture and other smaller trees in the foreground.  But on the right half of the picture we see two larger trees, one on each side of the road.  If we look at this we will see that one tree on eath side of the road survived at that point.  On the left side most trees were destroyed, on the right most or all survived. 

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Picture by Author

This picture is taken facing bearing 225 (SW – toward Shippensburg Road) from the 39° 59′ 17″ N 77° 22′ 51 W – the south west push pin.  I have my back to the car in the previous picture.  It shows four large trees along the north side of the road – the side that if we look the other way shows few large trees.  The storms devastation apparently stopped rather abruptly in this interval.  There may have been some damage to the right of the motorcycle in the picture but not to several trees along the road.  A hunting cabin to the left of the picture had no visible damage at the time.

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Picture by Author

This is a much better picture of the four trees shown in the previous picture.  Note the size of the trunks.  I can’t be sure but it appears that the right side of the trees, away from the road may have lost limbs, look at how they have limbs that extend across the road but few that go the opposite way.

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Picture by Author

Here is another view that shows the smaller trees with one large one in the background.  This is the norm for various views in this area.

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Picture by Author

This picture is taken from across the road from at 39° 59′ 17″ N 77° 22′ 51 W and shows large trees in the area, unlike the other side of the road. 

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Picture by Author

We have now moved from the south west end to just beyond the north east end of the area.  You can see the mature trees on the right half of the picture.  But I am looking nearly due North – away from the storm area.  39° 59′ 28″ N 77° 22′ 35 W

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Picture by Author

This is a view on bearing approximate 335 (WNW) from the same point as the previous picture.  With the slight turn we see smaller trees but none of the larger ones.    39° 59′ 28″ N 77° 22′ 35 W

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Picture by Author

Here we are at the north east point along PA 233 where the ATV trail crosses.  We can see two large trees in the foreground but nothing else of size shows.  We would here have been on the edge of the storm.  

39° 59′ 28″ N 77° 22′ 35 W

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Picture by Author

The GPS gives the location.   I try to put it down, take a shot of it and then take as many pictures as possible from that location so I have a reference.

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Picture by Author

Here looking from the road to the north west we see mostly smaller trees and brush.  At the edge of the picture there is a larger double tree with the one trunk snapped about 15 feet from the ground.  Although most trees were blown over near the South west end of the storm the north east end had some snapped trees.

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Picture by Author

This view from the same point panned just about half a frame to the left shows the same pattern, large trees along the road but none deeper into the woods.

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Picture by Author

Here we see the pattern further along the road, with almost no large trees.

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Picture by Author

And here is another that shows the same pattern.  For someone who grew up in this area, this would appear to be an area that was logged about 40-70 years ago. 

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Picture by Author

This view along the road shows large trees on the left, none on the right.  Note the stump along the right side of the road.

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Picture by Author

Here we have pointed the camera to the other side of the road.  Note that there are three very large trees in the foreground.

I wonder if this was a microburst or a tornado.

Other Articles by Ralph Brandt

• Academia Glossary Feb 26, 2007
• Tearing A Page Out Of The Bible Feb 26, 2007
• Taking A Stand Takes Courage – Even In The Church Feb 26, 2007
• Gas Light Oct 29, 2006
• Pinchot Lake – Fall 3 – fog Oct 29, 2006
• Pinchot Lake – Fall 2 Oct 29, 2006
• Pinchot Lake: Fall 1 Oct 29, 2006
• Sandra Chapter 01: the Accident
• The First Family: Chapter 1 – Introduction
• The Handshue Sect 1
• The Night Sniper Chapter One: On the Beat
• World War II – a Novel Chapter One

• The Day Kennedy Died
• Women In War
• The Ribbon
• Maple – fall Red

St Elmo’s Fire on Masts of a Ship at Sea (Image via Wikimedia Commons)

Descriptions of St Elmo’s fire have also found their way into works of fiction, including those of William Shakespeare and Herman Melville. Even classical writers, such as Pliny and Julius Caesar, have given us first-hand accounts of the spectacle.

Often seen as an omen, or a manifestation of some mythological or religious presence, the phenomenon is sometimes known by the term ‘corposant’, meaning ‘holy body’. But despite its superstitious associations, St Elmo’s fire does have a scientific explanation.

Electrical Phenomenon

St Elmo’s fire belongs to a class of meteorological occurrences known as electrometeors. The UK Met Office describes an electrometeor as ‘a visible or audible manifestation of atmospheric electricity.’ Other examples include thunder, lightning, the polar aurorae (aurora borealis in the northern hemisphere and aurora australis in the southern hemisphere) and the wonderfully named sprites, blue jets and elves.

More specifically, St Elmo’s fire is an example of a corona or point discharge. Also, whereas the length of a lightning strike can usually be measured in milliseconds, an occurrence of St Elmo’s fire can last for minutes. To demonstrate what happens let us look at an example of a lightning conductor on the side of a cathedral, as in the photograph below.

St David’s Cathedral, Wales (Image by Author)

The lightning conductor in this case is grounded, as is the rest of the building. This means that the electrical potential at point B is almost the same as at point A (subject to any electrical resistance in the material). In the air surrounding the building the electrical potential decreases as we go higher, by about one volt per centimetre in normal atmospheric conditions.

The result is a potential difference at point B between the lightning conductor and the air molecules around it. This causes an electrical current to flow from the building to the air. Under normal conditions this current is very weak and unnoticeable, but during periods of high electrical activity, such as a thunderstorm, the rate at which the electrical potential of the air decreases with altitude is greater, leading to an increased potential difference at point B and an increased current.

When the current is very high, the collisions between the free electrons and the air molecules provide enough energy for the air molecules to luminesce. They glow with a green, blue or violet light but produce no heat. The discharge may also be accompanied by a hissing or crackling sound. This is St Elmo’s fire.

Origin of the Name

But why is this phenomenon associated with St Elmo? As the bishop of Formia during the late 3rd and early 4th centuries, St Elmo (originally St Erasmus) was martyred during the Roman emperor Diocletian’s persecution of the Christians. He may be the same person as St Erasmus of Antioch.

As the potential for St Elmo’s fire to occur increases with height, it is more noticeable around the tallest of structures. In a time when most buildings had few storeys, the majority of the tallest structures in the world were the masts of ships. So, as the phenomenon usually occurred near the end of a thunderstorm and was seen mostly around ships, St Elmo’s fire was seen by sailors as proof that their patron saint was saving them. And the patron saint of Mediterranean sailors was St Elmo.

Sea, Land and Air

But St Elmo’s fire doesn’t just occur at sea. I have used the example of a lightning conductor above, but it can be seen elsewhere on land. Height amplifies the effect, but so does an object that comes to a sharp point. It has been observed around tree branches and objects high in the mountains.

The age of flight has taken St Elmo’s fire into the air. When an aircraft flies near to a thunderstorm, the phenomenon can be observed around its wing tips, nose, propellers or windscreen (as in the photograph below).

St Elmo’s Fire Across an Aircraft Windscreen (Image via Wikimedia Commons)

I have always been inspired by pictures of mountain peaks, and what follows is my personal list of the most inspiring peaks. Others may have their own choices, but these are the ones that fill me with awe.

Mount Everest

The tallest mountain in the world at 8,848 meters (29,029 feet), Mt. Everest’s peak is so high that climbers have to use oxygen tanks because the air is so thin.  There is only one-third the amount of oxygen at Everest’s peak as there is at sea level. Although Everest is a massive mountain, it lies in the middle of the Himalaya mountain range, and for me, that takes away from its grandeur. I think mountains that rise dramatically out of a flat plain, like some of my other choices, are more inspiring to look at.

Mount Fuji

Although it is much smaller than Mount Everest, at only 3,776 meters (12,388 feet), this Japanese mountain rises out of a flat plain and dominates the landscape around it. Its snow covered peak can be seen for many miles.

Mount Kilimanjaro

The highest peak in Africa at 5,892 meters (19,331 feet), Mt. Kilimanjaro has a commanding view of the plains surrounding it in Tanzania. Unfortunately, global warming has shrunk the ice cap at the top of Kilimanjaro by more  than 80 percent in recent years.

Mount McKinley

The highest peak in North America, Mt. McKinley rises 6,194 meters (20,320 feet) above sea level, and is permanently covered with snow. Indeed, it is known for extremely cold weather, with temperatures of minus 75 degrees F recorded near its summit. Mt. McKinley is also called Denali, which means “The Great One”, and you can easily see why it got this name.

The Matterhorn

This is another mountain that is much smaller than Everest, at 4,478 meters (14,692 feet), but it is one of the most photographed mountains in the world. It thrusts up majestically from the surrounding Alps, and is known for the steep faces near its summit.

These are my picks for most inspiring mountain peaks. There are thousands of mountains around the world, and I’m sure there are lots of other choices you could make. The main thing, though, is that I’m thankful there are pictures of these majestic peaks to inspire us all.

A Canadian paleontologist Hans Larsson, claims he has found away, to bring back the Dinosaurs. By manipulating chicken embryo’s. Now this idea is still in its research stages, and could take years to create an actual dinosaur. To me though this doesn’t settle.

Billions of years ago dinosaurs ruled the earth. They were the top of the food chain, nothing was higher then them.  Many of us seen Jurassic Park, we have a pretty good idea why man should not play god with such beasts.
It is very upsetting that, this type of research is even being thought of.  When I think of man recreating dinosaurs I smell trouble much like Jurassic Park. 

If they prove this research  they will soon be hatching many real life Dinosaurs of many species. This means trouble for us as most dinosaurs were Carnivores(Meat eaters).  If then once they have, one of each and start breeding them, Humans will no longer be the top of the food chain.  We the humans will become the pursued and not the hunter,  should this happen? My grandfather always said that man would be human kinds downfall, but like this?

The irony of this is far from mistake. Dinosaurs are known to be the first living creatures to roam this vast earth, destroyed by earth twice, finally being wiped out. Humans took their place and thrived for many years with education and science which leads them to the redevelopment of Dinosaur life. In turn Humans then breed Dinosaurs, who began to reproduce on a rapid scale. Dinosaurs grow bigger and bigger in mass and volume, until we turn and find that the dinosaurs out number the humans 10-1.

Dinosaurs then take over the landscapes, so that is not safe for humans to roam around outside. Next they start wiping out humans by feeding on them until, Dinosaurs are all that is left. Earth comes in with dinosaurs, earth goes out with Dinosaurs it is a scary thought.

I hope these people remember that Jurassic Park should be kept a movie, that this very thing of hatching a dinosaur from a chicken embryo came from that movie, and in no shape or form should we humans, tempt fate and mimic the movie, or we could find ourselves in serious trouble.

The Moon and Tides

People long ago already knew that the moon and tides are related. How did they come to know about this? People observed that the moon undergoes different phases. When there is a new moon or a full moon, they observed the water level to be high. During the first and last quarter moon, they observed the water level to be low. Just as they observed that the moon rises about less than an hour late each night, they also observed that a tide also rises about less than an hour late. These observations led the people to conclude that the moon and tides are related.

How High tides and Low Tides Occur?

Although people of long ago already associated the moon with the tides, they did not have any idea how tides occur. The first person who explained how tides occur was Sir Isaac Newton. He said that it was the moon’s gravity that causes tides. Gravity is the force which attracts an object to another object. When two objects are closer together, gravity is stronger.

The moon and the earth are relatively close together in space. They exert a strong pull on each other. The moon’s gravity pulls more strongly on the side of Earth that faces it and causes the water here to bulge. At the same time, the Earth’s center is nearer to the moon. The moon pulls Earth away from the water on this side and leaves a bulge of water behind. These areas of bulging waters have high tide. Since water has been pulled away in areas between the two high tides, these areas have low tides. The difference between a high tide and a low tide is the tidal range.

The sun also influences tides. It can strengthen or weaken the moon’s effects on earth’s water. During a new moon or full moon phase, the sun and moon are aligned with earth. The gravitational effects of the sun and moon combine. These results to high tides that are unusually high and low tides that is unusually low. These tides, called spring tides, occur twice a month. During the first or last quarter phase, the sun is at right angle to the moon. The sun’s gravitational effect reduces that of the moon. The result is a high that that is not very high and a low tide that is not very low. These tides, called neap tides, also occur twice a month.

When a tide is moving out from the shore, the water beneath the surface exerts a great pull out to sea. This force can pull large boulders or tons of sand out to sea.

Weather affects our daily lives in many ways. For example, the clothes we wear depend on the kind of weather. It the weather is warm we would not wear thick clothing because we would fell hot. It the weather is wet we would need an umbrella or a raincoat to protect us. Even the food we eat is affected by the weather. On cold days, we prefer hot soup to keep us warm. On warm days we prefer ice cream or ice-cold drinks to keep us cool. The weather also affects how we spend our free time. Sunny days are good for outdoor activities like going on a picnic, hiking and swimming. Rainy days are spent on indoor games like chess and scrabble or reading storybooks. Agriculture, transportation and industry are also affected by weather. A long dry weather can affect plant growth while stormy weather can destroy crops. Heavy rains and floods can slow down traffic.

Knowing about weather changes and their effects on our everyday lives are necessary in making decisions every now and then. When weather elements indicate a cold stormy weather, we can decide what kind of clothes to wear to keep us warm. If we know that our place easily gets flooded when it rains, we will have a pair of boots ready for use to protect our feet from cold and dirty floodwaters.

Weather reports are announced over the radio, on television and in the newspapers. These reports help people in making decisions. A typhoon takes several days to develop. When an approaching typhoon is announced, people who are likely to be affected can make the necessary preparations. They can repair roofs and windows, store food and water, and have warm blankets and clothing ready for use. Weather reports help shipping and airline companies decide whether to suspend travel or go on with it. People who are scheduled to travel can postpone their trip until it is safe to travel. In this way, accidents can be prevented. Farmers wait for the rains to plant their crops and they wait for good weather to harvest it. Fishermen will not go out to sea if there is an approaching storm. They know that their lives will be in danger if they do so.

Making decisions related to weather changes is important because this helps us avoid accidents.

Image by law_keven via Flickr

Image via Wikipedia

Not many would question the delight to be had when seeing a rainbow.  The wonderful sight of a rainbow is one of those things that brings a smile to people’s faces and something we never seem to tire of.  But despite always wondering, have you ever actually found out how they appear?  No?  Then let me enlighten you…

Many people know that if you shine a beam of normal white light through a prism, it is split into the many colours, visible and otherwise, that the white light is actually made up of.

Now, raindrops do the same thing to white light that a prism does.  If light is shone into them, from the sun, the light that is reflected off the back surface of the drop, just like light bouncing off the surfaces of a prism, is split into the many component colours that make up the white light.

These different component colours, just like from a prism, spread out and leave the raindrop at different angles.  The colour of the light that then actually makes it to your eye depends on what angle that raindrop is between you and the source of light, the sun.

A raindrop that is higher up in the sky will reflect red light at just the right angle for your eye.  A raindrop that is a little lower in the sky will reflect green light at the right angle for your eye.  Lower in the sky still and a raindrop will reflect blue light to your eye at just the right angle.

Now, multiply one raindrop by millions, and high in the sky you see a band of red light, lower a band of green, and lower still a band of blue, and the other colours in between accordingly, although these 3 colours are usually the most easily discernible.

And that, is how a rainbow is formed.

Enquiring minds like mine will no doubt want to know how the bow is bow shaped, or even why you sometimes get a secondary bow.  These explanations are not quite as easy as this one, but keep a look out for my other articles to find out….unless you want to find out somewhere else yourself of course?  Learning is fun, whatever age you are.

 As global warming heats up our Earth, we can expect to see a ton of thunderstorms and frequent violent conditions. This will bring more rain and precipitation onto our earth. “Global warming could bring the USA a dramatic increase in the frequency of weather conditions that feed severe thunderstorms and tornadoes by the end of the 21st century” (Rice, 09d) After technical research, the National Academy of Sciences has come to a conclusion that some places have been predicted to receive 100% increase in the number of days that favor severe thunderstorms. Now you may ask, what is meant by a severe thunderstorm? If wind gusts reach 58 mph or faster, if hail is 0.75 of an inch in diameter or larger, or if the thunderstorm produces a tornado or tornadoes, it is considered to be a severe thunderstorm. The hardest hit places from these conditions will be the south and east U.S.A including conditions in New York and Atlanta being ruthless.   

 Now, after hearing these predictions, the question arises “What is responsible for these terrifying conditions?” The answer to the question is actually quite simple; us humans and global warming. “The fuel for the more intense storms would be the predicted warming of the Earth caused by the burning of fossil fuels that release greenhouse gases.”(Rice, 09d) Scientists have also discovered that as the temperature of the Earth rises, the warm humid air that causes thunderstorms is expected to increase extensively. These temperature increases have been predicted to rise from 3 -7 degrees Fahrenheit above average by 2100. These temperatures shall strengthen and intensify precipitation.

The bottom line is something has to be done sooner or later. As Al Gore has already explained in his video “An Inconvenient Truth”, we could end up watching Manhattan shrink and then be devoured by water in the next century. NASA researchers have also predicted that the climate models they used to research temperature rises were limited. Actual conditions could be worse than depicted.