Religions > Atheism > Collision with comet may have hastened first plague epidemic
| Topic: |
Religions > Atheism |
| User: |
"maff" |
| Date: |
04 Feb 2004 05:43:14 AM |
| Object: |
Collision with comet may have hastened first plague epidemic |
Collision with comet may have hastened first plague epidemic
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/science_medical/story.jsp?story=487550
By Steve Connor, Science Editor
04 February 2004
A collision between Earth and a passing comet in the 6th century AD
may have caused the collapse of agriculture, mass famine and
indirectly led to the bubonic plague in Europe, a study has suggested.
Scientists have calculated that a relatively small comet, or fragment
of a comet, could have caused huge amounts of dust and debris to be
ejected into the atmosphere, blocking the sun for months at a time.
Derek Ward-Thompson
http://news.google.com/news?num=100&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=+%22Derek+Ward-Thompson%22&sa=N&tab=gn
http://www.google.com/search?num=100&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=+%22Derek+Ward-Thompson%22&sa=N&tab=nw
http://www.google.com/search?num=100&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=+%22Derek+Ward-Thompson%22&sa=N&tab=wd&cat=gwd%2FTop
http://groups.google.com/groups?as_epq=Derek%20Ward%20Thompson&safe=images&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&as_scoring=d&lr=&num=100&hl=en
Mel Symonds
http://news.google.com/news?num=100&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=+%22Mel+Symonds%22&sa=N&tab=gn
http://www.google.com/search?num=100&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=+%22Mel+Symonds%22&sa=N&tab=nw
http://www.google.com/search?num=100&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=+%22Mel+Symonds%22&sa=N&tab=wd&cat=gwd%2FTop
http://groups.google.com/groups?as_epq=Mel%20Symonds&safe=images&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&as_scoring=d&lr=&num=100&hl=en
Emma Rigby
http://news.google.com/news?num=100&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=+%22Emma+Rigby%22&sa=N&tab=gn
http://www.google.com/search?num=100&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=+%22Emma+Rigby%22&sa=N&tab=nw
http://www.google.com/search?num=100&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=+%22Emma+Rigby%22&sa=N&tab=wd&cat=gwd%2FTop
http://groups.google.com/groups?as_epq=Emma%20Rigby&safe=images&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&as_scoring=d&lr=&num=100&hl=en
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| User: "stoney" |
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| Title: Re: Collision with comet may have hastened first plague epidemic |
05 Feb 2004 10:23:48 PM |
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On 4 Feb 2004 03:43:14 -0800, (maff), Message ID:
<18510aff.0402040343.4df48769@posting.google.com> wrote in alt.atheism;
Collision with comet may have hastened first plague epidemic
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/science_medical/story.jsp?story=487550
Collision with comet may have hastened first plague epidemic
By Steve Connor, Science Editor
04 February 2004
A collision between Earth and a passing comet in the 6th century AD may
have caused the collapse of agriculture, mass famine and indirectly led
to the bubonic plague in Europe, a study has suggested.
Scientists have calculated that a relatively small comet, or fragment of
a comet, could have caused huge amounts of dust and debris to be ejected
into the atmosphere, blocking the sun for months at a time.
The resulting crop failures and famine would have allowed bubonic plague
to spread easily among a physically weakened population.
Studies of tree rings - from preserved oaks retrieved from Irish bogs to
ancient American pine trees - have shown that plant growth around the
world almost stopped between about 536AD to 545AD. Chinese records from
this time refer to a "dust veil" obscuring the skies. Mediterranean
historians record a "dry fog" that blocked out much of the sun's heat
for more than a year.
Scientists have suggested two causes, both involving the ejection of
dust or debris into the atmosphere to block the sun and so prevent
photosynthesis.
One idea is that a super-volcano erupted, but neither the volcano nor
its acidic deposits have been identified, Derek Ward-Thompson, who
carried out the latest study at Cardiff University, said. The other
proposal involved a collision with a big asteroid or comet, but there
was no direct evidence such as a crater.
However, Dr Ward-Thompson and his colleagues Mel Symonds and Emma Rigby
believe a much smaller comet which exploded in the atmosphere could
easily have generated the dust and debris in the 6th century
catastrophe. "The surprising result of these calculations is just how
small a comet fragment we have estimated was needed to cause the
observed effects," Dr Ward-Thompson said.
"A comet less than 1km in diameter has not been previously considered to
represent a global hazard - as opposed to a local hazard - let alone one
0.5km across," he said.
Using information gathered from the impact of Comet Shoemaker-Levy with
Jupiter in 1994, the scientists have produced a model of how comet
fragments would behave if they collided with Earth. "The comet plunges
into the upper atmosphere leaving an effectively hollow tube behind it,
where it has been, and into which the surrounding air has not yet had
time to diffuse," the scientists write in the journal Astronomy and
Physics.
"This tube then acts rather like a gun barrel, focusing much of the
energy of the airburst explosion along the tube and carrying with it
much of the comet debris," they write.
As a result, the plume would have spread around the world in a massive
fountain of debris. "This period coincides with a mass population
decrease in Europe. This is commonly known as the Justinian plague, and
is believed to be the first appearance of the Black Death in Europe,"
the scientists say.
They said that if such an event happened today, a large percentage of
the population could face starvation
© 2004 Independent Digital (UK) Ltd
Stoney
"Designated Rascal and Rapscallion
and
SCAMPERMEISTER!"
When in doubt, SCAMPER about!
When things are fair, SCAMPER everywhere!
When things are rough, can't SCAMPER enough!
/end humour alert
alt.atheism military veteran #11
{so much for the 'no atheists in foxholes' rubbish}
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