Word: cometted
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...world may someday end with a whimper, but evidence is mounting that the dinosaurs went out with a bang. According to the much debated theory proposed by the father-son team Luis and Walter Alvarez in 1980, an asteroid or comet slammed into the earth at the end of the Cretaceous period, 65 million years ago, spewing so much dust into the atmosphere that sunlight was blocked for months. Temperatures plummeted, plants withered, and many species, including the mighty dinosaurs, perished en masse...
When Halley's comet last appeared in 1910, blazing a brilliant trail across the skies, it was greeted with a mixture of awe, hysteria and hoopla. Some of the awe remains, and thanks in part to British Airways, some of the hoopla will be recaptured when the comet approaches earth again. Last week the airline announced that for (pounds)30, or about $42, it is offering the "flight of a lifetime" on four moonless nights in December and January...
Departing from Manchester, the flights will cruise for an hour over the North Atlantic at 35,000 ft., offering a view of the comet from above the clouds. Passengers aboard the 99-seat jets will sip sparkling wine while members of the Manchester Astronomical Society answer questions. One they hope to avoid: "Where is it?" In contrast to the 1910 spectacle, this appearance of the comet is not expected to be much of a sight for fans in the northern hemisphere. Says Ken Davies, president of the Manchester society: "Many people are going to be very disappointed." Nonetheless...
Whipple, Director Emeritus of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory where many Harvard professors do research, was one of six experts who delivered short addresses on topics like "comet folklore and mythology" and "comet history...
...main focus of the conference, which was partially sponsored by the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, was on the best ways for lay people to see the comet as it makes its only appearance until the year...