Large Asteroid Craters Found in Australia

Australia has always been seen as remote. Yet new new things are being discovered about its history. It has been identified as the "target" of one of the world's largest asteroid impacts. Two craters found by Andrew Glikson and his team are thought to have been caused by a large meteor which broke into two pieces.
Dinosaurs killed extinct by asteroid
Each crater is 200 kilometers in diameter. One of these craters on its own is larger than the impact in Mexico: the Central American collision wiped out the dinosaurs. It isn't the biggest, however. The Sudbury comet did a great deal of damage, but the world's widest crater is the Vredefort in South Africa.

The twin craters in Australia have been flattened out over eons of time. They were found by geothermal research. It appears that asteroid impact covers the Northern Territory, Queensland and South Australia, a very large area. Seismic traverses is going to be applied next. This will hopefully bring new things to light.

If the asteroid damage in Mexico caused mass extinction, the severe disruption in Australia would have destroyed life as well. Its age has not yet been determined. The question is: Did the dinosaurs survive the catastrophe or were they long gone by then?
Technology by Ty Buchanan
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Dog and Cat Raid

Dog and cat raid fridge
"Quick!  They'll never know."
 
 ✴ Funny Animal Pictures by Ty Buchanan 
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Mosquitoes Spread to New Regions

Insects and animals are moving to different regions. As climate changes with Queensland and Western Australia becoming tropical far down the coast insects are leaving their native areas. Mosquitoes are in epidemic proportions in Brisbane and they are even reaching Sydney.
Asian tiger mosquito
More than a million people a year die from malaria. Many recover but become very sick. The illness does return to sufferers in future years. It is not just the warmth that attracts mosquitoes thus spreading the disease. A hotter climate means more rain that the insects thrive in. They breed in pools of water trapped in all kinds of crevices.

Certain kinds of mosquitoes transmit different disease. Dengue fever, Yellow fever virus, chikungunya, West Nile virus, Japanese encephalitis, and malaria are all spread by mosquitoes. They get to new regions in people's belongings due to increasing world travel.

The dangerous insect is taking over virgin ground rapidly. A few years ago the chikungunya virus was not found in America. It is now established in North, Central and South America. Even cooler European countries are now at risk. The Asian Tiger Mosquito is predicted to get to mainland Australia very soon. It brings dengue fever, Yellow fever virus, and chikungunya fever. At the moment Ross River Virus is the most common mosquito born disease in Australia. This could soon change.
Biology by Ty Buchanan
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Take Nome Horse

Pretty horse
"Go on!  Take me home."
 
 ✴ Funny Animal Pictures by Ty Buchanan 
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Petrichor the Smell Before Rain

Man like other animals has inherited a fine sense of smell from ancestors who did not have technology to know things that would help them survive. The environment gives out smells when something changes. Because we now mostly live indoors these smells do not come to our attention. However, they still exist.
Petrichor the smell before rain mattiak ka attar
Before it begins to rain the air falls and oil is released from the earth. A special odour is notable. CSIRO has named this smell "petrichor". It seems no one had given it a named before. The particular smell was made public in 1964 when Isabel Bear wrote a paper which was published in Nature journal. Mineralogists were first aware of it and mentioned the odour in text books but little was made of the smell.

Aboriginals would have know of it because oils given off before rain are stronger after drought. The word "mattiak ka attar" is used in Asia to describe the odour trapped in sandalwood oil to enhance the perfume.

Scientists at CSIRO identified a yellowish colored oil on soil and rocks that was created by moisture. Humidity is the trigger: water droplets form in crevices thus leaching the oil. It becomes stronger when it actually rains. The smell gets into the wind and is picked up by mammals.
Chemistry by Ty Buchanan
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