Eye on Faith: January 2016

Sunday, January 31, 2016

Earth and Moon: Separated at birth?

H2O Molecule (Image by Ju)

Not that long ago, it seemed that moon rocks were subtly different from earth rocks. But that was then, and scientists are now focusing upon some core similarities.

Space.com reports that “Earth and the moon have indistinguishable oxygen isotope ratios, within 5 parts per million when it comes to oxygen-17.” So what might this mean?

This much similarity suggests that the moon was once part and parcel of a newborn earth. Shortly thereafter, “Earth was hit by a Mars- size rock named Theia.” Researchers believe that debris from this impact “later coalesced into the moon.”

Since oxygen-17 is water-bearing, these findings hint that moon rocks might also contain some forms of the wet stuff.

Resources

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/violent-impact-that-created-moon-mixed-lunar-and-earth-rocks/ar-BBoPwXl?ocid=ansmsnnews11

Saturday, January 30, 2016

Beyond catty, downright feline

1981 cast of 'Cats' (Fair Use)

Many have heard of “The Cat in the Hat.” It’s perfectly understandable how a cat could snuggle within a fedora.

What’s far less probable, at least in worldly terms, is “The Cat in the Woman.” No, this isn’t about a woman who swallowed a cat. It isn’t even about a catty woman.

It is instead about a woman who’s convinced that she’s a cat trapped within a human body. New York Daily News reports on a 20-year-old named Nano who claims to have “ultra-sharp hearing, laser night vision and fierce aversions to both dogs and water.” She is also prone to walking on all fours, curling up in sinks, purring and meowing.

Some might say these are telltale signs of mental aberrations. Others might chalk it all up to reincarnation “seepage.” Is Nano recalling her former days as Queen of the Jungle, or had she seen “Cats” one too many times?

Resources

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/offbeat/norwegian-woman-says-she-is-cat-trapped-in-human%E2%80%99s-body/ar-BBoQTdL?li=BBnba9J

Friday, January 29, 2016

Boom Over New Jersey

F/A-18C Hornet (Photo by Bernardo Malfitano)

It appears that the military’s answer to “Moon Over Miami” is “Boom Over New Jersey.”

While still recuperating from a recent blizzard, the Jersey Shore was rocked with a series of tremors. Was it a bird? No. Was it a plane? Yes. Was it an earthquake? Decidedly not.

These tremors were associated with routine flight testing “over the Atlantic,” which the Navy claims, “… may have caused sonic booms.”

Sound travels at 768 miles per hour. When airplanes travel faster than that, “sound waves can hit the Earth and cause shaking, which is sometimes mistaken for an earthquake.”

The same phenomenon happened this week in Charleston, South Carolina when F-18 fighter jets were “on a training run from a nearby military base.”

Kind of makes you wonder what all this testing will ultimately produce. After all, “on earth as it is in heaven” was never meant to feel this shaky.

Resources

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/tremors-in-us-northeast-caused-by-sonic-boom-not-quake-agency/ar-BBoPDkh?ocid=ansmsnnews11