Those of you who live in America got to enjoy the fireworks last Friday, but the whole world was treated to a sky show on a cosmic scale. Since July 4, Mars, Saturn, and our own Moon were doing the tango on the constellation of Leo. Mars and Saturn will continue this dance, and on July 10th, they will converge for their closest encounter in the next 14 years.

So if you missed the fireworks, get a telescope out and go (*bad pun alert*) dancing with the stars. (Yes, I hate myself now.) Check out these sky maps if you want to know where to look in the sky for them. These maps are for July 4th to the 6th, and the 10th:

   

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Speaking of stars, we might be getting into trouble with our own. New findings from polar scientists have shown that there's a huge possibility that there won't be any ice on the North Pole this summer. If the ice actually melts, people will be able to get to the pole by sailing instead of trudging on the ice. It is a testament to the effects of global warming.

I'm one of those who view environmental issues with the knowledge that the Earth will go on with or without humans. It was here long before us, and it will be here long after we're gone. In the long run, and on a cosmic scale, what we do here doesn't matter - unless we actually blow it up. Which I won't be surprised to find out if it was actually in our power to do.

 

The Earth is old. Far older than we can imagine. It has a history of life we've only glimpsed here and there from fossil records and other clues. As I said, it was here long before we came, and will be here long after we're gone. There's no better reminder than seeing how vulnerable life on the planet really is.

A hundred years ago, on June 30, a meteor fell from the sky. It did not hit Earth - but it did explode several hundred thousand miles above it. It didn't kill us off, but think of what it could have done if it actually hit us. Even though the explosion was way above ground, the force knocked over eighty million trees, and trees at ground zero were stripped of their bark. This is known as the Tunguska Event.

Extinctions happen every day. One report from the World Resources Institute says that 100 species become extinct every day due to tropical deforestation. But this is due to human interference. On a galactic scale, we are also vulnerable. One theory states that the Milky Way's travel across the galaxy causes shock waves that bombard the Earth with cosmic rays in periodical bursts (of millions of years), which causes mass extinctions.

How many species have come and gone in the planet's history? Too many to count, I shouldn't wonder. Still, in the grand scale of things, the Earth is a lump of rock. The lives it sustains is what's important. For better or for worse, we are here, and we are the dominant species. If we're going to live here, let's not make a dump out of it.

Link: More than fireworks: planets aligning on the fourth of July
Link: Far out theory: Milky Way cycle responsible for mass extinctions
Link: North Pole to have no ice this summer
Link: A 30-megaton blast from the past: the Tunguska Event

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Conversation of the Week:

My sentiments for this week's Weekend Warrior came from the news report of the North Pole having no ice this summer. Readers avatar76 and Donciclon gave their opinions on the matter, and I decided to write about it. Here is an excerpt from their conversation, from avatar76. You can read the whole thing by following the link above.

Now, I'm a self-admitted geek, and it's always nice to hear from other geeks out there. This serves as a special mention because I was tickled pink (Gino D. as well) when two of our readers geeked out with us on the Milky Way extinction theory news post, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy style:

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That's it for this week folks! Check back for your geeking out needs, right here on the Science Weekend Warrior.