SFW: Man on Fire, Life on Mars, Mammoth in Backyard, and Deceased Giant Squid in the Ocean

Short Features of the Week [SFW]: Man On Fire, Life on Mars, Mammoth in Backyard, and Deceased Giant Squid in the Ocean

Massachusetts Man Catches Fire After Applying Sunscreen

“A Massachusetts man said he suffered second-degree burns from a grill after applying sunscreen aerosol spray on parts of his body.

Brett Sigworth said he applied Banana Boat sunscreen to his body before walking over to his grill, not knowing it would still be flammable after it was on his skin.

“I went into complete panic mode and screamed,” Sigworth said. “I’ve never experienced pain like that in my life.”

The result was second-degree burns to his chest, ear and back, the only areas where he applied the sunscreen. Ten days after the incident, Sigworth is still showing the effects of the incident.

The warnings on the bottle of Banana Boat sunscreen read, “Flammable, don’t use near heat, flame or while burning.” But nothing about once it’s applied.

Banana Boat officials said in a statement they were sorry to hear about Sigworth’s experience and would begin a prompt investigation. “We are unaware of any prior incidents similar to what Brett has described, but because nothing is more important to us than the safety of our consumers, we are taking this matter very seriously,” the statement said.”

[Link to article (Yahoo!)]

Mars One: One-Way Ticket To the Red Planet

 “Mars One will establish human settlement on Mars in 2023. In that year, the first group of four humans will land on Mars. Every two days after that another group will join the settlement.”

“It sounds like a science-fiction fantasy, but the company Mars One says it’s for real—and that it will really establish a settlement on the planet Mars by 2023.

The privately financed Dutch company has a plan. All it needs is a lot of cash,  equipment and four Mars-bound astronauts who are willing to take a one-way trip to the red planet.

The idea is to first send rovers, which will stake out a good site for a settlement and then build out living units. In 2022, the crew will take a “transit habitat” for the seven-month trip to Mars and settle in to their new home. The intention is that the crew will live on the planet for the rest of their lives. Every two years after that, another group will join the settlement to populate the colony.”

[Link to the article (The Huffington Post)]

Iowa Family Finds Mammoth Bones In Back Yard

 “An Iowa family has discovered parts of a mammoth skeleton in their backyard  and, with the help of archeologists, they hope to dig up the rest.

ABC 5 reports a man named John and his sons were digging in their backyard  two years ago when they found what appeared to be an enormous bone buried in the  dirt.

“I got down on my hands and knees on the bank and I could see a marrow line  around the edge of this and I said boys, that’s a bone, that’s a really big  bone,” John told ABC 5.

The family kept the discovery to themselves for two years, but then decided  to enlist experts for help extracting the rest of the mammoth  skeleton.

Researchers from the University of Iowa identified the original bone as the  femur of mammoth. Since then they have uncovered the mammoth’s vertebrae and  ribs, all of which John keeps in his living room.

Archeologists and paleontologists are excited about the find because it is  unusual to find so many bones from a mammoth in one place. However, since the  bones were found on his property they belong to John, who says he’s not sure  what he will do with them yet.”

[Link to the article (FoxNews)]

Anglers’ Extraordinary Find Is No Sea Monster, But A Giant Squid

Al McGlashan, a prominent big-game fisherman in Australia, ventured to sea Friday in search of tuna and swordfish. The highlight, however, was the bizarre discovery of a fresh giant squid carcass.

Giant squid are elusive, mysterious denizens of the ocean’s darkest depths, believed to have spawned ancient tales of sea monsters. To find even parts of a dead specimen is rare, but to find a specimen largely intact and still with its bright-orange coloration is extraordinary.

[Link to article (Grind TV)]

Are You Ready for the Transit of Venus This Tuesday?

“This Tuesday is probably the only chance in your lifetime to see Venus pass between the sun and the Earth, one of the rarest, cyclical, astronomical events. During this transit, Venus will appear as a small dot against the face of the sun for about 6 and a half hours.

Just how rare is the Transit of Venus? There has only been one other occurence in the last 100 years and after Tuesday, the next one won’t happen again until 2117. Transits of the planet Mercury are more common, the next one occurs in 2016, but that planet is so small that it’s nearly invisible, not that you would want to be looking.

Like a solar eclipse, it’s not safe to view the Transit of Venus with the naked eye, or even sunglasses. You either need specially made eye shades, a telescope with a solar filter mounted on the end, or Number 14 (NO.14) welder’s glass, which is extremely dark, or you can use a telescope to project the transit onto a piece of paper – that’s how the earliest know observer of the phenomena, Jeremiah Horrocks, viewed the transit in 1639.”

sources:

Transit Of Venus: Rare Planetary Event (Yahoo!)

Next Up: The Transit of Venus (citizenscientistsleague.com)

Venus Chases of the 18th Century (LA Times)

Rare Alignment for Venus (Boston.com)

Are you ready for a solar/annular eclipse? I am!

“When the sun vanishes behind the moon for the first time over the United States in this century, what better place to enjoy the view than from one of the 154 national parks that stand in its path?

Astronomy lovers in the United States will be treated to a partial disappearance of the sun behind the moon this Sunday (May 20). Only the Eastern Seaboard will be totally exempt. The eclipse will occur in the late afternoon or early evening of May 20 throughout North America, and May 21 for observers in Asia.

Over the course of the solar eclipse, the sun won’t vanish completely, but will remain as a ring around the moon for what is known as an annular eclipse. When the eclipse occurs, the moon will be near its most distant point from Earth, making it appear smaller in the sky and thus unable to block the entire sun. But it will still be a stunning sight.”

Please keep in mind that if you are not within the area indicated on the map, this doesn’t mean you won’t be privy to a partial eclipse, just keep an eye out. “Also, the next major solar eclipse in the US won’t come until August 21, 2017, although Australia and parts of the South Pacific will see one later this year, on Nov. 17.”

Source: Solar Eclipse 2012: All systems go for witnessing rare ‘ring of fire’