Show Date: May 18, 2005  
Pam Eastlick for the Marianas Variety

DIVE WITH THE BEST
AND
EXTREME ADVENTURES

Greetings and welcome to The Deep column and the deepest radio show on Earth. The Deep is the science talk radio program that takes you from the depths of the ocean to the farthest reaches of the universe. This week on The Deep, aired at 6:00 this evening on K-57, we’ll go diving with MDA. Then we’ll have some expedition calls. This week we’re going extreme with updates from both the Guam and international Extreme Teams. And maybe we’ll hear from Bob Silver in the Mediterranean or Christine Boskoff on Mt. Everest. We’ll also have some science news updates and we’ll be taking your phone calls. Tune in tonight and join host Jim Sullivan, Pam Eastlick and our expedition coordinator Peter Melyan for the latest in scientific news! Then log on to www.thedeepradioshow.com for more information on all the latest and deepest news!

CELEBRATING DIVING
One of the prime topics on The Deep has always been diving. Here on Guam, we enjoy some of the best diving in the world and our beautiful reefs are a prime tourist draw for our island. Recreational diving opens a window on a whole new world.

Our lovely reefs have inspired many photographers like Chris Banks, Tim Rock and Mitch Warner and attracted international stars like Wyland. Guam is also a jumping-off point for the WWII wrecks in Chuuk Lagoon, the beautiful Rock Islands of Palau and many other beautiful dive sites.
This week on The Deep, we’ll be featuring some of the photographers who will be showing their work this weekend at Divers Night at the Hilton. Divers Night is sponsored by MDA and will feature some of the best dive photography in the world.

There are also awesome raffles at Divers Night and the grand prize will be a full week of diving including airfare to Yap or Palau. You can also win a boat charter, a dive computer, gift certificates and much more. Divers Night is this Friday, 20 May at the Guam Hilton Hotel. Tickets are $7.00 per person and will NOT be sold at the door. Raffle tickets are $1.00 each and the more you buy the more chances you have to win. All proceeds from Divers Night go to the Guam Marine Awareness Foundation. Tickets are available at MDA. Call 472-6321 for more information.

Artist Wyland gets up close and personal with a whale. See this and many more astounding pictures at Divers Night!

GOING TO EXTREMES
Well, I confess it; I’m a couch potato. I’m overweight, and most of my problem stems not from overeating, but from a lack of exercise. I try to walk at least a mile most days of the week, but sadly, I don’t even manage that as often as I should. So, it is with awe and wonder that I view the people who go out for extreme racing.

We all know that there are many races on Guam. There are 3K runs or 5K runs most weekends. Then there are the marathons and the bike races and the kayak races and well, you get the idea. Then there’s extreme racing.

If you are an extreme racer, you’re part of a team of four and you don’t just go running or kayaking. If you’re an extreme racer, you start with running. Then you go trekking through deep jungles and open savannas. Then, so you don’t get lost, you practice orienteering, that fine art of finding your way from Point A to Point B using a compass and a map.

Then, you go mountain biking, but you’re not just riding down the road, you’re biking on jeep trails, the beach and dodging some of the squirreliest traffic in the world on Guam’s highways.
But the hazards of Guam’s roads are only the beginning; from there, you move on to open ocean kayaking and coasteering, which is hiking within 50 feet of the ocean. Coral outcrops? Straight-edge cliffs? All just a part of the fun! Are you tired yet just reading about it? If you’re not, then you move on to swimming because a part of your planned trail will be in the open ocean.

Who are the supermen and superwomen who compete in Extreme Racing? We’ll meet some of them in-studio tonight on The Deep. You’re not going to want to miss this one!

GOING DEEP AND EXTREME

Say, have you heard the one about the fact that the US is planning to blow up a comet? Well, that’s not exactly what’s going to happen, but it’s pretty close. This is just a brief heads-up about the Deep Impact space mission. Sometime prior to the 4th of July this year, the Deep Impact spacecraft will release a three-foot long ‘impactor’ directly into the path of Comet Tempel 1. Comet Tempel 1 is about the size of central Guam.

Then at 3:52 p.m. Guam time on the 4th of July, Comet Tempel will run over this small object at 23,000 mph. Since this is 10 times the average speed of a bullet, it will have a much larger effect and scientists are hoping that the impactor will blow a hole in the comet from the size of a large house to the size of a football stadium.

So why are we blowing up comets? Because we want to see what’s inside. Comets are remnants of the early solar system and we hope to learn a lot from the crater that results. The Deep Impact mother ship will be about 300 miles away and keeping pace with the comet and taking pictures, when the impact occurs. Scientists will also observe Comet Tempel 1 with the Hubble Space Telescope, the orbiting X-ray telescope Chandra and Spitzer, our orbiting infrared telescope. Most ground-based observatories that can see the impact will also observe it.

Will you be able to see anything from Guam? Unfortunately, although we are on the side of Earth that will be turned toward the comet, it occurs during the day for us and it won’t be bright enough for us to see. But there will definitely be some BIG fireworks for the 4th of July this year!

Whether we’re learning about the beautiful ocean that surrounds us, the extremes that humans can withstand or taking a look inside a comet, The Deep, hosted by Jim Sullivan with Pam Eastlick and Peter Melyan is the place to be on K-57 tonight at 6:00 p.m. Don’t miss it!