This month we bid a fond farewell to a scientific marvel.  Earlier this month, on 2 November, the expected signals from the space robot Mars Global Surveyor were not received.  Despite repeated efforts, the MGS still has not called home.  So why should we care? This week, we will talk some of the astounding discoveries by this amazing robot and the future of the exploration of Mars!  MORE>>

The day after Christmas 2004, our planet was rocked by the biggest earthquake in years.  The 8.9 earthquake struck 25 miles below the north coast of Indonesia and was the fifth largest quake since 1900.  It was so huge the Earth’s rotation rate was very slightly affected.  But the real destruction was caused by the massive tsunamis (tidal waves) generated by the earthquake. Just last week we had another tsunami scare that generated some local controversy.  An 8.1 magnitude earthquake struck the Kuril Islands north of Japan and it generated tsunami waves that reached California, damaging docks and boats in the Crescent City Harbor near the Oregon state line.  MORE>>

O.K. here’s the scenario.  You’ve just dragged yourself home after a long hard day’s work and you’re starving.  You certainly don’t feel like cooking and you know that there are plenty of wonderful leftovers lurking in the fridge.  Now, let’s see, here’s the bultang from Shareen’s Sweet 16, and there, farther back is the plate from Tun Jose’s birthday party.  Oh, yeah, that was some righteous kelaguen!  And over there is the container of pork adobo from last Saturday.  Ah me, decisions, decisions, decisions.  I think we’ll start with the kelaguen.  Hmmm, looks OK . . . GACK!! That STINKS!!! MORE>>

We have a long history on The Deep of being concerned about environmental issues.  I was cruising the net looking for topics for this week’s column when I stumbled across some very interesting news, especially with all the election hoopla.  (And if you haven’t voted yet when you read this column; GO DO IT!). It seems that there have been several instances where scientists who work for the Federal government have had their findings ‘edited’ by the government officials who received them..MORE>>

One of the best things about my job at the University of Guam Planetarium is the chance to talk to the kids (and adults) after the show.  And one of the things that absolutely fascinates me is what kids worry about.  They want to know if we’re all going to be pulled into a black hole (no chance), get run over by another planet (no chance) or die when the Sun explodes (the Sun won’t explode; it isn’t big enough).  And many of them are convinced that like the dinosaurs, we’ll all die in an asteroid impact.  This week, we will explore the odds of these and many more potential disasters, and discover what it is that we should REALLY be afraid of! . MORE>>