Tag: Ash

White Fingers on Mars

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What do you think made the bright features in the picture below? Was it a deep layer of rock underneath sand that was swept away by wind? Or maybe it was salt left over from the drying of an ancient lake? Or perhaps even ash left over by an ancient volcano.  One of the answers is correct, and not the one I was hoping for. I wish it was from an ancient lakebed, oh what the salt deposits could teach us.  But alas, it is only volcanic ash.  So as true scientists, we follow what the data tells us, and learn...

Happy Solstice 2015!

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The Winter Solstice is a strange time of year in Canada.  It’s often forgotten being so close to Christmas and the end of the year, and even though the astronomer in me recognizes the significance of the event, it’s so dark and dreary outside that I curse it!  The good news is that the Solstice, being the shortest day of the year in the northern hemisphere, means that the days will get a bit brighter from here on in.  Even though the coldest months of January and February are still to come, I’m glad to have made it past the darkest day....