PAGE 5 (4/08/04
to 3/27/06)
From: Craig Sadler, San Diego State University (Academic
Affairs) - 4/08/04
Re: Comment regarding "Atmospheres
and Oceans of the Terrestrial Planets" talk.
A very interesting talk. Thanks. It answered several questions about
the planets' atmospheres that I have had over the years. Your case is
pretty convincing on the source of water in volcanic outgassing. / A
little
sad that there's not much hope for water on Mars. / -Craig
From: Harvey Leff, California State
Polytechnic University (Physics) - 5/21/04
Re: Comments regarding "Atmospheres
and Oceans of the Terrestrial Planets" talk.
Hi Gary, / Thanks for your great talk today. You certainly got the
attention of the audience, as you could tell from some of the
questions. I find your ideas about the net water loss from Earth
particularly fascinating. / I think the loss rate you estimate, 0.6 mm
of depth/millenium, is roughly equivalent to an average loss rate of
500 kilomoles of water/second from Earth. This doesn't seem terribly
large but of course, it adds up significantly over thousands, millions,
and billions of years. Very thought provoking.
From: Glenn Gregory, San Joaquin
Geological Society - 6/17/04
Re: Comments regarding "Atmospheres
and Oceans of the Terrestrial Planets" talk.
Dear Dr. Peterson, / You gave a wonderful lecture on "Terrestrial
Planets and their Oceans and Atmospheres" at the San Joaquin Geological
Society. Do you have this lecture on video, CD, Power Point, etc. so
that I may
purchase it to show my wife and fiends as well as a reference to
myself?
Have you published this presentation as an article? / Thanks, / Glenn
Gregory
Comment: This particular lecture is in my head only. Maybe
some day I'll write it up but it's still in the process of evolving.
However,
the Orange County Astronomers recorded the lecture and have it on DVD.
They
produced a shortened version and it was shown on Orange County Public
Access
TV outlets for a month. I've not seen the TV program. The OCA kindly
provided
me with a DVD of the lecture but I have not viewed it as yet as I do
not
have a DVD player, and I find it uncomfortable to view myself on TV.
From: Heidi Slayton, Tampa Bay -
8/06/04
Re: What is a Planetologist?
My daughter has a question for her 5th grade science class. What is
a planetologist? We can not find an exact definition. Is it someone who
studies planets?
Comment: A number of people ask this question. The "ology" of
any word indicates logic or science. Hence, planetology is the logic or
science of the planets. A planetologist is one who is interested in
such
matters. These words are not in my dictionaries, but are in fairly
common
useage.
From: James W. Hawkins, UC San Diego
(Scripps Institution of Oceanography) - 11/30/04
Re: Comments regarding "Atmospheres
and Oceans of the Terrestrial Planets" talk.
Like Wow Man - That was a very interesting seminar. You have given me a
lot of clever twists to add to my "Now you have the stellisk - how are
you going to make a habitable blue planet?" course in the winter
quarter. I had "always" liked the idea that the proto-atmosphere
hydrosphere was boiled
away in the magma ocean formed in the first few 100my. Comets brought
in
the second atmo-hydro. Then I had heard the pitch about the D-H ratio
of
comets being inappropriate to make the present atmo-hydro system and
had to
retreat to continued degassing of DEEP mantle with oxidation of the H
in
mineral lattices doing the trick. Have you a reference for documenting
the
completely understandable fractionation effects of the D H in the coma
of
comets? I would appreciate having it. Whenever I talk about something I
really
do not understand (like most of the time!) I like to point to a
credible
source. ... /.../.../... Thanks - It was a
real
pull on the brain chain!
Comment: First, I greatly appreciate the comments. Four paragraphs
were too long and technical to be incorporated here, but I really
appreciate the discussion. / With regard to the D/H ratios in comet
coma as opposed to the D/H ratio of the Earth, this question first came
up at an Orange County Astronomers meeting and I didn't know what to
make of it. However, it placed the problem in the back of my mind. It
later came up at a different venue a couple years later. A strange
story. I was giving my "Why
is Mars Red?" talk at a UCLA Planetary Science Seminar and a fellow
in
the back of the audience was drilling me on the D/H ratios of
Earth/comets
bit. I calmly listened to his statement of the data and replied that
hydrogen must be escaping faster than deuterium from the coma of a
comet because
of the differences in atomic weight. It instantaneously shut him up and
he sat down without further comment. I've been using it now and then
ever
since. It's 100% logical, from what I understand about the escape of
gases/elements from planets. I've used it in front of
physicists/astronomers causing not even the slightest ripple. However,
I have no reference on this matter.
From: Allen Levin, Ventura County Astronomical Society -
2/11/05
Re: Comment regarding "Mars:
Where Did All the Water Go?" talk.
The talk was excellent!... as always! I'm glad the trip home was an
easy one. ... We'll be contacting you again. Thanks.
From:
David Sturm, ChevronTexaco - 4/25/05
Re: Question regarding "Atmospheres
and Oceans of the Terrestrial Planets" talk.
Dr. Peterson, / I was told by a raving co-worker (at ChevronTexaco)
what a great talk I missed at the San Joaquin Geological Society last
summer on the evolution of terrestrial oceans/atmospheres. / I also had
to miss your visit to Bakersfield last night, taking my daughter to the
Burbank airport. / By any chance (or good fortune, in my case), do you
have a lecture summary/PowerPoint file of the captioned talk that you
would be willing to email to me? / Great website, by the way. Don't see
this lecture in your future talk listing. / Thank you for your
attention... / David Sturm
Comment: This talk certainly
generates a lot of good comments. Alas, I have no written, PowerPoint
or other presentations that I might pass along. However, the Orange
County Astronomers put the talk out on DVD and I understand that a copy
can be purchased. You might look through their website. Perhaps you
could contact the president. I have no idea what the cost might be.
From:
Phil Farquharson, San Diego Association of Geologists - 6/14/05
Re: Comments about the website.
Well thanks, Gary, for drawing my attention to your updated
website. I found your various reminiscences and ramblings
very enlightening,
especially since my teaching career has just recently taken (re)root,
after various side-trips over the last 26 years. Janet (my significant
other) always
asks me when you're going to be speaking at an SDAG meeting
again.
Margaret is the current prez, so she picks the speakers. Next
year, it'll be
my turn, and you can rest assured that your name will be high on the
list. / BTW, I found your Matt Drudge page to be a particularly
inspiring
one. I had already grown accustomed to working outside the system
by the time I made my first web page in 1996 or so. If you look
at my various
web sites, you'll note that there is a distinct paucity of Java script
and Flash - plain old HTML created in HTML-Kit (barely more advanced
than using Notepad). I tried using DreamWeaver, FrontPage
PageMill, NAMO
WebEditor, and others, but found them to be intrusive, creating bloated
code that
I had to clean up. / I learned to be a self-promoter from an old
uranium geologist boss in Casper, Wyoming in 1977. He claimed
that salesmanship was the most important (trait) a working geologist
should cultivate - selling his/her
projects, ideas, etc. / Thanks for reminding me that I need to pay my
respects to those who got where I am today. / Stay in touch, / Phil
From:
Bill Finch, Fresno, CA -8/08/05
Re: Note from former student
regarding web site.
I don't get it, Peterson. What's with all these professors emeritus (in
our department) and you're not one of them? I know you haven't aged any
since Karen and I were at SDSU in the early 70's, but isn't it about
time to slow down? / ... / I
enjoyed reading your descriptions of your best professors. I just
wanted to let you know, you were certainly one of the best I had. /
Best Wishes and don't ever slow down - / Bill Finch
Comment: Well... Ever
since my junior year I've wanted to be a geology professor. It's an
interesting and priviledged position and I'm still enjoying it in my
43rd year. Why would I want to retire? Besides, I don't even know how
to golf.
From:
Jack Holden, Omak, Washington -8/22/05
Re: Note from friend regarding
web site.
Gary, / With a lot of help from a friend, I'm putting together a web
site. I'd like to list yours as a favorite if that's OK with you. It's
still under construction but it is <http://www.johncholden.com>
if I didn't tell you already. thanks. / ... / Jack
From:
Bruce Golden, location unknown -10/08/05
Re: Question from science
fiction writer.
Dear Professor Peterson, / I'm professional writer and SDSU alum, and
I'm in the planning stages of my fourth science fiction novel. I
know what I'd like to do, but I'm not sure if the science supports
it. I have worked with professors in other disciplines at SDSU
with my previous books, and would appreciate it if you could give me
some feedback, or maybe correct any mistaken notions I have in what is
your field of expertise. / I want to create two earthlike worlds, one
of which is slightly smaller than the other. The somewhat smaller
world would be the moon of the larger world. / My idea is that the
larger world would be somewhat colder than earth, though covered at
least 3/4 by oceans. This world would only be warm enough in its
equatorial regions for most agricultural pursuits. / I want the smaller
world (the moon) to be a warmer, much more agriculturally-friendly
place, so I was thinking since both worlds are equally distant from
their sunˆthat I should give the smaller world a somewhat thicker
atmosphere to hold in the heat. Are there any other ramifications
of this I should know about? / I'm also assuming that since the "moon"
is somewhat smaller, it's gravity will be somewhat less. / Can you tell
me where my thinking might be faulty, or how I might enhance my idea? /
Thanks again your time and your help. / Bruce Golden
Comment: Hmmmmmm. A satellite
always
permanently faces one side toward it's companion because of tidal
friction. When two roughly equal bodies are in orbit around one
another, then they ultimately permanently face one another, such as
Pluto and Charon. The length of their "days" (one cycle of dark/light)
would be the time taken up by the orbit rate around one another. Thus,
if the planets were about as far apart as the Earth and Moon, they they
would each have "days" of about 27 Earth days long. As such, if they
were about the same distance from the sun as the present Earth, they
would probably have one side frozen solid and the other boiling hot
each "day." Life as we know it, could not survive on such a planet
system. / Alas, science fiction
is not my favorite literature genre. Anyway, a
thought-provoking question.
From:
Steve Short, Orange County Astronomers - 10/17/05
Re: Email note from OCA member.
Hello Dr. Peterson, / We had a speaker at the OC Astronomer's meeting
this past Friday who gave a talk on magnetic moon fields that may
protect future moon bases from sunflare activity. Her talk was about
the research she is doing from Scripps for a NASA grant and her studies
of how certain moon rock formations seem whiter than those without a
detected magnetic force, indicating some form of protection. / You
would probably have found her talk very interesting and after the
meeting I suggested she contact you as you both studied geology and now
use that information to study objects in our solar system. She has also
studied magnetism on Mars, etc. I told Nic all about some of your
theories on ocean loss here on Earth and on Mars and other things you
shared with us. / I hope all is going well for you and I am very
impressed with your website. I look forward to hearing you speak at the
OCA again sometime soon. / Steve Short
Comment: Well... I
always enjoy meeting and conversing with scientists and other
knowledgeable people interested in the planets. I'll look forward to
it. I'm also looking forward to another OCA talk this March. One of my
favorite venues.
From:
Clive Dorman, San Diego State University (Geology) - 11/03/05
Re: Note regarding "The Capture of the Moon" talk.
Gary, / Thanks for the presentation. It was interesting to hear the
arugments. / Clive
Comment: Hmmmmmm. Fascinating!
This
talk drew a big crowd, the biggest of the current season. It brought a
very mixed reaction largely with a slightly negative tone, I would
judge. Or at least the response wasn't as positive as those to my other
talks. Some
people who should have commented didn't say anything.
Interesting. Well, I read that 95% of scientists subscribe to the idea
that
the Moon originated following a mega-impact event on the Earth and the
debris was "splashed"
into orbit where it reassembled as the Moon. I have trouble with that
explanation. Hmmmmmm. It's fun to go against the grain, almost like
speaking out
against God, motherhood and apple pie.
From:
Steve Koppes, University of Chicago News Office - 1/04/06
Re: Request for information
from web site.
Dear Dr. Peterson, / I'm working on Bob Dietz's biography and Jack
Holden called my attention to your web page. May I have permission to
quote you from the commentary posted there regarding Dietz, Holden and
Nathan Ayer? These are exactly the sort of anecdotes I need to make
these men come alive in print. What I have in mind is to treat your
commentary as "interview notes" and to attribute the comments to you. /
Here's a little background: I met Bob while working as a science writer
at Arizona State University. In addition to working with him frequently
in my capacity as an ASU publicist, I began a series of interviews with
him in 1992 with an eye toward someday writing his biography, and his
work inspired my book for young readers on catastrophic meteorite
impact, which was published in 2003 (for more info, see mrmeteor.com).
/ I currently have a proposal pending to write the biography for
World Scientific Publishing. I'm currently engaged in an e-mail
interview with Jack, who will figure prominently in at least two
chapters. I've also interviewed about 25 or 30 of Bob's other
colleagues and various family members. Any help you may wish to provide
would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! / Regards, / Steve Koppes /
Science Writer / U. of Chicago News Office
Comment: Splendid! I'd be
willing to help in any way I could. Bob Dietz was a very clever and
influential scientist who receives less credit than he deserves. Bravo!
From:
Nic Richmond, Scripps Institution of Oceanography (IGPP) - 1/04/06
Re: Note from UCSD planetary
scientist.
Dear Gary, / I'm a post-doc at IGPP in La Jolla. Last October I gave a
talk to the Orange County Astronomers and one of the members there gave
me your name. My research area is primarily concerned with planetary
magnetics (my talk to OCA was on lunar magnetic anomalies). At the
moment, my main project is Earth based - I'm using satellite magnetics
data to estimate Earth electrical conductivity by studying currents
induced in the mantle by the magnetospheric ring current. Previously, I
was working at the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory in Tucson
investigating the crustal magnetic anomalies of the moon and Mars. It's
an interesting area as the locations of the anomalies seem closely
related to the major basins (though in different ways for the different
bodies) and understanding the origin of the magnetization and the
locations is challenging. I plan to add Mercury to my research once
Messenger arrives at its destination! / I'd be interested to hear about
your research. Also, one of the reasons I was talking in Orange was
because I enjoy giving seminars. I don't know who arranges the seminar
series at your department, but I'd enjoy the chance to visit you at
your department and present a seminar. / Best wishes / Nic
Comment: Interesting! Getting
her on our speaker schedule will have top priority.
From:
David Fredricksen, unknown location - 2/10/06
Re: Request to identify
meteorite.
Dear Mr. Peterson: / I believe I have found a meteorite. It's
the size of a baseball. It leaves no mark on a ceramic tile. A magnite
sticks to it. /
Is there someplace that I can verify my find? / I have recently taken
up the hobbie of metal detecting and I found it by chance since the
rock gave off a null sound on my head phones. I almost walked on but I
stopped and scanned it again. Usually there is a background hum in the
phones. I found your page on the internet. I would appreciate some
advice. / Thankyou, David Fredricksen
Comment: I get requests such
as this from time to time, but I have no expertise in the field. I have
a xeroxed handout that I give to people who think they might have found
a meteorite. If you give me a mailing address, I'll send you a good
reference regarding meteorites and some places you might go to identify
whether or not it's a meteorite. I might add that about 98% of things
that people find and think to be a meteorite turn out not to be.
From:
Claire Stover, Pomona Valley Amateur Astronomers - 2/14/06
Re: Note of thanks for "Why
is Mars Red?" talk.
Gary, / I'd like to thank you very much for your talk to the PVAA last
Friday. I enjoyed meeting you and your wife - and appreciated
your long drive to visit us. / Many of us learned a lot about the
unfamiliar subject of Geology - I will certainly have a greater
appreciation of what was involved the next time I see the red rocks in
the gold country of Northern California - and those on Mars. / Thanks
again for your enthusiasm and your great presentation! / Claire Stover
/ Secretary, PVAA
From:
Bob Eklund, Mount Wilson Observatory Association - 3/27/06
Re: Note of thanks for "Is
There Life Elsewhere in the Solar System?" talk.
Gary, / Just thought you'd like to know -- I got more "rave" reviews
from your talk yesterday than from any in recent memory. / Thank you so
much for coming all that way. And I hope you made it back to
the concert on time! / Bob
Got a comment?
<planetology@geology.sdsu.edu>