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London, June 2 (ANI): Two scientists, a Canadian and a Briton, have in a new mathematical study proved that giraffes can swim, but added that this species wouldn't be very good at it.According to Dr. Donald Henderson, of the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology in Canada and Dr Darren Naish, of the University of Portsmouth in Britain, most large animals are extremely good swimmers, but so far nobody has seen or heard of giraffe swimming or wading.Using a digital giraffe in digital water, both decided to investigate whether or not giraffes could swim.The results of their study, which appear in the Journal of Theoretical Biology, found that giraffes could actually swim based on numerous calculations of weight, mass, size, shape, lung capacity, centre of gravity and rotational dynamics.Dr. Naish said: "Many previous studies have claimed that giraffes cannot swim and that they avoid water like the plague, even in an emergency, but we wanted to put the theory to the test in proper controlled experiments."In their study, both authors found that a full-sized adult giraffe would become buoyant in 2.8metres of water. Giraffes can wade across bodies of water that are shallower.Dr Henderson said: "The idea that giraffes are poor waders or will not cross rivers is untrue and there are no obvious reasons why giraffes might be more prone to sinking than other animals."But after becoming buoyant, they said a giraffe would be unstable in the water due to its long, heavy legs, short body and long neck.The unusual shape of the giraffe meant that it floated in a peculiar manner, with the long front limbs pulling the body downwards.This forced the neck to be held horizontally and mostly underneath the water surface, so the animal would have to hold its head upwards at an uncomfortable angle.Giraffes have other handicaps in the water. Horses tend to swim by trotting in the water, similar to the way they move on land.But giraffes move on land in an unusual way, moving their neck up and down in time with their limbs, and this important neck movement is not possible in the water.This means that giraffes are probably very poor swimmers.Giraffes also have 13 per cent more surface area than a horse, mostly because of their longer legs, leading to a greater drag.A further complication is that larger animals have slower muscle contractions, making it difficult for a giraffe to paddle fast enough to move forward.The Telegraph quoted Dr. Naish, as concluding: "Our models show that while it's feasible for a giraffe to swim, it is much harder than it is for a horse. It is fair to say that giraffes might be hesitant to enter the water knowing that they are at a decided disadvantage compared to being on solid ground." (ANI)
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Monday, November 29, 1999
Scientists identify new gecko species in West African rain forests
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Washington, June 2 (ANI): According to a new report, the West African forest gecko, a secretive but widely distributed species in forest patches from Ghana to Congo, is actually four distinct species that appear to have evolved over the past 100,000 years due to the fragmentation of a belt of tropical rain forest.The report has been published in this week's issue of the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.The discovery by former University of California, Berkeley, students Adam D. Leachi and Matthew K. Fujita demonstrates the wealth of biodiversity still surviving in the islands of tropical rain forest in West Africa, and the ability of new DNA analysis techniques to distinguish different species, even when they look alike."We tended to find this gecko, Hemidactylus fasciatus, throughout our travels in West Africa," said Leachi, a herpetologist with UC Berkeley's Museum of Vertebrate Zoology. "Despite the fact that it is recognized as one species, using new methods we have established a high probability that it is composed of at least four species."Though the forest fragmentation is part of a long-term drying trend in West Africa, the loss of forest and the resultant impact on the gecko is increasing as a result of human activity, he noted."These rain forests are classified as one of the biodiversity hotspots on the planet, yet they are one of the most endangered areas on the earth," Leachi said. "Human deforestation is accentuating the process of habitat destruction." (ANI)
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Washington, June 2 (ANI): According to a new report, the West African forest gecko, a secretive but widely distributed species in forest patches from Ghana to Congo, is actually four distinct species that appear to have evolved over the past 100,000 years due to the fragmentation of a belt of tropical rain forest.The report has been published in this week's issue of the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.The discovery by former University of California, Berkeley, students Adam D. Leachi and Matthew K. Fujita demonstrates the wealth of biodiversity still surviving in the islands of tropical rain forest in West Africa, and the ability of new DNA analysis techniques to distinguish different species, even when they look alike."We tended to find this gecko, Hemidactylus fasciatus, throughout our travels in West Africa," said Leachi, a herpetologist with UC Berkeley's Museum of Vertebrate Zoology. "Despite the fact that it is recognized as one species, using new methods we have established a high probability that it is composed of at least four species."Though the forest fragmentation is part of a long-term drying trend in West Africa, the loss of forest and the resultant impact on the gecko is increasing as a result of human activity, he noted."These rain forests are classified as one of the biodiversity hotspots on the planet, yet they are one of the most endangered areas on the earth," Leachi said. "Human deforestation is accentuating the process of habitat destruction." (ANI)
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New motorcyclists face doubled risk of accidents
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Sydney, June 2 (IANS) New motorcyclists face a much higher risk of a serious accident than any other mode of travelling.'The crash risk for new riders is around double that for more experienced riders,' says Matthew Baldock, a research fellow with the University of Adelaide Centre for Automotive Safety Research.'There are increasing numbers of people riding motorcycles, particularly scooters, and older riders - people in their 40s - taking it up,' says Baldock.'There are a lot more people riding motorcycles and an increasing proportion of motorcycle riders in the road toll.'Baldock says motorcycle riders are at greater injury risk because they are less protected than in other vehicles, said an University of Adelaide release.But motorcycle accidents could be reduced through changes to licensing regulations, including increasing the minimum age, increasing the time new riders have to spend on provisional and learner licences and increased mandatory training.
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Sydney, June 2 (IANS) New motorcyclists face a much higher risk of a serious accident than any other mode of travelling.'The crash risk for new riders is around double that for more experienced riders,' says Matthew Baldock, a research fellow with the University of Adelaide Centre for Automotive Safety Research.'There are increasing numbers of people riding motorcycles, particularly scooters, and older riders - people in their 40s - taking it up,' says Baldock.'There are a lot more people riding motorcycles and an increasing proportion of motorcycle riders in the road toll.'Baldock says motorcycle riders are at greater injury risk because they are less protected than in other vehicles, said an University of Adelaide release.But motorcycle accidents could be reduced through changes to licensing regulations, including increasing the minimum age, increasing the time new riders have to spend on provisional and learner licences and increased mandatory training.
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Now, model to predict hurricanes this season
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Washington, June 2 (ANI): American scientists have unveiled a unique computer model that can predict this year's hurricane season.Associate Scholar Scientist Tim LaRow and his colleagues at Florida State University's Center for Ocean-Atmospheric Prediction Studies (COAPS) say there will be an average of 17 named storms with 10 of those storms developing into hurricanes in the Atlantic this season, which begins June 1, and runs through Nov. 30.The historical seasonal average is 11 tropical storms with six of them becoming hurricanes.LaRow said: "It looks like it will be a very busy season, and it only takes one hurricane making landfall to have devastating effects."The predicted high number of tropical systems means there is an increased chance that the eastern United States or Gulf Coast will see a landfall this year."The COAPS model, unveiled just last year, is one of only a handful of numerical models in the world being used to study seasonal hurricane activity, and it has already outperformed many other models.The model uses the university's high-performance computer to synthesize massive amounts of information including atmospheric, ocean and land data.A key component of the COAPS model is the use of predicted sea surface temperatures.The 2009 forecast, the model's first, was on target: It predicted a below-average season, with a mean of eight named storms with four of them developing into hurricanes.There were nine named storms with three that became hurricanes.The model's 2009 forecast, plus its hindcasts of the previous 14 hurricane seasons - that's when the data that existed prior to each season is plugged into the model to reforecast the season and then compared to what actually occurred - really show the model's precision.From 1995 to 2009, the model predicted a mean of 13.7 named storms of which a mean of 7.8 were hurricanes.In reality, the average during this period was 13.8 named storms with a mean of 7.9 hurricanes.How the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico will affect the development of tropical storms this year is a question that scientists are still trying to figure out, LaRow said.The oil on the ocean surface can diminish the amount of surface evaporation, which would lead to local increased ocean temperatures near the surface, but LaRow said he's made no adjustments to the model to account for the oil that continues to gush from an underwater well.He said: "The oil spill will probably have little influence on the hurricane season, but we don't know for sure since this spill is unprecedented."It's uncertain how exactly the atmospheric and oceanic conditions might change if the spill continues to grow."COAPS researchers spent about five years developing and assessing the numerical model before putting it to the test with its first real-time forecast last year. (ANI)
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Washington, June 2 (ANI): American scientists have unveiled a unique computer model that can predict this year's hurricane season.Associate Scholar Scientist Tim LaRow and his colleagues at Florida State University's Center for Ocean-Atmospheric Prediction Studies (COAPS) say there will be an average of 17 named storms with 10 of those storms developing into hurricanes in the Atlantic this season, which begins June 1, and runs through Nov. 30.The historical seasonal average is 11 tropical storms with six of them becoming hurricanes.LaRow said: "It looks like it will be a very busy season, and it only takes one hurricane making landfall to have devastating effects."The predicted high number of tropical systems means there is an increased chance that the eastern United States or Gulf Coast will see a landfall this year."The COAPS model, unveiled just last year, is one of only a handful of numerical models in the world being used to study seasonal hurricane activity, and it has already outperformed many other models.The model uses the university's high-performance computer to synthesize massive amounts of information including atmospheric, ocean and land data.A key component of the COAPS model is the use of predicted sea surface temperatures.The 2009 forecast, the model's first, was on target: It predicted a below-average season, with a mean of eight named storms with four of them developing into hurricanes.There were nine named storms with three that became hurricanes.The model's 2009 forecast, plus its hindcasts of the previous 14 hurricane seasons - that's when the data that existed prior to each season is plugged into the model to reforecast the season and then compared to what actually occurred - really show the model's precision.From 1995 to 2009, the model predicted a mean of 13.7 named storms of which a mean of 7.8 were hurricanes.In reality, the average during this period was 13.8 named storms with a mean of 7.9 hurricanes.How the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico will affect the development of tropical storms this year is a question that scientists are still trying to figure out, LaRow said.The oil on the ocean surface can diminish the amount of surface evaporation, which would lead to local increased ocean temperatures near the surface, but LaRow said he's made no adjustments to the model to account for the oil that continues to gush from an underwater well.He said: "The oil spill will probably have little influence on the hurricane season, but we don't know for sure since this spill is unprecedented."It's uncertain how exactly the atmospheric and oceanic conditions might change if the spill continues to grow."COAPS researchers spent about five years developing and assessing the numerical model before putting it to the test with its first real-time forecast last year. (ANI)
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Scientists uncover the mystery of a major threat to wheat
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Washington, June 2 (ANI): Scientists of the US Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists have found why a pathogen that threatens the world's wheat supply can be so adaptable, diverse and virulent.It is because the fungus that causes the wheat disease called stripe rust may use sexual recombination to adapt to resistant varieties of wheat.ARS plant pathologist Yue Jin and his colleagues Les Szabo and Marty Carson at the agency's Cereal Disease Laboratory at St. Paul, Minn., have shown for the first time that stripe rust, caused by Puccinia striiformis, is capable of sexually reproducing on the leaves of an alternate host called barberry, a common ornamental.The fungus also goes through asexual mutation.But sexual recombination offers an advantage because it promotes rapid reshuffling of virulence gene combinations and produces a genetic mix more likely to pass along traits that improve the chances for survival.Barberry (Berberis spp) is already controlled in areas where wheat is threatened by stem rust, caused by another fungal pathogen.But the work by the ARS team is expected to lead to better control of barberry in areas like the Pacific Northwest, where cool temperatures during most of the wheat growing season make stripe rust a particular threat.The researchers suspended wheat straw infected with the stripe rust pathogen over barberry plants and found that fungal spores from the wheat infected the barberry.They also took infected barberry leaves, treated them to promote the release of spores, and exposed them to wheat.Tests confirmed that the wheat plants were infected within about 10 days.The researchers began the study last year after finding infected leaves on barberry plants at two sites on the University of Minnesota campus.They initially thought the symptoms were a sign that the stem rust pathogen had overcome the resistance commonly found in US varieties of barberry.Instead, they found barberry serving as a sexual or "alternate" host for stripe rust.When the overwintering spores of the stripe rust fungus germinate in the spring, they produce spores that reach barberry leaves, forming structures on the top of the leaves that allow mating between races or strains of the fungus. Spores resulting from this mating can, in turn, infect wheat. (ANI)
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Washington, June 2 (ANI): Scientists of the US Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists have found why a pathogen that threatens the world's wheat supply can be so adaptable, diverse and virulent.It is because the fungus that causes the wheat disease called stripe rust may use sexual recombination to adapt to resistant varieties of wheat.ARS plant pathologist Yue Jin and his colleagues Les Szabo and Marty Carson at the agency's Cereal Disease Laboratory at St. Paul, Minn., have shown for the first time that stripe rust, caused by Puccinia striiformis, is capable of sexually reproducing on the leaves of an alternate host called barberry, a common ornamental.The fungus also goes through asexual mutation.But sexual recombination offers an advantage because it promotes rapid reshuffling of virulence gene combinations and produces a genetic mix more likely to pass along traits that improve the chances for survival.Barberry (Berberis spp) is already controlled in areas where wheat is threatened by stem rust, caused by another fungal pathogen.But the work by the ARS team is expected to lead to better control of barberry in areas like the Pacific Northwest, where cool temperatures during most of the wheat growing season make stripe rust a particular threat.The researchers suspended wheat straw infected with the stripe rust pathogen over barberry plants and found that fungal spores from the wheat infected the barberry.They also took infected barberry leaves, treated them to promote the release of spores, and exposed them to wheat.Tests confirmed that the wheat plants were infected within about 10 days.The researchers began the study last year after finding infected leaves on barberry plants at two sites on the University of Minnesota campus.They initially thought the symptoms were a sign that the stem rust pathogen had overcome the resistance commonly found in US varieties of barberry.Instead, they found barberry serving as a sexual or "alternate" host for stripe rust.When the overwintering spores of the stripe rust fungus germinate in the spring, they produce spores that reach barberry leaves, forming structures on the top of the leaves that allow mating between races or strains of the fungus. Spores resulting from this mating can, in turn, infect wheat. (ANI)
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Blocking DNA repair protein likely to make cancer therapy safer
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Washington, June 2 (ANI): Blocking DNA repair protein could lead to targeted, safer cancer therapy, according to a new American research.The study, conducted by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI) and the School of Medicine, has appeared in Science Signaling.The work provides new insights into mechanisms of how the body fixes environmentally induced DNA damage and into the deadly neurological disease ataxia-telangiectasia (A-T), said senior author Christopher Bakkenist, assistant professor of radiation oncology, pharmacology and chemical biology at UPCI and the School of Medicine.He said: "A characteristic symptom of A-T is heightened sensitivity to ionizing radiation, such as X-rays and gamma rays."If we understand why that happens, then we might be able to reproduce it to make tumor cells vulnerable to radiation treatments while sparing healthy cells, which would make therapy more effective while minimizing side effects."In A-T, brain areas that control movement progressively degenerate, causing walking and balance problems.Patients carry a gene mutation that stops production of a protein called ATM kinase, which spurs other proteins involved in normal cell division, DNA repair and cell death.Radiation causes DNA mutations during the process of cell division, when genetic material is copied for a new cell to form.The cell has repair pathways that include checkpoints to look for errors as well as methods to repair them, but if enough mutations accumulate, the cell could become cancerous or self-destruct.A-T patients, who lack the kinase, have a higher risk for developing cancer, Dr. Bakkenist said.He and his colleagues tested what would happen if they blocked the activity of ATM kinase in cells that make the protein.They had already determined that administering an ATM kinase inhibitor from 15 minutes to 75 minutes after radiation exposure was sufficient to make normal cells more sensitive to the effects of radiation.To their surprise, they found that inactivation of ATM kinase prevented a type of DNA repair that is essential for proper duplication of genetic material during replication.However, A-T cells did not have this problem despite lacking the kinase; they presumably use another method to check for and correct those errors.The discovery revealed a new approach to target cancer.Dr. Bakkenist explained: "A characteristic of tumor cells is that they rapidly replicate, possibly because they have mutations that encourage cell division or that thwart repair pathways."But ATM kinase remains present in the vast majority of human cancers, so that suggests it is needed by those diseased cells during replication."Cells that, unlike cancer cells, are not going through what's known as replication stress, would not be affected by an ATM inhibitor and, like A-T cells, likely have another way of repairing certain radiation-induced mutations, he said.Dr. Bakkenist said: "So that would make cancer cells particularly vulnerable to an ATM inhibitor, while healthy cells should be unaffected." (ANI)
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Washington, June 2 (ANI): Blocking DNA repair protein could lead to targeted, safer cancer therapy, according to a new American research.The study, conducted by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI) and the School of Medicine, has appeared in Science Signaling.The work provides new insights into mechanisms of how the body fixes environmentally induced DNA damage and into the deadly neurological disease ataxia-telangiectasia (A-T), said senior author Christopher Bakkenist, assistant professor of radiation oncology, pharmacology and chemical biology at UPCI and the School of Medicine.He said: "A characteristic symptom of A-T is heightened sensitivity to ionizing radiation, such as X-rays and gamma rays."If we understand why that happens, then we might be able to reproduce it to make tumor cells vulnerable to radiation treatments while sparing healthy cells, which would make therapy more effective while minimizing side effects."In A-T, brain areas that control movement progressively degenerate, causing walking and balance problems.Patients carry a gene mutation that stops production of a protein called ATM kinase, which spurs other proteins involved in normal cell division, DNA repair and cell death.Radiation causes DNA mutations during the process of cell division, when genetic material is copied for a new cell to form.The cell has repair pathways that include checkpoints to look for errors as well as methods to repair them, but if enough mutations accumulate, the cell could become cancerous or self-destruct.A-T patients, who lack the kinase, have a higher risk for developing cancer, Dr. Bakkenist said.He and his colleagues tested what would happen if they blocked the activity of ATM kinase in cells that make the protein.They had already determined that administering an ATM kinase inhibitor from 15 minutes to 75 minutes after radiation exposure was sufficient to make normal cells more sensitive to the effects of radiation.To their surprise, they found that inactivation of ATM kinase prevented a type of DNA repair that is essential for proper duplication of genetic material during replication.However, A-T cells did not have this problem despite lacking the kinase; they presumably use another method to check for and correct those errors.The discovery revealed a new approach to target cancer.Dr. Bakkenist explained: "A characteristic of tumor cells is that they rapidly replicate, possibly because they have mutations that encourage cell division or that thwart repair pathways."But ATM kinase remains present in the vast majority of human cancers, so that suggests it is needed by those diseased cells during replication."Cells that, unlike cancer cells, are not going through what's known as replication stress, would not be affected by an ATM inhibitor and, like A-T cells, likely have another way of repairing certain radiation-induced mutations, he said.Dr. Bakkenist said: "So that would make cancer cells particularly vulnerable to an ATM inhibitor, while healthy cells should be unaffected." (ANI)
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Walt Whitman meteor mystery solved
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Washington, June 2 (ANI): A team of astronomers from Texas State University-San Marcos have applied its unique brand of forensic astronomy to reveal the secret behind famed poet Walt Whitman's description of a "strange huge meteor-procession" in his landmark collection Leaves of Grass.While scholars have debated the possible inspiration for decades, it is now that researchers have rediscovered one of the most famous celestial events of Whitman's day-one that inspired both Whitman and famed landscape painter Frederic Church -- yet became inexplicably forgotten by modern times."This is the 150th anniversary of the event that inspired both Whitman and Church. It was an Earth-grazing meteor procession," said Donald Olson, who conducted the study with Russell Doescher, English professor Marilynn S. Olson and Honours Program student Ava G. Pope.Whitman, known as a keen observer of the sky, included significant references to contemporary as well as cosmic events in his poem 'Year of Meteors. (1859-60.)' published in Leaves of Grass.A "great comet" in the poem that appeared unexpectedly in the northern sky is readily identified as the Great Comet of 1860, which follows the path Whitman described and was seen by most of the world.From Whitman's description, the Texas State research team immediately suspected the other celestial event he wrote about was the rare phenomenon known as an Earth-grazing meteor procession."Meteor processions are so rare most people have never heard of them. There was one in 1783 and a Canadian fireball procession in 1913. Those were all the meteor processions we knew of," said Olson.An Earth-grazing meteor is one where the trajectory takes the meteor through the Earth's atmosphere and back out into interplanetary space without ever striking the ground.A meteor procession occurs when a meteor breaks up upon entering the atmosphere, creating multiple meteors travelling in nearly identical paths.The rarity of meteor processions, however, has proven problematic to scholars. Whitman's description has alternately been ascribed to the 1833 Leonid meteor storm, the 1858 Leonids and a widely-observed fireball in 1859.Although Whitman is documented as having observed the 1833 Leonids, the Texas State researchers were able to discount that meteor storm because the timeframe conflicts with the poem's, and Whitman's descriptions of the two events are very different.The 1858 Leonids were also discounted after the research team discovered a dating error misattributing some of Whitman's observations of the 1833 Leonids to the latter year.On the other hand, the 1859 fireball was well documented and happened during the timeframe of the poem.However, the fireball was a single meteor, not a procession.Compounding the problem, the 1859 fireball was a daylight meteor, whereas Whitman describes the procession as happening at night.A chance clue from the 19th century artist Frederic Church proved key to unravelling the mystery.A decade ago, Olson saw a painting on the back cover of an exhibition catalog, which showed the scene Whitman had described.Church's painting, titled "The Meteor of 1860," clearly depicted a meteor procession.Other than that, the catalog also gave the date of Church's observance: July 20, 1860, well within the timeframe of Whitman's poem."We went to Church's house, and the people who know him and his art well, who've studied him, say, 'Oh, he wouldn't have painted it like that based on somebody's say-so. He must have seen it. The artist and his wife, who were honeymooning that summer, kept the painting in their bedroom for many years,'" said Olson."We went to a small research library and found old diaries of Theodore Cole, a friend of Church's, from July of 1860. They tell us Church was, in fact, in Catskill, New York, so he wasn't off in some far distant land," said Pope.Armed with this intriguing new date, the Texas State researchers found that a large Earth-grazing meteor broke apart on the evening of July 20, 1860, creating a spectacular procession of multiple fireballs visible from the Great Lakes to New York State as it burned through the atmosphere and continued out over the Atlantic Ocean."Any town that had a newspaper within all those states is going have a story on this. We have hundreds of eyewitness accounts, but there are probably hundreds more we don't even have," said Olson."From all the observations in towns up and down the Hudson River Valley, we're able to determine the meteor's appearance down to the hour and minute. Church observed it at 9:49 p.m. when the meteor passed overhead, and Walt Whitman would've seen it at the same time, give or take one minute," said Olson.The study will be published in an upcoming edition of Sky and Telescope magazine. (ANI)
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Washington, June 2 (ANI): A team of astronomers from Texas State University-San Marcos have applied its unique brand of forensic astronomy to reveal the secret behind famed poet Walt Whitman's description of a "strange huge meteor-procession" in his landmark collection Leaves of Grass.While scholars have debated the possible inspiration for decades, it is now that researchers have rediscovered one of the most famous celestial events of Whitman's day-one that inspired both Whitman and famed landscape painter Frederic Church -- yet became inexplicably forgotten by modern times."This is the 150th anniversary of the event that inspired both Whitman and Church. It was an Earth-grazing meteor procession," said Donald Olson, who conducted the study with Russell Doescher, English professor Marilynn S. Olson and Honours Program student Ava G. Pope.Whitman, known as a keen observer of the sky, included significant references to contemporary as well as cosmic events in his poem 'Year of Meteors. (1859-60.)' published in Leaves of Grass.A "great comet" in the poem that appeared unexpectedly in the northern sky is readily identified as the Great Comet of 1860, which follows the path Whitman described and was seen by most of the world.From Whitman's description, the Texas State research team immediately suspected the other celestial event he wrote about was the rare phenomenon known as an Earth-grazing meteor procession."Meteor processions are so rare most people have never heard of them. There was one in 1783 and a Canadian fireball procession in 1913. Those were all the meteor processions we knew of," said Olson.An Earth-grazing meteor is one where the trajectory takes the meteor through the Earth's atmosphere and back out into interplanetary space without ever striking the ground.A meteor procession occurs when a meteor breaks up upon entering the atmosphere, creating multiple meteors travelling in nearly identical paths.The rarity of meteor processions, however, has proven problematic to scholars. Whitman's description has alternately been ascribed to the 1833 Leonid meteor storm, the 1858 Leonids and a widely-observed fireball in 1859.Although Whitman is documented as having observed the 1833 Leonids, the Texas State researchers were able to discount that meteor storm because the timeframe conflicts with the poem's, and Whitman's descriptions of the two events are very different.The 1858 Leonids were also discounted after the research team discovered a dating error misattributing some of Whitman's observations of the 1833 Leonids to the latter year.On the other hand, the 1859 fireball was well documented and happened during the timeframe of the poem.However, the fireball was a single meteor, not a procession.Compounding the problem, the 1859 fireball was a daylight meteor, whereas Whitman describes the procession as happening at night.A chance clue from the 19th century artist Frederic Church proved key to unravelling the mystery.A decade ago, Olson saw a painting on the back cover of an exhibition catalog, which showed the scene Whitman had described.Church's painting, titled "The Meteor of 1860," clearly depicted a meteor procession.Other than that, the catalog also gave the date of Church's observance: July 20, 1860, well within the timeframe of Whitman's poem."We went to Church's house, and the people who know him and his art well, who've studied him, say, 'Oh, he wouldn't have painted it like that based on somebody's say-so. He must have seen it. The artist and his wife, who were honeymooning that summer, kept the painting in their bedroom for many years,'" said Olson."We went to a small research library and found old diaries of Theodore Cole, a friend of Church's, from July of 1860. They tell us Church was, in fact, in Catskill, New York, so he wasn't off in some far distant land," said Pope.Armed with this intriguing new date, the Texas State researchers found that a large Earth-grazing meteor broke apart on the evening of July 20, 1860, creating a spectacular procession of multiple fireballs visible from the Great Lakes to New York State as it burned through the atmosphere and continued out over the Atlantic Ocean."Any town that had a newspaper within all those states is going have a story on this. We have hundreds of eyewitness accounts, but there are probably hundreds more we don't even have," said Olson."From all the observations in towns up and down the Hudson River Valley, we're able to determine the meteor's appearance down to the hour and minute. Church observed it at 9:49 p.m. when the meteor passed overhead, and Walt Whitman would've seen it at the same time, give or take one minute," said Olson.The study will be published in an upcoming edition of Sky and Telescope magazine. (ANI)
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