Attack on Israel could boost appeal of gold and safe haven assets
NEW YORK Investors are closely watching events in Israel as a geopolitical risk to markets, with some expectation
2023-10-08 12:27
Every Hamas member is a dead man, Netanyahu says
It comes after the first meeting of Israel's emergency government, formed on Wednesday.
2023-10-12 13:27
Acai berry craze: boon or threat for the Amazon?
Working in the sweltering heat of the Brazilian Amazon, Jose Diogo scales a tree and harvests a cluster of black berries: acai, the trendy "superfood" reshaping the world's biggest...
2023-08-26 09:29
Voice referendum: What is Australia's Voice to Parliament proposal?
The planned vote could approve a new "voice" to parliament - the first constitutional change in 46 years.
2023-08-30 12:48
Five arrested after British woman ‘gang-raped in Cyprus hotel room’
A British tourist has said she was raped by five men in her hotel room while on holiday in Cyprus. The 20-year-old said told Cypriot police she was attacked by five men in her hotel in the city of Famagusta. Cypriot police have since arrested five men from Israel. A spokesman at the island’s police headquarters in Nicosia said on Monday: “The five were detained overnight in a cell following the charges. They will appear today before Famagusta’s district court. We have not released their ages but can confirm that they are all young.” The news comes after last year a British woman won her appeal to overturn a conviction for ‘lying’ about being gang-raped by 12 tourists when she was 18 in Cyprus, Read More Israel's prime minister pitches fiber optic cable idea to link Asia and the Middle East to Europe Greece: Firefighters rescue 25 migrants trapped in forest as massive wildfire approached Greece further reinforces firefighting forces in massive wildfire in northeast burning for 13th day
2023-09-04 17:55
Cowboys Ezekiel Elliott replacement could be a retired all-time great
The Cowboys have yet to secure a suitable Ezekiel Elliott replacement. Could this future Hall-of-Famer back be in the mix?He was born and raised in Texas, he's impressed Jerry Jones, and he's not done playing in the NFL just yet. Former Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson se...
2023-05-24 06:51
Philippines hope 'meteoric rise' to debut World Cup changes everything
In a country obsessed with beauty pageants, basketball and boxing, the Philippines women's team hope to ignite interest in football when they make the nation's...
2023-07-19 11:50
China central bank seen leaving policy loan rate unchanged on Tuesday
SHANGHAI/SINGAPORE China's central bank is expected to keep rates on its medium-term policy loans unchanged on Tuesday, a
2023-08-14 15:23
Metal detectorist finds mystery rock that turns out to be worth more than gold
Metal detecting can be a pretty thankless task, with most enthusiasts lucky if they find a couple of quid or an old belt buckle. But for one man in Australia, the experience was out of this world. David Hole was out digging for gold in Maryborough Regional Park, near Melbourne, back in 2015 when his trusty detector alerted him to a strange, red-brown rock embedded in some yellow clay. Hole took the mysterious boulder home with him and did his utmost to crack it open, using a rock saw, a sledgehammer, a drill, and even dousing it in acid, according to Science Alert. And yet, nothing left so much as a dent. Admitting defeat years later, in 2018, Hole took his find to the Melbourne Museum, hoping someone there could explain its impenetrability; convinced it contained a golden nugget. However, the discovery was far more significant than a precious metal: it was a 4.6 billion-year-old glimpse at the birth of our solar system – a rare meteorite that had crashed down to Earth. The museum’s geologists, Dermot Henry and Bill Birch, said they grew excited as soon as Hole pulled the enigmatic rock from his rucksack. Speaking to the Sydney Morning Herald back in 2019, Henry recalled: "It had this sculpted, dimpled look to it. "That's formed when they come through the atmosphere, they are melting on the outside, and the atmosphere sculpts them." Meanwhile, Birch told the paper he knew the specimen was special as soon as he held it. “If you saw a rock on earth like this, and you picked it up, it shouldn’t be that heavy,” he said. Testing soon confirmed their suspicions, as well as the composition of this extraordinary chunk of history. In July 2019, the two colleagues published a scientific paper describing the meteorite, which they christened “Maryborough”, after the area where it was found. The space rock, which measures 38.5cm by 14.5cm by 14.5cm, weighs a staggering 17 kg, and after using a diamond saw to slice through it, the experts discovered that it is what is known as an H5 ordinary chondrite. This means that it contains tiny crystallised droplets (chondrules), that were created by flash heating of dust clouds in the early solar system. "Meteorites provide the cheapest form of space exploration. They transport us back in time, providing clues to the age, formation, and chemistry of our Solar System (including Earth)," Henry said in a statement published by Museums Victoria. "Some provide a glimpse at the deep interior of our planet. In some meteorites, there is 'stardust' even older than our Solar System, which shows us how stars form and evolve to create elements of the periodic table. "Other rare meteorites contain organic molecules such as amino acids; the building blocks of life." The scientist added that the Maryborough Meteorite was most likely formed in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Despite all of Henry and Birch’s work, plenty of questions surrounding the rock remain unanswered. They don’t know for sure when it landed on Earth, with carbon 14 testing it was between 100 and 1,000 years ago. Still, multiple meteor sightings were reported in the Maryborough district between 1889 and 1951, so it could have crashed down within this relatively recent time period. Whatever its precise origins, the researchers insist it’s worth more to science than its weight in gold. "This is only the 17th meteorite found in Victoria, whereas there's (sic) been thousands of gold nuggets found," Henry told Channel 10 News at the time. "Looking at the chain of events, it's quite, you might say, astronomical it being discovered at all." Birch echoed this sentiment, adding: “When you consider all the events this chunk of rock has experienced since its formation 4.6 billion years ago, it's really mind-boggling that we get the opportunity to hold it and study it today. How good is that?" Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings
2023-11-26 23:22
Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar admit to spying on their children's phone and computer activity
Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar use an ‘internet accountability software’ to monitor all their children's online activity
2023-06-01 18:24
Bangladesh rocked by power cuts as deadly cyclone hits gas supply
By Ruma Paul and Sudarshan Varadhan DHAKA Bangladesh faced its worst power cuts in over seven months as
2023-05-16 14:53
Erdogan lobbies Musk for new Tesla factory
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged tech tycoon Elon Musk to open his next Tesla factory in Turkey, becoming the latest leader to lobby one...
2023-09-18 18:28
You Might Like...
Maharashtra police official suspended after big online gaming win
LA Galaxy's Gaston Brugman sidelined with knee injury
What Braves roster moves mean for trade deadline plans, rotation
Russian air defence system destroyed in Crimea in Ukrainian attack
Canada’s Snap Retreat From China Bank Shows Divided World
Embattled Tennessee bishop resigns after priest complaints, abuse-related lawsuits
France prop Haouas given 1-year jail sentence for hitting wife
Defense digs into Manuel Ellis’ drug use at trial of Washington officers accused in man's death
