Nemesis Affair Revised And Expanded: A Story Of The Death Of The Dinosaurs And The Ways Of Science"David Raup is, to put it baldly and justly, the world's most brilliant paleontologist."-Stephen Jay Gould Nemesis is the name given by scientists to a (theoretical) small companion star to our sun. Every 26 million years, Nemesis's orbit brings it close enough to the sun to bombard our solar system with billions of comets. While most of the comets will float harmlessly beyond the outer planets, some passing through the sun's Oort Cloud will be deflected by its gravitational force toward Earth. Such a "large-body impact," the Nemesis theory holds, was responsible for the mass extinction that led to the demise of the dinosaurs. The next impact, millions of years from now, might very well extinguish humanity. In this lively, fascinating, and often disturbing book, updated and revised with the latest scientific evidence on terrestrial impacts, David M. Raup re-explores the controversies of the Nemesis theory from the trenches of the scientific community, and investigates the issues-both scientific and philosophical-of mass extinction. "A fascinating insider's view of scientists at work-and at odds-on the issues of extinction, evolution, and the fate of dinosaurs."-John Noble Wilford |
Contents
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS | 9 |
DEATH STAR | 17 |
CATASTROPHISM and EARTH | 29 |
DINOSAURS and the DEATH | 47 |
GUBBIO and the IRIDIUM | 61 |
THE PLOT THICKENS | 89 |
ENTER PERIODIC EXTINCTION | 107 |
NEMESIS IS BORN | 131 |
Common terms and phrases
accepted ages Alvarez analysis argument authors Berkeley biological called catastrophic cause Cloud comet companion complete course craters Cretaceous criticisms cycles dating debate described dinosaurs Earth editorial effects evidence example experiment explanations fact field five fossil geologic geologists going hypothesis idea impact important interesting interpretation iridium iridium anomaly Italy Jack journal K-T boundary kind known late least living look magnetic major mass extinction means meteorite million Nature Nemesis observed orbit organisms original paleontologists paper past percent perhaps periodic extinction periodicity Planet possible present probably problem produce proposal published question reason record reversals rocks scale scientific scientists seen spacing species star statistical story suggested testing theory things tion turn University whole wrong