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Pothead discovers worlds largest impact crater


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Actually yes.

 

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying it can't be done, Google Earth is a great tool, and I definitely don't have anything against potheads based on personal experience.

 

Its just in this instance the topography does not appear indicative of an angular impact, and considering its prominent location, would likely have been detected long ago if it did, IMHO. But at a glance, I could see how it might appear as the remnant of an impact due to the curved region.

 

But don't let me burst anyone's bubble. Collect more data, develop a theory, submit a paper, write a book. That's what it's all about with science, right?

 

I appreciate your effort to tone down your critique of the topic.

 

While I dont nessessarily agree with bfph's conclusion, I also have a limited geological familiarity with that region, other than knowing the Appalachian mountains are old. This does not exclude the possibility that this feature predates the formation of the mountains themselves. As the first link I posted relates, many factors have erased, or made the ability of people to definantily conclude something like this is a impact crater that could be a billion, rather than millions of years old and dates back to a younger, lifeless earth.

 

As exploration and mapping, and technology advances increase, our ability to recognize very old features may increase enough for a group to say Wow, this is one of those really old features that has been mostly obliterated thru time.

 

I think its fine if people wonder about the possibilities of a strange claim topic, and honestly, this is better than many threads that end up in strange claims or Alt theories.

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There is nothing wrong with using GE to locate visual features that warrant further investigation. One should not leap to any conclusions though that are based on visual features alone. Additional investigation is required before claims are made as to the cause of those features.

 

And bfph forwarded his conclusion to better authorities on the topic. But as people get excited about their ideas, its often hard to wait for the response. I dont see a need to scoff without discussion, critique without explanation, or ignore the opportunity to guide someone to other possible explanations. One can just ignore the topic if they cant take the time to communicate.

 

This is not directed at any one poster, rather its a general response to an all too easy habit to fall into, and there are people reading these things that never sign up, never post, and could be googling Keywords to learn more all on their own. Its the broader audience.

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I think its fine if people wonder about the possibilities of a strange claim topic, and honestly, this is better than many threads that end up in strange claims or Alt theories.

 

And bfph forwarded his conclusion to better authorities on the topic. But as people get excited about their ideas, its often hard to wait for the response. I dont see a need to scoff without discussion, critique without explanation, or ignore the opportunity to guide someone to other possible explanations. One can just ignore the topic if they cant take the time to communicate.

 

This is not directed at any one poster, rather its a general response to an all too easy habit to fall into, and there are people reading these things that never sign up, never post, and could be googling Keywords to learn more all on their own. Its the broader audience.

 

Ok. I completely understand your points here and you are correct. And so is T-Bird in his comments above.

 

It is easy to get caught up not only in this forum, but in the way this discussion was initially presented by bigfatpothead. I found his constantly making light of his being such a "stoner" pretty funny, and my smart-alecky objection was playing into the tone that had already been established in this thread.

 

T-Bird's point, as I took it, was essentially to suggest that bfph invited these rebuttals since he had not done enough research to make a good argument for what he was seeing, and my objection was in deference to the years of geological and topographical research that has been conducted in that region by experts in the field.

 

That being said, it's just an initial objection. There are likely to be many more. Breaking through established theories that are heavily supported can be a tough road to hoe. But if there are scientific merits to this observation then by all means, keep pronouncing them. Science is amendable, and so am I.

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I really liked this thread, BFPH had me through much of it, Anecdotal evidence is often quite compelling, at the very least he gave us something to exercise our minds. His arguments were very good and if the detailed data had been just a little more supporting I would still be in his camp. Great thread!

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I guess being the 70% left brain artsy farty type I am I'll never stop wondering and dreaming at things and postulating theories about them until we have the facts in. It is a strong point of mine to tie things in. Also a weak point. Though I've discovered this place and my own critical thinking I'm still like a child in the universe of science.

 

And the magic is still there. :evil:

 

Including pirate treasure and meteor strikes. :)

 

Thunderbird said

I know that you do these things also with stream ecology, do you think you can understand stream ecology without getting your feet wet.

 

Correct. Although, I feel like I spent about 2 years just learning the language. I also had to have hands on, I'd already been in streams for countless hours as a child. The books gave me names for things I already knew, then told me what was there that I couldn't see. But when I moved to soil biology it was like I was made for it (but I already had the language). Sometimes when something falls in my lap like this I can get a bit too cocky and jump the gun on other things. The ability to see the big picture helps a lot, but at the end of the day, without the palette of frames of reference I have begun to collate, there would be no picture.

 

Can I send in some photos of a couple of rocks for you to look at for me please. They are the only differing factor between two aquaponic systems, the one with them performing better.

 

I'm sticking with the giant meteor strike. I think it happened an extremely long time ago, and those with many books and papers on things pertaining to geology are pissed that they didn't see it first. :lol: Joking!

 

Can't wait to hear what reply it solicits.

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I'm sticking with the giant meteor strike.

 

So convince us. What evidence do you have to support that theory? So far all we have is that it looks similar to a meteor strike from an aerial view. This covers the first two steps of the scientific method, the data has been observed and a hypothesis has been proffered to explain it. Next would be some testable predictions to help support the hypothesis or refute it.

 

I proffered two tests of my own thus far, that there should be an impression at the impact site and that there should be some remnant of a crater rim. I tested these by looking for elevation data that would confirm or deny my prediction and found my predictions did not seem to hold up.

 

Can you offer some other testable predictions that would help support or refute the impact hypothesis?

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Impacts large enough to make a crater the size Weednoggin is suggesting, leave a mascon in the middle; a raised rock structure formed when material ejected at impact as a jet, falls back to Earth.

 

While we debate this location specifically, we have quite a few other threads on the generalities of impacts as well as some other specifics. These threads have good links in them to the science of many of the questions under discussion, as well as references to experts in the fields. I say fields because impacts are very much a multi-disciplinary area of science. :read: :turtle:

 

http://hypography.com/forums/environmental-studies/11540-space-rock-impact-site-s.html

 

http://hypography.com/forums/astronomy-cosmology/9072-craters-earth-other-planets.html

 

http://hypography.com/forums/watercooler/12246-googleearth.html

 

http://hypography.com/forums/earth-science/12810-connection-between-chicxulub-tycho.html

 

http://hypography.com/forums/environmental-studies/11800-mammoth-comet-extinction.html

 

http://hypography.com/forums/astronomy-news/6640-search-crater-chains.html

 

http://hypography.com/forums/general-science-news/6918-killer-crater-found-under-ice-antarctica.html

 

http://hypography.com/forums/general-science-news/3511-meteor-impacts-life-s-jump-starter.html

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Impacts large enough to make a crater the size Weednoggin is suggesting, leave a mascon in the middle; a raised rock structure formed when material ejected at impact as a jet, falls back to Earth.

 

While we debate this location specifically, we have quite a few other threads on the generalities of impacts as well as some other specifics. These threads have good links in them to the science of many of the questions under discussion, as well as references to experts in the fields. I say fields because impacts are very much a multi-disciplinary area of science. :read: :turtle:

 

http://hypography.com/forums/environmental-studies/11540-space-rock-impact-site-s.html

 

http://hypography.com/forums/astronomy-cosmology/9072-craters-earth-other-planets.html

 

http://hypography.com/forums/watercooler/12246-googleearth.html

 

http://hypography.com/forums/earth-science/12810-connection-between-chicxulub-tycho.html

 

http://hypography.com/forums/environmental-studies/11800-mammoth-comet-extinction.html

 

http://hypography.com/forums/astronomy-news/6640-search-crater-chains.html

 

http://hypography.com/forums/general-science-news/6918-killer-crater-found-under-ice-antarctica.html

 

http://hypography.com/forums/general-science-news/3511-meteor-impacts-life-s-jump-starter.html

 

Would a mascon survive a billion years of errosion? this crater is so big if had happend anytime since the advent of multicellualr life it would have extingished that life.

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Would a mascon survive a billion years of errosion? this crater is so big if had happend anytime since the advent of multicellualr life it would have extingished that life.

 

It's all relative to the particulars of course, but the question of survival of the rim is no less questionable than of the mascon. One of the links I gave for our Hypog thread on impacts, there is a thorough discussion of the evidence for the result of a 25 mile rock hitting Earth, making a 300 mile crater now under the ice in Antartica, causing antipodal focusing which ripped open the Earth in Siberia (at the time the exact opposite point from the impact) and causing such chaos as to be responsible for the Permian extinctions. Here's a NASA bit on impact morphology: >> Solar System Exploration: Multimedia: Gallery

 

WeedNoggin's purported crater is about 280 miles across, so the same physics apply and you have to correlate such an event to similar evidence of extinctions, antipodal focussing events, geology, real science, yada, yada, yada. :turtle:

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It's all relative to the particulars of course, but the question of survival of the rim is no less questionable than of the mascon. One of the links I gave for our Hypog thread on impacts, there is a thorough discussion of the evidence for the result of a 25 mile rock hitting Earth, making a 300 mile crater now under the ice in Antartica, causing antipodal focusing which ripped open the Earth in Siberia (at the time the exact opposite point from the impact) and causing such chaos as to be responsible for the Permian extinctions. Here's a NASA bit on impact morphology: >> Solar System Exploration: Multimedia: Gallery

 

WeedNoggin's purported crater is about 280 miles across, so the same physics apply and you have to correlate such an event to similar evidence of extinctions, antipodal focussing events, geology, real science, yada, yada, yada. :turtle:

 

Well the extinction thing is the main reason I said it would have to be a billion years or older and if it is that old is it really all that bad for it only be partially preserved? I do see the Carolina bays as obviously too young to be associated with this "crater"

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My bad guys.

 

This is a science forum and I was just being cheeky siding with the meteorite theory.

 

It is the idea I like the idea of the most, not scientific in any manner.

 

Thanks for the great links.

 

Did you guys know google earth goes into space and you can cruise about looking at stars and galaxies... Just found it today weeee!

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This is totally fun for me.

 

I figure if it is what I think then I will be the first one to say it.

If not then it was a stoner moment for the record books.

 

But please don't call me weed noggin, Weednoggins are lacking

common sense, I am a pothead, I would never stomp on a catfish,

cause they can stick you through your shoes.

 

I am a stand-up comic by trade.

Marijuana Man

I should have some good material from all this.

 

Roland A. Duby

 

 

 

 

 

Well the extinction thing is the main reason I said it would have to be a billion years or older and if it is that old is it really all that bad for it only be partially preserved? I do see the Carolina bays as obviously too young to be associated with this "crater"
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This is totally fun for me.

 

I figure if it is what I think then I will be the first one to say it.

If not then it was a stoner moment for the record books.

 

The circle in Huntsville TN:

 

can be identified for what it is when you zoom in.

 

It is dark on the inside because of dark vegetation (probably large trees). The lighter circle is deforested city. It is light and sparse vegetation, pavement, concrete, etc. This is a closer image of the circle's perimeter:

 

 

The reason the city was built around a forested area is obvious when you look at the elevation (exaggerated here):

 

 

You can find cities built around mountains and foothills like this in a lot of states (check out Golden). It's not something that indicates a meteor strike.

 

When I first read about your straight valley I thought it was probably from strip-mining. On inspection it is much too large and deep. The valley is called Sequatchie Valley. This is the first website I found talking about it though I'm sure there are a lot more and better as well:

Sequatchie Valley

 

It talks about 2 valley formation theories neither of which involve a skipping meteor.

 

Five minutes of research (ie a google search on huntsville) is often better than five hours searching for evidence to support a strange theory (ie looking for ponds 600 miles away).

 

-modest

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