European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - July 29, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Science a he Wmma scientists seek evidence of killer meteorite Isaac Asimov a a Many scientists believe that a sizable asteroid or Comet struck the Earth about 65 million years ago and initiated a catastrophe that destroyed the dinosaurs and Many other forms of life. If so where did the object strike one of the clues in the search for the scar is a rare Metal called iridium. Scientists know there is a thin layer of Rock found All Over the world that is 65 million years old and is comparatively Rich in iridium. Meteorites Are Richer in iridium than the Earth a crust is so this layer of Rock May have been meteoric in origin. There Are other possible sources for the iridium. A period of volcanic activity May have brought up Rock from the Earth a Interior which is also Richer in iridium than the crust is. But if a Crater can be found it would Point toward a meteorite. Nothing else we can imagine would do and that would Settle the matter. A Fossil craters a Are scattered Over the Earth marking where meteorites have struck. But these craters Are Only 1 or 2 million years old and they were produced by Pipsqueak objects compared to the one that May have struck 65 million years ago. That one would have left a Crater at least 150 Miles across. Researchers done to have to find the actual Crater. When a Large meteorite strikes the Force of its Impact and the heat it produces shocks the Stony Structure of the Earth a crust producing a Type of Quartz that is formed Only under great pressure. The existence of such a shocked Quartz Quot is a Giveaway and in now a there Are signs of what May be a Crater that is 20 Miles across. It is called the Manson Crater and it May be the right age. What a More North America contains More deposits of shocked Quartz than other continents do. Some feel that the meteorite struck Iowa even though the Crater seems too Small to have done the Job. But now two scientists from the University of Arizona Alan Hildebrand and William Boynton have located a Quantity of shocked Quartz in the Western portion of Haiti. The thickest layers of shocked Quartz in North America Are about 1 Inch thick in Haiti however the Deposit is almost 20 inches thick and it is just below the iridium Rich layer of Rock. Therefore it could be supposed that the Island of Haiti was particularly close to the strike and received much More debris than More Distant regions in North America did. What a More the shocked Quartz seemed of a Type that was characteristic of Ocean Bottoms rather than of continents so perhaps the great meteorite struck the Ocean which would make the Crater much harder to find Hildebrand and Boynton searched the. Oceans South of Haiti and looked for signs of a great tsunami or a tidal wave a a that would have taken place if a meteorite had struck the Ocean. Finally they found a depression in the Ocean floor in the Caribbean sea just North of Colombia. It is about 180 Miles across and it could Well be All that is left of the Crater. Two other scientists Bruce Bohor of the . Geological Survey and Russell Seitz of Cambridge mass., Are also searching for the scar. They Point out a place in Western Cuba where the layer of shocked Quartz May be up to 40 feet thick and that there May be a place in the Ocean just West of Cuba where there is a depression Large enough to represent the scar. Unfortunately the pair have not been Able to work out an agreement with the cuban government to examine the spot and have been forced to go by secondhand descriptions. Nevertheless it would seem that the search is narrowing and that before very Long the scar if it exists will be. Perhaps it will be a sufi gently unmistakable one to end the dispute Over the asteroid s existence and bring about a general agreement that it was heavenly artillery that destroyed the magnificent dinosaurs. Los Angeles times Syndicate at a glance Italy size 116,300 Square mites size of Florida and Georgia combined population 57,439,000 1989 estimate main language italian currency lira $ 1�1,188 travel restrictions no visa required for american tourists. Overview Italy is divided into four major geographic regions the North with the italian Alps and a wide Plain. With a Long warm growing season the Long Peninsula with the apennines running Down the Middle the Hilly Island of Sicily divided from the Mainland by the Strait of Messina and Sardinia about 120 Miles from the Mainland. About two thirds of the nations population lives in cities or towns. Rome the capital is one of the great centers of civilization Vatican City the Center of the roman Catholic Church lies within its boundaries. It s a fact the country a Flag was first used in 1796 by italian supporters of Napoleon. Napoleon designed it to look like the French Flag but substituted Green his favorite color for Frances Blue bar. Any questions q. Over water a does sound travel better a under certain conditions it might be easier to hear noises from across a Lake than from an equal distance away in the Woods. According to Philip g. Raffman professor of applied mathematics at the California Institute of technology in Pasadena. If the air Over the water is cooler he said the difference in its density might act As a Lens bending sound Waves toward the ground. For much the same reason he said it is easier to shout downwind than upwind. The velocity of wind normally varies with height and the difference creates a Lens that tends to Bend sound Waves going downwind toward the ground and those going upwind away from the ground. So cooler air Over the surface of water might tend to keep sound Waves closer to the ground rather than letting them Bend upwards and scatter. Another simpler Factor is that Calm water is generally smooth with few objects to scatter sound he said. Q huh does the night position on a ear Mirror work a a a rear View Mirror with a night position is actually two reflective surfaces says Robert j. Donohue of general motors. One is a shiny Mirror that is about 90 percent reflective. Over it is a wedge of Glass that is Only about 4 percent reflective. 1 lie wedge is very thin and angled Only a few degrees. In the daytime the Mirror is angled so that the shiny Side reflects the outside Light. �?o1 he less shiny Side is pointing somewhere at the Driver s pants leg a Dunollie said a but All the Driver sees is the reflection from the shiny Back surface or the Glass through the wedge. A a there is also a 4 percent reflection from the wedge but he does no to see that because so much Light is coming in from  at night a lever switches the Mirror to a different Angle and the process is reversed. Now the shiny Side is reflecting nothing but dark roof of the inside of the car where there is very Little Light. But when a cards Light beams hit the  Glass wedge the Light can be seen without blinding the Driver. York tin is Page 10 c sunday july 29, 1990