Naked Science Forum
Non Life Sciences => Physics, Astronomy & Cosmology => Topic started by: thedoc on 18/09/2012 13:30:02
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Greg Smith asked the Naked Scientists:
Hello Chris,
Greetings from Dallas, Texas. Yours is the most informative, science-rich show (http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/podcasts/) on the air!
Here are my questions:
One hypothesis for the five great mass extinctions in past geological periods (Devonian, Permian, Cretaceous, etc.) was that they all correlated with our solar system's migration through the centre of our galactic spiral arm.
It's supposed that these migrations disrupted Earth's orbit and harmed life on our planet. Since the last great extinction event occurred 65 million years ago, where are we on the spiral arm and in which direction are we going through it? I am thinking about extending my homeowner's insurance, but wanted to check with you first. J
Also, I'd like to know which way our solar system faces. How does the Sun's north pole compare to the galaxy's north pole?
Thanks very much for your team's great work. I look forward to many more exciting podcasts (http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/podcasts/)!
Greg Smith
What do you think?