Imagine a city-sized meteorite crashing into Earth at a staggering speed. That is exactly what happened 3.5 billion years ago in what is now northern Australia, and now, a team of scientists from Curtin University has discovered the traces of this ancient cataclysm, rewriting the history of our planet. The crater is located in the […]
Australia
Posted inModern Era
The Story of the “White Woman” Captive of the Australian Aboriginals and Her Subsequent Liberation
From the myth of Prester John to the character of Tarzan, the idea of a Western white person living among jungle natives has always been intriguing. Thus, the legend that emerged in mid-19th-century Australia isn’t surprising. It began when a Scottish shepherd emigrant wrote a letter to the press reporting the discovery of several European-origin […]
Posted inScience
The Yarrabubba Crater, the Oldest Known Meteorite Impact on Earth
The Yarrabubba crater, located between the cities of Sandstone and Meekatharra in Western Australia, is an impact structure that has captured the attention of the scientific community due to its impressive age and geological significance. With an estimated diameter between 30 and 70 kilometers, this crater is approximately 2229 million years old, making it the […]
Posted inStone Age Archaeology
Ancient Aboriginal Wooden Artifacts Reveal the Oldest Known Ritual, Dating Back 12,000 Years to the End of the Last Ice Age
In a historic collaboration, the GunaiKurnai Land and Waters Aboriginal Corporation (GLaWAC) and researchers from Monash University have discovered evidence of ancient rituals dating back 500 generations. These findings, published in the esteemed journal Nature Human Behaviour, provide profound insights into the rich heritage of one of the world’s oldest living cultures. The archaeological excavations […]
Posted inScience, Travel
Fairy Lantern, the Tiny and Mysterious Flower That Few Are Lucky to See
In the heart of the southern states of Australia, there lives a curious and elusive plant, so small and hidden that very few people have the luck to ever see one in their lifetime. It’s Thismia rodwayi, commonly known as the fairy lantern. Belonging to the family Burmanniaceae, which is found in the lush and […]
Posted inGeography
Australia’s Highest Peak is in a Remote Place in the Indian Ocean, between Madagascar and the Antarctic
In the southernmost reaches of the Indian Ocean, nearly 2,500 nautical miles (4,700 kilometers) southwest of Perth and halfway between Madagascar and Antarctica (from which is separated by 1,550 kilometers), lies Australia’s tallest mountain. This is Mawson Peak, located not on the Australian mainland but in the Territory of Heard Island and McDonald Islands, a […]
Posted inScience
Murchison Meteorite Contains the Oldest Material Ever Found on Earth
On September 28, 1969, an extraordinary event shook the tranquility of the small town of Murchison, Australia. At 10:58 in the morning, local time, a meteorite crashed near the town, scattering fragments over an area of approximately 13 square kilometers. Scientists quickly mobilized to collect over 100 kg of scattered fragments, the largest being about […]
Posted inScience
Endangered Green Sea Turtles Face Extinction Risk Due to Pollution, Resulting in Male Offspring Decline
The Green Sea Turtle, Chelonia mydas, is listed on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Their endangerment is attributed to factors such as poaching, boat collisions, habitat destruction, and accidental capture in fishing gear. However, a more insidious threat linked to climate change exacerbates the situation: green sea turtles have temperature-dependent sex determination, meaning […]
Posted inScience
Microfossils Reveal Rise in Complexity of Life Linked to Oxygen Increase
Scientists have found clues in ancient rocks that suggest life on Earth became more complex at the same time oxygen levels increased in the atmosphere and oceans. The rocks contain tiny fossils called microfossils that are over 2.4 billion years old. By studying these microfossils, researchers learned that complex life may have evolved earlier than […]
Posted inCulture, Geography
Welcome Stranger, the largest gold nugget ever found
Mainly thanks to the cinema we identify the Gold Rush with the one that broke out in 1848 in California and that would last almost a century, bringing together thousands of miners and fortune seekers in a migratory and colonizing phenomenon that, however, was not unique. Around the same time, other countries such as Australia, […]
