Interview with Dr Ted Nield

We’re all killing each other, there is such a thing as the Brian Cox effect and hard hats cause more trouble than the rocks they supposedly protect from. These are just a fraction of what me and Dr Ted Nield chatted about during the interview.

So here is the interview with Ted Nield from the Edinburgh International Book Festival (though we weren’t actually in Charlotte Square).

The interview can be viewed here (or on the interviews tab).

(Photo © Ann Giles)

Incoming! – Or Why We Should Stop Worrying And Learn To Love The Meteorite

This book is fantastic. If you’ve ever wondered where meteorites come from, ever been curious about what would happen if one hit the Earth or ever thought about just how many could have smashed into the skin of our planet in the past, then this is the book to explain everything to you.

Dr Ted Nield looks at the destructive past, the investigative present and the forever unknown future of meteorites. He covers the history, places they have landed and he describes in detail the accounts of the witness who saw them fall, be they peasants from the 18th century or car owners from the 20th. And then the theories to explain what they were and where they came from, including the possibility of a red dwarf star called Nemesis a couple of lightyears away having an effect on the Oort cloud, where the meteorites live on the very edge of the Solar System.

He also dives into the many theories involving meteorites such as: how a meteorite might have participated in the demise of the Dinosaurs at the end of the Cretaceous, known as the KT-boundary; or the biodiversity spike in the Ordovician when there was a sudden increase in fauna and how meteorites might have paved the way for these new species.

He delves into how evidence of the meteorite showers have been discovered over the past few decades from fossilised fragments of meteorite in Sweden, and how geologists have slowly pieced together extraterrestrial bombardments throughout time.

And he explores the implications of another massive meteorite shower, and what the likely outcomes for the planet and its inhabitants be. And I’m not going to tell you what he said, you’ll have to read the book for yourself to find out!

So if you want a good book to read that is both about meteorites, and about how such varied life may have come about on our planet, this is the book for you. He writes in an excellent, clear and simple way about complex geological theories and how they relate to the fire balls that fall from the sky. And no previous knowledge is required about geology, palaeontology or anything. It is just that well written!

My only problem with the book is that the dust cover feels weird. And I prefer the hidden cover of the book behind the dust cover. That’s it.

But that really is my only complaint so doesn’t that show you how good the book is?

Edinburgh International Book Festival – Interview with Ted Nield

Yesterday evening, Ted Nield had an event based on his book “Incoming: Or Why We Should Stop Worrying And Learn To Love The Meteorite” at the Edinburgh Book Festival. It was a great event, just as good as the one in April, and he even managed to time some bangs to perfect moments of his presentation, though apparently they were fireworks from something else, but still. And he had a meteorite with him. And as Peter Guttridge said, we might all be allowed to stroke it if we went to the Bookshop afterwards!!

But today has been a brilliant day. I’ve just interviewed Ted Nield. And that was also my first ever interview, so I hope I did alright!

I had lots of questions and he had lots of answers, and we covered things from favourite rocks to geologically incorrect films to the likelihood of human survival during a meteorite strike.

But we did talk for about an hour. So it’ll take some time to actually write it up, but it was a brilliant interview (from my end anyway) and I hope to bring it to you all soon!

Edinburgh Science Festival – Incoming! Or, Why We Should Stop Worrying And Learn To Love The Meteorite

I was early again! But after half an hour the doors opened for ‘Incoming! Or, Why We Should Stop Worrying And Learn To Love The Meteorite’. Stuart Monro, director of ‘Our Dynamic Earth’ was there to introduce Ted Nield, describing him as a rare character; a man who can explain everything in his books. ‘Even’ Stuart can now understand the physics of meteorites. As Stuart says, ‘Geologists are good company, especially for other Geologists’.

Ted Nield began by telling us the true, groundbreaking fact about meteorites. Every day 30,000-40,000 tons of meteorites hit the Earth. Mostly in the form of dust and sand, but some come down as shooting stars and even as the occasional fireball.
Then he moved on to the history of meteorites and, to my surprise, talked about the Geology behind it all. He spoke about the mid-Ordovician period with the sudden increase in biodiversity, the KT boundary and the last mass extinction and how meteorites relate to each of these events. He discussed the research done by his old university lecturer Derek Ager, and also that of Birger Schmitz, a Swedish geologist he met while doing his doctorate. Ted also explained the complex ideas surrounding mass extinctions and their causes, including the ideas of Ernst Öpik.

He finished with Shakespeare in Cymbeline, ‘Fear no more the lightning-flash, Nor the all-dread thunder-stone…’  Although meteorites might have assisted in the deaths of the dinosaurs and other life forms at that time, they also allowed mammals to evolve; and might even be said to have kick-started life back in the Ordovician period. ‘So don’t stop watching the skies! But if one of those meteorites or asteroids has our name on it, according to science fiction novels, we have the chance of deflecting it; though maybe without sending up Bruce Willis on a giant bomb.’

This was another excellent talk and Ted Nield is a great speaker who can simplify ideas for the man in the street. Or at least to us in the audience at the Informatics Forum. And his answer to my question about Chicxulub and the KT boundary should help with my Geology exams.