Mark Boslough facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Mark Boslough
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Mark Boslough at a Climate Literacy Workshop in 2018
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| Born | |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | California Institute of Technology Colorado State University |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Physics Geophysics Planetary Defense |
| Institutions | Los Alamos National Laboratory University of New Mexico Sandia National Laboratories |
| Doctoral advisor | Thomas J. Ahrens |
Mark Boslough is an American physicist. He works at Los Alamos National Laboratory and is a research professor at the University of New Mexico. He is also a fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. Dr. Boslough leads the expert panel for Asteroid Day.
He is a top expert in studying how objects from space hit planets. He also studies big global disasters. Because of his important work, a space rock called Asteroid 73520 Boslough (2003 MB1) was named in his honor.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Mark Boslough grew up in Broomfield, Colorado. He earned his first degree in physics from Colorado State University. Later, he received his master's and PhD degrees in applied physics from the California Institute of Technology.
Scientific Discoveries and Research
Dr. Boslough is a leading expert on how objects from space hit planets. He also studies large global disasters. His work on "airbursts" changed how scientists thought about the danger of asteroid collisions. An airburst happens when an asteroid explodes in the atmosphere before hitting the ground. His ideas are now widely accepted by other scientists.
He was the first scientist to suggest that the Libyan Desert Glass was formed by an airburst. This glass is found in the desert. It was created when intense heat from an overhead explosion melted the sand. Documentaries like "Tutankhamun's Fireball" (BBC) and "Ancient Asteroid" (National Geographic) helped make his idea popular.
Dr. Boslough has also appeared on the TV show Nova. He was on an episode called "Last Extinction." In this show, he shared his doubts about a theory that a large airburst caused a sudden climate change and mass extinction in North America.
Predicting Asteroid Airbursts
In 2011, Dr. Boslough gave a speech where he made an important prediction. He said there was a very high chance (over 99%) that the next dangerous space object event would be an airburst. Less than two years later, his prediction came true. On February 15, 2013, an airburst happened over Chelyabinsk, Russia. This event injured more than 1,000 people.
Dr. Boslough was one of the first Western scientists to visit Chelyabinsk after the event. He did field research there. He also joined a film crew making the Nova documentary "Meteor Strike." Many documentaries focus on his computer models of impacts and airbursts.
Promoting Scientific Thinking
In 2011, Dr. Boslough was chosen as a fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. This group encourages critical thinking. They also investigate claims that are not based on science.
In 2014, Dr. Boslough gave a big speech about dangerous asteroids at the Starmus Festival. This festival takes place in the Canary Islands. He talked about how some asteroids can suddenly become a danger to Earth. In the same year, he told Physics Today that he has always been interested in asteroids. He mentioned that his childhood home had both fiction and nonfiction books, which encouraged both creative and scientific thinking.
Using Humor for Science
Dr. Boslough believes that humor can help defend science. In 1998, he wrote a fake essay as an April Fool's Day joke. He did this to make fun of the New Mexico legislature. They were trying to make schools teach creationism.
In his joke essay, he wrote that the Alabama state legislature had voted to change the value of pi from 3.14159 to 3.0. This was a joke about a real bill in Indiana that tried to do something similar. The article spread quickly online and caused a lot of anger. When people started calling the Alabama legislature to complain, the joke was revealed. National Geographic News called it one of the most memorable hoaxes in recent history. The Museum of Hoaxes ranked it number seven on its "Top 100 April Fools Hoaxes of All Time" list. It even became an urban legend that needed to be explained by Snopes.
He also showed that "Darwin Awards" lists sent by email often include fake stories. In 1998, he added his own made-up story to one of these lists and sent it to his friends. This fake story also went viral. It was even printed as a real event by the Denver Post. This led to another explanation by Snopes.
Political Involvement
In 2018, Mark Boslough announced he was running for a seat in the New Mexico House of Representatives. He challenged the person already in office, William Rehm. However, Dr. Boslough lost the primary election.
Protecting Private Property Rights
Dr. Boslough supports changing an old 19th-century law called RS 2477. This law has been used to take private land for public use. He had a long fight with off-road clubs. They removed rocks and young trees he used to try and fix his property. He also faced threats. He successfully defended himself in a lawsuit where someone challenged his ownership of a road across his Colorado property. This experience led him to argue that people should be paid if pollution reduces their ability to cool their homes naturally.
See also
- Indiana Pi Bill
