Even today, the city feels like an outpost, a cozy yet uneasy harbor at the edge of the world. After all, there is, to human eyes, nothing south of there but cold and ice, a frigid southern ocean encircling the least hospitable landmass on Earth. There, in the shadow of exotic Table Mountain, in November 1873 an unusually outfitted British ship, HMS Challenger, was being readied for a grueling journey to the icy shores of Antarctica, then on to Australia and around the world. Forty years after the famous trip of the HMS Beagle with Charles Darwin onboard, HMS Challenger was on a four-year voyage to explore a new frontier—the depths of the world oceans.1 HMS Challenger had a complement of six scientists in its crew and a deck loaded with curious instruments: for measuring oceanic temperatures, depths, and currents; for taking deep-ocean samples; and for capturing living specimens of whatever creatures might call the strange place home.2 The results astounded laypeople and scientists alike.
What do You think about The Life Of Super-Earths (2012)?
