Monday, September 19, 2011
Outono chegando...
Outono chegando...:
FernandoPaoliello postou uma foto:
Autumn is coming...
NATURE PICTURES & THE UNIVERSE
FernandoPaoliello postou uma foto:
Autumn is coming...
NATURE PICTURES & THE UNIVERSE
Lichia
Lichia:
FernandoPaoliello postou uma foto:
LITCHI CHINENSIS - FAMÍLIA SAPINDACEAE
Originária da China onde é considerada a fruta nacional, a lichieira e uma árvore subtropical com até 12 metros de altura e de grande longevidade. Em muitos países e considerada a rainha das frutas.
NATURE PICTURES & THE UNIVERSE
FernandoPaoliello postou uma foto:
LITCHI CHINENSIS - FAMÍLIA SAPINDACEAE
Originária da China onde é considerada a fruta nacional, a lichieira e uma árvore subtropical com até 12 metros de altura e de grande longevidade. Em muitos países e considerada a rainha das frutas.
NATURE PICTURES & THE UNIVERSE
Madrepérola
Madrepérola:
FernandoPaoliello postou uma foto:
Madrepérola (ou nácar) é uma substância calcária, dura, brilhante, branca ou escura e iridescente produzida por diversos moluscos. São o principal componente das pérolas.
A madrepérola pode refletir freqüências difererentes da luz de acordo com a maneira como é iluminada, de modo que pode apresentar cores variadas, que vão dos rosas, aos azuis, verdes e amarelos, em várias tonalidades. Esse efeito é considerando bastante agradável à vista.
NATURE PICTURES & THE UNIVERSE
FernandoPaoliello postou uma foto:
Madrepérola (ou nácar) é uma substância calcária, dura, brilhante, branca ou escura e iridescente produzida por diversos moluscos. São o principal componente das pérolas.
A madrepérola pode refletir freqüências difererentes da luz de acordo com a maneira como é iluminada, de modo que pode apresentar cores variadas, que vão dos rosas, aos azuis, verdes e amarelos, em várias tonalidades. Esse efeito é considerando bastante agradável à vista.
NATURE PICTURES & THE UNIVERSE
The Fab 4
The Fab 4:
FernandoPaoliello postou uma foto:
Créditos: Leonardo B. Paoliello
NATURE PICTURES & THE UNIVERSE
FernandoPaoliello postou uma foto:
Créditos: Leonardo B. Paoliello
NATURE PICTURES & THE UNIVERSE
Monday, September 5, 2011
Is the Moon Mars Myth Over?
Is the Moon Mars Myth Over?:
Mars and the Moon -- NOT. Credit: Scientific American
Twitter users Kris McCall and Wayne Povey reminded me that it’s August 27th today. Don’t you know what that is? That’s the day all those stupid “Mars is going to look bigger than the Moon” hoax emails go around the internet. We’ll usually get deluged by emails from the recipients, and have to write up a big response explaining it… again… and again… and again.
But I just realized… I haven’t gotten a single email this year. I totally forgot to mention it in Universe Today.
So that’s it, I’m officially calling this hoax over. You hear me hoaxers and remailers? You’ve lost. People now understand that there’s no possible way that Mars can look bigger in the sky. Your ridiculous hoax is falling on deaf ears. It just took 8 years of non-stop debunking.
Skepticism has won this day.
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Mars and the Moon -- NOT. Credit: Scientific American
But I just realized… I haven’t gotten a single email this year. I totally forgot to mention it in Universe Today.
So that’s it, I’m officially calling this hoax over. You hear me hoaxers and remailers? You’ve lost. People now understand that there’s no possible way that Mars can look bigger in the sky. Your ridiculous hoax is falling on deaf ears. It just took 8 years of non-stop debunking.
Skepticism has won this day.
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Astronomy Without A Telescope – Why The LHC (Still) Won’t Destroy The Earth
Astronomy Without A Telescope – Why The LHC (Still) Won’t Destroy The Earth:
Concerns about a 'big science machine' destroying the Earth have been around since the steam engine. The LHC is the latest target for such conspiracy theories. Credit: CERN.
Surprisingly, rumors still persist in some corners of the Internet that the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is going to destroy the Earth – even though nearly three years have passed since it was first turned on. This may be because it is yet to be ramped up to full power in 2014 – although it seems more likely that this is just a case of moving the goal posts, since the same doomsayers were initially adamant that the Earth would be destroyed the moment the LHC was switched on, in September 2008.
The story goes that the very high energy collisions engineered by the LHC could jam colliding particles together with such force that their mass would be compressed into a volume less than the Schwarzschild radius required for that mass. In other words, a microscopic black hole would form and then grow in size as it sucked in more matter, until it eventually consumed the Earth.
Here’s a brief run-through of why this can’t happen.(...)
Read the rest of Astronomy Without A Telescope – Why The LHC (Still) Won’t Destroy The Earth (799 words)
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Concerns about a 'big science machine' destroying the Earth have been around since the steam engine. The LHC is the latest target for such conspiracy theories. Credit: CERN.
Surprisingly, rumors still persist in some corners of the Internet that the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is going to destroy the Earth – even though nearly three years have passed since it was first turned on. This may be because it is yet to be ramped up to full power in 2014 – although it seems more likely that this is just a case of moving the goal posts, since the same doomsayers were initially adamant that the Earth would be destroyed the moment the LHC was switched on, in September 2008.
The story goes that the very high energy collisions engineered by the LHC could jam colliding particles together with such force that their mass would be compressed into a volume less than the Schwarzschild radius required for that mass. In other words, a microscopic black hole would form and then grow in size as it sucked in more matter, until it eventually consumed the Earth.
Here’s a brief run-through of why this can’t happen.(...)
Read the rest of Astronomy Without A Telescope – Why The LHC (Still) Won’t Destroy The Earth (799 words)
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The Genesis of Galaxy Eris…
The Genesis of Galaxy Eris…:
This image of the Eris simulation shows the stars in the galaxy as observers would see it. Blue colors are regions of recent star formation, while redder regions are associated with older stars. The spiral arms are typically star-forming, and the central bulge is basically "red and dead." Credit: J. Guedes and P. Madau.
In as much time as it takes to give birth to human life, a supercomputer and a team of researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and the Institute for Theoretical Physics in Zurich have given rise to the first simulation of the physics involved in galaxy formation that produced the Milky Way. They named their child Eris… (...)
Read the rest of The Genesis of Galaxy Eris… (611 words)
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This image of the Eris simulation shows the stars in the galaxy as observers would see it. Blue colors are regions of recent star formation, while redder regions are associated with older stars. The spiral arms are typically star-forming, and the central bulge is basically "red and dead." Credit: J. Guedes and P. Madau.
In as much time as it takes to give birth to human life, a supercomputer and a team of researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and the Institute for Theoretical Physics in Zurich have given rise to the first simulation of the physics involved in galaxy formation that produced the Milky Way. They named their child Eris… (...)
Read the rest of The Genesis of Galaxy Eris… (611 words)
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Book Review: Lunar and Planetary Rovers
Book Review: Lunar and Planetary Rovers:
Lunar and Planetary Rovers offers a bit of a primer before NASA's Mars Science Laboratory launches to Mars this November. Image Credit: NASA/Spinger/Praxis
Ordinarily if a book attempts to cover crewed and unmanned missions – the book is a compilation of space flight history in general. This is not the case when it comes to Springer/Praxis’ offering Lunar and Planetary Rovers. Written by Anthony Young, the book details both crewed (the Apollo “J” missions) and unmanned rovers (Pathfinder, Mars Exploration Rovers and Curiosity). The book is not a perfect blending of the two interconnected, yet separate programs – but it does have much to offer.(...)
Read the rest of Book Review: Lunar and Planetary Rovers (463 words)
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Lunar and Planetary Rovers offers a bit of a primer before NASA's Mars Science Laboratory launches to Mars this November. Image Credit: NASA/Spinger/Praxis
Ordinarily if a book attempts to cover crewed and unmanned missions – the book is a compilation of space flight history in general. This is not the case when it comes to Springer/Praxis’ offering Lunar and Planetary Rovers. Written by Anthony Young, the book details both crewed (the Apollo “J” missions) and unmanned rovers (Pathfinder, Mars Exploration Rovers and Curiosity). The book is not a perfect blending of the two interconnected, yet separate programs – but it does have much to offer.(...)
Read the rest of Book Review: Lunar and Planetary Rovers (463 words)
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NASA Robot arrives at ‘New’ Landing Site holding Clues to Ancient Water Flow on Mars
NASA Robot arrives at ‘New’ Landing Site holding Clues to Ancient Water Flow on Mars:
Opportunity investigates Tisdale 2 rock showing indications of ancient Martian water flow
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity used its front hazard-avoidance camera to take this picture showing the rover's arm extended toward a light-toned rock, "Tisdale 2," during Sol 2695 of the rover's work on Mars (Aug. 23, 2011). The composition of Tisdale 2 is unlike any rock studied by Opportunity since landing 7.5 years ago. It is about 12 inches (30 centimeters) tall. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Updated with more team comments and images
Opportunity has begun a whole new mission at the vast expanse of Endeavour Crater promising a boatload of new science discoveries.
Scientists directing NASA’s Mars Opportunity rover gushed with excitement as they announced that the aging robot has discovered a rock with a composition unlike anything previously explored on the Red Planet’s surface – since she landed on the exotic Martian plains 7.5 years ago – and which offers indications that liquid water might have percolated or flowed at this spot billions of years ago.
Barely three weeks ago Opportunity arrived at the rim of the gigantic 14 mile ( 22 km) wide crater named Endeavour after an epic multi-year trek, and for the team it’s literally been like a 2nd landing on Mars – and the equivalent of the birth of a whole new mission of exploration at an entirely ‘new’ landing site. (...)
Read the rest of NASA Robot arrives at ‘New’ Landing Site holding Clues to Ancient Water Flow on Mars (1,923 words)
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Opportunity investigates Tisdale 2 rock showing indications of ancient Martian water flow
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity used its front hazard-avoidance camera to take this picture showing the rover's arm extended toward a light-toned rock, "Tisdale 2," during Sol 2695 of the rover's work on Mars (Aug. 23, 2011). The composition of Tisdale 2 is unlike any rock studied by Opportunity since landing 7.5 years ago. It is about 12 inches (30 centimeters) tall. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Updated with more team comments and images
Opportunity has begun a whole new mission at the vast expanse of Endeavour Crater promising a boatload of new science discoveries.
Scientists directing NASA’s Mars Opportunity rover gushed with excitement as they announced that the aging robot has discovered a rock with a composition unlike anything previously explored on the Red Planet’s surface – since she landed on the exotic Martian plains 7.5 years ago – and which offers indications that liquid water might have percolated or flowed at this spot billions of years ago.
Barely three weeks ago Opportunity arrived at the rim of the gigantic 14 mile ( 22 km) wide crater named Endeavour after an epic multi-year trek, and for the team it’s literally been like a 2nd landing on Mars – and the equivalent of the birth of a whole new mission of exploration at an entirely ‘new’ landing site. (...)
Read the rest of NASA Robot arrives at ‘New’ Landing Site holding Clues to Ancient Water Flow on Mars (1,923 words)
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NASA – Eyes On The Solar System
NASA – Eyes On The Solar System:
Are you ready for a fascinating virtual experience? Then check out “Eyes on the Solar System”! This clever compilation of visualizations and real images takes you on a journey that’s sure to keep you entertained for hours! (...)
Read the rest of NASA – Eyes On The Solar System (240 words)
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Are you ready for a fascinating virtual experience? Then check out “Eyes on the Solar System”! This clever compilation of visualizations and real images takes you on a journey that’s sure to keep you entertained for hours! (...)
Read the rest of NASA – Eyes On The Solar System (240 words)
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Where’s the Debris for Transiting Planets?
Where’s the Debris for Transiting Planets?:
For many exoplanet systems that have been discovered by the radial velocity method, astronomers have found excess emission in the infrared portion of the spectrum. This has generally been interpreted as remnants of a disk or collection of objects similar to our own Kupier belt, a ring of icy bodies beyond the orbit of Pluto. But as Kepler and other exoplanet finding missions rake in the candidates though transits of the parent star, astronomers began noticing something unusual: None of the exoplanet systems discovered through this method were known to have debris disks. Was this an odd selection effect, perhaps induced by the fact that transiting planets often orbit close to their parent stars, making them more likely to pass along the line of sight which could in turn, betray different formation scenarios? Or were astronomers simply not looking hard enough? A recent paper by astronomers at the Astrophysikalisches Institut in Germany attempts to answer that question.
(...)
Read the rest of Where’s the Debris for Transiting Planets? (394 words)
DISNEY & NEWS - DOWNLOAD MUSIC VIDEO LEGALLY
For many exoplanet systems that have been discovered by the radial velocity method, astronomers have found excess emission in the infrared portion of the spectrum. This has generally been interpreted as remnants of a disk or collection of objects similar to our own Kupier belt, a ring of icy bodies beyond the orbit of Pluto. But as Kepler and other exoplanet finding missions rake in the candidates though transits of the parent star, astronomers began noticing something unusual: None of the exoplanet systems discovered through this method were known to have debris disks. Was this an odd selection effect, perhaps induced by the fact that transiting planets often orbit close to their parent stars, making them more likely to pass along the line of sight which could in turn, betray different formation scenarios? Or were astronomers simply not looking hard enough? A recent paper by astronomers at the Astrophysikalisches Institut in Germany attempts to answer that question.
(...)
Read the rest of Where’s the Debris for Transiting Planets? (394 words)
DISNEY & NEWS - DOWNLOAD MUSIC VIDEO LEGALLY
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
WISE Discovers Some Really “Cool” Stars!
WISE Discovers Some Really “Cool” Stars!:
This artist's conception illustrates what a "Y dwarf" might look like. Y dwarfs are the coldest star-like bodies known. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
What would you say if I told you there are stars with a temperature close to that of a human body? Before you have me committed, there really is such a thing. These “cool” stars belong to the brown dwarf family and are termed Y dwarfs. For over ten years astronomers have been hunting for these dark little beasties with no success. Now infrared data from NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) has turned up six of them – and they’re less than 40 light years away! (...)
Read the rest of WISE Discovers Some Really “Cool” Stars! (658 words)
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This artist's conception illustrates what a "Y dwarf" might look like. Y dwarfs are the coldest star-like bodies known. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Read the rest of WISE Discovers Some Really “Cool” Stars! (658 words)
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Monday, August 22, 2011
Astrophoto: Lunar Eclipse Collage by Lara O’Brien
Astrophoto: Lunar Eclipse Collage by Lara O’Brien:
Lunar Eclipse Collage. Credit: Lara O'Brien
Wow! This was my initial reaction upon learning that a 12-year old took this very nice photo. Lara O’ Brien of Victoria, Australia took these sequence shots of the lunar eclipse that happened on June 16, 2011.
Lara won the “Junior” category of a national astrophotography competition exhibited at the Sydney Observatory.
Great job, Lara!
Want to get your astrophoto featured on Universe Today? Join our Universe Today Flickr group; we select photographs from this group and post them every day. If you don’t want to join Flickr, you can send your images in by email. If you do contribute to the group, or send us photos by email, you’re giving us permission to post them here on Universe Today. To help us out, please explain what’s in the picture, when you took it, the equipment you used, and/or a little story about it — that would enable us to write a better article about your picture! Make sure you tell us your name, and give us a place we can link to if people want to see more of your work.
Lunar Eclipse Collage. Credit: Lara O'Brien
Wow! This was my initial reaction upon learning that a 12-year old took this very nice photo. Lara O’ Brien of Victoria, Australia took these sequence shots of the lunar eclipse that happened on June 16, 2011.
Lara won the “Junior” category of a national astrophotography competition exhibited at the Sydney Observatory.
Great job, Lara!
Want to get your astrophoto featured on Universe Today? Join our Universe Today Flickr group; we select photographs from this group and post them every day. If you don’t want to join Flickr, you can send your images in by email. If you do contribute to the group, or send us photos by email, you’re giving us permission to post them here on Universe Today. To help us out, please explain what’s in the picture, when you took it, the equipment you used, and/or a little story about it — that would enable us to write a better article about your picture! Make sure you tell us your name, and give us a place we can link to if people want to see more of your work.
Carnival of Space #211
A brand new Carnival of Space is hosted by Amy Teitel over at Vintage Space.
Click here to read Carnival of Space #211
And if you’re interested in looking back, here’s an archive to all the past Carnivals of Space. If you’ve got a space-related blog, you should really join the carnival. Just email an entry to carnivalofspace@gmail.com, and the next host will link to it. It will help get awareness out there about your writing, help you meet others in the space community – and community is what blogging is all about. And if you really want to help out, sign up to be a host. Send an email to the above address.
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Five Awesome Things You (Probably) Didn’t Know Asteroseismology Could Do
Five Awesome Things You (Probably) Didn’t Know Asteroseismology Could Do:
The variations in brightness can be interpreted as vibrations, or oscillations within the stars, using a technique called asteroseismology. The oscillations reveal information about the internal structure of the stars, in much the same way that seismologists use earthquakes to probe the Earth's interior. Credit: Kepler Astroseismology team.
Asteroseismology is a relatively new field in astronomy. This branch uses sound waves in stars to explore their nature in the same way seismologists on Earth have used waves induced by tectonic activity to probe the interior of our planet. These waves aren’t heard directly, but as they strike the surface they can cause it to undulate, shifting the spectral lines this way and that, or compress the outer layers causing them to brighten and fade which can be detected with photometry. By studying these variations, astronomers have begun peering into stars. This much is generally known, but some of the specific tricks aren’t often brought up when discussing the topic. So here’s five things you can do with asteroseismology you may not have known about!
(...)
Read the rest of Five Awesome Things You (Probably) Didn’t Know Asteroseismology Could Do (813 words)
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The variations in brightness can be interpreted as vibrations, or oscillations within the stars, using a technique called asteroseismology. The oscillations reveal information about the internal structure of the stars, in much the same way that seismologists use earthquakes to probe the Earth's interior. Credit: Kepler Astroseismology team.
Asteroseismology is a relatively new field in astronomy. This branch uses sound waves in stars to explore their nature in the same way seismologists on Earth have used waves induced by tectonic activity to probe the interior of our planet. These waves aren’t heard directly, but as they strike the surface they can cause it to undulate, shifting the spectral lines this way and that, or compress the outer layers causing them to brighten and fade which can be detected with photometry. By studying these variations, astronomers have begun peering into stars. This much is generally known, but some of the specific tricks aren’t often brought up when discussing the topic. So here’s five things you can do with asteroseismology you may not have known about!
(...)
Read the rest of Five Awesome Things You (Probably) Didn’t Know Asteroseismology Could Do (813 words)
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Nifty Video: Clouds in Motion on Mars
Nifty Video: Clouds in Motion on Mars:
Kick back and watch the clouds go by — on Mars! Emily Lakdawalla at the Planetary Society Blog has put together a very nifty video from Mars Express data, showing clouds in motion over Mars. Emily has just learned a new technique called ‘tweening’ to create smooth animation videos from a series of images that are not at a very high frame rate. She explains more about the technique on her blog post here and has promised a two-part “how to” explainer for those interested in learning how to do this for yourself.
The cloudy area shown on Mars is within Noachis Terra to the west of Hellas basin, around 45 degrees south, 38 east.
DISNEY & NEWS - DOWNLOAD MUSIC VIDEO LEGALLY
Kick back and watch the clouds go by — on Mars! Emily Lakdawalla at the Planetary Society Blog has put together a very nifty video from Mars Express data, showing clouds in motion over Mars. Emily has just learned a new technique called ‘tweening’ to create smooth animation videos from a series of images that are not at a very high frame rate. She explains more about the technique on her blog post here and has promised a two-part “how to” explainer for those interested in learning how to do this for yourself.
The cloudy area shown on Mars is within Noachis Terra to the west of Hellas basin, around 45 degrees south, 38 east.
DISNEY & NEWS - DOWNLOAD MUSIC VIDEO LEGALLY
Geodesy Is Alive And Well… And Splitting Hairs On Planet Earth
Geodesy Is Alive And Well… And Splitting Hairs On Planet Earth:
This view of Earth comes from NASA's Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer aboard the Terra satellite. Image credit: NASA
When it comes to planet Earth, it’s very important to know if we’re growing or shrinking. While plate tectonics are responsible for major changes in our planet’s outer crust, we need to have accurate measurements of our atmosphere and magnetic fields, too. To make these appraisals accurate, the global science community established the International Terrestrial Reference Frame. (...)
Read the rest of Geodesy Is Alive And Well… And Splitting Hairs On Planet Earth (477 words)
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This view of Earth comes from NASA's Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer aboard the Terra satellite. Image credit: NASA
When it comes to planet Earth, it’s very important to know if we’re growing or shrinking. While plate tectonics are responsible for major changes in our planet’s outer crust, we need to have accurate measurements of our atmosphere and magnetic fields, too. To make these appraisals accurate, the global science community established the International Terrestrial Reference Frame. (...)
Read the rest of Geodesy Is Alive And Well… And Splitting Hairs On Planet Earth (477 words)
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Astrophoto: Jupiter Rising by Mindi Meeks
Astrophoto: Jupiter Rising by Mindi Meeks:
Jupiter Rising. Credit: Mindi Meeks
Here’s a photograph of Jupiter taken by Mindi Meeks from Navarre, Florida on July 3, 2011 at around 3 in the morning CST.
Mindi captured this photo with a Nikon D5000 camera mounted on a standard tripod with the following settings: 55mm, 15.0s exposure, f/4.5, ISO 1000.
To see more of Mindi’s photos, you can check out her photo blog.
Want to get your astrophoto featured on Universe Today? Join our Universe Today Flickr group; we select photographs from this group and post them every day. If you don’t want to join Flickr, you can send your images in by email. If you do contribute to the group, or send us photos by email, you’re giving us permission to post them here on Universe Today. To help us out, please explain what’s in the picture, when you took it, the equipment you used, and/or a little story about it — that would enable us to write a better article about your picture! Make sure you tell us your name, and give us a place we can link to if people want to see more of your work.
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Jupiter Rising. Credit: Mindi Meeks
Here’s a photograph of Jupiter taken by Mindi Meeks from Navarre, Florida on July 3, 2011 at around 3 in the morning CST.
“My husband and I were enjoying a quiet evening on our screened-in porch when I noticed a bright star rising in the east. We determined that it was Jupiter, and it was such a lovely sight that I wanted to try to photograph it.”
Mindi captured this photo with a Nikon D5000 camera mounted on a standard tripod with the following settings: 55mm, 15.0s exposure, f/4.5, ISO 1000.
To see more of Mindi’s photos, you can check out her photo blog.
Want to get your astrophoto featured on Universe Today? Join our Universe Today Flickr group; we select photographs from this group and post them every day. If you don’t want to join Flickr, you can send your images in by email. If you do contribute to the group, or send us photos by email, you’re giving us permission to post them here on Universe Today. To help us out, please explain what’s in the picture, when you took it, the equipment you used, and/or a little story about it — that would enable us to write a better article about your picture! Make sure you tell us your name, and give us a place we can link to if people want to see more of your work.
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No, NASA is Not Predicting We’ll be Destroyed by Aliens
No, NASA is Not Predicting We’ll be Destroyed by Aliens:
Movie poster from 'Aliens Attack," via getfilm.co.uk
There were some interesting, if not shocking headlines this week regarding a study supposedly put out by NASA, with the articles saying that aliens might come and destroy Earth because of our global warming problems. Headlines such as:
Aliens Could Attack Earth to End Global Warming, NASA Frets (Fox News)
Global Warming Could Provoke Alien Attack: NASA (International Business Times)
NASA: Aliens might destroy us because of our gases, (CNET)
and this one, which started the whole thing:
Aliens may destroy humanity to protect other civilizations, say scientists (The Guardian — The subheadline for this article originally said it was a NASA report, but has since been amended)
While the report is real, and one of the authors was a NASA intern, NASA in no way sponsored or endorsed the article, which was basically an enjoyable thought-experiment, and was titled: “Would Contact with Extraterrestrials Benefit or Harm Humanity? A Scenario Analysis.”
(Available as pdf here.)
(...)
Read the rest of No, NASA is Not Predicting We’ll be Destroyed by Aliens (1,006 words)
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Movie poster from 'Aliens Attack," via getfilm.co.uk
There were some interesting, if not shocking headlines this week regarding a study supposedly put out by NASA, with the articles saying that aliens might come and destroy Earth because of our global warming problems. Headlines such as:
Aliens Could Attack Earth to End Global Warming, NASA Frets (Fox News)
Global Warming Could Provoke Alien Attack: NASA (International Business Times)
NASA: Aliens might destroy us because of our gases, (CNET)
and this one, which started the whole thing:
Aliens may destroy humanity to protect other civilizations, say scientists (The Guardian — The subheadline for this article originally said it was a NASA report, but has since been amended)
While the report is real, and one of the authors was a NASA intern, NASA in no way sponsored or endorsed the article, which was basically an enjoyable thought-experiment, and was titled: “Would Contact with Extraterrestrials Benefit or Harm Humanity? A Scenario Analysis.”
(Available as pdf here.)
(...)
Read the rest of No, NASA is Not Predicting We’ll be Destroyed by Aliens (1,006 words)
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Astrophoto: The Milky Way and Venus over Andes
Astrophoto: The Milky Way and Venus over Andes:
The Milky Way and Venus over Andes. Credit: Guillermon Abramson
Guillermo Abramson of Bariloche, Argentina captured this stunning photo of the central region of the Milky Way and Venus over the Andes Mountains on October 24, 2008. Guillermo used a Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi camera mounted on a Meade LX10 telescope and took this photo with the following settings: 18 mm, F/3.5, 120 sec, ISO 400.
Can’t get enough of Guillermo Abramson’s photos? You can check out his blog here.
Want to get your astrophoto featured on Universe Today? Join our Universe Today Flickr group; we select photographs from this group and post them every day. If you don’t want to join Flickr, you can send your images in by email. If you do contribute to the group, or send us photos by email, you’re giving us permission to post them here on Universe Today. To help us out, please explain what’s in the picture, when you took it, the equipment you used, and/or a little story about it — that would enable us to write a better article about your picture! Make sure you tell us your name, and give us a place we can link to if people want to see more of your work.
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The Milky Way and Venus over Andes. Credit: Guillermon Abramson
Guillermo Abramson of Bariloche, Argentina captured this stunning photo of the central region of the Milky Way and Venus over the Andes Mountains on October 24, 2008. Guillermo used a Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi camera mounted on a Meade LX10 telescope and took this photo with the following settings: 18 mm, F/3.5, 120 sec, ISO 400.
Can’t get enough of Guillermo Abramson’s photos? You can check out his blog here.
Want to get your astrophoto featured on Universe Today? Join our Universe Today Flickr group; we select photographs from this group and post them every day. If you don’t want to join Flickr, you can send your images in by email. If you do contribute to the group, or send us photos by email, you’re giving us permission to post them here on Universe Today. To help us out, please explain what’s in the picture, when you took it, the equipment you used, and/or a little story about it — that would enable us to write a better article about your picture! Make sure you tell us your name, and give us a place we can link to if people want to see more of your work.
PICTURES OF NATURE & UNIVERSE PHOTOGRAPHY
Lanzarote Sun Halo by Astrohans
Lanzarote Sun Halo by Astrohans:
A halo around the Sun, as seen on the island of Lanzarote in the Canary Islands. Credit: 'Astrohans'
A beautiful and colorful halo — a 22 degree ring — as seen on the island of Lanzarote in the Canary Islands, taken by ‘Astrohans” on Flickr. Astrohans posted that circumhorizontal arc is also visible, and that the photo was taken on May 8, 2010 in Playa Blanca, using a Canon EOS 400D Digital.
Halos form when light from the Sun or Moon is refracted by ice crystals associated with thin, high-level clouds (like cirrostratus clouds). A 22 degree halo is a ring of light 22 degrees from the Sun (or Moon) and is the most common type of halo observed.
See more from Astrohans Flickr stream.
Want to get your astrophoto featured on Universe Today? Join our Flickr group or send us your images by email (this means you’re giving us permission to post them). Please explain what’s in the picture, when you took it, the equipment you used, etc.
PICTURES OF NATURE & UNIVERSE PHOTOGRAPHY
A halo around the Sun, as seen on the island of Lanzarote in the Canary Islands. Credit: 'Astrohans'
A beautiful and colorful halo — a 22 degree ring — as seen on the island of Lanzarote in the Canary Islands, taken by ‘Astrohans” on Flickr. Astrohans posted that circumhorizontal arc is also visible, and that the photo was taken on May 8, 2010 in Playa Blanca, using a Canon EOS 400D Digital.
Halos form when light from the Sun or Moon is refracted by ice crystals associated with thin, high-level clouds (like cirrostratus clouds). A 22 degree halo is a ring of light 22 degrees from the Sun (or Moon) and is the most common type of halo observed.
See more from Astrohans Flickr stream.
Want to get your astrophoto featured on Universe Today? Join our Flickr group or send us your images by email (this means you’re giving us permission to post them). Please explain what’s in the picture, when you took it, the equipment you used, etc.
PICTURES OF NATURE & UNIVERSE PHOTOGRAPHY
Astrophoto: Aurora Borealis by Tony Cellini
Astrophoto: Aurora Borealis by Tony Cellini:
Aurora Borealis. Credit: Tony Cellini
Who wouldn’t love to see this showcase of colors on a night sky? Definitely worth a click!
It was during a solar maximum in the mid-1990s when Tony Cellini took this nice photo of the Aurora Borelis in Bloomington, Illinois.
If you would like to know how he came up with this photo, Tony also mentioned the camera and settings he used.
See more of Tony’s photos at: http://www.dwfoto.com/blogs
Want to get your astrophoto featured on Universe Today? Join our Universe Today Flickr group; we select photographs from this group and post them every day. If you don’t want to join Flickr, you can send your images in by email. If you do contribute to the group, or send us photos by email, you’re giving us permission to post them here on Universe Today. To help us out, please explain what’s in the picture, when you took it, the equipment you used, and/or a little story about it — that would enable us to write a better article about your picture! Make sure you tell us your name, and give us a place we can link to if people want to see more of your work.
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Aurora Borealis. Credit: Tony Cellini
Who wouldn’t love to see this showcase of colors on a night sky? Definitely worth a click!
It was during a solar maximum in the mid-1990s when Tony Cellini took this nice photo of the Aurora Borelis in Bloomington, Illinois.
“This was one of most intense aurorae I’ve ever seen this far south and the image doesn’t beging to capture its extent. Even during a 1st quarter moon, the green tendrils were visible straight overhead, and the red coloring was very obvious to the naked eye which is unusual from this location.”
If you would like to know how he came up with this photo, Tony also mentioned the camera and settings he used.
“The camera used was a fully manual Pentax K-1000. The lens was a standard 50mm lens to which I threaded a fisheye “converter” that gave an almost 180 degree field of view. The cheap converter is what caused the concentric rings artifact in the center of the photo.”
See more of Tony’s photos at: http://www.dwfoto.com/blogs
Want to get your astrophoto featured on Universe Today? Join our Universe Today Flickr group; we select photographs from this group and post them every day. If you don’t want to join Flickr, you can send your images in by email. If you do contribute to the group, or send us photos by email, you’re giving us permission to post them here on Universe Today. To help us out, please explain what’s in the picture, when you took it, the equipment you used, and/or a little story about it — that would enable us to write a better article about your picture! Make sure you tell us your name, and give us a place we can link to if people want to see more of your work.
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Thursday, August 18, 2011
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
LARGEST AIRLINE COMPANY
Now it is official the biggest airline company in the world was born.United Airlines will be the name of the new
company resulting from the merger of UNITED AIRLINES and CONTINENTAL AIRLINES.The Antitrust finally approved the 1.3 billion deal between the two companies.
The deal is supposed to give the new company the necessary strength to compete with the low cost rivals across the US
and beyond.
The new company will be run by the United CEO Jeffrey A.Smisek and the headquarter will continue to be in Chicago.
The whole value of this mega-financial and mega-economical operation is believed to be arund the 3.17 billion dollars.
We have to make some considerations although,will this merger have any effect on the prices and if yes will it be
positive and or negative?The directing board declared that it’s not their intetion to raise the fares,though this seems quite improbable to thepeople briefed on the matter.This new giant of the skies will be monopolizing the market,by not competing anymore on a lot of routes,will offer to the passengers less options to choose and of course higher prices.
Combined,the two companies will have 21 % of the domestic capacity,followed by Delta Airlines.
Summarising this is a good deal for the CEO of the companies and their stock holder but not so good for the greaterpublic resulting in less options to choose and less competion for them.But hey,who said this is for the people?
"PICTURES OF NATURE & UNIVERSE PHOTOGRAPHY
CONQUER SPACE OR SURRENDER TO CERTAIN DEATH
The notorius paralyzed theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking ,who proved the first of many singularity theorems,one of the co-founders of the laws of the black hole mechanics,is warning the human kind : ”I see great dangers for the human race. There have been a number of times in the past when its survival has been a question of touch and go. The Cuban missile crisis in 1963 was one of these “
and he continues :
“Our population and our use of the finite resources of planet Earth, are growing exponentially, along with our technical ability to change the environment for good or ill. But our genetic code still carries the selfish and aggressive instincts that were of survival advantage in the past. It will be difficult enough to avoid disaster in the next hundred years, let alone the next thousand or million.”
There is a clear analogy between the situation of the world today and the Maya extinction more than 1000 years ago.Despise these irrefutable facts the great scientist is still optimistic,but we have to go beyond the selfish and aggressive instincts that were a survival advantage in the past and focus all as one in the exploration and the conquering of space :
“I believe that the long term future of the human race must be in space. It will be difficult enough to avoid disaster on planet Earth in the next hundred years, let alone the next thousand, or million. The human race shouldn’t have all its eggs in one basket, or on one planet. Let’s hope we can avoid dropping the basket until we have spread the load.”
"PICTURES OF NATURE & UNIVERSE PHOTOGRAPHY
SPACE TOURISM INTRO
I don’t really need to explain to you what space tourism is,the name says it all.Though it seems a super millionaire activity most likely for people like Bill Gates,Abrahamovic or Berlusconi,don’t forget that 50 years ago having a car was only a privilege of the rich.
May be not immediately but in the next 20 years space tourism will be available to the great public.
Despite the fear or anxiety it may generate initially,space tourism may be the most exciting,incredible and fantastic experience a man can ever make in his life.
A perfect example is the millionaire Gregory Olsen,the third private tourist in space tourism history…who declared “I am very excited about the future of space travel,especially if it means i may have another chance to fly”
Mr Olsen’s first flight was in october 2005 aboard the russian Soyuz spacecraft.Whoever has 20 million $ to spend can contact the Space Adventures agency which will broker u a ticket with the Russian Federal Space Agency.
The adventurous business man shares with us his trip in Space in the memoir “By any means necessay”…no need for further comments.
PICTURES OF NATURE & UNIVERSE PHOTOGRAPHY
HELICOPTERS (helik-o-pter)
HELICOPTERS (helik-o-pter): "
“If Icarus hadn’t flown so close to the sun we would all have a second home in Mars by now””
The story of Icarus is a symbol of the human desire to fly,to explore,to escape…and when we think of flying,the airplane comes first to our mind,but helicopter flight was the first kind of flight captured by human imagination.
In the suburbs of a chinese city about 500 years ago kids playing with hand-spun bamboo made toys discovered what may be the first rotary wing in history.Eventhough we have to wait for Leonardo Da Vinci to get the first schemes of “rotary aircrafts”
In the midst of the pioneers of aviation we can’t not mention Sir George Cayley,Alphonse Penaud who developed the coaxial rotor model and Gustave de Ponton d’Amécourt who coined the word “helicopter”,deriving for ancient greek
“”helik”= “spiral” ” and “pter” = “wing”
But we have to wait for two brothers called Jacques and Louis Berget,to see a rotary wing aircraft which they called Gyroplane No1 lift vertically from the Ground
A helicopter is a rotary wing aircraft.
"
PICTURES OF NATURE & UNIVERSE PHOTOGRAPHY
“If Icarus hadn’t flown so close to the sun we would all have a second home in Mars by now””
The story of Icarus is a symbol of the human desire to fly,to explore,to escape…and when we think of flying,the airplane comes first to our mind,but helicopter flight was the first kind of flight captured by human imagination.
In the suburbs of a chinese city about 500 years ago kids playing with hand-spun bamboo made toys discovered what may be the first rotary wing in history.Eventhough we have to wait for Leonardo Da Vinci to get the first schemes of “rotary aircrafts”
In the midst of the pioneers of aviation we can’t not mention Sir George Cayley,Alphonse Penaud who developed the coaxial rotor model and Gustave de Ponton d’Amécourt who coined the word “helicopter”,deriving for ancient greek
“”helik”= “spiral” ” and “pter” = “wing”
But we have to wait for two brothers called Jacques and Louis Berget,to see a rotary wing aircraft which they called Gyroplane No1 lift vertically from the Ground
A helicopter is a rotary wing aircraft.
"
PICTURES OF NATURE & UNIVERSE PHOTOGRAPHY
Shen Enling
Shen Enling: "
2d, sci-fi, portrait, girl, woman, soldier, space, picture, image, digital art
" USA FASHION & MUSIC NEWS
Airship 3
Airship 3: "
USA FASHION & MUSIC NEWS
2d, illustration, airships, landscape, picture, image, digital art
" USA FASHION & MUSIC NEWS
Launch
Launch: "
DISNEY & NEWS - DOWNLOAD MUSIC VIDEO LEGALLY
3d, sci-fi, spaceship, picture, image, digital art
" DISNEY & NEWS - DOWNLOAD MUSIC VIDEO LEGALLY
Monday, August 15, 2011
White Consume Rocky Bodies
This artist's concept shows a star encircled by a disk of gas and dust, the raw materials from which rocky planets such as Earth are thought to form. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
“I love rocky road… So won’t you buy another gallon, baby…” Yeah. We all love rocky road ice cream, but what do stars like to snack on? In the case of the white dwarf star it would appear that a rocky body – similar to Earth – could be a preferred blend. At one time astronomers thought the dense, elderly stars were just gathering dust… but apparently it’s the “bones” left-over from a planetary knosh. (...)
Read the rest of White Dwarf Stars Consume Rocky Bodies (411 words)
"
PICTURES OF NATURE & UNIVERSE PHOTOGRAPHY
Test Flight of DARPA’s Hypersonic Plane Ends in Crash
Artist rendition of DARPA's Falcon HTV-2 hypersonic aircraft. Credit: DARPA
The potential to fly anywhere in the world in less than an hour took a nosedive today. The test flight of an unmanned, rocket-launched, Mach 20-capable, maneuverable aircraft called the Falcon Hypersonic Technology Vehicle 2 (HTV-2) ended when an anomaly caused loss of signal, and the plane crashed into the Pacific Ocean. Overseen by DARPA, the Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency, this second test flight of the HTV-2 seemingly started out well, as the Minotaur IV launch vehicle successfully inserted the aircraft into the correct trajectory, and the aircraft transitioned to Mach 20 aerodynamic flight. It flew for 9 minutes until it encountered problems and crashed.
Despite the crash, DARPA said the successful transition “represents a critical knowledge and control point in maneuvering atmospheric hypersonic flight.”
(...)
Read the rest of Test Flight of DARPA’s Hypersonic Plane Ends in Crash (323 words)
"
PICTURES OF NATURE & UNIVERSE PHOTOGRAPHY
Carnival of Space #210
Carnival of Space #210: "
Another new Carnival of Space, this time with Dear Astronomer, a.k.a. Ray Sanders. You may have noticed Ray has penned a few articles for Universe Today lately (see here, here and here, for example!) and we look forward to more great articles from Ray. But in the meantime, check out Carnival of Space #210, and browse around the Dear Astronomer site, where you can ask questions about astronomy and science and find news and astronomy-related product reviews.
And if you’re interested in looking back at previous Carnivals, here’s an archive to all the past Carnivals of Space. If you’ve got a space-related blog, you should really join the Carnival. Just email an entry to carnivalofspace@gmail.com, and the next host will link to it. It will help get awareness out there about your writing, help you meet others in the space community – and community is what blogging is all about. And if you really want to help out, sign up to be a host. Send an email to the above address.
"
PICTURES OF NATURE & UNIVERSE PHOTOGRAPHY
Another new Carnival of Space, this time with Dear Astronomer, a.k.a. Ray Sanders. You may have noticed Ray has penned a few articles for Universe Today lately (see here, here and here, for example!) and we look forward to more great articles from Ray. But in the meantime, check out Carnival of Space #210, and browse around the Dear Astronomer site, where you can ask questions about astronomy and science and find news and astronomy-related product reviews.
And if you’re interested in looking back at previous Carnivals, here’s an archive to all the past Carnivals of Space. If you’ve got a space-related blog, you should really join the Carnival. Just email an entry to carnivalofspace@gmail.com, and the next host will link to it. It will help get awareness out there about your writing, help you meet others in the space community – and community is what blogging is all about. And if you really want to help out, sign up to be a host. Send an email to the above address.
"
PICTURES OF NATURE & UNIVERSE PHOTOGRAPHY
Meteors Sound Like Aliens!
Meteors Sound Like Aliens!: "
A space radar picked up the sounds of a meteor shower as it delighted skywatchers over the weekend.
What do meteors sounds like as they hit Earth’s atmosphere? From this recording made by the U.S. Air Force Space Surveillance Radar in Texas, the “pings” from the Perseid Meteor Shower sound rather alien! The radar station in Lake Kickapoo, Texas is part of United States Strategic Command’s (USSTRATCOM), which involves detecting, tracking, cataloging and identifying artificial objects orbiting Earth, such as both active and inactive satellites, spent rocket bodies, or fragments of debris from natural and man-made objects. Reportedly, the radar can detect objects as small as 10 cm (four inches) at heights up to 30,000 km.
"
A space radar picked up the sounds of a meteor shower as it delighted skywatchers over the weekend.
What do meteors sounds like as they hit Earth’s atmosphere? From this recording made by the U.S. Air Force Space Surveillance Radar in Texas, the “pings” from the Perseid Meteor Shower sound rather alien! The radar station in Lake Kickapoo, Texas is part of United States Strategic Command’s (USSTRATCOM), which involves detecting, tracking, cataloging and identifying artificial objects orbiting Earth, such as both active and inactive satellites, spent rocket bodies, or fragments of debris from natural and man-made objects. Reportedly, the radar can detect objects as small as 10 cm (four inches) at heights up to 30,000 km.
"
Sunday, August 14, 2011
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