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?
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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.”
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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.

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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.
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PICTURES OF NATURE & UNIVERSE PHOTOGRAPHY

Observation deck

Observation deck: "

Observation deck Picture (2d, sci-fi, spaceships, city, picture, image, digital art)
2d, sci-fi, spaceships, city, picture, image, digital art
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Helicopter 2

Helicopter 2: "

Helicopter 2 Picture (2d, sci-fi, helicopter, picture, image, digital art)
2d, sci-fi, helicopter, picture, image, digital art
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USA FASHION & MUSIC NEWS

Shen Enling


Shen Enling Picture (2d, sci-fi, portrait, girl, woman, soldier, space, picture, image, digital art)

2d, sci-fi, portrait, girl, woman, soldier, space, picture, image, digital art
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USA FASHION & MUSIC NEWS

Airship 3

Airship 3: "

Airship 3 Picture (2d, illustration, airships, landscape, picture, image, digital art)
2d, illustration, airships, landscape, picture, image, digital art
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USA FASHION & MUSIC NEWS

Launch

Launch: "

Launch Picture (3d, sci-fi, spaceship, picture, image, digital art)

3d, sci-fi, spaceship, picture, image, digital art
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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)
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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)
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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

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.
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Friday, August 12, 2011

Good Fortune – Thank Your Universe

Good Fortune – Thank Your Universe: "
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Good Fortune – Thank Your Universe




Your achievements have no doubt given you a sense of not only successful but also happy and prosperous. You may believe that the wealth you’ve achieved is due solely to you to set and achieve your goals. While your hard work is responsible for a large part of your success, you must remember that your gifts are an expansion of the universe’s love and power working through you.


As you reflect, the notice of the things that go in your life, and say a simple,’Thank you,”says the universe to know that you are aware of the impact of her love and support all your efforts . This act of taking a few moments to acknowledge how grateful you are for everything the universe has given you will help the blessings you have received appreciate even more.


Your results are the outcome of the universe’s energy works through you. Although it is easy for you to think of your success as the result of your efforts only real success comes in can see that much more involved in your life – namely the unconditional love and support of the universe. If you recognize this, it is natural to express gratitude for everything – all the possibilities, gifts, and were given the chance. Because the universe know that you thankful for your luck, you will realize that the true nature of your magnificent performance.
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PICTURES OF NATURE & UNIVERSE PHOTOGRAPHY

The Origin of the Universe – The first 300,000 years

The Origin of the Universe – The first 300,000 years: "
across-the-universe


The Origin of the Universe – The first 300,000 years


Nearly 14 billion years ago, the universe from nothing, at first it was rolled up so small that no size at all. This seed incorporating the history and future of the universe, the mathematics that it regulates, the space being together and the nature of traveling through time. Within these, infinitely small, all area of the animals and trees, each person’s spirit and all the trivialities of their lives waiting to be born.


For the first 10-36 (0.0 … 1 with 35 zeros between the decimal and the 1) seconds after the Big Bang all the laws we know as our universe to include a shortened and there was no distinction between space and time. Eventually the universe cooled down so much that his special power leaving the divided forces of gravity, the strong and weak nuclear forces, and the electromagnetic force we experience as light. This shattered the neat structure of the universe have cracks filled with magnetic monopoles and released enough energy to force the universe to blow up a massive scale. Inside it looked like everything was running away from everything. As the universe expanded space- cheap cigarettes time but eventually cooled inflation slowed, latent energy as heat. This warmed the now cold and empty universe, many potential quantum particles enough energy to really.


The universe has no boundary, like a ship at sea we could follow a path around the eternal without an edge. Limited only by our ability to understand three dimensions we would not know how to escape. Like a two-dimensional picture drawn on a globe, we are not able to surface to leave and go to the next dimension, we would never be aware that somewhere else to go. Of the many dimensions wrapped tightly within four unrolled, a time dimension and three spatial Ones, the rest remained tightly packed, too small to be noticed.


About 3 to 20 minutes after the Big Bang, when the temperature had dropped to about one billion degrees, neutrons and protons could not travel fast enough to the attraction that drew them together to resist. The first hydrogen and helium ions were made of only one proton and neutron, but as the universe cooled down more attached to protons ionized helium was made. This is known as big bang nucleosynthesis. In the first case collisions forced to oscillate between a large neutral particle, a neutron, and is split into two opposing balls, protons and electrons. At each collision energy as was released at the speed of light. The amount of the collisions depends on the temperature and so this was a long time until the universe cooled enough to be slowing to a halt.
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PICTURES OF NATURE & UNIVERSE PHOTOGRAPHY

Universet Knows Best

Universet Knows Best: "
blackeyegalaxy


Universet Knows Best


Several years ago, I needed a new car. Excuse me, a new”pre-owned”car. I wanted an economy car. So I researched what I could, with”Consumer Reports,”to find the most reliable, cheapest cars. I took about five that I decided to look for, with one model is the most desirable. The whole process, I kept confirming that I found the divine right car for the divine right price. The car that was best for me, reliable, mechanically sound, economical to run.


I checked all the local dealers and found a couple of my”most desirable’cars, the one I really wanted. But one of them had some specific body problems and the dealer would not’t negotiate at all. The second dealer was trying to pull a fast one on me and I went out.


Finally, I traveled to Phoenix, a one hundred twenty miles to the south, to wander their car lots. None of the cars on my list was available. I was getting very frustrated. In early December, I test drove a car from a local dealer who was second on my list. It was not just’t right. I gave up the search over the Christmas holidays, and just continued to confirm. I’d done everything I could, now it was up to the universe to find and deliver the right car for me.


Just after the first of the year, the final distribution.”Have you found a car yet?”\ “No”\ “we’re going to a car auction this week, and we’ll get one for you.”The next week, I went in , checked out of the car, which was my second choice, and bought it below wholesale Blue Book.


When we come out into the universe’s way, we manifest what is best for us, not necessarily what we think is best. The universe is information we could not’t possibly have. My experience wasn’ta random event. Recently had a friend go through the same process I went through a couple of years ago. When he’d got a new job thirty miles north, in snow country, he needed reliable transportation. (Yes, Arizona will have snow. We even have several ski areas.) He was looking for a new”pre-owned”car, and selected three models he believed would be the best and most economical. Interestingly enough, his research verified that the car I got was much better mechanically than my original first choice.


After we unsuccessfully studied the local dealers, we drove to Phoenix. He was getting panicky. He had to have this car when he began his new job in a week. I kept reassuring him that he’d find the divine right car. We drove one of the cars he had on his list, but were not’t impressed. At the next dealer, the seller drove us around their acres”pre-owned”cars. Some went to auction.


He pointed out that a car is not on my friend’s list, but it had four-wheel drive. Four-wheel drive would be great for snow country. The seller originally said the price on the windshield was so low that they could go. Once back in his office, but the seller dropped the price by several hundred more. The car had been on the lot for a long time and they wanted it gone. My friend bought the car for less than wholesale Blue Book. His divine right car wasn’t even on his list, but the universe knew what he had and has for him.
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PICTURES OF NATURE & UNIVERSE PHOTOGRAPHY

Do you believe in the Holistic Universe?

Do you believe in the Holistic Universe?: "
deepfield.jpeg


Do you believe in the Holistic Universe?


Many highly intelligent people tend to get paranoid when things start to happen to them from the air, especially when they completely coincidental, and thus likely suspect. Yet this is one of the basic laws of attraction. And even if you do not believe in these slogans, or types of things, more than one person has noted that one gets what they like and so, it is quite natural when these things happen.


While we are talking about in the book recommendations, I recommend,”The Holistic Universe ‘to instead get paranoid about these types of serendipitous moment, expect it. As people become what they think, and when they think alike, they connect. It’s just the way it works in this world. One day, scientists will probably explain why this is happening, and it probably has something to do with the phenomena of quantum physics.


Today it seems that magic, or some stupid superstitious religion, but it’s not and there is obviously more to do. The human brain is probably linked to various different wavelengths, and as we learn more about it, we will be able to quantify this and it will no longer be a phenomenon, because it will be a real theory and eventually a proven set of facts about this number.


So I ask you you believe in holistic universe? If not that’s okay, but why not do a little experiment anyway. For example, start thinking about things that are not too common. Then, in a few days you will note that something will turn up in your way along this line of thought .


It’s best if you don’t tell anyone, and that way you can see an experiment for yourself, and a boy, you will be surprised. Just don’t get paranoid when you see all these things happening before your eyes. Please consider all this.
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PICTURES OF NATURE & UNIVERSE PHOTOGRAPHY

Some of the Mysteries of the Universe

Some of the Mysteries of the Universe: "
grand_universe_by_antifan_real


Some of the Mysteries of the Universe


If there is one place that is completely and mysteries, is the universe. Every day something new to find out. The old theories are being scrapped and new theories are put forward and dismantled again. Let us do find great secrets of the universe –


1. Is the universe is expanding or static? If it expands to demonstrate the Hubble, it will be extended? Or the collapse of one days back? Why IRT is expanding? What is the force that makes this so? If it is expanding? Outer space, is it? Then there is the fact that the space is not a part of the universe? Are you sure that gravity will one day pass this extension, and cause the collapse of the universe? Gravity is the same everywhere, even the outer edge or the increase or decrease?


2. Is it finite or infinite universe? Currently, it is believed that the general theory of relativity to show that it is limited. If it is finite, we can measure the dimension? which is beyond our finite universe?


3. Are there other universes beyond our universe? Or that of our universe is only one? Then when it is located?


4. Why singularity existing at the time of Big Bang? Who made that quirk that had infinite mass? Why is that singularity, and created the universe explode? What was before the Big Bang? If the question is always brushed aside by saying that, suppose that time began at the time of Big Bang, and we do not have to worry about what has happened in the past – torrent?


5. Is the Big Bang and secure? Or the next time it is proven that the universe has always existed, as it is? Remember centuries, people believed that the earth is flat, bit torrent we believe the Big Bang, as the wise?


Can be regarded as asking questions of the universe. And then someone says, let the first country to eliminate diseases, and then think about the universe!
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PICTURES OF NATURE & UNIVERSE PHOTOGRAPHY

Stars of the Universe

Stars of the Universe: "
milky-way-map_atlas-of-the-universe


Stars of the Universe


A star is a huge ball or disk of plasma, which are primarily held together by gravity. On a clear night on Earth, we are able to see a lot of Stars. We can see 3000 stars on a typical night with the UN-sponsored eye. The nearest star to Earth is the sun. Which is the main source of energy for us.


The most visible stars on the celestial sphere were grouped in constellations. The most brigthest Stars also got names.


For most of a Star’s life, it shines very strongly because of thermonuclear fusion in its core. Which is then radiated in outer space.


A star begins as a dying or collapsing cloud. The cloud consists of helium, helium and other heavy elements. After cloud’s core is very close. So some of the hydrogen is converted to helium. Which is a process called nuclear fusion.


There are 18 different types of stars and groups. Binary stars, black dwarfs, black holes, Brown dwarfs, galaxies, the Main-Sequence Stars, nebulae, neutron stars, Novas, pulsars, quasars, Red Giants, Star Colors, Supergiants, Supernova, variable stars, white dwarf, and a Wolf – Rayet star.


Astronomer’s determine the mass, age and Star when viewing a Star’s spectrum, brightness, and it’s movement through space. Mass of a star decides it’s future.


To get to our nearest star (or closest to the Sun), it would take us about 118, 000 years!


After a star runs out of hydrogen to fuse into helium. So Star dies. A star can die in several ways, depending on the’s type.
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PICTURES OF NATURE & UNIVERSE PHOTOGRAPHY

Spirituality – Faith vs. an empty universe

Spirituality – Faith vs. an empty universe: "
Red nebula Universe of Dreams_web


Spirituality – Faith vs. an empty universe


The nature of spirituality is often contrary to scientific findings, but is it really a quarrel between two positions, in contrast? The more you think about it, the more one tends to doubt it.


Hubble Space Telescope has opened our eyes to many new things in the universe. The sheer size and scope of it is simply overwhelming. It has never been more obvious than when astronomers turned the Hubble towards an empty part of space. To take pictures during a period, they discovered that the small”shell”a part of the room was filled with billions of galaxies. The finding was akin to believing your cul-de-sac, the whole world only to discover that there were several streets at one end and then a completely different universe of neighborhoods, russian brides, cities, counties, countries and continents.


Even with these results, the truth is that the case the vast majority of the universe is cold and empty. How then shall we see our existence? We live on a planet that is but a speck in the Milky Way Galaxy and much smaller than the universe as a whole. Was it just pure luck, we came to exist, or is there something else underlying structure in the universe?


Spirituality is of course a broad term. It means many things to many people. A constant of it is, however, that the notion that there must be a reason to be … a purpose, if you will. Given the great emptiness in the universe and our tiny speck of it, how can we reconcile the two? Well, everyone has to come to their own answers, but I for one believe that the two do not necessarily contrast. I propose that we do not look at the emptiness of the universe, but the fantastic places that are full. Only beauty, size and complexity of galaxies suggests a meaning or theme type, and that we can find a link between science and spirituality, not necessarily in conflict.
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PICTURES OF NATURE & UNIVERSE PHOTOGRAPHY

Universe and Intelligent Life

Universe and Intelligent Life: "


universe1_f


Universe and Intelligent Life

 
Universe: It would take, traveling in the speed of light, over 13.7 billion years to travel in our known universe, this is if we were able to travel at such speeds. Getting to my point can we really believe that we are possibly the only intelligent life in this entire area? I think that it would be ignorant to believe such a thing, and while it can not be proven by the people as yet, it certainly should not be rejected at the same time call us intelligent. I tell people that it is possible that governments know more than we do.

Imagine the panic and change our world had to accept if the information that alien life visiting us was made public – religious, social, calm this can all be turned on its head. Just the thought of many people that we have visited or alone can not panic or stop a life of worship to God that may not seem so realistic.


As exciting as the idea seems I do not think that in my lifetime, we the audience will gather indisputable evidence to show we are far from the only life out there in the big, wide galaxy. So the argument is, if there is life out there, if governments already know this, when will the time come that we can be proud that people in this world who has this information – Lets keep Seti funded and alive as they may be the nation’s only way to prove we are not alone.
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Sunday, August 7, 2011

Universe_Nasa_Spazio_Google_Images



Universe_Nasa_Spazio_Google_Images  Universe Wallpaper
 
WALLPAPER

The recent mesaurements made by the scientists and engineers of the CNES (Centre National d’Études Spatiales) in collaboration with the JET PROPULSION LABORATORY  OF NASA,show that the universe is flat and it will continue expandind at an increasing speed.
The main cause of this expansion is believed to be the infamous dark energy,a hypothetical form of energy that permeates all of space and tends to increase the rate of expansion of the universe and  currently accounts for 74% of the total mass-energy of the universe.
Scientist were able to examine the effects of dark energy,by studing Abel 1689 the  most massive galaxy clusters.The gravity of its trillion stars, plus dark matter, acts like a 2-million-light-year-wide “lens” in space. The gravitational lens bends and magnifies the light of galaxies far behind it,and by observing such images,the astronomists are able do determine the speed and acceleration of our universe.
The implications of such results are as infinte as the expansion of the universe itself,in fact these mesaurements  break down the sustainers of the “shrink theory” aka the ones who thought that the universe would stop expandind at a certain point and shrink back to where everything started from,the big bang.
The future of o
ur universe is not very bright either,in a few billion years it will become a cold place and all of the stars like our son will finish their nuclear fuel and put out like candles on a birthday cake.




Dawn_Spacecraft_Google_Images_1

Universe_Google_Images_Planet

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Saturday, August 6, 2011

Starry_Night_Google_Images_Wallpaper





Starry_Night_Google_Images_Wallpaper
   


PICTURES OF NATURE & UNIVERSE PHOTOGRAPHY

Universe_Google_Images_Wallpaper

 

Universe_Google_Images_Wallpaper

PICTURES OF NATURE & UNIVERSE PHOTOGRAPHY

An Infrared Glimpse of What’s to Come - by Amy Mainzer


The image on the left shows a picture of the constellation Orion taken in the visible light that humans see.

On the left, a picture of the constellation Orion taken in the visible light that humans see. On the right, an infrared view of Orion reveals a swirling mass of glowing gas and newly formed stars, which are invisible to the human eye.


Almost everyone has had the frustrating experience of getting lost. To avoid this problem, the savvy traveler carries a map. Similarly, astronomers need maps of the sky to know where to look, allowing us to make the best use of precious time on large telescopes. A map of the entire sky also helps scientists find the most rare and unusual types of objects, such as the nearest star to our sun and the most luminous galaxies in the universe. Our team (lead by our principal investigator, Dr. Ned Wright of UCLA) is building a new space telescope called the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer that will make a map of the entire sky at four infrared wavelengths. Infrared is a type of electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength about ten or more times longer than that of visible light; humans perceive it as heat.



Why do we want to map the sky in the infrared? Three reasons: First, since infrared is heat, we can use it to search for the faint heat generated by some of the coldest objects in the universe, such as dusty planetary debris discs around other stars, asteroids and ultra-cold brown dwarfs, which straddle the boundary between planets and stars. Second, we can use it to look for very distant (and therefore very old) objects, such as galaxies that formed only a billion years after the Big Bang. Since light is redshifted by the expansion of the universe, the most distant quasars and galaxies will have their visible light shifted into infrared wavelengths. And finally, infrared light has the remarkable property of passing through dust. Just as firefighters use infrared goggles to find people through the smoke in burning buildings, astronomers can use infrared to peer through dense, dusty clouds to see things like newborn stars, or the dust-enshrouded cores of galaxies.

So how does one go about building an infrared space telescope? And why does it need to be in space in the first place? Since infrared is heat, you can imagine that trying to observe the faint heat signatures of distant astronomical sources from our nice warm Earth would be very difficult. A colleague of mine compares ground-based infrared astronomy to observing in visible light during the middle of the day, using a telescope made out of fluorescent light bulbs! Putting your infrared telescope in the deep freeze of space, well away from the warmth of Earth, improves its sensitivity by orders of magnitude over a much larger ground-based infrared telescope.



On the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer project, our team is in the middle of one of the most exciting phases of building a spacecraft — we’re assembling and testing the payload. Right now, the major pieces of the observatory have been designed and manufactured, and we’re in the process of integrating all these pieces together. The payload is elegantly simple. It has only one moving part — a small scan mirror designed to “freeze-frame” the sky for each approximately 10 second exposure as the spacecraft slowly scans. After six months, we will have imaged the entire sky. The telescope is flying the latest generation of megapixel infrared detector arrays, along with an off-axis telescope that gives us the wide field of view that we need to cover the whole sky so quickly. In the next few months, we’ll be setting the focus on our telescope, characterizing our detector arrays, and verifying the thermal performance of our cryostat. The observatory’s cryostat is essentially a giant thermos containing the cryogenic solid hydrogen that we use to keep our telescope and detectors at their operating temperatures near absolute zero.



telescope

Engineers install the telescope optics into the observatory’s

cryostat. The top dome of the cryostat can be seen in the

foreground. This cover will be ejected approximately two

weeks after launch, allowing the observatory an unfettered

view of the sky. Image courtesy of Space Dynamics

Lab/Utah State University. › Larger image





We are also in the midst of making detailed plans for verifying that the spacecraft is working properly once we launch. This is called the “in-orbit checkout” phase. For this mission, checkout is fast — only 30 days! The checkout commences right after our November 2009 launch, when we wake the spacecraft up and begin switching on its various subsystems: Power generation and distribution, communications, attitude control and momentum management, and the main computer system. We’ll also power on the payload electronics and detectors. Next, we will begin the calibration observations that we need to start the survey, such as verifying the telescope’s image quality and the way our detector arrays respond to light. Once these steps are completed, we’ll be ready to extend our gaze across the universe using the observatory’s infrared eyes.



The great thing about the mission’s all-sky dataset is that it will be accessible to everyone in the entire world via a Web interface. So you will literally be able to access some of the coldest, most distant and dustiest parts of the universe from the comfort of your couch. Stay tuned to explore the universe with us!

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Sarah Kerrigan

Sarah Kerrigan: "


Sarah Kerrigan Picture (2d, fan art, starcraft 2, sarah kerrigan, sci-fi, girl, woman, portrait, soldier, picture, image, digital art)

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Dawn Spacecraft Creeping Up on Vesta

Dawn Spacecraft Creeping Up on Vesta: "

By Marc Rayman

Artist's concept of Dawn at Vesta







Artist’s concept of NASA’s Dawn spacecraft at the large asteroid Vesta. The mission is less than five months away from getting into orbit around the large asteroid, its first target.












NASA’s Dawn spacecraft is less than five months away from getting into orbit around its first target, the giant asteroid Vesta. Each month, Marc Rayman, Dawn’s chief engineer, shares an update on the mission’s progress.






Dear Pleasant Dawnversions,



Deep in the asteroid belt, Dawn continues thrusting with its ion propulsion system. The spacecraft is making excellent progress in reshaping its orbit around the sun to match that of its destination, the unexplored world Vesta, with arrival now less than five months away.



We have considered before the extraordinary differences between Dawn’s method of entering orbit and that of planetary missions employing conventional propulsion. This explorer will creep up on Vesta, gradually spiraling closer and closer. Because the probe and its target already are following such similar routes around the sun, Dawn is now approaching Vesta relatively slowly compared to most solar system velocities. The benefit of the more than two years of gentle ion thrusting the spacecraft has completed so far is that now it is closing in at only 0.7 kilometers per second (1600 mph). Each day of powered flight causes that speed to decrease by about 7 meters per second (16 mph) as their orbital paths become still more similar. Of course, both are hurtling around the sun much faster, traveling at more than 21 kilometers per second (47,000 mph), but for Dawn to achieve orbit around Vesta, what matters is their relative velocity.



It may be tempting to think of that difference from other missions as somehow being a result of the destination being different, but that is not the case. The spiral course Dawn will take is a direct consequence of its method of propelling itself. If this spacecraft were entering orbit around any other planetary body, it would follow the same type of flight plan. This unfamiliar kind of trajectory ensues from the long periods of thrusting (enabled by the uniquely high fuel efficiency of the ion propulsion system) with an extremely gentle force.



Designing the spiral trajectories is a complex and sophisticated process. It is not sufficient simply to turn the thrust on and expect to arrive at the desired destination, any more than it is sufficient to press the accelerator pedal on your car and expect to reach your goal. You have to steer carefully (and if you don’t, please don’t drive near me), and so does Dawn. As the ship revolves around Vesta in the giant asteroid’s gravitational grip, it has to change the pointing of the xenon beam constantly to stay on precisely the desired winding route to the intended science orbits.



Dawn will scrutinize Vesta from three different orbits, known somewhat inconveniently as survey orbit, high altitude mapping orbit (HAMO), and low altitude mapping orbit (LAMO). Upon concluding its measurements in each phase, it will resume operating its ion propulsion system, using the mission control team’s instructions for pointing its thruster to fly along the planned spiral to the next orbit.



› Continue reading Dawn Spacecraft Creeping Up on Vesta
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Dawn Spacecraft Getting Ready for Vesta





Artist's concept of the Dawn spacecraft






Artist’s concept of NASA’s Dawn spacecraft. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech







NASA’s Dawn spacecraft is less than four months away from getting into orbit around its first target, the giant asteroid Vesta. Each month, Marc Rayman, Dawn’s chief engineer, shares an update on the mission’s progress.



Dear Conndawnsseurs,


Three and a half years after launch, Dawn continues its travels around the sun, maneuvering to take the same orbital path as Vesta. Following its usual pattern, the spacecraft has spent most of the past month gently thrusting with its ion propulsion system. Some of the thrusting this month, however, was not designed to propel Dawn to Vesta. In addition, mission controllers stopped the thrusting to conduct other planned activities.


Spacecraft that use conventional propulsion coast through space most of the time, just as the moon coasts around Earth, and the planets and asteroids coast around the sun. In contrast, Dawn is in powered flight most of the time, using its ion propulsion system to change its orbit. The flight plan requires pointing the ion thruster in just the right direction to deliver the adventurer to its destination. The spacecraft orientation needed to aim the thruster ends up pointing the main antenna in an arbitrary direction. We have seen before that the robotic craft interrupts thrusting for about eight hours each week to direct the antenna toward Earth for communications.


Ever since Dawn’s trajectory was first being designed, long before launch, it has included coast periods for activities that require orientations incompatible with routine thrusting. One such period was the week of March 14; the previous was in July 2010.


Engineers and scientists operate the science instruments about twice each year to ensure they remain in good condition. This time was the last scheduled use of the sensors prior to their observations of Vesta. All tests showed they are in excellent condition and ready to expose the mysteries of the world they are about to visit.


Controllers transmitted upgraded software to each of the two identical science cameras, containing a few improvements over the version installed in July. The procedure went as smoothly as it had for previous software updates, including the first time such an operation was performed. After each camera received its new software, it performed its standard routine of exercises, just as it did only three weeks after reaching space. The tests confirmed that each camera’s electronics, optics, detector, cover, and filter wheel are in perfect condition.


Sometimes the spacecraft is turned to aim the cameras at carefully selected astronomical targets for their tests; other times, they take pictures of whatever stars happen to be in their field of view. This month’s tests were of the latter type, in which the orientation of the spacecraft was set to keep the antenna pointed at Earth. That put stars from a region near the border between Pisces and Cetus in the grasp of the cameras, quite appropriate for a ship voyaging across the cosmic ocean on its way to a distant and unfamiliar land.


Continue reading this entry from Marc Rayman’s Dawn journal …
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Tentallium

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Space ship

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Skyward


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NASA Announces News Briefing on Mars Orbiter Science Finding



Planet Mars

NASA will host a news briefing on Thursday, Aug. 4, at 11 a.m. PDT (2 p.m. EDT) about a significant new Mars science finding.


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Dawn Begins its Vesta Phase

Dawn Begins its Vesta Phase: "




NASA’s Dawn spacecraft is less than three months away from getting into orbit around its first target, the giant asteroid Vesta. Each month, Marc Rayman, Dawn’s chief engineer, shares an update on the mission’s progress.

Artist's concept of the Dawn spacecraft



Artist’s concept of NASA’s Dawn spacecraft. The giant asteroid Vesta, Dawn’s next destination, is on the lower left. The largest body in the asteroid belt and Dawn’s second destination, dwarf planet Ceres, is on the upper right. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech


Dear Dawntalizingly Close Readers,



Dawn is on the threshold of a new world. After more than three and a half years of interplanetary travel covering in excess of 2.6 billion kilometers (1.6 billion miles), we are closing in on our first destination. Dawn is starting its approach to Vesta.



The interplanetary cruise phase of the mission ends today and the 15-month Vesta phase begins. The first three months are the “approach phase,” during which the spacecraft maneuvers to its first science orbit. Many of the activities during approach were discussed in detail in March and April last year, and now we are about to see those plans put into action.



The beginning of the phase is marked by the first images of the alien world Dawn has been pursuing since it left Earth. Vesta will appear as little more than a smudge, a small fuzzy blob in the science camera’s first pictures. But navigators will analyze where it shows up against the background stars to help pin down the location of the spacecraft relative to its target. To imagine how this works, suppose that distant trees are visible through a window in your house. If someone gave you a photo that had been taken through that window, you could determine where the photographer (Dawn) had been standing by lining up the edge of the window (Vesta) with the pattern of the background trees (stars). Because navigators know the exact position of each star, they can calculate where Dawn and Vesta are relative to each other. This process will be repeated as the craft closes in on Vesta, which ultimately will provide a window to the dawn of the solar system.



Even though the mysterious orb is still too far away to reveal new features, it will be exciting to receive these first pictures. During the approach phase, images will be released in periodic batches, with priority viewing for residents of Earth. The flow will be more frequent thereafter. For most of the two centuries that Vesta has been studied, it has been little more than a pinpoint of light. Interrupting thrusting once a week this month to glimpse its protoplanetary destination, Dawn will watch it grow from about five pixels across to 12. By June, the images should be comparable to the tantalizing views obtained by the Hubble Space Telescope. As the approach phase continues and the distance diminishes, the focus will grow still sharper and new details will appear in each subsequent set of images.



› Continue reading Marc Rayman’s May Dawn Journal

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A Heartfelt Goodbye to a Spirited Mars Rover

A Heartfelt Goodbye to a Spirited Mars Rover: "


Mars Exploration Rover Project Manager John Callas sent this letter to his team shortly after the final command was sent to the Mars rover Sprit, which operated on the surface of Mars for more than six years and made numerous scientific discoveries.

Artist's concept of NASA's Mars Exploration Rover


Dear Team,


Last night, just after midnight, the last recovery command was sent to Spirit. It would be an understatement to say that this was a significant moment. Since the last communication from Spirit on March 22, 2010 (Sol 2210), as she entered her fourth Martian winter, nothing has been heard from her. There is a continued silence from the Gusev site on Mars.


We must remember that we are at this point because we did what we said we would do, to wear the rovers out exploring. For Spirit, we have done that, and then some.


Spirit was designed as a 3-month mission with a kilometer of traverse capability. The rover lasted over 6 years and drove over 7.7 kilometers [4.8 miles] and returned over 124,000 images. Importantly, it is not how long the rover lasted, but how much exploration and discovery Spirit has done.


This is a rover that faced continuous challenges and had to fight for every discovery. Nothing came easy for Spirit. When she landed, she had the Sol 18 flash memory anomaly that threatened her survival. Scientifically, Mars threw a curveball. What was to be a site for lakebed sediments at Gusev, turned out to be a plain of volcanic material as far as the rover eye could see. So Spirit dashed across the plains in an attempt to reach the distant Columbia Hills, believed to be more ancient than the plains.


Exceeding her prime mission duration and odometry, Spirit scrambled up the Columbia Hills, performing Martian mountaineering, something she was never designed to do. There Spirit found her first evidence of water-altered rocks, and later, carbonates.


The environment for Spirit was always harsher than for Opportunity. The winters are deeper and darker. And Gusev is much dustier than Meridiani. Spirit had an ever-increasing accumulation of dust on her arrays. Each winter became harder than the last.


It was after her second Earth year on Mars when Spirit descended down the other side of the Columbia Hills that she experienced the first major failure of the mission, her right-front wheel failed. Spirit had to re-learn to drive with just five wheels, driving mostly backwards dragging her failed wheel. It is out of this failure that Spirit made one of the most significant discoveries of the mission. Out of lemons, Spirit made lemonade.


Each winter was hard for Spirit. But with ever-accumulating dust and the failed wheel that limited the maximum achievable slope, Spirit had no options for surviving the looming fourth winter. So we made a hard push toward some high-value science to the south. But the first path there, up onto Home Plate, was not passable. So we went for Plan B, around to the northeast of Home Plate. That too was not passable and the clock was ticking. We were left with our last choice, the longest and most risky, to head around Home Plate to the west.


It was along this path that Spirit, with her degraded 5-wheel driving, broke through an unseen hazard and became embedded in unconsolidated fine material that trapped the rover. Even this unfortunate event turned into another exciting scientific discovery. We conducted a very ambitious extrication effort, but the extrication on Mars ran out of time with the fourth winter and was further complicated by another wheel failure.


With no favorable tilt and more dust on the arrays, Spirit likely ran out of energy and succumbed to the cold temperatures during the fourth winter. There was a plausible expectation that the rover might survive the cold and wake up in the spring, but a lack of response from the rover after more than 1,200 recovery commands were sent to rouse her indicates that Spirit will sleep forever.


But let’s remember the adventure we have had. Spirit has climbed mountains, survived rover-killing dust storms, rode out three cold, dark winters and made some of the most spectacular discoveries on Mars. She has told us that Mars was once like Earth. There was water and hot springs, the conditions that could have supported life. She has given us a foundation to further explore the Red Planet and to understand ourselves and our place in the universe.


But in addition to all the scientific discoveries Spirit has given us in her long, productive rover life, she has also given us a great intangible. Mars is no longer a strange, distant and unknown place. Mars is now our neighborhood. And we all go to work on Mars every day. Thank you, Spirit. Well done, little rover.


And to all of you, well done, too.


Sincerely,

John


› Learn more
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Dawn Longs for Vesta’s Gravitational Pull




Artist's concept of the Dawn spacecraft
NASA’s Dawn spacecraft



NASA’s Dawn spacecraft is less than two months away from getting into orbit around its first target, the giant asteroid Vesta. Each month, Marc Rayman, Dawn’s chief engineer, shares an update on the mission’s progress.




Artist’s concept of the Dawn spacecraft using its ion propulsion system during the approach to Vesta. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Dear Dependawnble Readers,


Dawn remains healthy and on course as it continues to approach Vesta. Thrusting with its ion propulsion system, as it has for most of its interplanetary journey so far, the spacecraft is gradually matching its solar orbit to that of the protoplanet just ahead.


As these two residents of the asteroid belt, one very new and one quite ancient, travel around the sun, they draw ever closer. Vesta follows its own familiar path, repeating it over and over, just as Earth and many other solar system bodies do. Dawn has been taking a spiral route, climbing away from the sun atop a blue-green pillar of xenon ions. With an accumulated total in excess of two and a half years of ion thrusting, providing an effective change in velocity of more than 6.5 kilometers per second (14,500 mph), the probe is close to the end of the first leg of its interplanetary trek. On July 16, Vesta’s gravity will capture the ship as it smoothly transitions from spiraling around the sun to spiraling around Vesta, aiming for survey orbit in August. For several reasons, the date for the beginning of the intensive observations there has not yet been set exactly.


Astronomers have estimated Vesta’s mass, principally by measuring how it occasionally perturbs the orbits of some of its neighbors in the asteroid belt and even the orbit of Mars, but this method yields only an approximate value. Because the mass is not well known, there is some uncertainty in the precise time that Dawn will become gravitationally bound to the colossal asteroid. As we have seen before, entry into orbit is quite unlike the highly suspenseful and stressful event of missions that rely on conventional chemical propulsion. Dawn simply will be thrusting, just as it has for 70 percent of its time in space. Orbit entry will be much like a typical day of quiet cruise. That Vesta will take hold at some point will matter only to the many Dawnophiles throughout the cosmos following the mission. The ship will continue to sail along a gently curving arc to survey orbit.



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Dawn Sets its Sights, and Lens, on Vesta

Dawn Sets its Sights, and Lens, on Vesta: "


Image of the giant asteroid Vesta from Dawn's approach





NASA’s Dawn spacecraft obtained this image on its approach to the protoplanet Vesta, the second-most massive object in the main asteroid belt. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/PSI. › See more images











NASA’s Dawn spacecraft is less than one month away from getting into orbit around its first target, the giant asteroid Vesta. Each month, Marc Rayman, Dawn’s chief engineer, shares an update on the mission’s progress.







Dear Dawnstinations,


Vesta beckons, and Dawn responds. Now more than halfway through its approach to Vesta, Dawn continues creeping up on the destination it has been pursuing since it began its interplanetary travels. The separation between them gradually shrinks as the probe’s ion thrusting brings its orbit around the sun into a closer and closer match with Vesta’s. At the same time, the giant protoplanet’s gravity tugs gently on the approaching ship, luring it into orbit.


Starting at the beginning of the approach phase on May 3, Dawn interrupted thrusting once a week to photograph Vesta against the background stars. These images help navigators determine exactly where the probe is relative to its target. This technique does not replace other means of navigation but rather supplements them. One of the principal methods of establishing the spacecraft’s trajectory relies on accurately timing how long it takes radio signals, traveling, as all readers know, at the universal limit of the speed of light, to make the round trip between Earth and Dawn. Another uses the Doppler shift of the radio waves, or the slight change in pitch caused by the craft’s motion. These sensitive measurements remain essential to navigating the faraway ship as it sails the interplanetary seas.


Despite the very slow approach, the distance is small enough now that observing Vesta weekly is no longer sufficient. To achieve the navigational accuracy required to reach the intended orbit in early August, last week the frequency of imaging was increased to twice per week. In each session, half of the pictures are taken with long exposures to ensure many stars are detectable, thus overexposing the much brighter disc of the nearby Vesta. The other half use short exposures to ensure that the rocky world shows up correctly so its precise location can be measured. The visible and infrared mapping spectrometer has been commanded to observe Vesta during three of these sessions, each time providing valuable information that will help scientists select instrument settings for when Dawn is close enough to begin its detailed scientific measurements.


In addition to the regular campaign of imaging for navigation, mission controllers have other plans in store for the approach phase that were laid out more than a year ago. Twice in the next few weeks, the spacecraft will watch Vesta throughout its complete 5.3-hour rotation on its axis, revealing exciting new perspectives on this uncharted body. The explorer also will search for moons of the alien world.


› Continue reading Marc Rayman’s June 23, 2011 Dawn Journal
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