Monday, October 3, 2011

Human Mission to an Asteroid: Getting There With the New Space Launch System

Human Mission to an Asteroid: Getting There With the New Space Launch System:


The new SLS on the launchpad. Credit: NASA


With NASA’s announcement of its new, mammoth Space Launch System (SLS), preparations can begin in earnest for the first human mission to an asteroid. The SLS will take the Orion Multipurpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV) on the first human forays into deep space, out of the Earth/Moon system. “We are definitely excited about it,” Laurence Price, Lockheed Martin’s Orion deputy program manager told Universe Today during a briefing last week. “It is very good to get this baselined and be able to move forward.”

(...)
Read the rest of Human Mission to an Asteroid: Getting There With the New Space Launch System (1,166 words)




NATURE PICTURES & THE UNIVERSE

Astrophoto: Galactic Center by Drew Medlin

Astrophoto: Galactic Center by Drew Medlin:

Astrophoto: Galactic Center by Drew Medlin
Galactic Center. Credit: Drew Medlin



Drew Medlin captured this photo of the Galactic Center on September 18, 2009.

“That photo was (taken) in the Atacama desert near San Pedro de Atacama, Chile on 2009.09.18. I used a Canon 5D Mark II at ISO1600 and a Sigma 50mm lens at f/4. A Takahashi EM-200 mount I rented time on from SPACE (spaceobs.com) provided the tracking. This is a stack of three 1.5-min and three 2-min exposures. Processed with Lightroom and Photoshop.”

The Galactic Center is the rotational center of the Milky Way galaxy located 26,000 light years from the Earth. It was confirmed recently by the researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Germany that there exists a supermassive black hole at the galactic center. The observation was made using the 3.5m New Technology Telescope and the 8.2m Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile.

Check out Drew’s Flickr page for more photos.

Want to get your astrophoto featured on Universe Today? Join our Flickr group, post in our Forum 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.




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China Blasts First Space Lab Tiangong 1 to Orbit

China Blasts First Space Lab Tiangong 1 to Orbit:


A Long March-2FT1 carrier rocket loaded with Tiangong-1 unmanned space lab module blasts off from the launch pad at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China's Gansu Province, Sept. 29, 2011. (Xinhua/Wang Jianmin)


China launched their first space station module into orbit today (Sept. 29), marking a major milestone in the rapidly expanding Chinese space program. The historic liftoff of the man rated Tiangong 1 (Heavenly Palace 1) space lab on a Long March 2F rocket took place at 9:16 p.m. local time (9:16 a.m. EDT) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center located in Gansu province in northwest China and is an impressive advance for China.

The beautiful nighttime liftoff occurred exactly on time and was carried live on China’s state run television – CCTV – and on the internet for all to see. Chinese President Hu Jintao and many of China’s other top government leaders witnessed the launch from the Beijing Aerospace Control Center as a gesture of confidence and support. Their presence was a clear sign of just how important China’s top leadership considers investments in research as a major driver of technological innovation (...)
Read the rest of China Blasts First Space Lab Tiangong 1 to Orbit (535 words)




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“Extreme” Solar Wind Blasts Mercury’s Poles

“Extreme” Solar Wind Blasts Mercury’s Poles:


Planet Mercury as seen from the MESSENGER spacecraft in 2008. Image Credit: NASA


According to data from the The Fast Imaging Plasma Spectrometer (FIPS) onboard NASA’s MESSENGER spacecraft, the solar wind is “sandblasting” the surface of Mercury at its polar regions.

Based on findings from one of seven different papers from the MESSENGER mission to be published in the Sept. 30th edition of Science, sodium and oxygen particles are charged in a manner similar to Earth’s own Aurora Borealis.

How are the University of Michigan researchers able to detect and study this phenomenon?

(...)
Read the rest of “Extreme” Solar Wind Blasts Mercury’s Poles (663 words)




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Fires in the Sky, Fires on the Ground

Fires in the Sky, Fires on the Ground:



The aurora australis seen from the ISS on September 17, 2011. Credit: NASA.


With all of the activity that’s been occurring on the Sun recently, the aurorae have been exceptionally bright and have created quite a show to viewers – both on Earth as well as above it!

(...)
Read the rest of Fires in the Sky, Fires on the Ground (420 words)




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Astrophoto: Aurora over the Cabin by Jason Ahrns

Astrophoto: Aurora over the Cabin by Jason Ahrns:

Astrophoto: Aurora over the Cabin by Jason Ahrns
Aurora over the Cabin. Credit: Jason Ahrns



Jason Ahrns captured this incredible shot of the Aurora on April 9, 2011 in Alaska.

“The light on the trees is just the light out the windows of my cabin. The auroral arc was pretty much directly overhead so I was looking up into it, where you can see more structure than when you’re looking from the side.”

Jason used a Nikon D5000 and a Sigma 10-20mm f4/5.6 lens at 10mm. The exposure was 30 seconds at f4 and ISO 800.

Want to get your astrophoto featured on Universe Today? Join our Flickr group, post in our Forum 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.




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Astrophoto: Venus Setting by Rick Ellis

Astrophoto: Venus Setting by Rick Ellis:

Astrophoto: Venus Setting by Rick Ellis
Venus Setting. Credit: Rick Ellis



Rick Ellis of Toronto, Canada came up with this multiple-exposure image of Venus setting. The changing position of Venus from the observer’s point of view serves as a proof of the the Earth’s counter-clockwise rotation.

This image was generated from multiple shots captured by Rick using his Canon A460 camera.

“It was not created on a single frame. The camera was locked down on its tripod and the original background photo was taken with Venus in the upper left. Then at exactly 5 minute intervals exposures were taken at ISO 80 for 5 seconds. Twenty seven exposures were made in all and then compiled in Photoshop. The trick then was to

find where Venus was on each successive layer and “punch a hole” very accurately in the main image layer.”

Check out Rick’s website here.

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Astrophoto: Moon Halo by Earl Matenga

Astrophoto: Moon Halo by Earl Matenga:

Astrophoto: Moon Halo by Earl Matenga
Moon Halo. Credit: Earl Matenga



After Niki Giada’s photo of the Sun’s halo, here we are again with another impressive astrophoto. This time, it’s the Moon’s halo.

Earl Matenga captured this photo of the Moon and its halo on March 25, 2010 using a Pentax K-7.

Moon halos are brought about by the same phenomenon as Sun halos are. It’s caused by the refraction of light from tiny hexagonal ice crystals in the atmosphere.

This photo was shot through a Pentax fish eye lens mounted on tripod, bulb setting 2-3 sec exposure remotely fired. The red star on the left is Betelgeuse which is located in the constellation of Orion.

Check out Earl’s photos here.

Want to get your astrophoto featured on Universe Today? Join our Flickr group, post in our Forum 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.




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SpaceX: Next Dragon to Launch No-Earlier-Than Dec. 19

SpaceX: Next Dragon to Launch No-Earlier-Than Dec. 19:


SpaceX has announced that it will work to launch the next Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida no-earlier-than Dec. 19, 2011. Photo Credit: Alan Walters/awaltersphoto.com



CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla – The launch date of the next Falcon 9 rocket with its Dragon Spacecraft payload has been announced to occur no-earlier-than Dec. 19. This will mean that it will have been over a year since the last time that the NewSpace firm launched one of its rockets.(...)
Read the rest of SpaceX: Next Dragon to Launch No-Earlier-Than Dec. 19 (502 words)




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Astrophoto: The Hidden Galaxy by Don Scott

Astrophoto: The Hidden Galaxy by Don Scott:

Astrophoto: The Hidden Galaxy by Don Scott
The Hidden Galaxy. Credit: Don Scott



It’s one of the challenging subjects for astrophotography. But Don Scott of Arizona was able to obtain this amazing picture of The Hidden Galaxy, also known as IC 342.

IC 342 is an intermediate spiral galaxy in the constellation Camelopardalis. Since it’s also located near the Galactic Equator, IC 342 is mostly covered by dust from the Milky Way. With that, it has been nicknamed the “Hidden Galaxy.”

“I obtained this image last winter (Dec & Jan) here in Arizona using my telescope (Takahashi 130) and CCD camera (SBIG ST-10XME). It was a time exposure: Luminosity 3 hours, Red, Green, and Blue components 1 hour each. So this photo required 6 hours of exposure time. The scope focal length is 1000 mm, objective lens diameter is 130 mm, for a focal ratio of f/7.69. All of the foreground stars are approximately 10th magnitude.”

Check out Don’s collection of astro-images.

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Astrophoto: Rosette Nebula by Maurice De Castro

Astrophoto: Rosette Nebula by Maurice De Castro:

Astrophoto: Rosette Nebula by Maurice De Castro
Rosette Nebula. Credit: Maurice De Castro



Rosette Nebula, or Caldwell 49 is an H II region located 5,200 light-years from Earth near one end of a giant molecular cloud in the Monoceros region of the Milky Way Galaxy. The Chandra X-ray Observatory conducted a survey in 2001 which showed the presence of hot, young stars at the core of the Rosette Nebula.

This photo of the Rosette Nebula was captured by Maurice De Castro on November 3, 2009. Maurice provided us with the camera specs he used:

Orion 190mm Mak Newt

Losmandy G-11

QHY9 CCD camera

Baader Ha (120 mints)

Baader SII (120 mints)

Check out Maurice’s Flickr page for more photos.

Want to get your astrophoto featured on Universe Today? Join our Flickr group, post in our Forum 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.




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United Launch Alliance’s Delta II Approved for Potentially Five More Launches

United Launch Alliance’s Delta II Approved for Potentially Five More Launches:


United Launch Alliance's Delta II rocket has been added to the National Launch Services II contract by NASA. Photo Credit: Alan Walters/awaltersphoto.com



NASA announced that it has added the Delta II rocket, a launch vehicle that appeared to be slipping into history, to the NASA Launch Services (NLS) II contract. The Delta II, produced by United Launch Alliance, is one of the most successful expendable launch vehicles that has ever been produced.(...)
Read the rest of United Launch Alliance’s Delta II Approved for Potentially Five More Launches (571 words)




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Astrophoto: Saturn by Stuart Ward

Astrophoto: Saturn by Stuart Ward:

Astrophoto: Saturn by Stuart Ward
Saturn. Credit: Stuart Ward



It was the first time Stuart Ward pointed his 8″ Dobsonian telescope to the sky and to his surprise, it was the view of planet Saturn that welcomed him up.

Stuart Ward captured this photo on August 30, 2011 in New South Wales, Australia. He used a Philips Webcam attached to his telescope.

Check out Stuart’s Flickr page for more photos.

Want to get your astrophoto featured on Universe Today? Join our Flickr group, post in our Forum 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.




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Astrophoto: Partial Lunar Eclipse by Erika Valdueza

Astrophoto: Partial Lunar Eclipse by Erika Valdueza:


Astrophoto: Partial Lunar Eclipse by Erika Valdueza

Partial Lunar Eclipse. Credit: Erika Valdueza




Erika Valdueza of the Philippines captured this photo of the partial lunar eclipse on December 21, 2010. The eclipse occurred at moonrise and appeared above the Sierra Madre Mountain Range in the northeastern part of Luzon island, Philippines.


“I wasn’t really expecting to see this eclipse because of poor weather and it was predicted to be visible 5 degrees above the horizon. Without losing hope, I tried my luck and went to one of the highest buildings in Mandaluyong City that has a good view of the east.”


The image was taken using Canon EOS Digital Rebel XSi camera with Canon EFS 55-250mm telephoto lens at f/6.3, ISO 400, 1/10 sec.


Check out Erika’s website for more photos.


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Pequizeiro em flor- Condomínio Vivendas - Lagoa Santa, MG

Pequizeiro em flor- Condomínio Vivendas - Lagoa Santa, MG:
FernandoPaoliello postou uma foto:


Pequizeiro em flor- Condomínio Vivendas - Lagoa Santa, MG

Categories : pictures of nature, wallpaper nature pictures, nature wallpaper, nature photos, beautiful nature, beautiful nature pictures, beautiful pictures, nature wallpapers, google images, google pictures,


NATURE PICTURES & THE UNIVERSE

Pequizeiro em flor- Condomínio Vivendas - Lagoa Santa, MG

Pequizeiro em flor- Condomínio Vivendas - Lagoa Santa, MG:
FernandoPaoliello postou uma foto:


Pequizeiro em flor- Condomínio Vivendas - Lagoa Santa, MG

categories : pictures of nature, wallpaper nature pictures, nature wallpaper, nature photos, beautiful nature, beautiful nature pictures, beautiful pictures, nature wallpapers, google images, google pictures,

NATURE PICTURES & THE UNIVERSE

Pequizeiro em flor- Condomínio Vivendas - Lagoa Santa, MG

Pequizeiro em flor- Condomínio Vivendas - Lagoa Santa, MG:
FernandoPaoliello postou uma foto:


Pequizeiro em flor- Condomínio Vivendas - Lagoa Santa, MG

Categories : pictures of nature, wallpaper nature pictures, nature wallpaper, nature photos, beautiful nature, beautiful nature pictures, beautiful pictures, nature wallpapers, google images, google pictures,

Friday, September 30, 2011

Halo Solar Distrito Federal Goias Brasil 30-09-2011

Halo Solar Distrito Federal Goias Brasil 30-09-2011


Halo Solar Distrito Federal Goias Brasil 30-09-2011 - Google Images Google Pictures



É um jogo? é um hit da Beyoncé? Não, meus amigos, é um halo solar, quando as nuvens estão cheias de cristais de gelo e criam um círculo ao redor de nossa estrela maior. E o fenômeno está acontecendo aqui no Brasil, mais exatamente no Distrito Federal, com resquício para os moradores de Goiás.

NATURE PICTURES & THE UNIVERSE

Scenic Country Farm

Scenic Country Farm:
Scenic Country Farm
A scenic country farm late in the evening after an afternoon of steamy summer rain showers. Beautiful wild flowers blossom in front of an old country barbed wire fence. In the distance cattle graze in the field on the moist green grass. A few scenic barns in the distance give a lovable down home country feel to the landscape.
    Camera Model: ntry-Farm | ForestWander Nature Photography: :08:02 20:27:09 | ForestWander: ure Photography |


NATURE PICTURES & THE UNIVERSE

Autumn Colors Mountain Sunset

Autumn Colors Mountain Sunset:

Vibrant fall colors across the trees in upon the mountain tops glow in the evening sun. The clouds above highlight the last glimpses of the autumn sun at the end of the day. Picture Height: 3744 pixels | Picture Width: 5616 pixels | Lens Aperture: f/4 | Image Exposure Time: 1/30 sec | Lens Focal Length mm: 24 mm | Photo Exposure Value: 1.33 EV | Camera Model: Canon EOS 5D Mark II | Photo White Balance: 0 | Color Space: sRGB |
Autumn Colors Mountain Sunset
Vibrant fall colors across the trees in upon the mountain tops glow in the evening sun. The clouds above highlight the last glimpses of the autumn sun at the end of the day.
    Picture Height: 3744 pixels | Picture Width: 5616 pixels | Lens Aperture: f/4 | Image Exposure Time: 1/30 sec | Lens Focal Length mm: 24 mm | Photo Exposure Value: 1.33 EV | Camera Model: Canon EOS 5D Mark II | Photo White Balance: 0 | Color Space: sRGB |


Getting to Know the Giant Asteroid

Getting to Know the Giant Asteroid:
By Marc Rayman

As NASA’s Dawn spacecraft investigates its first target, the giant asteroid Vesta, Marc Rayman, Dawn’s chief engineer, shares a monthly update on the mission’s progress.

Latest Image of Vesta captured by Dawn on July 17, 2011

This anaglyph image of Vesta’s equator was put together from two clear filter images, taken on July 24, 2011 by the framing camera instrument aboard NASA’s Dawn spacecraft. The anaglyph image shows hills, troughs, ridges and steep craters. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA

› Full image and caption | › Read related news release















Dear Magdawnificents,

Dawn has completed the first phase of its exploration of Vesta with tremendous success, and the peripatetic adventurer is now in powered flight again, on its way to a new location from which to scrutinize its subject. Meanwhile, scientists are deeply engaged in analyzing the magnificent views the stalwart surveyor has transmitted to Earth.

Most of August was devoted to survey orbit. At an altitude of about 2,700 kilometers (1,700 miles), the ship sailed slowly around the world beneath it, completing a loop every 69 hours. Vesta rotates faster, turning once on its axis each 5 hours, 20 minutes. As we saw in the previous log, the survey orbit phase of the mission consisted of seven revolutions around Vesta, providing ample opportunities to acquire the rich bounty of data that scientists yearned for.

As Dawn follows its course, it passes over the north pole, then heads south on the day side of Vesta. On each orbit, it trained its sensors on the illuminated surface and filled its memory with the spectacular sights. On the other half of its orbit, gliding high above the dark landscape, it radioed its findings to distant Earth.

As we discussed last year, Vesta has seasons, just as your planet probably does. For readers on Earth, for example, it is summer in the northern hemisphere, and a region around the south pole is in constant darkness. On Vesta right now, the southern hemisphere is facing the sun, so everywhere between about 52 degrees north latitude and the north pole is in a long night. That ten percent of the surface is presently impossible to see. Because Dawn will stay in orbit around Vesta as together they travel around the sun, in 2012 it will be able to see some of this hidden scenery as the seasons advance.

The campaign of acquiring data in survey orbit was very complex. On the second, fourth, fifth, and sixth loops, the strategy included collecting more than Dawn’s memory could accommodate in the half of an orbit in which it was over sunlit terrain. Therefore, during those orbits, mission planners incorporated instructions to turn away from looking at Vesta to allow the spacecraft to point its main antenna to Earth for five to six hours. That provided time to transmit enough of its precious findings to make room for still more during the rest of the passage over the day side.

On the first and third revolutions, the computer in the visible and infrared mapping spectrometer (VIR) encountered an unexpected condition, so it stopped collecting data. When the spacecraft was next on the night side, controllers reconfigured the instrument so it could resume normal operation for the subsequent lap. Engineers and scientists from Italy who developed the complex device and from JPL are working closely together to establish the underlying cause. They have taken advantage of the extended periods in each orbit when the main antenna is pointing to Earth to run diagnostic tests on the unit. All indications are that it is healthy, and evidence points strongly to the glitches being related to some detail of the mode in which VIR collects and processes data. The team is confident that once they understand the behavior, they will be able to formulate plans to operate the spectrometer in ways that avoid triggering it.

Thanks to the strategy to perform more observations than needed, even with the interruptions, VIR accumulated a fantastic wealth of information. The principal scientific objective of survey orbit was to collect 5,000 sets of spectra or “frames.” A spectrum is the intensity of light at different wavelengths, and each frame consists of visible and infrared spectra at 256 locations on Vesta’s complex and mysterious surface. By the end of survey orbit, Dawn had obtained well in excess of 13,000 frames, or more than three million spectra. Acquiring more than one spectrum of the same location is valuable, as different angles of incident or reflected sunlight allow scientists to gain greater insight into the mineralogical composition and properties of the material. With an initial plan of observing 52 percent of the surface with VIR from survey orbit, the team is elated now to have spectra from about 63 percent.

The science camera has similarly overachieved. The intent was to photograph 60 percent of Vesta, but the entire 90 percent not in the darkness of northern winter has been captured at least five times. With pictures taken from multiple angles, stereo views can be constructed; and images at different times allow features to be observed under varied lighting conditions. All of the camera’s color filters were used, providing coverage in the near infrared and visible. Until recently, Vesta was known as little more than a smudge of light, but now scientists have more than 2,800 photos from Dawn’s survey.

A selection of stunning scenes of the latest world to come into the realm of humankind’s knowledge is here. As scientists pore through the treasure trove, they will continue to add their favorite views to that site.

This mission has already revealed far more about Vesta than a flyby mission could. While much more data will be obtained during the rest of Dawn’s residence there, the six gigabytes from VIR and the three gigabytes from the camera so far are enough to keep researchers busy (and extremely happy!) for a very long time as they tease out the nature of this alien world.

› Continue reading Marc Rayman’s September Dawn Journal


NATURE PICTURES & THE UNIVERSE

In a State of Flux

In a State of Flux:

By Amber Jenkins


This post was written for My Big Fat Planet, a blog hosted by Amber Jenkins on NASA’s Global Climate Change site.


Latest Image of Vesta captured by Dawn on July 17, 2011

COLD SNAP: Petermann Glacier, Greenland. Left: June 26, 2010. Right: August 13, 2010. An iceberg more than four times the size of Manhattan broke off the Petermann Glacier (the curved, nearly vertical stripe stretching up from the bottom right of the images) along the northwestern coast of Greenland. Warmer water below the floating ice and at the sea’s surface were probably responsible for the break.

› See more images of our changing Earth from State of Flux
















They say a picture says a thousand words. This week we published our 100th image in State of Flux, our gallery showing images of change around our planet. So hopefully by now you’re in awe of our home planet and the ways in which it is constantly changing, and aware of the impact us humans can have.


Each week for the past couple of years, we’ve published new images of different locations on planet Earth, showing change over time periods ranging from centuries to days. The pictures have been taken from space, by NASA’s Eyes on the Earth (its fleet of satellites whizzing above our heads), and from the ground, by real-life people. Some of the changes seen are related to, or exacerbated by, climate change, and some are not. Some document the effects of urbanization and man’s impact on the land, while others the ravage of disasters such as fires and floods.


Seeing our planet from space gives us a global view that we can’t get elsewhere. Through those eyes, we’ve witnessed damage caused by the recent tsunami in Japan, glacier melt in the Himalayas, the greening of China, the growth of Las Vegas and a century of global warming. We’ve looked at the march of deforestation in Bolivia, the rumblings of the (unpronounceable) Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull, and the damming of the River Nile. Take a look below at some of our favorites. Sign up to our monthly newsletter or subscribe to our Facebook page if you want to keep up to date with our latest images. We’ll be launching a brand spanking new version of the gallery soon!


See more of some of the most stunning images from State of Flux on My Big Fat Planet.



NATURE PICTURES & THE UNIVERSE

The Giant Asteroid, Up Close and Personal

The Giant Asteroid, Up Close and Personal:
By Marc Rayman

As NASA’s Dawn spacecraft investigates its first target, the giant asteroid Vesta, Marc Rayman, Dawn’s chief engineer, shares a monthly update on the mission’s progress.

Image of the giant asteroid Vesta by Dawn

This image obtained by the framing camera on NASA’s Dawn spacecraft shows the south pole of the giant asteroid Vesta. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA

› Full image and caption | › Read related news release















Dear Dawnniversaries,

Dawn’s fourth anniversary of being in space is very different from its previous ones. Indeed, those days all were devoted to reaching the distant destination the ship is now exploring. Celebrating its anniversary of leaving Earth, Dawn is in orbit around a kindred terrestrial-type world, the ancient protoplanet Vesta.

The adventurer spent August on Vesta’s shores and now it’s ready to dive in. Dawn devoted most of this month to working its way down from the 2,700-kilometer (1,700-mile) survey orbit to its current altitude of about 680 kilometers (420 miles) and changing the orientation of the orbit. (For a more detailed discussion of the altitude, go here.) The sensationally successful observing campaign in survey orbit produced captivating views, revealing a complex, fascinating landscape. Now four times closer to the surface, the probe is nearly ready for an even more comprehensive exploration from the high altitude mapping orbit (HAMO). The plans for HAMO have changed very little since it was described on the third anniversary of Dawn’s launch.

Dawn’s spiral descent went extremely well. We have seen before that bodies travel at higher velocities in lower altitude orbits, where the force of gravity is greater. For example, Mercury hurtles around the sun faster than Earth in order to balance the stronger pull of gravity, and Earth’s speed is greater than that of more remote Vesta. Similarly, satellites in close orbits around Earth, such as the International Space Station, race around faster than the much more distant moon. When it began its spiral on August 31, Dawn’s orbital speed high above Vesta was 76 meters per second (170 mph), and each revolution took nearly 69 hours. Under the gentle thrust of its ion propulsion system, the spacecraft completed 18 revolutions of Vesta, the loops getting tighter and faster as the orbital altitude gradually decreased, until it arrived at its new orbit on schedule on Sept. 18. In HAMO, Dawn orbits at 135 meters per second (302 mph), circling the world beneath it every 12.3 hours.

When Dawn’s itinerary called for it to stop thrusting, it was very close to HAMO but not quite there yet. As mission planners had recognized long beforehand, small differences between the planned and the actual flight profiles were inevitable. Extensive and sophisticated analysis has been undertaken in recent years to estimate the size of such discrepancies so the intricate plans for completing all the work at Vesta could account for the time and the work needed to deliver the robotic explorer to the intended destination. In order to accomplish the intensive program of observations with its scientific instruments, the spacecraft must follow an orbital path carefully matched to the sequences of commands already developed with painstaking attention to detail. The beauty of Dawn’;s artistically choreographed pas de deux with Vesta depends on the music and the movements being well synchronized.

During its descent, Dawn paused frequently to allow controllers to update the flight profile, accounting for some of the variances in its course along the way. Following the completion of thrusting, navigators tracked the ship more extensively as it sailed around Vesta, measuring its orbit with great accuracy. This revealed not only the details of the orbital parameters (such as size, shape, and orientation) but also more about the character of Vesta’s gravity field than could be detected at higher altitudes. With the new information, the team designed two short maneuvers to adjust the orbit. The first, lasting four hours, was executed last night, and the second, half an hour shorter, will be completed tonight. After further measurements to verify the final orbit, the month of HAMO observations will begin on Sept. 29.

› Continue reading Marc Rayman’s Dawn Journal


Ten Things Everyone Should Know About Time : Google Stories

Ten Things Everyone Should Know About Time:
Google Stories

Ten Things Everyone Should Know About Time : Google Stories



“Time” is the most used noun in the English language, yet it remains a mystery. We’ve just completed an amazingly intense and rewarding multidisciplinary conference on the nature of time, and my brain is swimming with ideas and new questions. Rather than trying a summary (the talks will be online soon), here’s my stab at a top ten list partly inspired by our discussions: the things everyone should know about time. [Update: all of these are things I think are true, after quite a bit of deliberation. Not everyone agrees, although of course they should.]

1. Time exists. Might as well get this common question out of the way. Of course time exists — otherwise how would we set our alarm clocks? Time organizes the universe into an ordered series of moments, and thank goodness; what a mess it would be if reality were complete different from moment to moment. The real question is whether or not time is fundamental, or perhaps emergent. We used to think that “temperature” was a basic category of nature, but now we know it emerges from the motion of atoms. When it comes to whether time is fundamental, the answer is: nobody knows. My bet is “yes,” but we’ll need to understand quantum gravity much better before we can say for sure.

2. The past and future are equally real. This isn’t completely accepted, but it should be. Intuitively we think that the “now” is real, while the past is fixed and in the books, and the future hasn’t yet occurred. But physics teaches us something remarkable: every event in the past and future is implicit in the current moment. This is hard to see in our everyday lives, since we’re nowhere close to knowing everything about the universe at any moment, nor will we ever be — but the equations don’t lie. As Einstein put it, “It appears therefore more natural to think of physical reality as a four dimensional existence, instead of, as hitherto, the evolution of a three dimensional existence.”

3. Everyone experiences time differently. This is true at the level of both physics and biology. Within physics, we used to have Sir Isaac Newton’s view of time, which was universal and shared by everyone. But then Einstein came along and explained that how much time elapses for a person depends on how they travel through space (especially near the speed of light) as well as the gravitational field (especially if its near a black hole). From a biological or psychological perspective, the time measured by atomic clocks isn’t as important as the time measured by our internal rhythms and the accumulation of memories. That happens differently depending on who we are and what we are experiencing; there’s a real sense in which time moves more quickly when we’re older.

4. You live in the past. About 80 milliseconds in the past, to be precise. Use one hand to touch your nose, and the other to touch one of your feet, at exactly the same time. You will experience them as simultaneous acts. But that’s mysterious — clearly it takes more time for the signal to travel up your nerves from your feet to your brain than from your nose. The reconciliation is simple: our conscious experience takes time to assemble, and your brain waits for all the relevant input before it experiences the “now.” Experiments have shown that the lag between things happening and us experiencing them is about 80 milliseconds. (Via conference participant David Eagleman.)

5. Your memory isn’t as good as you think. When you remember an event in the past, your brain uses a very similar technique to imagining the future. The process is less like “replaying a video” than “putting on a play from a script.” If the script is wrong for whatever reason, you can have a false memory that is just as vivid as a true one. Eyewitness testimony, it turns out, is one of the least reliable forms of evidence allowed into courtrooms. (Via conference participants Kathleen McDermott and Henry Roediger.)

6. Consciousness depends on manipulating time. Many cognitive abilities are important for consciousness, and we don’t yet have a complete picture. But it’s clear that the ability to manipulate time and possibility is a crucial feature. In contrast to aquatic life, land-based animals, whose vision-based sensory field extends for hundreds of meters, have time to contemplate a variety of actions and pick the best one. The origin of grammar allowed us to talk about such hypothetical futures with each other. Consciousness wouldn’t be possible without the ability to imagine other times. (Via conference participant Malcolm MacIver.)

7. Disorder increases as time passes. At the heart of every difference between the past and future — memory, aging, causality, free will — is the fact that the universe is evolving from order to disorder. Entropy is increasing, as we physicists say. There are more ways to be disorderly (high entropy) than orderly (low entropy), so the increase of entropy seems natural. But to explain the lower entropy of past times we need to go all the way back to the Big Bang. We still haven’t answered the hard questions: why was entropy low near the Big Bang, and how does increasing entropy account for memory and causality and all the rest? (We heard great talks by David Albert and David Wallace, among others.)

8. Complexity comes and goes. Other than creationists, most people have no trouble appreciating the difference between “orderly” (low entropy) and “complex.” Entropy increases, but complexity is ephemeral; it increases and decreases in complex ways, unsurprisingly enough. Part of the “job” of complex structures is to increase entropy, e.g. in the origin of life. But we’re far from having a complete understanding of this crucial phenomenon. (Talks by Mike Russell, Richard Lenski, Raissa D’Souza.)

9. Aging can be reversed. We all grow old, part of the general trend toward growing disorder. But it’s only the universe as a whole that must increase in entropy, not every individual piece of it. (Otherwise it would be impossible to build a refrigerator.) Reversing the arrow of time for living organisms is a technological challenge, not a physical impossibility. And we’re making progress on a few fronts: stem cells, yeast, and even (with caveats) mice and human muscle tissue. As one biologist told me: “You and I won’t live forever. But as for our grandkids, I’m not placing any bets.”

10. A lifespan is a billion heartbeats. Complex organisms die. Sad though it is in individual cases, it’s a necessary part of the bigger picture; life pushes out the old to make way for the new. Remarkably, there exist simple scaling laws relating animal metabolism to body mass. Larger animals live longer; but they also metabolize slower, as manifested in slower heart rates. These effects cancel out, so that animals from shrews to blue whales have lifespans with just about equal number of heartbeats — about one and a half billion, if you simply must be precise. In that very real sense, all animal species experience “the same amount of time.” At least, until we master #9 and become immortal. (Amazing talk by Geoffrey West.)



Thursday, September 29, 2011

Hidden Secrets in The Galactic Center of The Milky Way

Hidden Secrets in The Galactic Center of The Milky Way:






A Supermassive Black Hole Disguised by Sagittarius A



The Galactic Center is the rotational center of our home galaxy. It is located in the direction of the Sagittarius, Ophiuchus, and Scorpius Constellations where the Milky Way shines the most. It has been theorized that the Galactic Center is also home for a supermassive black hole.


Because interstellar dust conceal the Galactic Center, studies at visible, ultraviolet or soft X-ray wavelengths are impossible to conduct. However, observations at gamma ray, hard X-ray, infrared, sub-millimetre and radio wavelengths provide a substantial amount of information. The existence of the supermassive black hole has been confirmed using a VLT (Very Large Telescope) facility. Also accretion of gas onto a black hole would release enough energy to power up the intense compact radio source (Sagittarius A*), which is part of a larger astronomical radio source (Sagittarius A), and is located at the same location as the supermassive black hole.


Scientists were surprised to find out that the Galactic Center contains not only old red main-sequence stars, but also high amounts of massive stars. The birth of those stars was triggered a few millions years ago. This creates a “youth paradox” because the black hole tidal forces would prevent such a star formation event to take place. One explanation for this enigma is that the stars migrated near the Galactic Center after they formed in a remote location like a star cluster or a massive gas cloud near the black hole.


The Galactic Center is a quiet place for the next 200 million years when a star birth event will commence. Many stars will rush to supernovae states at higher rates (100x) than the current rate. The starburst may also be accompanied by the formation of galactic jets as matter falls into the central black hole. The Galactic Center of the Milky Way undergoes a starburst of this sort every 500 million years.


Distance from Earth: ~ 27000 light years.



Click below for full resolution picture of The Galactic Center


Galactic center of the Milky Way Galaxy









NATURE PICTURES & THE UNIVERSE

FAB-Esquadrilha da Fumaça- Lagoa Santa, MG

FAB-Esquadrilha da Fumaça- Lagoa Santa, MG

fantasy-angel-wallpaper-hot-images

fantasy-angel-wallpaper-hot-images:


fantasy-angel-wallpaper-hot-images





Angel Wallpapers | Fallen Angel Wallpapers | Fairy Wallpapers

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Waterfalls Forest Landscape

Waterfalls Forest Landscape:


Waterfalls Forest Landscape
Waterfalls Forest Landscape


Waterfalls cascade across the forest landscape. Just below a very high waterfall in the blue ridge mountains of Virginia these smaller waterfalls highlight the landscape creating a beautiful waterfall landscape scene.

    Picture Height: 3744 pixels Picture Width: 5616 pixels Lens Aperture: f/11.3 Image Exposure Time: 7/10 sec Lens Focal Length mm: 28 mm Photo Exposure Value: 0 EV Camera Model: Canon EOS 5D Mark II Photo White Balance: 0 Color Space: sRGB ForestWander Nature Photography: ForestWander Nature Photography ForestWander: ForestWander.com


NATURE PICTURES & THE UNIVERSE

Heavenly Snow Clouds Mountains

Heavenly Snow Clouds Mountains:
Heavenly Snow Clouds Mountains

Heavenly Snow Clouds powder the Shenandoah Mountains with snow like sugar. God asked Job: Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow? or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail? In every snow flake there is a different pattern. It is amazing that the Lord knows every pattern of every snow flake that has ever fallen.

    Camera Model: ountains ForestWander Nature Photography: :08:13 22:47:45 ForestWander: restWander.com


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Country Mill Summertime Flowers

Country Mill Summertime Flowers:
Country Mill Summertime Flowers

A country mill in the distance surrounded by trees in the summertime. Beautiful Rhododendron flowers in full bloom seem to pop off the screen with sharp focus and contrast.

    Picture Height: 3744 pixels Picture Width: 5616 pixels Lens Aperture: f/8 Image Exposure Time: 1/10 sec Lens Focal Length mm: 28 mm Photo Exposure Value: 0 EV Camera Model: Canon EOS 5D Mark II Photo White Balance: 0 Color Space: sRGB ForestWander Nature Photography: ForestWander.com ForestWander: ForestWander Nature Photography


NATURE PICTURES & THE UNIVERSE

Red Daisy Macro on Black

Red Daisy Macro on Black:

Red Daisy Macro on Black
Red Daisy Macro on Black
Make sure to download the full size image of this one. The flower pistols in the middle are in stunning macro detail. All of the surrounding vegetation has been removed to make this nearly perfect red daisy stand out from the contrasted black background.
    Picture Height: 3744 pixels Picture Width: 5616 pixels Lens Aperture: f/22.6 Image Exposure Time: 1/15 sec Lens Focal Length mm: 28 mm Photo Exposure Value: -1 EV Camera Model: Canon EOS 5D Mark II Photo White Balance: 0 Color Space: sRGB ForestWander Nature Photography: ForestWander.com ForestWander: ForestWander Nature Photography


NATURE PICTURES & THE UNIVERSE

Summer Sunrise Mountain Flowers

Summer Sunrise Mountain Flowers:
Summer Sunrise Mountain Flowers

Mountain laurel flowers are beginning to bloom in the high peaks of the Dolly Sods wilderness. Early in the morning as the sun is breaking through the early morning clouds the flowers eagerly await the warmth of the bright rays.

    Camera Model: n-flowers ForestWander Nature Photography: :08:20 20:08:57 ForestWander: restWander.com


NATURE PICTURES & THE UNIVERSE

Heavenly Snow Shenandoah Mountains

Heavenly Snow Shenandoah Mountains:
Heavenly Snow Shenandoah Mountains

Snow falling late in the winter in the Shenandoah mountains. Far in the distance you can see the snow showers falling on the mountain range across the valley down below.

    Picture Height: 3744 pixels Picture Width: 5616 pixels Lens Aperture: f/6.7 Image Exposure Time: 1/250 sec Lens Focal Length mm: 102 mm Film Speed ISO: 100 Photo Exposure Value: 0 EV Focus Mode: AI Focus Lens Model: EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM Camera Model: Canon EOS 5D Mark II Image Saturation Level: High Photo White Balance: Auto Color Space: sRGB ForestWander Nature Photography: ForestWander:


NATURE PICTURES & THE UNIVERSE

Blue Anemone Flower

Blue Anemone Flower:
Blue Anemone Flower

This blue flower looks almost like a sea anemone. The light blue color is almost a baby blue with a purple tint. The small groups of blue blossoms on this flower with blue pistils make this a unique floral display.

    Picture Height: 3744 pixels Picture Width: 5616 pixels Lens Aperture: f/38.1 Image Exposure Time: 1/8 sec Lens Focal Length mm: 183 mm Photo Exposure Value: -1 EV Camera Model: Canon EOS 5D Mark II Photo White Balance: 0 Color Space: sRGB ForestWander Nature Photography: ForestWander;Troy Lilly ForestWander: ForestWander.com


NATURE PICTURES & THE UNIVERSE

Yellow Flower

Yellow Flower:
Yellow Flower

A large yellow flower up close. This beautiful yellow flower is in full bloom in the early summer. Flower like this are seen in many flower gardens and landscapes this time of year.

    Picture Height: 2274 pixels Picture Width: 2386 pixels Lens Aperture: f/22.6 Image Exposure Time: 1/6 sec Lens Focal Length mm: 105 mm Photo Exposure Value: -1 EV Camera Model: Canon EOS 5D Mark II Photo White Balance: 0 Color Space: sRGB ForestWander Nature Photography: ForestWander;Troy Lilly ForestWander: ForestWander.com


NATURE PICTURES & THE UNIVERSE

Red Petunia

Red Petunia:
Red Petunia

A red petunia flower. The lighting is simply perfect around this red petunia providing a rich and colorful flower picture.

    Picture Height: 3744 pixels Picture Width: 5616 pixels Lens Aperture: f/38.1 Image Exposure Time: 1/6 sec Lens Focal Length mm: 209 mm Photo Exposure Value: -2 EV Camera Model: Canon EOS 5D Mark II Photo White Balance: 0 Color Space: sRGB ForestWander Nature Photography: ForestWander;Troy Lilly ForestWander: ForestWander.com


NATURE PICTURES & THE UNIVERSE

Dianthus Macro

Dianthus Macro:
Dianthus Macro

This flower picture looks kind of surreal with the flower pistols protruding from the dianthus flower blossoms. A lot can be seen in floral macro photography, close exposures such as these open an entirely new world.

    Picture Height: 3744 pixels Picture Width: 5616 pixels Lens Aperture: f/45.3 Image Exposure Time: 1/2 sec Lens Focal Length mm: 271 mm Photo Exposure Value: -2 EV Camera Model: Canon EOS 5D Mark II Photo White Balance: 0 Color Space: sRGB ForestWander Nature Photography: ForestWander;Troy Lilly ForestWander: ForestWander.com


NATURE PICTURES & THE UNIVERSE

Bobcat Hillside Snow Under Tree

Bobcat Hillside Snow Under Tree:
Bobcat Hillside Snow Under Tree

A grey and white bobcat under a pine tree. This wild cat looks like he is stalking his prey. The predator instincts in these animals are very evident in the way they walk and move.

    Picture Height: 3744 pixels Picture Width: 5616 pixels Lens Aperture: f/7 Image Exposure Time: 1/400 sec Lens Focal Length mm: 300 mm Film Speed ISO: 200 Photo Exposure Value: 0 EV Focus Mode: AI Focus Lens Model: 70-300mm Camera Model: Canon EOS 5D Mark II Image Saturation Level: High Photo White Balance: Auto Color Space: sRGB ForestWander Nature Photography: ForestWander:


NATURE PICTURES & THE UNIVERSE

Kaleidoscope Flowers

Kaleidoscope Flowers:
Kaleidoscope Flowers

Multiple colors abound in this kaleidoscope of flowers. The colors in the little flowers are quite vivid in this flower picture.

    Picture Height: 3744 pixels Picture Width: 5616 pixels Lens Aperture: f/22.6 Image Exposure Time: 1/20 sec Lens Focal Length mm: 209 mm Photo Exposure Value: -2 EV Camera Model: Canon EOS 5D Mark II Photo White Balance: 0 Color Space: sRGB ForestWander Nature Photography: ForestWander;Troy Lilly ForestWander: ForestWander.com


NATURE PICTURES & THE UNIVERSE

Purple Daisies

Purple Daisies:
Purple Daisies

Purple Daisies in a flower field. These daisies are really pretty with a yellow center and purple pedals around the edges.

    Picture Height: 3744 pixels Picture Width: 5616 pixels Lens Aperture: f/22.6 Image Exposure Time: 1/8 sec Lens Focal Length mm: 248 mm Photo Exposure Value: -1 EV Camera Model: Canon EOS 5D Mark II Photo White Balance: 0 Color Space: sRGB ForestWander Nature Photography: ForestWander;Troy Lilly ForestWander: ForestWander.com


NATURE PICTURES & THE UNIVERSE

Large Red Daisy

Large Red Daisy:
Large Red Daisy

Colorful Large Red Daisy Flower. The soft colors and light shading are just right for this large red daisy flower.

    Picture Height: 2499 pixels Picture Width: 2602 pixels Lens Aperture: f/22.6 Image Exposure Time: 1/8 sec Lens Focal Length mm: 105 mm Photo Exposure Value: -1 EV Camera Model: Canon EOS 5D Mark II Photo White Balance: 0 Color Space: sRGB ForestWander Nature Photography: ForestWander;Troy Lilly ForestWander: ForestWander.com


NATURE PICTURES & THE UNIVERSE