… are something you won’t be getting from me with this post.
Instead, here’s a video of George Hrab and me watching a shark balloon at Dragon*Con earlier this year.
Because why not?
December 31st, 2011 7:00 AM Tags: Dragon*Con 2011, George Hrab
by Phil Plait in Humor | 8 comments | RSS feed | Trackback
Article source: http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2011/12/31/moral-and-philosophical-ponderings-upon-years-end/
Tags: phil plait, philosophical ponderings, George Hrab <BR/>
Grail is the 110th mission to target the moon since the dawn of the space age
including the six Apollo moon landings that put 12 astronauts on the
surface. Despite the attention the moon has received, scientists don’t know
everything about Earth’s nearest neighbour.
Why the moon is ever so slightly lopsided with the far side more mountainous
than the side that always faces Earth remains a mystery. A theory put forth
earlier this year suggested that Earth once had two moons that collided
early in the solar system’s history, producing the hummocky region.
Grail is expected to help researchers better understand why the moon is
asymmetrical and how it formed by mapping the uneven lunar gravity field
that will indicate what’s below the surface.
“It seems that the answer is not on the surface,” said chief
scientist Maria Zuber of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “We
think that the answer is locked in the interior.”
Previous lunar missions have attempted to study the moon’s gravity – which is
about one-sixth Earth’s pull – with mixed results. Grail is the first
mission devoted to this goal.
Once in orbit, the near-identical spacecraft will spend the next two months
refining their positions until they are just 34 miles above the surface and
flying in formation. Data collection will begin in March.
The $496 million mission will be closely watched by schoolchildren. An effort
by Sally Ride, the first American woman in space, will allow middle school
students to use cameras aboard the probes to zoom in and pick out their
favourite lunar spots to photograph.
Despite the latest focus on the moon, NASA won’t be sending astronauts back
anytime soon. The Obama administration last year nixed a lunar return in
favour of landing humans on an asteroid and eventually Mars.
A jaunt to the moon – about 250,000 miles (400,000 kilometres) away from Earth
– is usually speedy. It took the Apollo astronauts three days to zip there
aboard the powerful Saturn V rocket. Since Nasa wanted to economise by
launching on a small rocket, it took Grail a leisurely 3.5 months to make
the trip covering 2.5 million miles (4 million kilometres).
Nasa’s last moonshot occurred in 2009 with the launch of a pair of spacecraft
– one that circled the moon and another that deliberately crashed into the
surface and uncovered frozen water in one of the permanently shadowed lunar
craters.
Article source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/space/8985864/Moon-countdown-first-Nasa-probe-set-to-arrive.html
Tags: maria zuber, apollo moon landings, massachusetts institute of technology <BR/>NASA rocks out for earthlings
In its new quest to be relevant to American youths now that the space shuttle program is over, NASA has launched a radio station on the Internet that airs rock, indie and alternative music — punctuated by messages about career opportunities and news at the space agency. Called “Third Rock, America’s Space Station,” it can be found via NASA’s home page — www.nasa.gov — and at rfcmedia.com/thirdrockradio. The station, catering to the 4G audience, went online Dec. 12, and is a collaboration with RFC Media in Houston. NASA says no taxpayer money was used in developing or operating it. Advertising is welcome. RFC Media says the music it selects for the station is “emerging” and consists of “the best songs and deepest tracks from a full spectrum of rock artists across many styles and decades.”
A Vermont feat to celebrate
After hundreds of thousands of tons of rock were hauled out and tens of thousands of man-hours were spent, Vermont celebrated the completion of the biggest single engineering challenge after the flooding from the remnants of Hurricane Irene. Just in time for the new year, and four months after the storm hit, Route 107 between Bethel and Stockbridge was reopened Thursday. The state highway, a major east-west thoroughfare, is the last to reopen after being closed by flooding. The road’s reopening was marked with a ceremony at a Stockbridge school, where scores of local residents and state officials tossed baseball caps into the air.
Bird flu research draws warning
The World Health Organization is warning that dangerous scientific information could fall into the wrong hands after U.S. government-funded researchers engineered a form of the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus more easily transmissible between humans. In a strongly worded statement Friday, WHO said it was “deeply concerned about the potential negative consequences” if the results of the study were used to create biological weapons or the mutated virus was accidentally released. “This is not the kind of research that you would want to have out there,” WHO’s top influenza expert, Dr. Keiji Fukuda, told the Associated Press in a phone interview. At the same time, WHO was concerned that all credible researchers should be able to access the study to better understand how to prevent a deadly H5N1 pandemic, Fukuda said.
Holocaust ruling marked career
Retired Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Thomas T. Johnson, who in 1981 ruled in a lawsuit that the Holocaust was “a fact and not reasonably subject to dispute,” died of congestive heart failure on Wednesday (Dec. 28, 2011) at his home in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, said his son, Will. He was 88. During 18 years on the bench, the judge, who went on to serve as presiding judge of the Superior Court in 1985 and 1986, handled a number of attention-grabbing cases, including disputes involving entertainer Rudy Vallee, tennis star Billie Jean King and philanthropist Norton Simon. But none matched the historical significance of the lawsuit that asked him to decide whether the Holocaust actually took place.
Times wires
Article source: http://www.tampabay.com/incoming/nasa-rocks-out-for-earthlingspp/1208585
Tags: Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Thomas T. Johnson, alternative music, Keiji Fukuda, RFC Media, World Health Organization <BR/>
The team is one of 10 from colleges and universities nationwide that will participate in NASA’s Systems Engineering Education Discovery program at Johnson Space Center in Houston.
The program runs from April 20-28.
During the project, teams will conduct experiments aboard a Boeing 727 that has been modified to mimic reduced-gravity conditions by making a series of about 30 screaming climbs and dives.
“It's a lot like a roller coaster,” said Jamey Jacob, an OSU professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering.
During the project, the team will use motion-capture systems to track body movements under conditions that mimic reduced gravity.
Such systems were famously used to create the character of Gollum in the “Lord of the Rings” film trilogy, and have been used extensively in other animated films. Hollywood-style motion-capture systems generally use markers placed at key spots around the subject's body during filming. The markers show computers where certain body parts, like joints, are located and what their movements look like.
Although NASA programs have made use of the Hollywood-style systems in the past, Jacob said the team will likely be using a different kind of system.
The Hollywood-style marker system requires a high level of calibration to use, he said.
While that level of precision is easy enough to manage in a laboratory or studio lot, it isn't as feasible on a moving airplane under shifting gravitational conditions.
The team is looking at several options for what system to use, Jacob said.
One of the options the team is considering is using a sensor-based video game system such as Microsoft's Xbox Kinect or Sony's PlayStation Move.
Such video game systems use sensors to detect body movements and would require less precise calibration, Jacob said, potentially making them a better option for the project.
Liabilities for video game systems
But the video game systems have their drawbacks as well, said Alyssa Avery, an aerospace and mechanical engineering major at OSU. Avery will serve as the project's team leader.
Although those systems would more reliably detect body movements under the project's conditions, they require more space to use, she said.
The Xbox Kinect, for example, works from a small hub, but the subjects must be six to eight feet away from the hub for it to work properly. That may not be possible on a moving airplane, she said.
Whatever the solution, Avery said she's pleased to be involved in the project.
Motion-capture systems are becoming more and more important, she said, because they give researchers the chance to map how the human body reacts to microgravity conditions.
And being able to do that research for NASA is all the more exciting, she said.
“That opportunity is amazing in itself,” she said.
Jacob said the project is a good way for students to get experience working under reduced-gravity conditions — something that wouldn't likely be possible otherwise.
“It's too expensive to send them up on a rocket to the space station,” he said.
Johnson Space Center spokeswoman Rachel Kraft said the project is a good way for students to get experience working in real-world conditions.
A real-life experience for students
The students' proposals go through a review process that is similar to the one all space-bound hardware has to undergo, she said, and the students will work with NASA engineers and scientists.
Besides being a good opportunity for the students, Kraft said the program also gives NASA the chance to interact with a group of people who could be interested in working for the agency once they graduate.
“It's a good opportunity for NASA to use our unique resources to show future engineers, future scientists, future NASA employees, possibly, what it's like to work in this field or a related field,” she said. “It's a real-life experience for them.”
Article source: http://newsok.com/oklahoma-state-university-team-to-participate-in-nasa-project/article/3636322
Tags: body movements, johnson space center, video game systems <BR/>The washing machine-sized probes have been cruising independently toward their destination since launching in September aboard the same rocket on a mission to measure lunar gravity.
Approaching the moon from the south pole, the Grail spacecraft — short for Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory — won’t land on the surface, but will survey from orbit.
On New Year’s Eve, Grail-A was poised to fire its engine for more than a half hour to slow itself and get captured into orbit. Grail-B will follow suit on New Year’s Day.
Deep space antennas in the California desert and Madrid will track the tricky maneuvers and feed real-time updates to ground controllers.
“The anxiety level is heightened,” project manager David Lehman of the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory said earlier this week.
Grail is the 110th mission to target the moon since the dawn of the Space Age including the six Apollo moon landings that put 12 astronauts on the surface. Despite the attention the moon has received, scientists don’t know everything about Earth’s nearest neighbor.
Why the moon is ever so slightly lopsided with the far side more mountainous than the side that always faces Earth remains a mystery. A theory put forth earlier this year suggested that Earth once had two moons that collided early in the solar system’s history, producing the hummocky region.
Grail is expected to help researchers better understand why the moon is asymmetrical and how it formed by mapping the uneven lunar gravity field that will indicate what’s below the surface.
“It seems that the answer is not on the surface,” said chief scientist Maria Zuber of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “We think that the answer is locked in the interior.”
Previous lunar missions have attempted to study the moon’s gravity — which is about one-sixth Earth’s pull — with mixed results. Grail is the first mission devoted to this goal.
Once in orbit, the near-identical spacecraft will spend the next two months refining their positions until they are just 34 miles above the surface and flying in formation. Data collection will begin in March.
The $496 million mission will be closely watched by schoolchildren. An effort by Sally Ride, the first American woman in space, will allow middle school students to use cameras aboard the probes to zoom in and pick out their favorite lunar spots to photograph.
Despite the latest focus on the moon, NASA won’t be sending astronauts back anytime soon. The Obama administration last year nixed a lunar return in favor of landing humans on an asteroid and eventually Mars.
A jaunt to the moon — about 250,000 miles (400,000 kilometers) away from Earth — is usually speedy. It took the Apollo astronauts three days to zip there aboard the powerful Saturn V rocket. Since NASA wanted to economize by launching on a small rocket, it took Grail a leisurely 3 1 / 2months to make the trip covering 2.5 million miles (4 million kilometers).
NASA’s last moonshot occurred in 2009 with the launch of a pair of spacecraft — one that circled the moon and another that deliberately crashed into the surface and uncovered frozen water in one of the permanently shadowed lunar craters.
Article source: http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/space/story/2011-12-31/nasa-moon-probe/52299620/1?csp=34news
Tags: nasa jet propulsion laboratory, Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory, massachusetts institute of technology, lunar gravity <BR/>PLEASE DESIST FROM ATTACKING THE WRITER PERSONALLY AND BE RESPECTFUL TO OTHER READERS.
Please give your full name while posting your comments. This is not to stifle the free flow of comments but your full name will enable us to print the comments in our newspaper.
Article source: http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=40218
As the year 2011 comes to a close, some might wonder what is looming sky-wise for 2012? What celestial events might we look forward to seeing?
I’ve selected what I consider to be the top 12 “skylights” for this coming year, and list them here in chronological order. Not all these events will be visible from any one locality … for the eclipses, for instance, you’ll probably have to do some traveling … but many can be observed from the comfort of your backyard.
Hopefully your local weather will cooperate on most, if not all, of these dates. Clear skies!
Starry Night Software
Jan. 4: Quadrantid meteor shower peaks
This meteor shower reaches its peak in the predawn hours of Jan. 4 for eastern North America. The Quadrantid meteor shower is a very short-lived meteor display, whose peak rates only last several hours. The phase of the moon is a bright waxing gibbous, normally prohibitive for viewing any meteor shower, but the moon will set by 3 a.m., leaving the sky dark for a few hours until the first light of dawn; that’s when you’ll have the best shot at seeing many of these bluish-hued meteors.
From the eastern half of North America, a single observer might count on seeing as many as 50 to 100 “Quads” in a single hour. From the western half of the continent the display will be on the wane by the time the moon sets, with hourly rates probably diminishing to around 25 to 50 meteors.
Feb. 20 to March 12: Best evening apparition of Mercury
In February and March, the “elusive” innermost planet Mercury moves far enough from the glare of the sun to be readily visible soon after sunset. Its appearance will be augmented by two other bright planets (Venus and Jupiter), which also will be visible in the western sky during this same time frame.
Mercury will arrive at its greatest elongation from the sun March 5. It will be quite bright (-1.3 to zero magnitude) before this date and will fade rapidly to +1.6 magnitude thereafter. Astronomers measure the brightness of objects in terms of magnitude, with lower numbers corresponding to brighter objects.
March 3: Mars arrives at opposition
On March 3, Earth will be passing Mars as the two planets wheel around the sun in their respective orbits. Because Mars reaches aphelion — its farthest point from the sun — on Feb. 15, this particular opposition will be an unfavorable one. In fact, two days after opposition, Mars will be closest to Earth at a distance of 62.6 million miles.
Compare this with the August 2003 opposition when Mars was only 34.6 million miles away. Nonetheless, even at this unfavorable opposition the fiery-hued Mars will be an imposing naked-eye sight, shining at magnitude -1.2, just a bit dimmer than Sirius, the brightest star, and will be visible in the sky all night long.
March 13: Brilliant ‘double planet’
The two brightest planets, Venus and Jupiter, team up to make for an eye-catching sight in the western sky soon after sunset. They will be separated by 3 degrees on this evening, Venus passing to the northwest (upper right) of Jupiter and shining nearly eight times brighter than “Big Jupe.” Although they will gradually go their separate ways after this date, on March 25 and 26, a crescent moon will pass by, adding additional beauty to this celestial scene.
NASA file
Astronaut stops to smell the roses
Science editor Alan Boyle’s blog: One of the last astronauts to ride on a space shuttle will be riding a totally different vehicle on Sunday: a flower-bedecked float in the 2012 Rose Parade.
12 must-see skywatching events in 2012
Martian life might thrive in lava tubes: study
China reveals its space plans up to 2016
May 5: Biggest full moon of 2012
The moon turns full at 11:35 p.m. ET, and just 25 minutes later it will arrive at its closest point to Earth in 2012, at a distance of 221,801 miles. Expect a large range in ocean tides (exceptionally low to exceptionally high) for the next few days. [Photos: 'Supermoon' of 2011]
May 20: Annular eclipse of the sun
The path of annularity for this eclipse starts over eastern China and sweeps northeast across southern and central Japan. The path continues northeast then east, passing just south of Alaska’s Aleutian Island chain. The path then turns to the southeast, making landfall in the western United States along the California-Oregon coast. It will pass over central Nevada, southern Utah, northern Arizona, the extreme southwest corner of Colorado and most of New Mexico before coming to an end over northern Texas.
Since the disk of the moon will appear smaller than the disk of the sun, it will create a “penny on nickel” effect, with a fiery ring of sunlight shining around the moon’s dark silhouette. Locations that will witness this eerie sight include Eureka and Reading, Calif.; Carson City, Reno and Ely, Nev.; Bryce Canyon in Utah; Arizona’s Grand Canyon; Albuquerque and Santa Fe in N.M., and just prior to sunset for Lubbock, Tex.
A partial eclipse of the sun will be visible over a large swath of the United States and Canada, including Alaska and Hawaii, but no eclipse will be visible near and along the Atlantic Seaboard.
June 4: Partial eclipse of the moon
This partial lunar eclipse favors the Pacific Ocean; Hawaii sees it high in the sky during the middle of its night. Across North America the eclipse takes place between midnight and dawn. The farther east one goes, the closer the time of moonset coincides with the moment that the moon enters the Earth’s dark umbral shadow.
In fact, over the Northeastern United States and eastern Canada, the only evidence of this eclipse will be a slight shading on the moon’s left edge (the faint penumbral shadow) before moonset. Over the Canadian Maritimes, the moon will set before the eclipse begins. At maximum, more than one-third of the moon’s lower portion (37.6 percent) will be immersed in the umbra.
Jeffrey Berkes
June 5: Rare transit of Venus across the sun
The passage of Venus in front of the sun is among the rarest of astronomical events, rarer even than the return of Halley’s Comet every 76 years. Only six transits of Venus are known to have been observed by humans before: in 1639, 1761, 1769, 1874, 1882 and, most recently, in 2004.
The next one will occur in the year 2114. When Venus is in transit across the solar disk, the planet appears as a distinct, albeit tiny, round black spot with a diameter just 1/32nd of the sun. This size is large enough to readily perceive with the naked eye.
HOWEVER … prospective observers are warned to take special precautions (as with a solar eclipse) when attempting to view the silhouette of Venus against the blindingly brilliant solar disc.
The beginning of the transit will be visible from all of North America, Greenland, extreme northern and western portions of South America, Hawaii, northern and eastern portions of Asia including Japan, New Guinea, northern and eastern portions of Australia, and New Zealand. The end will be visible over Alaska, all of Asia and Indonesia, Australia, Eastern Europe, the eastern third of Africa, and the island nation of Madagascar.
Aug. 12: Perseid meteor shower
The Perseids are considered to be among the best of the annual displays thanks to its high rates of up to 90 per hour for a single observer, as well as its reliability. Beloved by summer campers and often discovered by city dwellers who might be spending time in the country under dark starry skies. [10 Perseid Meteor Shower Facts]
Last summer a bright moon wrecked the shower by blotting out many of the fainter streaks, but in 2012 the moon will be three days past last quarter phase on this peak morning — a fat waning crescent presenting only a minor nuisance for prospective observers.
NASA/MSFC/Meteoroid Environment Office
Nov. 13: Total eclipse of the sun
The first total solar eclipse since July 2010. Virtually the entire path of totality falls over water. At the very beginning, the track cuts through Australia’s Northern Territory just to the east of Darwin, then across the Gulf of Carpentaria, then through northern Queensland, passing over Cairns and Port Douglas before heading out to sea.
The rest of the eclipse path, including the point of the maximum duration of totality (4 minutes, 2 seconds) is, unfortunately, pretty much wasted by falling over the open waters of the Pacific Ocean.
John Chumack
Dec. 13-14: Geminid meteor shower
If there is one meteor display guaranteed to put on a very entertaining show it is the Geminid meteor shower. Now considered by most meteor experts to be at the top of the list, surpassing in brilliance and reliability even the August Perseids.
Bundle warmly against the winter chill; you can start observing as soon as darkness falls on the evening of Dec. 13 as Gemini starts coming up above the eastern horizon and continue through the rest of the night. Around 2 a.m. when Gemini is almost directly overhead, you might see as many as two meteor sightings per minute … 120 per hour! And the moon is new, meaning that it will not be a factor at all.
Dec. 25: Christmas evening and Jupiter
On Christmas, many will be looking skyward and wondering what that brilliant silvery “star” is hovering just above the waxing gibbous moon. It’s not a star (or Santa returning to the North Pole), but the largest planet in our solar system, Jupiter, serving as a sort of holiday ornament with our nearest neighbor in space to cap off a year of interesting and predictable sky events that we all can enjoy!
Joe Rao serves as an instructor and guest lecturer at New York’s Hayden Planetarium. He writes about astronomy for The New York Times and other publications, and he is also an on-camera meteorologist for News 12 Westchester, New York.
© 2011 Space.com. All rights reserved. More from Space.com.
Article source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45828528/ns/technology_and_science-space/
Some planets, like Venus, Mercury and Mars, and of course, the Sun and Moon, are faster moving planets, and other planets move more slowly around our solar system. Each planet position means something different for each star sign, and with each position there is a governing energy. Here’s a rundown on the movement of these planets in 2012.
JUPITER is the ruler of Sagittarius, and is known as the planet of abundance and expansion, and often referred to as the lucky planet.
Jupiter is in Taurus till June 12, 2012: With Jupiter in Taurus, everything is deliberate. Jupiter will stretch the mind, but Taurus will make sure it is for real rather than fleeting or fantasy. The Jupiter Taurus vibration helps you strive for the future in a way that pleases your heart; it encourages you to keep life in prospective while striving to be the best you can be. It encourages art, real estate and possessions that have an investment value – this is a fortunate and positive placement.
Jupiter moves in to Gemini on June 12th 2012 and stays in this position till June 27th 2013, when it moves into Cancer. In Gemini, the grasp of detail and vision is heightened, particularly with creative ventures. It is also the position of media, which focuses attention on matters and people that need to be made public.
SATURN is the ruler of Capricorn, represents business and acts with authority. He also represents our father, and the discipline and self control to work hard to get ahead. Saturn is known as the hard taskmaster, and anything that happens under the influence of Saturn is real, with strong foundations.
Saturn is in Libra till Oct., 06, 2012: In this position, Saturn highlights the need for fairness in all dealings, personal and professional. People become more helpful and amicable in their business negotiations and strive for win-win outcomes. This is a positive position for Saturn, as it is Capricorn’s ruler and it is in Capricorn’s solar 10th House, the position of business and career. Saturn is also known as the planet of restrictions and boundaries, but in this position it promises to rebuild business and relationships on a balanced level with integrity on a world scale.
Saturn moves into the sign of Scorpio on Oct 6th 2012 and stays here through Dec 24 2014 when it moves into the next sign, Sagittarius. In Scorpio, Saturn provides the energy of power and determination, and a responsible attitude towards money and financial dealings.
URANUS is the ruler of Aquarius and is a slow moving planet. It takes about 84 years to move through the solar cycle and visits each star sign for around seven years. It is the planet of creativity, originality and is futuristic in its essence. It can also bring about sudden change that can be disruptive but empowering.
Uranus is in Aries till March 07, 2019, another 7 years. In this position Uranus gives you a greater level of originality, boosts self confidence to achieve objectives, and enhances leadership. It can also be stubborn, risk taking, and act with rashness. But overall, it provides ambition to achieve what can be thought as impossible. Under this influence, with the genius of Uranus, you can accomplish just about anything, but in the process it can be challenging and cause upheaval.
NEPTUNE is the ruler of Pisces and known as the planet of imagination. It takes 164 years to move through the solar system and 12 zodiac signs. It stays in each sign for approximately 14 years.
Neptune is in Aquarius till Feb 04 2011. During this time, the Neptune Aquarian influence can bring about a heightened awareness of humanitarian issues, with the energy assisting the creation of unique ways to overcome world issues.
Neptune moves back into Pisces on Feb 04, 2012 and stays there till March 31, 2025 – a 13 year period.
Neptune in Pisces is a strong position as it rules Pisces, and brings together a mind, body and soul balance to our world. People will look for more sustainable experiences and situations to fulfill their lives rather than a quick fix. It is a time when intuitive sciences will be taken more seriously, and people worldwide will seek to enter a journey of self discovery.
PLUTO is a slow moving planet that stays in a sign for approximately 12 years. It is known as the planet of transformation.
Pluto is in Capricorn till Jan., 22, 2024, another 12 years. Capricorn is a business minded sign that strives to build solid foundations now and for the future. As Pluto represents transformation, this combination signifies a time when world business will be under the microscope. Anything that is not working will disintegrate, that’s the Pluto influence and it will be built up again under the Capricorn influence, and in the process, it does promise to come back to be bigger and better than before. Partnerships on all levels, professional and personal, become more honest, open and sincere.
Summing up:
Conclusion 2012
In conclusion, this year, more than ever before we enter a period of spiritual growth where we change literally change our lives as the vibration of our existence changes. With the Neptune influence moving into its own inspirational and imaginative sign, Pisces, encouraging us to look within, and the Pluto Capricorn vibration of breaking down to rebuild, all leads to transformation on a whole. Whether on a personal or business level there is a common theme of people wanting to do and be better as humans. There is a need for honesty first with yourself and then fairness in all dealings. We are coming back into alignment with ourselves, each other, and the people and corporations we deal with locally and on a world scale. This is a powerful time, and it is a wake up call on many levels. It is a time when the vibration of life can rise to a level where pettiness falls between the crakes and the big picture of live takes precedence. The reality of Jupiter in Taurus for the first half of the year, then in Gemini the sign of creativity and media for the remainder of the year, Jupiter expands our mind to think further outside the box than before. The fairness of Saturn in Libra, the sheer determination of Uranus in Aries, Neptune in Pisces’s quest for us to look deeper within ourselves, and Pluto in Capricorn on a mission to reconstruct the broken fences, this is a year to rebuild the power source. It starts with one person, YOU, and with this small effort, the vibration of intention and action can filter out to mankind as a whole and as one. This is a powerful time in our existence, and I look forward to being part of the learning and teaching process. Good luck and cosmic love!
Article source: http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/horoscopes/stars-store-2012-article-1.998972
Ice within lava tubes on Earth can host bacteria in cold, Mars-like conditions, hinting that life could dwell in similar lava tubes on Mars, researchers say.
The microbes in question were collected from a lava tube near Newberry Crater in Oregon’s Cascade Mountains at an elevation of 5,020 feet. The bacteria resided within ice on rocks some 100 feet inside the lava tube.
“We found many, many microbes, many species,” study lead author Radu Popa, a microbiologist and astrobiologist at Portland State University, told SPACE.com.
One of the microbes is a species of Pseudomonas, one of the most common types of bacteria on Earth.
“You can find its cousins in caves, on your skin, at the bottom of the ocean and just about anywhere,” said study co-author Amy Smith of Oregon State University. “What is different, in this case, is its unique qualities that allow it to grow in Mars-like conditions.”
The microbes can thrive despite near-freezing temperatures and very low-oxygen air. Although the Oregon lava tube environment is less harsh than Mars — the Red Planet is colder, with less oxygen — “it does show that bacteria can live in similar conditions,” said study co-author Martin Fisk of Oregon State University. [ Extreme Life on Earth: 8 Bizarre Creatures ]
Moreover, these microbes can grow without organic nutrients such as sugars. Instead, experiments showed that without such food, they can subsist off the iron in olivine, which is common on Earth and Mars.
“This reaction involving a common mineral from volcanic rocks just hasn’t been documented before,” Fisk said. “Now we know that olivine can sustain microbial life.”
In addition to this Pseudomonas bacterium, perhaps nine or 10 other microbial species are performing similar kinds of chemistry in this cave, researchers said.
“We’ve been looking for the last 10 years for evidence that a microbe could live on olivine this way, and now we’ve found many such examples,” Popa said.
Since researchers have speculated about whether lava tubes could serve as potential shelters for life on Mars, Popa, who used to explore caves in his native Romania, suggested investigating lava tubes on Earth for life.
NASA file
Astronaut stops to smell the roses
Science editor Alan Boyle’s blog: One of the last astronauts to ride on a space shuttle will be riding a totally different vehicle on Sunday: a flower-bedecked float in the 2012 Rose Parade.
12 must-see skywatching events in 2012
Martian life might thrive in lava tubes: study
China reveals its space plans up to 2016
“When temperatures and atmospheric pressure on Mars are higher, as they have been in the past, ecosystems based on this type of bacteria could flourish,” Popa said.
Altogether, the researchers suggest such microbes might be able to survive in subterranean lairs on Mars and other planets. “It all depends on how gentle conditions on Mars once were,” Popa said.
In the future, the researchers plan on analyzing how exactly these microbes are scrounging energy from olivine. “Do they need to stay in touch with the surface, or can they do it from a distance by producing a chemical agent?” Popa said.
The team also wants to see how exactly these microbes alter the surfaces of the olivine they live off. “The fingerprints left by such bacteria on mineral surfaces can be used by scientists as tools to determine whether life ever existed on Mars,” Popa said.
The scientists detailed their findings online Dec. 14 in the journal Astrobiology.
Follow SPACE.com for the latest in space science and exploration news on Twitter @Spacedotcomand on Facebook.
© 2011 Space.com. All rights reserved. More from Space.com.
Article source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45828571/ns/technology_and_science-space/
Tags: lava tube, Martin Fisk, Oregon lava tube, lava tubes, Radu Popa, Oregon State University <BR/>In 2012 make your resolution to learn more astronomy. Mark your calendars for these heavenly highlights for the coming year.
Venus is back in the evening sky this month and brighter than ever. Look for it right after sunset in the southwest. It will look like a plane or UFO at first glance – it’s that bright. Each day Venus will appear higher in the sky and slowly inch its way toward the second brightest planet, Jupiter. Jupiter has been wowing observers all fall and will be making a close conjunction with Venus on March 12 and 13.
Every 26 months the Earth swings closest to the planet Mars. These events, called oppositions, are when we can best see the Red Planet. Martian opposition will be March 3, when you’ll start to see it rise in the east just as the sun sets.
The most picturesque planet in a telescope is Saturn and the ringed planet will reach its opposition on April 15. Look at it through a telescope this spring because you will never forget your first time seeing Saturn’s magnificent rings.
On May 20 there will be a partial solar eclipse – from Cincinnati, very partial. The Moon will cover only a tiny portion of the Sun as it sets that day in Greater Cincinnati. The best views will on the West Coast. The Moon will be too far from the Earth to cover the entire Sun and will create what is called an annular eclipse – when you can see a halo of sunlight around the mountains of the Moon. Plan a vacation to view this special eclipse from Reno, Nev., or Albuquerque, N.M., and become an eclipse chaser.
The rarest of all astronomical events will happen on June 5: a Transit of Venus. This is when Venus orbits directly in front of the Sun. There will be a little black spot on the Sun that day, but you will need to take special care when viewing. Looking at the Sun is always dangerous so contact the Cincinnati Observatory for safe viewing tips. If you miss this Transit of Venus, you won’t likely live to see the next one on Dec. 10, 2117.
Two meteor showers in 2012 look promising. The Orionid Meteor Shower will put on a show Oct. 21-22 and the Leonids peak Nov. 17-18. The best viewing times are 2-5 a.m. so bundle up, grab your sweetheart, and lay under the shooting stars because both shows could be good ones.
Article source: http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20111230/LIFE/312300082/A-bright-year-night-sky?odyssey=mod%7Cnewswell%7Ctext%7CFRONTPAGE%7Cs
Tags: Transit of Venus, Cincinnati Observatory, solar eclipse, brightest planet <BR/>
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