tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55089300000993540102024-02-21T10:07:15.492-08:00Astronomy, Exoplanets, SuperMoons, Transit of VenusAstronomy blog with news on Gliese 581g, Exoplanets, 2012 Transit of Venus, Zarmina's World, exoplanetary exploration, Extreme Supermoons, Kepler telescope, 2012 astronomy, Maya prophecies, links to astronomy websites, 2012 Transit of Venus, 21st century architecture, astronomers, solar energy, astronomical news.Joe Trainorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03963030295031426970noreply@blogger.comBlogger35125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5508930000099354010.post-1147874267977537572012-08-30T08:18:00.001-07:002012-08-30T08:18:38.288-07:00Mars: High resolution images from Curiosity rover<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Here are some of the most recent Mars images released by NASA, taken from the Curiosity rover in recent days:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEoCOoNohB5i_vJahTv9Aze6SQL7vaG_on2l2PI0S85o5xNwMYpmX-TMfi2FkxvJCtLEDXmZNOknd8tTtCKz73uoh1XG8I2HkS1iQUlsT4RJY4zNTqBV1zwk73m-aDFiRDB7u77jzuX9g/s1600/mars+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEoCOoNohB5i_vJahTv9Aze6SQL7vaG_on2l2PI0S85o5xNwMYpmX-TMfi2FkxvJCtLEDXmZNOknd8tTtCKz73uoh1XG8I2HkS1iQUlsT4RJY4zNTqBV1zwk73m-aDFiRDB7u77jzuX9g/s320/mars+1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTd7enFBJbzF7_lk0NNN0dCSAE0X8ezNy_GMojgz0srrq6I1ov1wkHopi-Ua-0_xz5fO6PwNz8YdMqSIqoWvXmeJ0mJsgUrrhhSp1GzsGTMD-4zpr3-pcPc-ZeHqeLLZQghehszbRFqeE/s1600/mars+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTd7enFBJbzF7_lk0NNN0dCSAE0X8ezNy_GMojgz0srrq6I1ov1wkHopi-Ua-0_xz5fO6PwNz8YdMqSIqoWvXmeJ0mJsgUrrhhSp1GzsGTMD-4zpr3-pcPc-ZeHqeLLZQghehszbRFqeE/s320/mars+2.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHRF0jFPcYvly5mM6TujIBeLHWnGc4fILm_3Ko783RvqcZquhTTXfuNVYXnODRTml5nGkgR7BKpkQClMHCiSbDz3FouIv4058jHzQhVqlxbsVRXYlRRDMJdt9ukVQktOrZhCcV5H4Q_JU/s1600/mars+3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHRF0jFPcYvly5mM6TujIBeLHWnGc4fILm_3Ko783RvqcZquhTTXfuNVYXnODRTml5nGkgR7BKpkQClMHCiSbDz3FouIv4058jHzQhVqlxbsVRXYlRRDMJdt9ukVQktOrZhCcV5H4Q_JU/s320/mars+3.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6g5uZ6xwpFD7vPIYKO8pLwmLY-q1LsnM1iJRI9E9_AGtsLFDk6JPzTirP0cORssDX4MzK498UdSxD03VLJ5FigLrix-QzoGvvJICbpAxdGYuA7fHIHFxCoTu3l7BweSRcnP0PluRo9M0/s1600/mars+4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6g5uZ6xwpFD7vPIYKO8pLwmLY-q1LsnM1iJRI9E9_AGtsLFDk6JPzTirP0cORssDX4MzK498UdSxD03VLJ5FigLrix-QzoGvvJICbpAxdGYuA7fHIHFxCoTu3l7BweSRcnP0PluRo9M0/s320/mars+4.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnGtbyL7FVjW2RylnCAKQYyJJS3UtlOgpc7X9NuCPhb6DhheGGdyse1n4M_XN9mg-h8IWnvDzF92cdWCMJLKkcuR_QUjs1GUW0XUfPPHTWctD5eWyxooj37PyjQdSIJi6UgXMkdmzDi1o/s1600/mars+5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnGtbyL7FVjW2RylnCAKQYyJJS3UtlOgpc7X9NuCPhb6DhheGGdyse1n4M_XN9mg-h8IWnvDzF92cdWCMJLKkcuR_QUjs1GUW0XUfPPHTWctD5eWyxooj37PyjQdSIJi6UgXMkdmzDi1o/s320/mars+5.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpCbcvUej1I5XvIxjUsubGg9yHB_ZPsdXqah3dF6_zB6qvR42NV5YysKVBFc-QWuJyVgWUqpN8Yk0QcRjw9hWyK60fBJ-QxPK1lR72nuOwt0m-omS_bPf_5SUgOwmfzKI7FbVx0a5F91Y/s1600/mars+curiosity+rover+schematic.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpCbcvUej1I5XvIxjUsubGg9yHB_ZPsdXqah3dF6_zB6qvR42NV5YysKVBFc-QWuJyVgWUqpN8Yk0QcRjw9hWyK60fBJ-QxPK1lR72nuOwt0m-omS_bPf_5SUgOwmfzKI7FbVx0a5F91Y/s320/mars+curiosity+rover+schematic.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Check back for MORE NASA photos and videos from Mars Curiosity mission in coming days and weeks!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />Joe Trainorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03963030295031426970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5508930000099354010.post-88922457835908094022012-02-27T16:38:00.003-08:002012-02-27T16:44:56.716-08:00EARTH News: Eco holidays to save Gaia<span style="font-weight:bold;">Sustainable Tourism: A Key to Global Solutions</span><br /><br />by Dr. Reese Halter and Dr. Dave Randle<br /><br />When most people think of tourism, they probably don't think about an industry that can contribute to global solutions for the difficult challenges facing the planet.<br /><br />Tourism is in fact, the fastest growing industry in the world. According to the U.N. World Tourism Organization (WTO), tourism visits grew from about 900 to 940 million visitors last year and is projected to rise to 1.6 billion by the year 2020.<br /><br />The WTO states that tourism is the largest industry in the world with an estimated 11.5% of the world GDP and employing about 12.5% of the world's work force.<br /><br />Tourism can be the key for implementing many global solutions for challenges such as climate change, poverty reduction, waste reduction, preserving eco-systems and moving the world to a more sustainable planet.<br /><br />Unlike the fossil fuel industries that often resist serious efforts to address climate change the tourist industry realizes that climate change left unmitigated threatens their business. One example is the Caribbean region where climate change is already threatening the region with several challenges including but not limited to:<br /><br />• predictions of increased frequency and intensity of tropical storms and hurricanes.<br />• rising sea levels resulting in salt water intrusion to coastal habitat and fresh water supplies.<br />• changing weather patterns and new drought cycles that threaten food production.<br />• disruptions in rainfall patterns that threaten water supplies.<br />• bleaching of the coral reefs that threaten vital tourist attractions.<br />• increases of diseases such as dengue fever due to warmer temperatures.<br /><br />Unless these climate change issues are mitigated, the quality of the tourist experience is likely to decrease and the visitors will be less likely to come to the region.<br /><br />Tourism also has an strong interest in alleviating poverty. Poverty in tourist areas has the potential for:<br /><br />• driving away business.<br />• increased crime risks.<br />• increased spread of infectious disease.<br />• destruction of the environment.<br />• low quality of skills and services.<br /><br />Tourists often come from more wealthy countries. If tourist accommodations are surrounded by depressing poverty, high crime or security issues, or constant concerns of catching infectious disease, they will be become places tourists will avoid visiting or scheduling return visits.<br /><br />Tourists are also increasingly discriminating re: local arts and crafts, quality of services expected, and opportunities of the local culture. If abject poverty keeps local artists from improving skills, the services coming from an uneducated work force, or the culture either to depressing or unsafe to venture out in, then the tourist destination or service suffers as a result.<br /><br />Tourism destinations and resorts have an interest in keeping their areas clean and pristine. Fishing, kayaking, paddle boarding, diving, snorkeling, swimming, boating, or walking on the beach are all experiences where pollution can quickly turn a positive activity sour.<br /><br />In contrast, tourist areas that are kept clean and pristine are likely to not only be more valued experiences but also places tourists will more likely want to return.<br /><br />Tourism needs not only protection. but where possible enhancement of the surrounding ecosystems to insure the continued quality of the tourism experience. As a result, tourism has a vested interest in conservation, biodiversity, and sustainable fisheries that other industries may not care as much about.<br /><br />It is encouraging to note that a growing movement in support of sustainable tourism has been developing the past few years. Progress is being seen in the tourist industry, government & NGO's, and education in support of these efforts. A few examples are as follows:<br /><br />In the tourist industry, Walt Disney Company that includes Walt Disney World Resort® the most visited tourist destination in the world, has taken strong leadership for sustainable tourism.<br /><br />Disney corporate goals include:<br /><br />1. Reduce zero net direct greenhouse emissions 50% from the 2006 baseline by 2012 and then subsequently become a net zero greenhouse gas emission company.<br />2. Reduce electricity consumption by 10% from 2006 baseline levels by 2012.<br />3. Decrease waste sent to landfills by 50% from 2006 baseline levels by 2013 and then work to send zero waste to landfills.<br />4. Have a net positive impact on ecosystems and continue to increase its grants from the Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund.<br /><br />Imagine the impact if the entire tourist industry would follow Walt Disney Company's lead toward sustainable tourism. While some are arguing whether it is feasible to reduce carbon emissions 10% in government forums, Disney is reducing carbon emissions 50% in a short six years. They are making these reductions in a way that also is enhancing net profits.<br /><br />The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) is a global leader in promoting sustainable tourism. What began as a collaborative effort of the U.N. World Tourism Organization, the U.N. Environment Programme (UNEP), the Rainforest Alliance, and the U.N. Foundation, has now expanded to include over 200 members from around the globe.<br /><br />The GSTC represents a diverse membership including U.N. agencies, leading travel companies, hotels, country tourism boards and tour operators.<br /><br />The GSTC has recently released a new global standard for sustainable tourism the "<a href="http://new.gstcouncil.org/resource-center/gstc-criteria"target="_blank">Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria</a>" The criteria requires members of the tourist industry who want to be certified to meet standards include<br /><br />• Demonstrate effective sustainable management. This includes making sure that long range planning is in place to continue to operate more sustainably.<br />• Maximize social and economic benefits to the local community and minimize community impacts. This includes providing a living wage to people working in the tourist industry as well as providing economic benefits to the larger community where the tourist business is located.<br />• Maximize benefits to cultural heritage and minimize negative impacts. This includes protection of indigenous people's rights as well as preserving sacred and cultural sites of the past.<br />• Maximize benefits to the environment and minimize negative impacts. This includes addressing the critical issues of carbon emissions, water, waste management, biodiversity, and protection of ecosystems.<br /><br />If implemented on a large scale throughout the tourist industry, the GSTC criteria will go a long way to address the issues of climate change, alleviation of poverty, waste reduction, conservation of water, and biodiversity, cultural heritage, and protection and enhancement of ecosystems.<br /><br />See (http://new.gstcouncil.org/resource-center/gstc-criteria)<br /><br />Educational Institutions are also beginning to address the issues of sustainable Tourism as well as model sustainability on their campus.<br /><br />California Lutheran University (CLU) and the University of South Florida (USF), where the two of us work, have strong campus sustainability programs that work to model sustainable lifestyles for the campus community. Both universities are signatories to the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment. This commitment includes a 5% reduction in energy use and continuing annual reductions, as well as establishing a target date for climate neutrality.<br /><br />CLU states "we make a commitment to continue to learn how to live responsibly and justly on our campus and in our communities. Sustainability must be a campus-wide effort rooted in awareness that our immediate, local practices often have global implications."<br /><br />USF has begun a new Sustainable Tourism Concentration as part of their M.A. in Global Sustainability program. The program includes education on implementing the new GSTC criteria.<br /><br />Working together, the tourist industry, the leadership of the GSTC, and educational institutions can begin to implement models for sustainability that others may follow.<br /><br />Sustainable tourism can lead the way in demonstrating how to break the fossil fuel addiction, model good water conservation and waste management, and place a higher value on protecting biodiversity and ecosystems.<br /><br />Sustainable tourism also reduce costs and increase net revenues of the business, created economic development for the community, and is projected to create 69 million new jobs in the next decade.<br /><br />Each traveler can assist in sustainable tourism by choosing resorts and destinations that practice sustainable tourism as evidenced by being certified by a GSTC recognized sustainable tourism certification program.<br /><br />Sustainable tourism is indeed a key to many global solutions and may be one of the most hopeful strategies for the global transition to sustainability.<br /><br />This post was co-authored by Dr. David Randle. Dr. David Randle is the Director of USF Masters of Global Sustainability Sustainable Tourism concentration program, and President & CEO WHALE Center<br /><br />Earth Dr Reese Halter is an award-winning science communicator:voice for ecology and distinguished conservation biologist at California Lutheran University. His latest books are: The Incomparable Honeybee and The Insatiable Bark Beetle. <br /> <br />Follow Dr. Reese Halter on Twitter: www.twitter.com/DrReeseHalterJoe Trainorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03963030295031426970noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5508930000099354010.post-30635014988739766832012-02-22T09:50:00.000-08:002012-02-22T09:55:07.290-08:00DISCOVERY: New Planet is water-filled and steamy!!!<span style="font-weight:bold;">Bigger than Earth, smaller than Uranus</span><br /><br />Scientists have discovered a new type of alien planet — a steamy waterworld that is larger than Earth but smaller than Uranus.<br /><br />The standard-bearer for this new class of exoplanet is called GJ 1214b, which astronomers first discovered in December 2009. New observations by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope suggest that GJ 1214b is a watery world enshrouded by a thick, steamy atmosphere.<br /><br />"GJ 1214b is like no planet we know of," study lead author Zachory Berta of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Mass., said in a statement. "A huge fraction of its mass is made up of water."<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Adding to the diversity of discovered planets</span><br /><br />To date, astronomers have discovered more than 700 planets beyond our solar system, with about 2,300 more "candidates" awaiting confirmation by follow-up observations.<br /><br />These alien planets are a diverse bunch. Astronomers have found one planet as light and airy as Styrofoam, for example, and another as dense as iron. They've discovered several alien worlds that orbit two suns, like Luke Skywalker's home planet of Tatooine in the "Star Wars" films. [The Strangest Alien Planets]<br /><br />But GJ 1214b, which is located 40 light-years from Earth in the constellation Ophiuchus (The Serpent Bearer), is something new altogether, researchers said.<br /><br />This so-called "super-Earth" is about 2.7 times Earth’s diameter and weighs nearly seven times as much as our home planet. It orbits a red-dwarf star at a distance of 1.2 million miles (2 million kilometres), giving it an estimated surface temperature of 446 degrees Fahrenheit (230 degrees Celsius) — too hot to host life as we know it.<br /><br />Scientists first reported in 2010 that GJ 1214b's atmosphere is likely composed primarily of water, but their findings were not definitive. Berta and his team used Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3 to help dispel the doubts.<br /><br />Hubble watched as GJ 1214b crossed in front of its host star, and the scientists were able to determine the composition of the planet's atmosphere based on how it filtered the starlight.<br /><br />"We’re using Hubble to measure the infrared color of sunset on this world," Berta said. "The Hubble measurements really tip the balance in favor of a steamy atmosphere."<br /><br />Berta and his colleagues report their results online in the Astrophysical Journal.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">A watery world</span><br /><br />Since astronomers know GJ 1241b's mass and size, they're able to calculate its density, which turns out to be just 2 grams per cubic centimeter (g/cc). Earth's density is 5.5 g/cc, while that of water is 1 g/cc.<br /><br />GJ 1214b thus appears to have much more water than Earth does, and much less rock. The alien planet's interior structure is likely quite different from that of our world.<br /><br />"The high temperatures and high pressures would form exotic materials like 'hot ice' or 'superfluid water,' substances that are completely alien to our everyday experience," Berta said.<br /><br />GJ 1214b probably formed farther out from its star, where water ice was plentiful, and then migrated in to its current location long ago. In the process, it would have experienced more Earth-like temperatures, but how long this benign phase lasted is unknown, researchers said.<br /><br />Because GJ 1214b is so close to Earth, it's a prime candidate for study by future instruments. NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, which is slated to launch in 2018, may be able to get an even better look at the planet's atmosphere, researchers said. <br /><br />Source: Space.comJoe Trainorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03963030295031426970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5508930000099354010.post-18179205825854273362012-02-09T13:07:00.000-08:002012-02-09T13:14:47.821-08:00Phil Plait of Bad Astronomy to offer stargazing vacationsby John Farrell, Contributor, Forbes.com<br /><br />It’s not often a scientist decides to start his own travel agency.<br /><br />I’m exaggerating–it’s not a travel agency. But Phil Plait of Bad Astronomy and his wife Marcella Setter recently founded Science Getaways to set up trips around the world for people who’d like to travel to exotic landscapes–and learn from experts.<br /><br />“When we visited the Galapagos Islands a few years ago,” he writes, “we discovered that learning about the natural history, geology, and biology of the islands greatly enhanced our appreciation of their beauty and made our visit much more memorable. Discovering more about your vacation spot always makes the experience better, and it was from this idea that Science Getaways was born.”<br /><br />Plait has a degree in astronomy from University of Virginia. He worked for a stretch at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center helping to calibrate the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph. In addition to his blog, he’s written two books, and lectures all across the country on science and science education.<br /><br />The first official Science Getaways trip is for September: at the C Lazy U Ranch in Granby, Colorado. At an elevation of 8,300 feet, the ranch is located in a valley south of Rocky Mountain National Park.<br /><br />Over the course of four days, guests will go on hikes and field trips with Plait; Holly Brunkal, a professor of geology at Western State College in Gunnison; and David Armstrong, former professor at University of Colorado–Boulder and a specialist in biogeography and ecology.<br /><br />I’m hoping future Science Getaways take place during school vacation –so I can bring my kids.<br /><br />Related Links:<br /><br /><a href="http://sciencegetaways.com/"target="_blank">New stargazer astronomy vacations from Science Getaways</a><br /><br /><a href="http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/"target="_blank">Bad Astronomy blog on Discover Magazine's website</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.spacetelescope.org/"target="_blank">Hubble Space Telescope website</a>Joe Trainorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03963030295031426970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5508930000099354010.post-52423461403413962642011-12-30T08:52:00.000-08:002011-12-30T08:54:20.082-08:00Chinese Space Station moving forwardBEIJING -- China plans to launch space labs and manned ships and prepare to build space stations over the next five years, according to a plan released Thursday that shows the country's space program is gathering momentum.<br /><br />China has already said its eventual goals are to have a space station and put an astronaut on the moon. It has made methodical progress with its ambitious lunar and human spaceflight programs, but its latest five-year plan beginning next year signals an acceleration.<br /><br />By the end of 2016, China will launch space laboratories, manned spaceship and ship freighters, and make technological preparations for the construction of space stations, according to the white paper setting out China's space progress and future missions.<br /><br />China's space program has already made major breakthroughs in a relatively short time, although it lags far behind the United States and Russia in space technology and experience.<br /><br />The country will continue exploring the moon using probes, start gathering samples of the moon's surface, and "push forward its exploration of planets, asteroids and the sun."<br /><br />It will use spacecraft to study the properties of black holes and begin monitoring space debris and small near-Earth celestial bodies and build a system to protect spacecraft from debris.<br /><br />The paper also says China will improve its launch vehicles, improve its communications, broadcasting and meteorological satellites and develop a global satellite navigation system, intended to rival the United States' dominant global positioning system (GPS) network.<br /><br />China places great emphasis on the development of its space industry, which is seen as a symbol of national prestige.<br /><br />Its space principles – including peaceful development, enhancing international cooperation and deep space exploration – are largely unchanged from its previous two documents detailing the progress of China's space missions, released in 2000 and 2006.<br /><br />In 2003, China became the third country behind the U.S. and Russia to launch a man into space and, five years later, completed a spacewalk. Toward the end of this year, it demonstrated automated docking between its Shenzhou 8 craft and the Tiangong 1 module, which will form part of a future space laboratory.<br /><br />In 2007, it launched its first lunar probe, Chang'e-1, which orbited the moon, collecting data and a complete map of the moon.<br /><br />Since 2006, China's Long March rockets have successfully launched 67 times, sending 79 spacecraft into orbit.<br /><br />Some elements of China's program, notably the firing of a ground-based missile into one of its dead satellites four years ago, have alarmed American officials and others who say such moves could set off a race to militarize space. That the program is run by the military has made the U.S. reluctant to cooperate with China in space, even though the latter insists its program is purely for peaceful ends.<br /><br />"China always adheres to the use of outer space for peaceful purposes, and opposes weaponization or any arms race in outer space," Thursday's white paper states.<br /><br />The Chinese government's policy is to "reinforce" space cooperation with developing countries and "value" space cooperation with developed countries. The paper lists cooperation between China and countries including Russia, Brazil, France and Britain, and says of the United States: NASA's director visited China "and the two sides will continue to make dialogue regarding the space field."Joe Trainorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03963030295031426970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5508930000099354010.post-66243353561499612752011-10-26T09:01:00.000-07:002011-10-26T09:04:45.039-07:00China to launch space mission in NovemberBEIJING — China will launch an unmanned spacecraft early next month that will attempt to dock with an experimental module, the latest step in what will be a decade-long effort to place a manned permanent space station in orbit.<br /><br />In space, the Shenzhou 8 will carry out maneuvers to couple with the Tiangong 1 module now in orbit.<br /><br />The ship and the modified Long March-2F rocket that will sling it into space were transferred early Wednesday to the launch pad at the Jiuquan space base on the edge of the Gobi desert in northern China, the official Xinhua News Agency said.<br /><br />Its exclusive report did not specify a date for the launch. Chinese space officials rarely speak to foreign media.<br /><br />The 8.5-ton, box car-sized Tiangong 1 launched last month has moved into orbit 217 miles (350 kilometers) above the Earth and is surveying Chinese farmland using special cameras, Xinhua said.<br /><br />It is also conducting experiments involving growing crystals in zero gravity, the report said, citing the launch center's chief engineer, Lu Jinrong.<br /><br />Following Shenzhou 8, two more missions, at least one of them manned, are to meet up with the module next year for further practice, with astronauts staying for up to one month.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Exploratory missions pave way for future China Space Station</span><br /><br />Plans call for launching two other experimental modules for more tests before the actual station is launched in three sections between 2020 and 2022.<br /><br />At about 60 tons when completed, the Chinese station will be considerably smaller than the International Space Station, which is expected to continue operating through 2028.<br /><br />China launched its own space station program after being rebuffed in its attempts to join the 16-nation ISS, largely on objections from the U.S. It is wary of the Chinese program's military links and the sharing of technology with its chief economic and political competitor.Joe Trainorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03963030295031426970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5508930000099354010.post-55998882531794003512011-10-06T11:23:00.000-07:002011-10-06T11:30:03.882-07:00Sat Oct 8th: Draconid meteors from Comet Giacobini-Zinner<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ_tXvP6pWaOGh4f39sxQobQiyKvqa_Oc0i7wBKwQzErsMnJaUe4HM3p1GzvT8n_noPjw2zDKdjtODW-i10VyNArv6TLPJ27pdBitWyNFEXYV1Lur47c98_14Sm7ZpjLzOayjC8HeTCMU/s1600/comet+meteor+shower.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ_tXvP6pWaOGh4f39sxQobQiyKvqa_Oc0i7wBKwQzErsMnJaUe4HM3p1GzvT8n_noPjw2zDKdjtODW-i10VyNArv6TLPJ27pdBitWyNFEXYV1Lur47c98_14Sm7ZpjLzOayjC8HeTCMU/s400/comet+meteor+shower.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5660447954351422626" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Meteor shower to be obscured by daylight, full moon</span><br /><br />CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Heads-up, meteor fans.<br /><br />As many as 750 meteors an hour are expected Saturday, as Earth travels through streams of dust and ice from Comet Giacobini-Zinner. The comet passes through the inner solar system every seven years.<br /><br />But the timing for viewing them in the United States is terrible. These Draconid meteors are expected to peak between 3 and 5 p.m. EDT, so the sun will obscure everything.<br /><br />NASA space weatherman Bill Cooke suggests popping outside and taking a look once it's dark. You might get lucky if forecasters' timing is off.<br /><br />And while the meteors will be falling during nighttime in Europe, Africa and the Middle East, a nearly full moon is expected to dull the spectacle there.<br /><br />"The moon sucks. It's messed up meteor showers this year. Next year will be better," said Cooke, team leader of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.<br /><br />It just so happens that this year's meteor showers are falling at or near the time of full moons.<br /><br />Because the Draconids move relatively slowly – 12 miles per second – they're faint and the moonlight "really tends to wash them out," Cooke said in a phone interview.<br /><br />The Draconids get their name from the constellation Draco, the Dragon.<br /><br />In 1933 and 1946, the Draconid outbursts were major – observers reported an astounding rate of 20,000 shooting stars an hour. An Irish astronomer described the 1933 episode like a flurry of snowflakes.<br /><br />The next Draconid outburst after this one will be in 2018.<br /><br />If you miss this weekend's Draconids, you can catch the Orionids on Oct. 22 – remnants from Halley's Comet, expected to number 20 meteors an hour.<br /><br />Then there are the Leonids in mid-November – with as many as 100 meteors an hour.<br /><br />"Unfortunately, the moon will interfere with them as well," Cooke said. "We just don't have any good luck, moonwise, this year."Joe Trainorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03963030295031426970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5508930000099354010.post-74194405887674175842011-09-20T11:35:00.000-07:002011-09-20T11:37:33.670-07:00Heavenly Palace: China to launch space lab next weekBEIJING (Reuters) - China will next week launch an experimental craft paving the way for its first space station, an official said on Tuesday, bringing the growing Asian power closer to matching the United States and Russia with a long-term manned outpost in space.<br /><br />The Tiangong 1, or "Heavenly Palace," will blast off from a site in the Gobi Desert around September 27-30, adding a high-tech sheen to China's National Day celebrations on October 1, the Xinhua news agency said.<br /><br />The small, unmanned "space lab" and the Long March rocket that will heave it skyward have been readied on a pad at Jiuquan in northwest Gansu province, Xinhua said, citing an unnamed spokesperson for the country's space program.<br /><br />It will be the latest show of China's growing prowess in space, and comes while budget restraints and shifting priorities have held back U.S. manned space launches.<br />The big test comes weeks after its launch, when the eight ton craft attempts to join up with an unmanned Shenzhou 8 spacecraft that China plans to launch.<br /><br />"The main task of the Tiangong 1 flight is to experiment in rendezvous and docking between spacecraft," said the Chinese spokesperson, who added that this would "accumulate experience for developing a space station."<br /><br />China's government will hope to set a successful Tiangong mission alongside other trophies of its growing technological prowess, including the launch of a trial aircraft carrier. And the launch, just before China's National Day holiday, is sure to come accompanied by a blaze of proud publicity.<br /><br />"I would say there's a lot of political pressure to make sure that it's launched before the birthday party," said Morris Jones, a space analyst based in Sydney.<br />"The real test of Tiangong doesn't come with its flight as a solo mission. The real objective of this mission will come later on when it tries to dock with another spacecraft," said Jones.<br /><br />"Without rendezvous and docking, you really cannot run an advanced space program. You're confined to launching small spacecraft that just operate by themselves," he told Reuters.<br /><br /><br />A "TEST-BED" FOR BIGGER AMBITIONS<br /><br />Russia, the United States and other countries jointly operate the International Space Station, to which China does not belong. But the United States will not test a new rocket to take people into space until 2017, and Russia has said manned missions are no longer a priority for its space program, which has struggled with delays and glitches.<br /><br />Beijing is still far from catching up with space superpowers. The Tiangong launch is a trial step in Beijing's plans to eventually establish a space station.<br />"Tiangong-1 is, I think, primarily a technology test-bed," said Joan Johnson-Freese, an expert on China's space program at the U.S. Naval War College on Rhode Island, in emailed answers to questions.<br /><br />"Technically, it has been compared to where the U.S. was during the Gemini program," she added, referring to NASA's manned space flights in the mid-1960s.<br /><br />Over the next two years, China will probably attempt a Tiangong mission piloted by astronauts only after two initial missions, Gregory Kulacki, the China Project manager for Union of Concerned Scientists, wrote.<br /><br />That feat will be followed by the launch of the Tiangong 2 and 3 space labs in following years, and preparations for a space station weighing 60 to 70 tons, wrote Kulacki.<br /><br />"The real story is that when they eventually get around to building a space station it will look nothing like Tiangong," said Jones, the Australian expert.<br />"It's a test of a spacecraft that will one day be used as a cargo carrying vessel to a larger space station," he said.<br /><br />This week, NASA unveiled plans for a deep-space rocket to carry astronauts to the moon and Mars. President Barack Obama has called for a human expedition to an asteroid by 2025 and a journey to Mars in the 2030s.<br /><br />China launched its second moon orbiter last year after it became only the third country to send its astronauts walking in space outside their orbiting craft in 2008.<br />It plans an unmanned moon landing and deployment of a moon rover in 2012, and the retrieval of lunar soil and stone samples around 2017. Scientists have talked about the possibility of sending a man to the moon after 2020.<br /><br />China is also jostling with neighbors Japan and India for a bigger presence in space, but its plans have faced international wariness. Beijing says its aims are peaceful.<br />"With most space technology dual-use -- of value to both civil and military communities -- anything done by China in space will have spillover to the military, much the same as NASA's technical advancements do in the U.S.," said Johnson-Freese, the expert from Rhode Island.<br /><br />"Tiangong is not going to immediately or directly provide China any military capabilities," she said.<br /><br />(Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Jonathan Thatcher)Joe Trainorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03963030295031426970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5508930000099354010.post-64267682941372452742011-09-16T15:36:00.000-07:002011-09-16T15:46:57.894-07:00NEW Circumbinary planet discovery Kepler-16 (AB)-b<span style="font-weight:bold;">Twin Suns and Exoplanets, a rockin' week!</span><br /><br />This corner of Our Universe is filled with delight this week by the news of a planet orbiting two suns, and so many newly-discovered exoplanets are surely cream cheese icing on this pineapple-walnut carrot cake. From an excellent report by Rob Simpson on Astronomy Blog:<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Over the past week we've had a slew of planet announcements including: 50 candidates discovered with HARPS (on the VLT) on Monday; 23 discovered with WASP on Tuesday; and another 7 announced since yesterday. The discoveries this week have been due to astronomers saving up announcements for the Extreme Solar Systems conference in Wyoming. They've taken the total number of exoplanet candidates up to 684! Will we reach 1000 by the end of the year?<br /><br />This new system is remarkable because it is the first planet found to orbit a double star system. This is really helpful because it provides many different types of transits (each of the stars transiting each other as well as transits involving the planet) and these allow absolute values for the properties of the system. Normally a transit provides the relative sizes of the star and planet and you then have to use stellar evolution models to estimate the mass of the star and get the absolute sizes. <br /><br />The paper establishes that the system contains 0.2 and 0.7 solar mass stars that orbit around a common centre of mass every 41 days. They are, in turn, orbited every 229 days by a planet with about 0.33 the mass of Jupiter and about 0.75 the radius of Jupiter. <br /><br />The stars are separated by about 0.2 AU and the planet's orbit is 0.7 AU so the planet will experience temperature variations depending on which star is closer. Based on models of the star types, it is estimated that the temperature ranges from about 170 - 200 K so this will be a pretty cold world unlike Tatooine. They calculate a mean density close to water but say (based on models of planetary interiors and estimates of the planet's age) it is likely to be about half gas (hydrogen/helium) and half heavier elements (rock/ice?).<br /><br />They were fairly lucky to spot this system when they did. The inclination of the planet's orbit varies. If their models of the orbit are correct, <span style="font-weight:bold;">we will not see a transit of the second star from 2014-2049 and we won't see the planet transit the larger star from 2018-2042. So, if Kepler had suffered a 10 year delay to launch it would never have seen this system during its 3.5 year mission and may have had to wait until the mid 21st century to know about it</span>.</span><br /><br /><br />Read the <a href="http://www.strudel.org.uk/blog/astro/000983.shtml">full Rob Simpson Astronomy Blog article on new circumbinary planet and 2011 expolanet discoveries</a>.<br /><br />Keep the good news rolling!Joe Trainorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03963030295031426970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5508930000099354010.post-50521402910159364012011-09-13T16:37:00.000-07:002011-09-13T16:59:07.251-07:00Are galactic cosmic rays the number one threat to manned spacecraft?<span style="font-weight:bold;">Galactic cosmic rays are one of the most important barriers standing in the way of plans for interplanetary travel by crewed spacecraft.<span style="font-style:italic;"></span></span><br /><br /> - Wikipedia, 2011<br /><br />I am remembering something I read about the two types of space radiation common in our solar system, and how the intensity of this radiation is somewhat predictable using historical data and recent activity. My recall may be faulty, but the premise was something like the expected danger period actually coincided with plans for renewed manned space travel. Now there's the rub ...<br /><br />Can any readers provide links to articles on this topic? I will do a much longer blogpost when I have some data regarding solar flares and space radiation and the risks to manned space travel. My theory involves promoting the use of robots during the dangerous radiation periods, and resuming human space travel only after the extreme danger fades away.<br /><br />Any insight into which coming years and decades have the most risk will be greatly appreciated, please post links and info in Comments section below.<br /><br /><br />from Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galactic_cosmic_ray ; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_threat_from_cosmic_raysJoe Trainorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03963030295031426970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5508930000099354010.post-42436903026974802142011-08-30T06:34:00.000-07:002011-08-30T06:44:37.885-07:00NASA: Evacuation of Intl Space Station may be required this Autumn<h3>Russian rocket launch failure imperils future missions</h3>
<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA2omXgci2A4SbB3dVKpnN1DsYUt2QSRFVcDId5OSFZe4FvQjS7tCZ-xeMkjOji7-8bSWiTLcNDXP1awHNPbubXA4cG-q4WujhYGtpowZMKWUGsSV2_H0fKoBxXkwZu9m7vDj_McbiRR8/s1600/Intl+Space+Station.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA2omXgci2A4SbB3dVKpnN1DsYUt2QSRFVcDId5OSFZe4FvQjS7tCZ-xeMkjOji7-8bSWiTLcNDXP1awHNPbubXA4cG-q4WujhYGtpowZMKWUGsSV2_H0fKoBxXkwZu9m7vDj_McbiRR8/s400/Intl+Space+Station.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5646642985300825474" /></a>
<br />
<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">November may result in abandoned Space Station<span style="font-weight:bold;"></span></span>
<br />
<br />By Marcia Dunn, The Associated Press
<br />
<br />CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Astronauts may need to take the unprecedented step of temporarily abandoning the International Space Station if last week's Russian launch accident prevents new crews from flying there this fall.
<br />
<br />Until officials figure out what went wrong with Russia's essential Soyuz rockets, there will be no way to launch any more astronauts before the current residents have to leave in mid-November.
<br />
<br />The unsettling predicament comes just weeks after NASA's final space shuttle flight.
<br />
<br />"We have plenty of options," NASA's space station program manager, Mike Suffredini, assured reporters Monday. "We'll focus on crew safety as we always do."
<br />
<br />Abandoning the space station, even for a short period, would be an unpleasant last resort for the world's five space agencies that have spent decades working on the project. Astronauts have been living aboard the space station since 2000, and the goal is to keep it going until 2020.
<br />
<br />Suffredini said flight controllers could keep a deserted space station operating indefinitely, as long as all major systems are working properly. The risk to the station goes up, however, if no one is on board to fix equipment breakdowns.
<br />
<br />Six astronauts from three countries presently are living on the orbiting complex. Three are due to leave next month; the other three are supposed to check out in mid-November. They can't stay any longer because of spacecraft and landing restrictions.
<br />
<br />The Sept. 22 launch of the very next crew — the first to fly in this post-shuttle era — already has been delayed indefinitely. Russia's Soyuz spacecraft have been the sole means of getting full-time station residents up and down for two years. The capsule is parked at the station until they ride it home.
<br />
<br />To keep the orbiting outpost with a full staff of six for as long as possible, the one American and two Russians due to return to Earth on Sept. 8 will remain on board at least an extra week.
<br />
<br />As for supplies, the space station is well stocked and could go until next summer, Suffredini said. Atlantis dropped off a year's supply of goods just last month on the final space shuttle voyage. The unmanned craft destroyed Wednesday was carrying 3 tons of supplies.
<br />
<br />For now, operations are normal in orbit, Suffredini noted, and the additional week on board for half the crew will mean additional science research.
<br />
<br />The Soyuz has been extremely reliable over the decades; this was the first failure in 44 Russian supply hauls for the space station. Even with such a good track record, many in and outside NASA were concerned about retiring the space shuttles before a replacement was ready to fly astronauts.
<br />
<br />Russian space officials have set up an investigation team and until it comes up with a cause for the accident and a repair plan, the launch and landing schedules remain in question. None of the spacecraft debris has been recovered yet; the wreckage fell into a remote, wooded section of Siberia. The third stage malfunctioned; a sudden loss of pressure apparently was noted between the engine and turbopump.
<br />
<br />While a crew may well have survived such an accident because of safety precautions built into the manned version of the rocket, no one wants to take any chances.
<br />
<br />One or two unmanned Soyuz launches are on tap for October, one commercial and the other another space station supply run. Those would serve as important test flights before putting humans on board, Suffredini said.
<br />
<br />NASA considered vacating the space station before, following the space shuttle Columbia disaster in 2003. Back then, shuttles were still being used to ferry some station residents back and forth. Instead, the station got by with two-man crews for three years because of the significant cutback in supplies.
<br />
<br />The space station's population doubled in 2009, to six. It wasn't until the space station was completed this year that science research finally took priority.
<br />Even if the space shuttles still were flying, space station crews still would need Soyuz-launched capsules to serve as lifeboats, Suffredini said. The capsules are certified for no more than 6 1/2 months in space, thus the need to regularly rotate crews. Complicating matters is the need to land the capsules during daylight hours in Kazakhstan, resulting in weeks of blackout periods.
<br />
<br />NASA wants American private companies to take over crew hauls, but that's three to five years away at best. Until then, Soyuz capsules are the only means of transporting astronauts to the space station.
<br />
<br />Japan and Europe have their own cargo ships and rockets, for unmanned use only. Commercial front-runner Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX, plans to launch a space station supply ship from Cape Canaveral at the end of November. That would be put on hold if no one is on board to receive the vessel.
<br />
<br />Suffredini said he hasn't had time to consider the PR impact of abandoning the space station, especially coming so soon after the end of the 30-year shuttle program.
<br />"Flying safely is much, much more important than anything else I can think about right this instant," he said. "I'm sure we'll have an opportunity to discuss any political implications if we spend a lot of time on the ground. But you know, we'll just have to deal with them because we're going to do what's safest for the crew and for the space station."
<br />
<br />
<br /><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html"target="_b;lank">Official NASA.gov Space Station website</a>Joe Trainorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03963030295031426970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5508930000099354010.post-17536629279407357702011-08-02T11:59:00.000-07:002011-08-02T12:19:58.372-07:00Comet Elenin, asteroid Vesta each in the news<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh51evDeO8Hf0Pu2Tyla5SidYvG3GfzND9uN2TIQXFQ0-F87rphlBcCKJRS-aNfqcD43sJ7k8eF9yCU7UFCHVxOryTN7nbeDbfmg2dVSsgTtIXbyue6R3WQ9XphVapxt6K3D-2PbY_8aF0/s1600/vesta-asteroid-photo-from-Dawn.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh51evDeO8Hf0Pu2Tyla5SidYvG3GfzND9uN2TIQXFQ0-F87rphlBcCKJRS-aNfqcD43sJ7k8eF9yCU7UFCHVxOryTN7nbeDbfmg2dVSsgTtIXbyue6R3WQ9XphVapxt6K3D-2PbY_8aF0/s320/vesta-asteroid-photo-from-Dawn.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5636337252586056002" /></a><br />Dawn took this image over Vesta's northern hemisphere after the spacecraft completed its first passage over the dark side of the giant asteroid on July 23, 2011.<br /><H3>NASA's Dawn spacecraft captures images of "Dark Side of Vesta"</H3><br />A NASA spacecraft orbiting the huge asteroid Vesta is beaming home images that reveal the giant space rock like never before, showing its battered and pockmarked surface in stunning detail.<br /><br />The new Vesta photos from the Dawn probe, which NASA unveiled today (Aug. 1), include the spacecraft's first full-frame view of the entire asteroid and should help astronomers understand how the space rock formed in the early solar system, researchers said.<br /><br />"We could not imagine the detail we're seeing and the processes that we're seeing," said Chris Russell, Dawn's principal investigator at UCLA, during the announcement.<br /><br /><a href="http://ca.news.yahoo.com/nasa-spacecraft-shows-giant-asteroid-vesta-never-163303807.html"target="_blank">News.Yahoo.com story on Dawn spacecraft and Vesta asteroid photographs</a><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.space.com/11540-photos-asteroid-vesta-nasa-dawn.html"target="_blank">NASA article aboutVesta images and dawn spacecraft, on Space.com</a><br /><br /><br /><H3>Is comet Elenin actually planet Nibiru?</H3><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmxj4fzgFsluv6-eaZONXszVqTTGCm0OVxE_WV4BEf4w6qptUrB9lUTasu6YeL6Y1abMha4tfN0w-MV-xf2fVxugZh6tGm8V4L1th8yu0jj6cq1FTX7YzBhqrJRhy9c0SQtlKuHl027MI/s1600/Elenin+-+Great_Comet_of_2011.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmxj4fzgFsluv6-eaZONXszVqTTGCm0OVxE_WV4BEf4w6qptUrB9lUTasu6YeL6Y1abMha4tfN0w-MV-xf2fVxugZh6tGm8V4L1th8yu0jj6cq1FTX7YzBhqrJRhy9c0SQtlKuHl027MI/s320/Elenin+-+Great_Comet_of_2011.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5636337012769160450" /></a><br /><br /><B>Comet Elenin FAQs by astronomer Ian Musgrave</B><br /><br />Astronomer and blogger Ian Musgrave from South Australia has been active in debunking the misinformation and nonsense that is being disseminated about Comet Elenin. He has written several wonderful posts featuring the actual realities of this long-period lump of dirty ice that has, for some reason, attracted the attention of doomsdayers, 2012ers, and end-of-the-world scaremongers. Earlier this week, Ian’s Elenin posts on his Astroblog were taken down by the web host, as someone filed a claim for alleged violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). “Given that there is no copyrighted material on these pages, with either material generated entirely by me or links to and citation of publicly available material, I believe this was just a frivolous attack on people countering Elenin nonsense” Ian said. Astroblog was not the only site that was targeted, and thankfully, Ian’s web host agreed that the claim was without merit, and the posts are back online. In the interim, however, Universe Today offered to publish Ian’s excellent “Comet Elenin, a FAQ for the Worried” post, and even though the original is now available again, Ian and I decided to still post this on UT so that more people with questions about Comet Elenin would have the chance to have their worries allayed. Have your questions answered below.<br /><br />Will Comet Elenin Hit Earth?<br /><br />No, its closest approach is 0.23 AU on Oct 16, 2011, where 1 AU is the distance from the Earth to the Sun. To put this in perspective, this is only a little closer than the closest approach of Venus to Earth, and roughly 100 times the distance from the Earth to the Moon. This distance is from the latest MPEC ephemeris which is based on over 100 observations from multiple observatories that have been continuously tracking the comet, so it won’t change appreciably.<br /><br />Surely if Elenin Was Going to Hit the Earth NASA/the Government Would Hush it Up? Which government? The Australian Government, the UK Government? The Italian Government? The South African Government? <br /><br />Amateur astronomers world wide are following this comet and continually talking to each other. The have the programs to work out where the comet is going. If the comet was coming anywhere near us, the amateur community would be first to know, and there is no keeping them quite. Consider how wide spread the information is about Apophis, which is a real, if extremely marginal, hazard.<br /><br />Will it Cause Earthquakes, Abnormally High Tides or Other Disasters?<br /><br />No, Elenin is a mere 3-5 kilometres across and has less than a billionth of the tidal force of the Moon at closest approach (as well as a negligible magnetic field). If the Moon can’t cause the poles to tip, cause massive tidal floods or earthquakes, Comet 2010 X1 Elenin won’t. We’ve been closer to other comets before with no ill effect.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.universetoday.com/87619/worried-about-comet-elenin-faqs-from-ian-musgrave/"target="_blank">Full Comet Elenin FAQs by astronomer Ian Musgrave</a><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.space.com/12194-comet-elenin-planet-nibiru-doomsday-2012.html"target="_blank">Space.com article on Planet Nibiru</a>Joe Trainorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03963030295031426970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5508930000099354010.post-18557463629024350192011-06-22T11:23:00.000-07:002011-06-22T11:40:23.486-07:00348 days to 2012 Transit of Venus<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw135ioujJ_vf7DwLM267Va826xnmYm915AfRabqSHU4txJ-4haG3duLfk0072C2Eam0WXmind8NNCGrErnf7XQtJHOMVtR6taRK8FPhdkb7bv36xzNI6ETh2MiQamRAgjB7JY-P1EiGc/s1600/2012+Transit+of+Venus+chart.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw135ioujJ_vf7DwLM267Va826xnmYm915AfRabqSHU4txJ-4haG3duLfk0072C2Eam0WXmind8NNCGrErnf7XQtJHOMVtR6taRK8FPhdkb7bv36xzNI6ETh2MiQamRAgjB7JY-P1EiGc/s320/2012+Transit+of+Venus+chart.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5621115603095413410" /></a><br /><h3>Did Mayans feel 13th pair of Venus Transits would be catastrophic?</h3><br />The next Transit of Venus will occur on June 5–June 6 in 2012, succeeding the previous transit on June 8, 2004. After 2012, the next transits of Venus will be in December 2117 and December 2125. Transits of Venus are among the rarest of predictable astronomical phenomena and currently occur in a pattern that repeats every 243 years, with pairs of transits eight years apart separated by long gaps of 121.5 years and 105.5 years. <br /><br />As there have been 13 pairs of the Transit of Venus since the last major climactic calamity on Earth, that's a cycle of 3,159 years (13 times 243), which takes us back to around 1150BCE.<br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Wikipedia pins Bronze Age collapse to 1150-1200BCE</span><br /><br />The Bronze Age collapse is a transition in southwestern Asia and the Eastern Mediterranean from the Late Bronze Age to the Early Iron Age that some historians believe was violent, sudden and culturally disruptive. The palace economies of the Aegean and Anatolia which characterised the Late Bronze Age were replaced, after a hiatus, by the isolated village cultures of the Ancient Dark Age.<br /><br />Between 1206 and 1150 BCE, the cultural collapse of the Mycenaean kingdoms, the Hittite Empire in Anatolia and Syria,[1] and the Egyptian Empire in Syria and Canaan interrupted trade routes and severely reduced literacy. In the first phase of this period, almost every city between Troy and Gaza was violently destroyed, and often left unoccupied thereafter: examples include Hattusa, Mycenae, Ugarit.<br /><br />The gradual end of the Dark Age that ensued saw the rise of settled Neo-Hittite Aramaean kingdoms of the mid-10th century BCE and the Neo-Assyrian Empire.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIF6cD-fYvvMwF0Qz4EM-4O9O0DeeWMBb_KFTZ_CDjtDdxsfaeoPEV5YzOr51PfckRO9GzU7cXNry9sGhJKcsuXEDyvsgmeOwkbP-cLOV9e2_CN4dFaQwoHDNMUvcmmGKCjhUxLbQPu0Q/s1600/2012+Transit+of+Venus+map.GIF"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 170px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIF6cD-fYvvMwF0Qz4EM-4O9O0DeeWMBb_KFTZ_CDjtDdxsfaeoPEV5YzOr51PfckRO9GzU7cXNry9sGhJKcsuXEDyvsgmeOwkbP-cLOV9e2_CN4dFaQwoHDNMUvcmmGKCjhUxLbQPu0Q/s320/2012+Transit+of+Venus+map.GIF" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5621115607538959570" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transit_of_Venus,_2012"target="_blank">Wikipedia info on 2012 Transit of Venus</a><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread572863/pg2"target="_blank">Above Top Secret 2012 Transit of Venus webpage</a>Joe Trainorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03963030295031426970noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5508930000099354010.post-27103521265098176152011-05-31T13:23:00.000-07:002011-05-31T13:37:33.331-07:00NASA to send space probe to Asteroid 1999 RQ36<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5L6FEGwf0DKXlSZWnEe4DKFXFuvkY0qXqskVfaf0h6MsN9rPoe8oJ4VQm2W5UIJr8AD-7nX36mfgxQKmaY0em4xJURSvLIowRifnFHiy7UxNTewZX1U3XF_O61imO09Yp_lvm94JtoyA/s1600/asteroid+1999+RQ36.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 210px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5L6FEGwf0DKXlSZWnEe4DKFXFuvkY0qXqskVfaf0h6MsN9rPoe8oJ4VQm2W5UIJr8AD-7nX36mfgxQKmaY0em4xJURSvLIowRifnFHiy7UxNTewZX1U3XF_O61imO09Yp_lvm94JtoyA/s320/asteroid+1999+RQ36.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5612980264188903698" /></a><br /><h3>Potential threat to Earth in the year 2182</h3><br />When it comes to visiting asteroids, NASA doesn't pick run-of-the-mill space rocks. The target of NASA's latest asteroid mission is not only thought to be rich in the building blocks of life, it also has a chance — although a remote one — of threatening Earth in the year 2182.<br /><br />NASA will launch a sample-return mission to an asteroid in 2016, agency officials announced on May 25. The mission will be called <span style="font-weight:bold;">Origins-Spectral Interpretation-Resource Identification-Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-Rex)</span> and will reach an asteroid called 1999 RQ36 in 2020. The unmanned spacecraft will use a robotic arm to snag some samples. According to the plan, the probe will return these bits of space rock to Earth in 2023 so scientists can study them for clues about the solar system's origin and, possibly, how life may have begun on our planet. <br /><br /><br />The $800 million OSIRIS-Rex will be the United States' first asteroid sample-return effort and only the second mission in history to retrieve samples from an asteroid. Japan's Hayabusa spacecraft successfully returned tiny grains of the asteroid Itokawa to Earth in June 2010.<br /><br /><br />Related links:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.space.com/11788-nasa-asteroid-mission-osiris-rex-1999-rq36.html"target="_blank">Space.com article on NASA's 2016 mission to Asteroid 199 RQ36</a><br /><br /><a href="http://ca.news.yahoo.com/why-nasa-chose-potentially-threatening-asteroid-mission-140005674.html"target="_blank">Why NASA Chose Potentially Threatening Asteroid for New Mission</a><br /><br /><br />Sources: Space.com, News.Yahoo.comJoe Trainorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03963030295031426970noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5508930000099354010.post-58600107943444920002011-05-09T11:38:00.000-07:002011-05-09T11:45:02.077-07:00Yu55 asteroid to pass near earth just before 2012 begins<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKCCApNJDRYmRNL4f5ipyRktqLM-yG1rXwRzomNajxi6UFzQUla_XAdA9N0SQk5C2rratFW0rbVOI1nJ9skCIygaZ_fJys10WYMTTSDA55sP1tUsnJGNfr22FSAMdczRe2qb4Dw5rUMNw/s1600/Asteroid--YU55.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKCCApNJDRYmRNL4f5ipyRktqLM-yG1rXwRzomNajxi6UFzQUla_XAdA9N0SQk5C2rratFW0rbVOI1nJ9skCIygaZ_fJys10WYMTTSDA55sP1tUsnJGNfr22FSAMdczRe2qb4Dw5rUMNw/s320/Asteroid--YU55.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5604789153386218930" /></a><br /><h3>Flyby within 200,000 miles of Earth, or 1 Light-second</h3><br />According to Space.com (May 8th, 2011), An asteroid the size of an aircraft carrier will come closer to Earth this autumn than our own moon does, causing scientists to hold their breath as it zooms by. But they'll be nervous with excitement, not with worry about a possible disaster.<br /><br />There's no danger of an impact when the asteroid 2005 YU55 makes its close flyby Nov. 8, coming within 201,700 miles (325,000 kilometers) of Earth, scientists say.<br /><br />So they're looking forward to the encounter, which could help them learn more about big space rocks.<br /><br />"While near-Earth objects of this size have flown within a lunar distance in the past, we did not have the foreknowledge and technology to take advantage of the opportunity," Barbara Wilson, a scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., said in a statement. "When it flies past, it should be a great opportunity for science instruments on the ground to get a good look." [Photos: Asteroids in Deep Space]<br /><br />Getting to know YU55<br /><br />Asteroid 2005 YU55 is about 1,300 feet (400 meters) wide. It was discovered in December 2005 by the Spacewatch program at the University of Arizona in Tucson.<br /><br />Because of the asteroid’s size and orbital characteristics, astronomers have flagged 2005 YU55 as potentially dangerous down the road. But the upcoming encounter is no cause for alarm, researchers said.<br /><br />"YU55 poses no threat of an Earth collision over, at the very least, the next 100 years," said Don Yeomans, manager of NASA's Near-Earth Object Program Office at JPL. "During its closest approach, its gravitational effect on the Earth will be so minuscule as to be immeasurable. It will not affect the tides or anything else." <br /><br />This round space rock has been in astronomers' cross hairs before. In April 2010, astronomers at the National Science Foundation's Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico generated some ghostly radar images of 2005 YU55 when the asteroid was about 1.5 million miles (2.3 million km) from Earth.<br /><br />But those pictures had a resolution of just 25 feet (7.5 meters) per pixel. The November close pass should provide some sharper images.<br /><br />"When 2005 YU55 returns this fall, we intend to image it at 4-meter resolution [13 feet] with our recently upgraded equipment at the Deep Space Network at Goldstone, California," said JPL radar astronomer Lance Benner. "Plus, the asteroid will be seven times closer. We're expecting some very detailed radar images."<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://ca.news.yahoo.com/big-asteroids-approach-november-excites-astronomers-154403112.html"target="_blank">Space.com article about Yu55 asteroid that will pass close to Earth</a>Joe Trainorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03963030295031426970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5508930000099354010.post-74093849622307737392011-04-11T10:39:00.000-07:002011-04-11T10:59:38.767-07:00Yu55 Asteroid to pass close to Earth in November, 2011<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYUcXYXEUXx622RsGhCb2DQH0BdMQrHep0CU92TE-0SWhC-MjpTN_wHbbLBmWet3UrVw_oj3mDcthGJgaMUOl5-fc6jqbWEZ1Mjwh9e9xbZCao76pu-TaBRnvgBTPhNlLYSKVkvsMJyLQ/s1600/Huge-Asteroid-Yu55.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 162px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYUcXYXEUXx622RsGhCb2DQH0BdMQrHep0CU92TE-0SWhC-MjpTN_wHbbLBmWet3UrVw_oj3mDcthGJgaMUOl5-fc6jqbWEZ1Mjwh9e9xbZCao76pu-TaBRnvgBTPhNlLYSKVkvsMJyLQ/s320/Huge-Asteroid-Yu55.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5594387146287439922" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Humungous asteroid will be closer than moon on November 8, 2011</span><br /><br />By Leonard David, SPACE.com Space Insider Columnist<br /><br />Mark your calendars for an impressive and upcoming flyby of an asteroid that’s one of the larger potentially perilous space rocks in the heavens – in terms of smacking the Earth in the future.<br /><br />It’s the case of asteroid 2005 YU55, a round mini-world that is about 1,300 feet (400 meters) in diameter. In early November, this asteroid will approach Earth within a scant 0.85 lunar distances. <br /><br />Due the object’s size and whisking by so close to Earth, an extensive campaign of radar, visual and infrared observations are being planned.<br /><br />Asteroid 2005 YU55 was discovered by Spacewatch at the University of Arizona, Tucson’s Lunar and Planetary Laboratory on Dec. 28, 2005. En route and headed our way, the cosmic wanderer is another reminder about life here on our sitting duck of a planet<br /><br /><br />“The close Earth approach of 2005 YU55 on Nov. 8, is unusual since it is close and big. On average, one wouldn’t expect an object this big to pass this close but every 30 years,” said Don Yeomans, manager of NASA’s Near-Earth Object Program Office and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. <br /><br />Yeomans said that with new radar capabilities at Goldstone in California — part of NASA’s Deep Space Network — there is a good chance of obtaining radar imaging of 2005 YU55 down to the 5-meter resolution level. Doing so, he said, would mean obtaining higher spatial resolution of the object than that attained by recent spacecraft flyby missions.<br /><br />“So we like to think of this opportunity as a close flyby mission with Earth as the spacecraft,” Yeomans told SPACE.com. “When combined with ground-based optical and near-infrared observations, the radar data should provide a fairly complete picture of one of the larger potentially hazardous asteroids,” he said. <br /><br />Asteroid 2005 YU55 is a slow rotator. Because of its size and proximity to Earth, the Minor Planet Center in Cambridge, Mass., has designated the space rock as a “potentially hazardous asteroid.” <br /><br /><br />Read full <a href="http://ca.news.yahoo.com/huge-asteroid-pass-near-earth-november-20110408-044402-380.html">article about asteroids risk on Yahoo News</a>Joe Trainorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03963030295031426970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5508930000099354010.post-18703108892166105072011-04-05T12:23:00.001-07:002011-04-05T12:32:09.626-07:002012 Transit of Venus viewable June 5th / 6thThe following is an article posted March 1st on the National Geographic NewsWatch website, by Victoria Jaggard.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Astronomy in 2012: Watch a Planet Transit With Your Own Eyes!</span><br /><br />If you’ve been following the exploits of NASA’s Kepler spacecraft, you probably already know that the mission finds new planets using what’s called the transit method.<br /><br />In short, Kepler stares at a bunch of stars and records when there’s a periodic dip in a star’s light caused by an object passing in front. With enough data and some careful followup work, scientists can tell whether the passing object is a planet orbiting the star.<br /><br />So far, Kepler has confirmed 15 new planets using transits, and an additional 1,200 planetary candidates were recently announced. Next year, people around the world will be able to watch a transit of an Earth-size planet with their own eyes.<br /><br />OK, fine, I admit—the planet in question is our own Venus. But that’s still pretty cool, because Venus transits are exceedingly rare.<br /><br /><object width="640" height="390"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/QTW2YNj_4-U&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&version=3"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/QTW2YNj_4-U&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="640" height="390"></embed></object><br />Video of 2004 Venus transit, as seen by NASA’s GOES satellite.<br /><br /><br />The next one will happen in June 2012, and it’ll be visible from only certain parts of the globe (click map below for full screen view).<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin15jf9Se2lsNhWFJThqY9Oz8IhSTDeizdOih5kKaBpmG7lK7l44AhWDXQCKsZP7lmLTRF0uRr31W3Sh7qVuMjCwda1-_W6WZlTH9SCbSNHxBjjVhi-R9wmuMXiqXxkZKIHPXGVarnesE/s1600/2012+Transit+of+Venus+map.GIF"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin15jf9Se2lsNhWFJThqY9Oz8IhSTDeizdOih5kKaBpmG7lK7l44AhWDXQCKsZP7lmLTRF0uRr31W3Sh7qVuMjCwda1-_W6WZlTH9SCbSNHxBjjVhi-R9wmuMXiqXxkZKIHPXGVarnesE/s400/2012+Transit+of+Venus+map.GIF" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5592183379465349234" /></a><br /><br />[UPDATE: For people on the Americas able to see the transit, you'll be looking in the evening hours of June 5. Viewers in Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia will be watching the morning of June 6. Sky-watchers who want to see the whole transit from start to finish need to be in eastern Australia, New Zealand, New Guinea, the Philippines, China, Korea, Japan, the western Pacific islands, Hawaii, Russia, Alaska, and northwest Canada.]<br /><br />When it ends, <span style="font-style:italic;">there won’t be another Venus transit until 2117.</span><br /><br />What follows is an edited transcript of a conversation I had last week with National Geographic grantee Jay Pasachoff, an astronomer at Williams College in Massachusetts and an expert on eclipses and transits.<br /><br />So what does a Venus transit look like from Earth?<br /><br />The great [German] astronomer Johannes Kepler in the 17th century predicted that there’d be a transit of Venus in 1631, but nobody had any idea at the time how big Venus would look, because they didn’t know how big it was or how far it was away. In fact, the transit in 1631 wasn’t visible from Europe, and we didn’t have telescopes at that time in California, so it took until 1639 before anybody saw a transit of Venus. When it was seen, it was just a huge surprise that there was a black dot about 1/30 the diameter of the sun that moved across the surface of the sun.<br /><br />Venus can look about the same size as a big sunspot, but it looks perfectly round and regular, whereas a sunspot has dark inner regions and lighter outer regions, the umbra and penumbra. In fact, one can also see transits of Mercury across the face of sun. But Mercury is both smaller than Venus and farther away from Earth—it’s only 1/30 the area of Venus—and it looks less impressive, unless you’re looking with a really good telescope or spacecraft.<br /><br />When I saw a transit of Venus in 2004, I used my 500mm telephoto lens to take pictures that show a beautiful black dot, whereas in 2006 we went to Hawaii to observe a transit of Mercury, and when I took a picture with the same lens, the dot of Mercury was barely visible and was much smaller than a sunspot that was on the sun at the time.<br /><br />Why study Venus transits?<br /><br />In the original studies, Edmond Halley [of Halley's comet fame] figured out a way of calculating how far the sun is away from Earth, and therefore how big the solar system is, by studying a transit of Venus. Measuring the size of the solar system used to be the most important activity in astronomy in the 18th and 19th centuries, so hundreds of expeditions went all over the world to make observations of Venus transits.<br /><br />[Editor's note: Capt. James Cook was funded by England's Royal Society to sail to Tahiti and observe a Venus transit in 1769, collecting valuable data for astronomers back home, who were not in the viewing path. The 2012 transit will also be visible in the South Pacific, and travel agencies are already pitching trips to Tahiti's black-sand beaches to "follow in Cook's footsteps" during the celestial event ... I think a field trip is in order!]Joe Trainorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03963030295031426970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5508930000099354010.post-58030947771117267152011-03-29T10:33:00.000-07:002011-03-29T10:35:21.535-07:00Canadian conference predicts more extreme weather<span style="font-weight:bold;">Expect more storm surges, floods and other dangers</span><br /><br />Extreme weather incidents caused by climate change are likely to become more frequent and more intense, says Robert Hughes of Fredericton, climate change co-ordinator for the provincial Environment Department.<br /><br />In a bid to inform municipal and community planners what is happening and how to manage and limit future risks from extreme weather, a conference is being held today and tomorrow at the Futures Inn in Moncton.<br /><br />It is being sponsored by the Atlantic Climate Adaptation Solutions Association, Natural Resources Canada, provincial Emergency Measures Association and provincial Environment and Public Works departments.<br /><br />The two-day event is entitled - Preparing for Change: Managing Risk in a Changing Climate.<br /><br />A great deal of our province borders on salt water and many people live in coastal communities which will be increasingly vulnerable because of climate change," said Environment Minister Margaret-Ann Blaney.<br /><br />"This conference is an excellent opportunity for municipalities and planners to learn more about avoiding and managing the risks and costs associated with storms, erosion and flooding," she said.<br /><br />The conference will feature presentations and discussions about provincial policies, resources and tools related to reducing the risks and impacts of climate change on communities<br /><br />"This is Canada Water Week which is intended to raise the profile of water issues and initiatives," said Blaney.<br /><br />"In a changing climate, water is a vulnerable resource and citizens, businesses, stakeholders and all levels of government must continue our adaptive efforts to conserve and protect it," said the minister.<br /><br />Hughes said the ramifications of climate change include such things as coastal erosion, flooding, roads washed out and tidal surges. He said they not only present a serious safety concern but also can result in huge property losses.<br /><br />"In a storm surge, you can lose a whole section of a beach or coast literally overnight," he said.<br /><br />There are a lot of "soft coasts" in the province, such as eastern and northeastern New Brunswick, said Hughes. "They are sandy and easily erodible.<br /><br />"The soft material can be washed out quickly. And there is a lot of development in these areas," he said. "It is simply a matter of putting the right development at these sights."<br /><br />The conference is aimed at devising ways for managing risks, said Hughes. He said a hazard does not need to become a disaster.<br /><br />He said some training and awareness sessions will be provided for the municipal planning people at the conference. The sessions will help them better understand the basics of climate change and how to be prepared for its effects in terms of severe weather conditions, he added.<br /><br />But he noted that it is a two-way street.<br /><br />Hughes said the organizers of the event will also use the opportunity to get feedback from the "people on the ground" on how they view climate change and where they think they need guidance. "For instance, do they see themselves as vulnerable," he said.<br /><br />And it is not just the coastal areas affected by extreme weather caused by climate change, said Hughes.<br /><br />You only have to look at spring flooding along the St. John and Miramichi rivers, he said. There are also inland erosion, road wash-outs and contaminated water problems that are results of extreme weather, he added.Joe Trainorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03963030295031426970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5508930000099354010.post-2379245776584362442011-03-29T10:28:00.000-07:002011-03-29T10:31:51.101-07:00UK universities link extreme weather to acceptance of climate change<span style="font-weight:bold;">Research by Cardiff and Nottingham Universities, "seeing is believing"</span><br /><br />A new study has found that direct experience of extreme weather events increases concern about climate change and willingness to engage in energy-saving behaviour.<br /><br />The research by Cardiff and Nottingham Universities found that members of the public are more prepared to take personal action and reduce their energy use when they perceive their local area has a greater vulnerability to flooding.<br /><br />Although no single flooding event can be attributed to climate change, Britain has experienced a series of major flood events over the past decade, something that is expected to increase in years to come as a result of climate change.<br /><br />"We know that many people tend to see climate change as distant, affecting other people and places. However, experiences of extreme weather events like flooding have the potential to change the way people view climate change, by making it more real and tangible, and ultimately resulting in greater intentions to act in sustainable ways," said psychologist Alexa Spence, now at The University of Nottingham.<br /><br />The researchers and Ipsos-MORI surveyed 1,822 members of the British public to test whether personal experience of flooding had affected perceptions about climate change.<br /><br />They also looked at whether those perceptions would affect respondents' intentions regarding energy use.<br /><br />The study revealed that people who reported flooding experiences had significantly different perceptions of climate change, compared to those who had not experienced flooding.<br /><br />These perceptions were, in turn related to a greater preparedness to save energy.<br /><br />"This important study provides the first solid evidence for something which has been suspected for some time - that people's local experience of climate related events such as flooding will promote higher awareness of the issue. As a result, it suggests new ways for engaging people with this most important and pressing of environmental issues," said Prof Nick Pidgeon, School of Psychology, Cardiff University, who led the research team.<br /><br />The new study is published in the first edition of the journal Nature Climate Change this week. (ANI)Joe Trainorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03963030295031426970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5508930000099354010.post-57539893802957418742011-03-19T13:52:00.000-07:002011-03-19T14:02:49.520-07:00Even if Supermoon theory has some merit, danger may have passedLooking briefly at the pattern of previous catastrophic earthquakes occurring in the period <span style="font-style:italic;">between</span> two supermoons (eg. possibly too much pull and push going on in water), today's extreme supermoon (closest our Moon has been to Earth in 18 years) hopefully means the risk is lowering by the day.<br /><br />Is there agreement that 2016 represents the next supermooon? I have posted a <a href="http://ojoecollege.blogspot.com/2011/03/extreme-supermoons-earthquakes-and.html"target="_blank">chart of historical and future supermoons</a>; can anybody break this down and expand it show future and past supermoons and extreme supermoons?<br /><br />Can any reader provide insight as to whether these dates below are for regular supermoons or for extreme supermoons? Please include data and/or calculations whenever possible!<br /><br />November 14, 2016<br />January 2nd, 2018Joe Trainorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03963030295031426970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5508930000099354010.post-71561874222552908112011-03-12T11:35:00.000-08:002011-03-15T20:19:31.855-07:00History of Extreme Super Moons, global flooding / weather effects<h3>Are "SuperMoons" linked to Indonesia and Japan earthquakes/tsunamis?</h3><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Historical Supermoons and subsequent weather patterns</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Super Moon</span> - A new or full moon at 90% or greater of its closest perigee to Earth has been named a "SuperMoon" by astrologer Richard Nolle. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Extreme Super Moon</span> - Occurs when a Super Moon when passing closest to Earth. Specifically, an extreme "SuperMoon" is when the moon is full or new as well as at its 100% greater mean perigee (closest) distance to earth. By this definition, last month's full moon, this month's and next month's will all be extreme "SuperMoons".<br /><br />Extreme Super Moons have occurred in 1955, 1974, 1992/1993, and 2005; the 2011 Extreme Super Moon will be the closest since 1993. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">2005 Supermoon possibly connected to Dec 2004 Indonesia earthquake?</span><br /><br />The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was an undersea megathrust earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53 UTC on Sunday, December 26, 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The quake itself is known by the scientific community as the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake. The resulting tsunami is given various names, including the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, Asian Tsunami, Indonesian Tsunami, and Boxing Day Tsunami.<br /><br />AccuWeather Facebook fanpage member Daniel Vogler adds, "The last extreme super moon occurred was on January 10th, 2005, right around the time of the 9.0 Indonesia earthquake. That extreme super moon was a new moon. So be forewarned. Something BIG could happen on or around this date. (+/- 3 Days is my guess)"<br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">1993 Flooding and Weather events</span><br /><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Flood_of_1993">American Midwest Great Flood of 1993 wikipedia webpage</a><br /><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1993_Storm_of_the_Century">1993 North America Storm of the Century</a><br /><br /><br />The majority of experts claim that supermoons are not related to the recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan, however when we get to March 20th or March 21st, at that point it will be much more prudent to <span style="font-style:italic;">begin</span> assessing whether there is any correlation.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Supermoon related links:</span><br /><br /><a href="http://ojoecollege.blogspot.com/2011/03/extreme-supermoons-earthquakes-and.html"target="_blank">History of Extreme Supermoons linked to Japan, Haiti, Indonesia earthquakes</a><br /><br /><a href="http://gj581g.blogspot.com/2011/03/extreme-supermoon-on-march-19-may.html"target="_blank">Extreme Supermoon March 19,2011 information</a><br /><br /><a href="http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2011/03/11/no-the-supermoon-didnt-cause-the-japanese-earthquake/"target="_blank">Supermoon did not cause Japan earthquake: Discover Magazine's Bad Astronomy blog</a><br /><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supermoon"target="_blank">Wikipedia web page on Supermoons</a><br /><br /><a href="http://gj581g.blogspot.com/2011/01/astronomical-origins-of-maya-calendar.html"target="_blank">Astronomical explanations of Mayan 2012 prophecies</a>Joe Trainorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03963030295031426970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5508930000099354010.post-41965802396003197262011-03-10T11:16:00.000-08:002011-03-15T20:24:43.706-07:00Extreme "SuperMoon" on March 19 may trigger tidal waves, earthquakesThe potential effects of the Moon's closest passing to Earth in 18 years may be exaggerated, however it is a fact that on March 19th, 2011, the Moon will illuminate our night sky from just 221,567 miles (356,577 kilometers; closest she has been in 18 years) away, and in addition, it will be full moon!<br /><br />According to Universe Today:<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">It is a scientific fact when the Moon is at perigee there is more gravitational pull, creating higher tides or significant variations in high and low tides. In addition, the tidal effect of the Sun’s gravitational field increases the Moon’s orbital eccentricity when the orbit’s major axis is aligned with the Sun-Earth vector. Or, more specifically, when the Moon is full or new.</span><br /><br /><br /><br />For those who totally dismiss the idea that 2012 "end of era" predictions may have been astronomically derived, next weekend could be the beginning of a revised world view. For those of us who look to the stars and other heavenly bodies as sometime causes of cataclysmic weather on Earth, it may be wise to seek inland, higher ground first. Then, and only after sanctuary has been found, we can hope and pray that this lunar event is benign.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Supermoon and astronomy related links:</span><br /><br /><a href="Ahttp://www.space.com/11084-supermoon-earthquake-storm-natural-disasters.html"target="_blank">Space.com Article: Will March 19 'Supermoon' Trigger Natural Disasters?</a><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.universetoday.com/83960/march-19-2011-supermoon-or-superhype/comment-page-1/"target="_blank">Universe Today: Supermoon or Superhype?</a><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1993_Storm_of_the_Century"target="_blank">1993 Storm of the Century, 5 days after "supermoon"</a><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Flood_of_1993"target="_blank">Great Flood of 1993, from one month after to seven months after "supermoon"</a><br /><br /><br />UPDATE: AS Japanese earthquake / tsunami happened one day after this post, the following link was added on March 15th, 2011:<br /><br /><a href="http://ojoecollege.blogspot.com/2011/03/extreme-supermoons-earthquakes-and.html"target="_blank">Historical and future extreme supermoons, links to Japan, Haiti, Indonesia earthquakes</a>Joe Trainorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03963030295031426970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5508930000099354010.post-47778645710059527672011-03-09T19:35:00.000-08:002011-03-09T20:26:19.764-08:00Madison WI Live Webcams; Wisconsin web cameras<a href="http://ojoecollege.blogspot.com/2011/03/wisconsin-gop-declares-war-on-usa.html"target="_blank">Wisconsin GOP escalates attacks against American workers with civic union-busting</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.channel3000.com/news/27140935/detail.html"target="_blank">1000s of protesters pour into Wisconsin capitol</a><br /><br />We interrupt the pondering over 2012 Transit of Venus and other astronomical phenomena to bring you some footage from Earth, specifically the streets of Wisconsin, USA. The big protest is coming this Saturday in Madison, however methinks things could get interesting even before then, as tonight's actions illustrate the Wisconsin GOP is way over the line, and about to get pushed back.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Madison Wisconsin live web cameras</span><br /><br /><a href="http://www.511wi.gov/Web/map.aspx?region=madison"target="_blank">Various Live Traffic Camera feeds from Madison Wisconsin</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.bay.tv/lake-mendota-webcam,1286"target="_blank">Lake Mendota webcam in Wisconsin</a><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Milwaukee Wisconsin live webcam feeds</span><br /><br /><a href="http://www.511wi.gov/Web/map.aspx?region=milwaukee"target="_blank">Central and Greater Milwaukee WI live traffic cameras</a>Joe Trainorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03963030295031426970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5508930000099354010.post-68493587386708178482011-02-18T21:18:00.000-08:002011-02-18T21:23:05.669-08:00Space Oddity, song lyrics by David Bowie<H3>Space Oddity, by David Bowie</H3><br />Ground control to Major Tom <br />Ground control to Major Tom <br />Take your protein pills and put your helmet on <br />(Ten) Ground control (Nine) to major Tom (Eight) <br />(Seven, six) Commencing countdown (Five), engines on (Four) <br />(Three, two) Check ignition (One) and may gods (Blastoff) love be with you <br /><br />This is ground control to Major Tom, you've really made the grade <br />And the papers want to know whose shirts you wear <br />Now it's time to leave the capsule if you dare <br /><br />This is major Tom to ground control, I'm stepping through the door <br />And I'm floating in a most peculiar way <br />And the stars look very different today <br />Here am I floatin' 'round my tin can far above the world <br />Planet Earth is blue and there's nothing I can do <br /><br />Though I'm past one hundred thousand miles, I'm feeling very still <br />And I think my spaceship knows which way to go <br />Tell my wife I love her very much, she knows <br />Ground control to Major Tom, your circuits dead, there's something wrong <br />Can you hear me, Major Tom? <br />Can you hear me, Major Tom? <br />Can you hear me, Major Tom? <br />Can you... <br />Here am I sitting in my tin can far above the Moon <br />Planet Earth is blue and there's nothing I can doJoe Trainorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03963030295031426970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5508930000099354010.post-91059355930971011102011-02-08T19:10:00.000-08:002011-02-08T19:36:21.482-08:00NASA: Apophis asteroid to pass near Earth in 2012, 2029 and 2036<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqfGu_MYjuB_xBW6saAOpQvXk66QUrVRjeJ637DJxgrZykIJvYax0wlh6NKoFyJKRGZp1qoGJsOetMhOPGaB70bE_binDwHlK5luZtPzrzSsBFYUCw6WOI8MQM4DWQeGWQHLutXuDfLhA/s1600/asteroid-apophis-photo.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 288px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqfGu_MYjuB_xBW6saAOpQvXk66QUrVRjeJ637DJxgrZykIJvYax0wlh6NKoFyJKRGZp1qoGJsOetMhOPGaB70bE_binDwHlK5luZtPzrzSsBFYUCw6WOI8MQM4DWQeGWQHLutXuDfLhA/s400/asteroid-apophis-photo.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5571528489587565954" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Russian scientists say chances of Apophis collision with Earth highest in 2036</span><br /><br />For those concerned about the effects of Venus during its 2012 Transit, add in the 2012 passing of the asteroid Apophis, and concerns that its orbital path will be affected by Earth, creating a series of closer and closer encounters.<br /><br />99942 Apophis (pronounced /əˈpɒfɪs/, previously known by its provisional designation 2004 MN4) is a near-Earth asteroid that caused a brief period of concern in December 2004 because initial observations indicated a small probability (up to 2.7%) that it would strike the Earth in 2029. Additional observations provided improved predictions that eliminated the possibility of an impact on Earth or the Moon in 2029. However, a possibility remained that during the 2029 close encounter with Earth, Apophis would pass through a gravitational keyhole, a precise region in space no more than about 600 meters across, that would set up a future impact on April 13, 2036. This possibility kept the asteroid at Level 1 on the Torino impact hazard scale until August 2006, when the probability that Apophis will pass through the keyhole was determined to be very small. Apophis broke the record for the highest level on the Torino Scale, being, for only a short time, a level 4, before it was lowered. Its diameter is approximately 270 meters (885 ft).<br /><br />Recent reports out of Russia say that scientists there estimate Apophis will collide with Earth on April 13, 2036. These reports conflict on the probability of such a doomsday event, but the question remains: How scared should we be?<br /><br />“Technically, they’re correct, there is a chance in 2036 [that Apophis will hit Earth]," said Donald Yeomans, head of NASA’s Near-Earth Object Program Office. However, that chance is just 1-in-250,000, Yeomans said.<br /><br />The Russian scientists are basing their predictions of a collision on the chance that the 900-foot-long (270 meters) Apophis will travel through what’s called a gravitational keyhole as it passes by Earth in 2029. The gravitational keyhole they mention is a precise region in space, only slightly larger than the asteroid itself, in which the effect of Earth's gravity is such that it could tweak Apophis' path.<br />“The situation is that in 2029, April 13, [Apophis] flies very close to the Earth, within five Earth radii, so that will be quite an event, but we’ve already ruled out the possibility of it hitting at that time,” Yeomans told Life’s Little Mysteries. “On the other hand, if it goes through what we call a keyhole during that close Earth approach … then it will indeed be perturbed just right so that it will come back and smack Earth on April 13, 2036,” Yeomans said.<br /><br />The chances of the asteroid going through the keyhole, which is tiny compared to the asteroid, are “minuscule,” Yeomans added.<br /><br />The more likely scenario is this: Apophis will make a fairly close approach to Earth in late 2012 and early 2013, and will be extensively observed with ground-based optical telescopes and radar systems. If it seems to be heading on a destructive path, NASA will devise the scheme and machinery necessary to change the asteroid’s orbit, decreasing the probability of a collision in 2036 to zero, Yeomans said.<br /><br />There are several ways to change an asteroid’s orbit, the simplest of which is to run a spacecraft into the hurtling rock. This technology was used on July 4, 2005, when Deep Impact smashed into the comet Tempel 1.<br /><br />Many scientists agree that Apophis warrants closer scrutiny. To that end, in February 2008 the Planetary Society awarded $50,000 in prize money to companies and students who submitted designs for space probes that would put a tracking device on or near the asteroid. Several other groups have studied or plan to study missions to Apophis.<br /><br /><br />Sources: News.Yahoo.com, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/99942_ApophisJoe Trainorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03963030295031426970noreply@blogger.com0