biggest thriller is real: Jupiter orbit
Watch the new Hollywood-style trailer about how NASA spacecraft Juno is going to enter Jupiter orbit on July 4.
Pluto in virtual reality. Wow!
From the NY Times: Set foot on an alien world, three billion miles from the warmth of the sun. Download the NYT VR app for Android or iPhone. Read more here.
Bad weather: exoplanet has 5,400 mile per hour winds
"Violent winds can cause chaos on Earth, but even hurricanes are dwarfed by the blasts of air discovered on exoplanet HD 189733b. Scientists have clocked wind speeds over 5,400 mph hurtling around this planet, astronomers say. That’s 20 times faster than the highest wind speeds recorded on Earth." Click here or on photo to read full article.
Black Hole Hunters
From the N Y Times:
"Aiming to make the first portrait of the hungry monster at the center of our galaxy, astronomers built ‘a telescope as big as the world.’"
Click here or on image to learn more.
A tiny world But enough GRAVITY to capture cosmic rocks and space dust
Absolutely breathtaking photos of another world. Tiny. A comet. But large enough that it can pull cosmic dust and debris onto itself. It's the mechanism that gives birth to planets. To me, this is astonishing. The haze is dust and gas beginning to come off the comet as it nears the sun.
NY Times, March 20, 2015 "The European Space Agency’s Rosetta spacecraft caught up with Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko last August, then dropped a lander onto the comet in November. Now Rosetta will follow the rubber-duck-shaped comet as it swings closer to the sun."
Click here or on the photo to see more of these amazing photographs.
Powerful new Antibiotic discovered - in dirt!
January 7, 2015 "Scientists have discovered an antibiotic capable of fighting infections that kill hundreds of thousands of people each year, a breakthrough that could lead to the field’s first major new drug in more than a quarter-century.
The experimental drug, which was isolated from a sample of New England dirt, is called teixobactin. It hasn’t yet been tested in people, though it cured all mice infected with antibiotic-resistant staphylococci bacteria that usually kills 90 percent of the animals, according to a study published today in the journal Nature. Bacteria appear to have a particularly difficult time developing resistance to the drug, potentially overcoming a major problem with existing antibiotics." Click here or on photo to read more.
The experimental drug, which was isolated from a sample of New England dirt, is called teixobactin. It hasn’t yet been tested in people, though it cured all mice infected with antibiotic-resistant staphylococci bacteria that usually kills 90 percent of the animals, according to a study published today in the journal Nature. Bacteria appear to have a particularly difficult time developing resistance to the drug, potentially overcoming a major problem with existing antibiotics." Click here or on photo to read more.
Is a new moon being born in Saturn's rings?
"NASA's Cassini spacecraft has documented the formation of a small icy object within the rings of Saturn that may be a new moon, and may also provide clues to the formation of the planet's known moons.
"The object is not expected to grow any larger, and may even be falling apart. But the process of its formation and outward movement aids in our understanding of how Saturn's icy moons, including the cloud-wrapped Titan and ocean-holding Enceladus, may have formed in more massive rings long ago. It also provides insight into how Earth and other planets in our solar system may have formed and migrated away from our star, the sun."
Find out more here or by clicking on photo.
"The object is not expected to grow any larger, and may even be falling apart. But the process of its formation and outward movement aids in our understanding of how Saturn's icy moons, including the cloud-wrapped Titan and ocean-holding Enceladus, may have formed in more massive rings long ago. It also provides insight into how Earth and other planets in our solar system may have formed and migrated away from our star, the sun."
Find out more here or by clicking on photo.
found! OLDEST PIECE OF EARTH - 4.4 billion-year-old crystal
"(CNN) -- From a sheep ranch in Western Australia comes the oldest slice of Earth we know.
Scientists say they have dated an ancient crystal called a zircon to about 4.4 billion years, making it the earliest confirmed piece of the planet's crust. The findings -- the first to describe the zircon -- were published in the journal Nature Geoscience on Sunday."
Click here or on photo for more info. Good question: How do scientists date these crystals?
Scientists say they have dated an ancient crystal called a zircon to about 4.4 billion years, making it the earliest confirmed piece of the planet's crust. The findings -- the first to describe the zircon -- were published in the journal Nature Geoscience on Sunday."
Click here or on photo for more info. Good question: How do scientists date these crystals?
Why do birds fly in a "V"? Endangered ibis reveals amazing secret
Click here or on photo to learn more.
Amber Fossil Reveals Ancient Flowering Plant - like jurassic park!
Jan. 3, 2014 — "A 100-million-year old piece of amber has been discovered which reveals the oldest evidence of sexual reproduction in a flowering plant -- a cluster of 18 tiny flowers from the Cretaceous Period -- with one of them in the process of making some new seeds for the next generation." To read more, click here or on photo.
Bizarre 'Earthquake Light' Mystery Has Been Solved! (They Aren't UFOs, unfortunately) [Video]
"Earthquake lights are a real phenomenon - they are not UFOs.
Rare lights in the air before or during an earthquake have been noted by eyewitnesses for centuries but, until now, have baffled scientists."
Click here or on photo to read more and watch the video.
Rare lights in the air before or during an earthquake have been noted by eyewitnesses for centuries but, until now, have baffled scientists."
Click here or on photo to read more and watch the video.
The Universe, measured!
"Astronomers have measured the distances between galaxies in the universe to an accuracy of just 1%. This staggeringly precise survey - across six billion light-years - is key to mapping the cosmos and determining the nature of dark energy." Click here or on photo to learn more.
Dinosaur fossil found with rooster-like crest on its head
Dec. 12, 2014 - "A rare, mummified specimen of a duck-billed dinosaur in Canada shows their heads carried a fleshy comb similar to the roosters' red crest, paleontologists say. Duck-billed dinosaurs, gentle giants about 40 feet long, were the most common dinosaurs in North America between 75 million and 65 million years ago, but no one had suspected that they -- or any other dinosaurs -- had fleshy structures on the tops of their heads, they said."
Is this another link between dinosaurs and modern birds? Click here or on photo to read more.
Is this another link between dinosaurs and modern birds? Click here or on photo to read more.
Living like The Croods?
It turns out Neanderthals organized their living spaces like modern humans. Click here or on photo to learn more.
Animal science - Scientists decipher dog tail wags
"Scientists have shed more light on how the movements of a dog's tail are linked to its mood. Earlier research had revealed that happy dogs wag their tails more to the right (from the dog's point of view), while nervous dogs have a left-dominated swish.
But now scientists say that fellow canines can spot and respond to these subtle tail differences." Read more here (or click on photo).
But now scientists say that fellow canines can spot and respond to these subtle tail differences." Read more here (or click on photo).
Asteroid has baby asteroid orbiting it
A student in M3 Science asked the following question during our study of gravity: "If everything has a gravitational field, can humans attract objects without touching them?" This fascinating question led to an interesting variation: "Why don't babies orbit their parents?"
Coincidentally, during our discussion of orbits and gravitational fields, I saw in the news that a tiny asteroid is orbiting a larger asteroid. This parent/baby asteroid pair is passing quite close to Earth on May 31, 2013. For more on this story, click here or on the photo which shows the parent (darker and larger) and the baby (smaller and lighter).
What two forces are at work to cause one object to orbit another?
Coincidentally, during our discussion of orbits and gravitational fields, I saw in the news that a tiny asteroid is orbiting a larger asteroid. This parent/baby asteroid pair is passing quite close to Earth on May 31, 2013. For more on this story, click here or on the photo which shows the parent (darker and larger) and the baby (smaller and lighter).
What two forces are at work to cause one object to orbit another?
PLANETFALL - AN EXTRAORDINARY PHOTO BOOK
I am awed by the photographs in this book. Michael Benson, the author, is the father of one of my students, and it's so amazing I wanted to share it. I think that one of the things science does best is to show how breathtaking our home planet and universe are. I highly recommend looking at the photos in the slideshow that accompanies this article. Michael was kind enough to give me a 6 foot by 6 foot print of the eclipsed sun as well as a photo of sunset on Mars (taken by one of the Mars rovers) to hang in my classroom at UNIS. The students have been captivated. Click here or on photo to see and read more.
VIDEO: How Was earth formed?
There are two theories as to how planets in the solar system were created. The first and most widely accepted, core accretion, works well with the formation of the terrestrial planets like Earth but has problems with giant planets. The second, the disk instability method, may account for the creation of giant planets. Scientists are continuing to study planets in and out of the solar system in an effort to better understand which of these methods is most accurate. Click here or on photo to see video.
Video: Rare giant squid filmed in habitat for the first time
A Japanese crew has captured the giant squid in its natural habitat in the Pacific Ocean for the first time. The mission was organized by the Japan National Science Museum in collaboration with the Japanese broadcaster NHK and the US Discovery Channel. The giant squid, Architeuthis, is the world's largest invertebrate and it is known as one of the "last mysteries of the ocean." Click here or on photo to see video.
discovered: A Temperature Below Absolute Zero
Jan. 4, 2013 — What is normal to most people in winter has so far been impossible in physics: a minus temperature. But scientists in Germany seem to have done it, going below absolute zero. Click here or on photo to read more.
2012 - the big science discoveries
Science racked up some big wins in 2012, not least the Higgs boson, Mars Curiosity rover and successfully calling the non-ending of the world due to ancient Maya inscriptions. USA Today's Tech page looks at a busy year. Click here or on photo to read and see more.
Astronomers discover Earth-like planet next to our solar system
Astronomers have discovered an Earth-like planet located just twelve light years from Earth, the closet yet discovered. An international team of scientists, including Carnegie’s Paul Butler, reportedly discovered that Tau Ceti, one of the closest and most Sun-like stars, may have five planets — one of which is located within the “habitable zone.” Click here or on photo to read more.
are jellyfish immortal? could humans be?
After more than 4,000 years — almost since the dawn of recorded time, when Utnapishtim told Gilgamesh that the secret to immortality lay in a coral found on the ocean floor — man finally discovered eternal life in 1988. He found it, in fact, on the ocean floor. The discovery was made unwittingly by Christian Sommer, a German marine-biology student in his early 20s....CLICK PHOTO FOR MORE INFO
Why 3D Printing Matters for 'Made in USA'
The federal government plans to increase funding to institutions researching 3D printing, a technology the White House hopes will boost U.S. manufacturing....CLICK PHOTO FOR MORE INFO
MIT develops miniature shape-shifting robots
Toy robots that can fold into different configurations are fairly common, but these simplistic devices are a far cry from the dream of real-life Transformers. Now a group at MIT's Center for Bits and Atoms has created a robot that could point the way toward the real thing....CLICK PHOTO FOR MORE INFO
living cells captured in pyramid cages
This microscopic pyramid is actually a cage for a living cell, constructed to better observe cells in their natural 3D environment, as opposed to the usual flat plane of a Petri dish.
Researchers from the University of Twente in the Netherlands made the cage by depositing nitrides over silicon pits. When most of the material is peeled away, a small amount of material remains in the corners to create a pyramid....CLICK PHOTO FOR MORE INFO
Researchers from the University of Twente in the Netherlands made the cage by depositing nitrides over silicon pits. When most of the material is peeled away, a small amount of material remains in the corners to create a pyramid....CLICK PHOTO FOR MORE INFO
Spinning Flywheels boost subways
A technology normally associated with the steam age could make a comeback in tomorrow's trains. Public transportation systems are usually viewed as the “green” alternative to private vehicles, but that does not mean there is not plenty of room for improvement.
Take electric subway trains, for example. After they have filled up with passengers they need to draw on a huge amount of energy to accelerate away from the platform. In fact, a typical train might draw 4 megawatts (MW) of power for 30 seconds to get up to speed – that is the same peak demand as around 1,000 average US homes. Yet, just a few minutes later, the train sheds all of that kinetic energy when it brakes to pick up its next load of passengers.
Over the years, various schemes – from the very simple to the complex - have been devised.... [S]o-called “regenerative braking” is used, where the electric motors are run as generators to slow the train. The recovered energy is then put back onto the electrified rail....CLICK PHOTO FOR MORE INFO
Take electric subway trains, for example. After they have filled up with passengers they need to draw on a huge amount of energy to accelerate away from the platform. In fact, a typical train might draw 4 megawatts (MW) of power for 30 seconds to get up to speed – that is the same peak demand as around 1,000 average US homes. Yet, just a few minutes later, the train sheds all of that kinetic energy when it brakes to pick up its next load of passengers.
Over the years, various schemes – from the very simple to the complex - have been devised.... [S]o-called “regenerative braking” is used, where the electric motors are run as generators to slow the train. The recovered energy is then put back onto the electrified rail....CLICK PHOTO FOR MORE INFO
astronauts could survive radiation on mars
At a recent press briefing, the scientist in charge of monitoring radiation data collected by the Curiosity Mars rover said energy levels on the planet's surface fluctuate with time of day and the season but are roughly equivalent to what astronauts experience now in the International Space Station. "Absolutely, astronauts can live in this environment," said Don Hassler, of Boulder, Colo.'s, Southwest Research Institute. CLICK PHOTO FOR MORE INFO.
Rogue planet found among gang of stars
At less than 160 light-years from Earth, the free-floating planet CFBDSIR2149 (artist’s illustration shown) is the nearest planet-like object found not orbiting a star. The planet appears blue in near-infrared wavelengths. Credit: ESO/L. Calçada/P. Delorme/N. Risinger (skysurvey.org)/R. Saito/VVV Consortium....CLICK PHOTO FOR MORE INFO