Steps into Space - Commercialisation, Occupation, Colonization: 05/01/15

Friday, 1 May 2015

Harvesting energy from electromagnetic waves

For our modern, technologically-advanced society, in which technology has become the solution to a myriad of challenges, energy

The post Harvesting energy from electromagnetic waves has been published on Technology Org.

#materials
See Zazzle gifts tagged with 'science'

Lava Lake Loki on Jupiter's moon Io, up close

more »
Io, the innermost of the four moons of Jupiter discovered by Galileo Galilei in 1610 and only slightly bigger than our own moon, is the most geologically active body in our solar system. Hundreds of volcanic areas dot its surface, which is mostly covered with sulfur and sulfur dioxide. The largest of these volcanic features, named Loki after the Norse god often associated with fire and chaos, is a volcanic depression called patera in which the denser lava crust solidifying on top of a lava lake episodically sinks in the lake, yielding a raise in the thermal emission that has been regularly observed from Earth. Loki, only 124 miles in diameter and at least 373 million miles from Earth, was, up until recently, too small to be looked at in detail from any ground-based optical/infrared telescope.
via Science Daily
Zazzle Space Exploration market place

Long-term galactic cosmic ray exposure leads to dementia-like cognitive impairments

more »
What happens to an astronaut's brain during a mission to Mars? Nothing good. It's besieged by destructive particles that can forever impair cognition, according to a radiation oncology study. Exposure to highly energetic charged particles -- much like those found in the galactic cosmic rays that bombard astronauts during extended spaceflights -- cause significant damage to the central nervous system, resulting in cognitive impairments.
via Science Daily
Zazzle Space Exploration market place

Business Briefing: Bezos Spaceship Completes Its First Test Flight

more »
Jeff Bezos, chief executive of Amazon.com, said in a statement that the spacecraft reached 58 miles high and parachuted to a landing in the West Texas desert.

via New York Times

Nasa’s New Horizons detects surface features, possible polar cap on Pluto

more »
For the first time, images from NASA's New Horizons spacecraft are revealing bright and dark regions on the surface of faraway Pluto -- the primary target of the New Horizons close flyby in mid-July.
via Science Daily
Zazzle Space Exploration market place

Experience the Gravity of a Super Earth HD 40307g Print

Here's a great poster featuring a beautiful image from deep space

Experience the Gravity of a Super Earth HD 40307g Print

tagged with: hd 40307g, nasa, space, art, astronomy, exploration, planet, exoplanet

Twice as big in volume as the Earth, HD 40307g straddles the line between "Super-Earth" and "mini-Neptune" and scientists aren't sure if it has a rocky surface or one that's buried beneath thick layers of gas and ice. One thing is certain though: at eight time the Earth's mass, its gravitational pull is much, much stronger.

»visit the msvb1te store for more designs and products like this
Click to customize with size, paper type etc.
via Zazzle Astronomy market place

NASA Completes MESSENGER Mission with Expected Impact on Mercury's Surface

more »
A NASA planetary exploration mission came to a planned, but nonetheless dramatic, end April 30 when it slammed into Mercury's surface at about 8,750 mph and created a new crater on the planet's surface.
via Science Daily
Zazzle Space Exploration market place

Pulsar with widest orbit ever detected

more »
A team of highly determined high school students discovered a never-before-seen pulsar. Further observations by astronomers using the GBT revealed that this pulsar has the widest orbit of any around a neutron star and is part of only a handful of double neutron star systems.
via Science Daily
Zazzle Space Exploration market place

New exoplanet too big for its star challenges ideas about how planets form

more »
The discovery of a strange exoplanet orbiting very close to a small cool star 500 light years away is challenging ideas about how planets form.
via Science Daily
Zazzle Space Exploration market place

Apple releases open source ResearchKit framework to developers

Science Focus

original post »

One of the non-Apple-Watch things that Apple talked about onstage at its product event last month was ResearchKit, a new framework that (with explicit permission from the user) could turn your phone into an always-on, always-with-you tool for collecting health data. As promised, Apple has now released the framework, which is available not just to iOS developers but also as an open source project on GitHub.

The framework includes three basic building blocks for developers to use: the first, called Participant Consent, allows you to explain the parameters of your study, what data you're collecting, and what you'll be doing with that data. Surveys are what they sound like—customizable surveys you can use to ask subjects questions. And Active Task modules ask subjects to perform certain tasks (walking, speaking, and so on) while being guided by the app.

Apple provides a few basic Active Tasks, outlined below. Developers can add their own tasks as needed.

Read 3 remaining paragraphs | Comments

#science
» see original post http://feeds.arstechnica.com/~r/arstechnica/science/~3/_OTIXNUTfsY/
See Zazzle gifts tagged with 'science'

Light-powered gyroscope is world’s smallest: Promises a powerful spin on navigation

Science Focus

original post »

A pair of light waves – one zipping clockwise the other counterclockwise around a microscopic track – may

The post Light-powered gyroscope is world’s smallest: Promises a powerful spin on navigation has been published on Technology Org.

#physics
» see original post http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TechnologyOrgPhysicsNews/~3/vuw9pFZ5BRg/
See Zazzle gifts tagged with 'science'

Monogram Stephans Quintet deep space star galaxies Stickers

Here's a great sheet of stickers featuring a beautiful image from deep space

Monogram Stephans Quintet deep space star galaxies Stickers

tagged with: monogram initials, star galaxies, outer space picture, deep space astronomy, galaxy cluster, galaxy quintet, stephans quintet, spiral galaxy, eliptical galaxy, stkcg, hicksons compact group

Galaxies, Stars and Nebulae series A clash among members of a famous galaxy quintet reveals an assortment of stars across a wide color range, from young, blue stars to aging, red stars.
This portrait of Stephan's Quintet, also known as Hickson Compact Group 92, was taken by the new Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) aboard NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. Stephan's Quintet, as the name implies, is a group of five galaxies. The name, however, is a bit of a misnomer. Studies have shown that group member NGC 7320, at upper left, is actually a foreground galaxy about seven times closer to Earth than the rest of the group.
Three of the galaxies have distorted shapes, elongated spiral arms, and long, gaseous tidal tails containing myriad star clusters, proof of their close encounters. These interactions have sparked a frenzy of star birth in the central pair of galaxies. This drama is being played out against a rich backdrop of faraway galaxies.
The image, taken in visible and near-infrared light, showcases WFC3's broad wavelength range.
The colors trace the ages of the stellar populations, showing that star birth occurred at different epochs, stretching over hundreds of millions of years. The camera's infrared vision also peers through curtains of dust to see groupings of stars that cannot be seen in visible light.
NGC 7319, at top right, is a barred spiral with distinct spiral arms that follow nearly 180 degrees back to the bar. The blue specks in the spiral arm at the top of NGC 7319 and the red dots just above and to the right of the core are clusters of many thousands of stars. Most of the quintet is too far away even for Hubble to resolve individual stars.
Continuing clockwise, the next galaxy appears to have two cores, but it is actually two galaxies, NGC 7318A and NGC 7318B. Encircling the galaxies are young, bright blue star clusters and pinkish clouds of glowing hydrogen where infant stars are being born. These stars are less than 10 million years old and have not yet blown away their natal cloud. Far away from the galaxies, at right, is a patch of intergalactic space where many star clusters are forming.
NGC 7317, at bottom left, is a normal-looking elliptical galaxy that is less affected by the interactions.
Sharply contrasting with these galaxies is the dwarf galaxy NGC 7320 at upper left. Bursts of star formation are occurring in the galaxy's disk, as seen by the blue and pink dots. In this galaxy, Hubble can resolve individual stars, evidence that NGC 7320 is closer to Earth.
NGC 7320 is 40 million light-years from Earth. The other members of the quintet reside 290 million light-years away in the constellation Pegasus.
These farther members are markedly redder than the foreground galaxy, suggesting that older stars reside in their cores. The stars' light also may be further reddened by dust stirred up in the encounters.
Spied by Edouard M. Stephan in 1877, Stephan's Quintet is the first compact group ever discovered.
WFC3 observed the quintet in July and August 2009. The composite image was made by using filters that isolate light from the blue, green, and infrared portions of the spectrum, as well as emission from ionized hydrogen.
These Hubble observations are part of the Hubble Servicing Mission 4 Early Release Observations. NASA astronauts installed the WFC3 camera during a servicing mission in May to upgrade and repair the 19-year-old Hubble telescope.
more items with this image
more items in the Galaxies, Stars and Nebulae series
image code: stkcg

Image credit: ASA, ESA, and the Hubble SM4 ERO Team

»visit the HightonRidley store for more designs and products like this
Click to customize.
via Zazzle Astronomy market place

MESSENGER's Last Day on Mercury

The first to orbit Mercury, the MESSENGER spacecraft came to rest on this region of Mercury's surface yesterday. Constructed from MESSENGER image and laser altimeter data, the scene looks north over the northeastern rim of the broad, lava filled Shakespeare basin. The large, 48 kilometer (30 mile) wide crater Janacek is near the upper left edge. Terrain height is color coded with red regions about 3 kilometers above blue ones. MESSENGER'S final orbit was predicted to end near the center, with the spacecraft impacting the surface at nearly 4 kilometers per second (over 87,000 miles per hour) and creating a new crater about 16 meters (52 feet) in diameter. The impact on the far side of Mercury was not observed by telescopes, but confirmed when no signal was detected from the spacecraft given time to emerge from behind the planet. Launched in 2004, the MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemisty and Ranging spacecraft completed over 4,000 orbits after reaching the Solar System's innermost planet in 2011. Tomorrow's picture: cosmic whirlpool

Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.
NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices
A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.

Star Making Region iPad Mini Cases

Here's a great iPad case from Zazzle featuring a Hubble-related design. Maybe you'd like to see your name on it? Click to personalize and see what it's like!

Star Making Region iPad Mini Cases

tagged with: space, stars, astronomy, hubble

This is a beautiful public domain picture from Hubble.

»visit the Masque_du_Geeque store for more designs and products like this
The Zazzle Promise: We promise 100% satisfaction. If you don't absolutely love it, we'll take it back!

Monogram, Witch Head Nebula deep space image Sticker

Here's a great sheet of stickers featuring a beautiful image from deep space

Monogram, Witch Head Nebula deep space image Sticker

tagged with: monogram initials, star galaxies, outer space picture, deep space astronomy, witch head nebula, cursing witch, nasa space photograph, faces in space, witches curse, hrbstslr wtchneb, screaming witch

Galaxies, Stars and Nebulae series A witch appears to be screaming out into space in this image from NASA's Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE. The infrared portrait shows the Witch Head nebula, named after its resemblance to the profile of a wicked witch. Astronomers say the billowy clouds of the nebula, where baby stars are brewing, are being lit up by massive stars. Dust in the cloud is being hit with starlight, causing it to glow with infrared light, which was picked up by WISE's detectors.
The Witch Head nebula is estimated to be hundreds of light-years away in the Orion constellation, just off the famous hunter's knee.
WISE was recently "awakened" to hunt for asteroids in a program called NEOWISE. The reactivation came after the spacecraft was put into hibernation in 2011, when it completed two full scans of the sky, as planned.
more items with this image
more items in the Galaxies, Stars and Nebulae series
image code: wtchneb

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

»visit the HightonRidley store for more designs and products like this
Click to customize.
via Zazzle Astronomy market place

Pillars of creation wall skin

Here's a great wall decal featuring a beautiful image from deep space

Pillars of creation wall skin

tagged with: space, universe, photo, photography, science, astronomy, galaxy, nebula, wallpaper, eagle nebula, planets, pillars, creation, beautiful, dark, ancient, amazing, background, pattern, ngc 6611, eagle, landscape, space photography, purple, pink, red

The colors in the image highlight emission from several chemical elements. Oxygen emission is blue, sulfur is orange, and hydrogen and nitrogen are green. <br
Object Names: M16, Eagle Nebula, NGC 6611.

Amazing high resolution photo of Pillars of Creation. This is the highest quality of space photography available and you can get it on prints, canvas prints, phone cases and many many other gifts.

»visit the SpacePhotography store for more designs and products like this
Click to customize.
via Zazzle Astronomy market place

Orion Nebula Caseable Case iPad Folio Cases

Here's a great iPad case from Zazzle featuring a Hubble-related design. Maybe you'd like to see your name on it? Click to personalize and see what it's like!

Orion Nebula Caseable Case iPad Folio Cases

tagged with: orion, nebula, space, image, nasa, hubble, astronomy

A lovely detail of an image of the Orion Nebula thanks to NASA/Hubble.

»visit the annaleeblysse store for more designs and products like this
The Zazzle Promise: We promise 100% satisfaction. If you don't absolutely love it, we'll take it back!