Vega is not just the name of the second-brightest star in the northern hemisphere. It is also the
The post Composite aiming for the stars has been published on Technology Org.
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Monday, 14 September 2015
Observatory: Ceres’s Bright Spots of Mystery
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New images captured by NASA’s Dawn spacecraft were the best view to date of bright spots on the dwarf planet — though nobody yet knows what they are.
via New York Times
New images captured by NASA’s Dawn spacecraft were the best view to date of bright spots on the dwarf planet — though nobody yet knows what they are.
via New York Times
Milky Way Galaxy - Our Beautiful Neighborhood Poster
Here's a great poster featuring a beautiful image from deep space
tagged with: astronomy, space, universe, photo, photograph, poster, prints, milky way, milky way galaxy, galaxy, star, star cluster, neutron star, supernova, posters, print, nebula poster, nebula posters, space poster, space posters, nasa, stars, neutron, constellation, milky, way
Milky Way Galaxy - Our Beautiful Neighborhood In this spectacular image, observations using infrared light and X-ray light see through the obscuring dust and reveal the intense activity near the galactic core. Note that the center of the galaxy is located within the bright white region to the right of and just below the middle of the image. The swirling core of our galaxy harbors hundreds of thousands of stars that cannot be seen in visible light. These stars heat the nearby gas and dust. These dusty clouds glow in infrared light and reveal their often dramatic shapes. Some of these clouds harbor stellar nurseries that are forming new generations of stars. Like the downtown of a large city, the center of our galaxy is a crowded, active, and vibrant place. The galactic center is marked by the bright patch in the lower right. Along the left side are large arcs of warm gas that have been heated by clusters of bright massive stars. Winds and radiation from these stars create the complex structures seen in the gas throughout the image.This sweeping panorama is one of the sharpest infrared pictures ever made of the galactic center region. Hundreds of small dots show emission from material around black holes and other dense stellar objects. A supermassive black hole -- some four million times more massive than the Sun -- resides within the bright region in the lower right. The diffuse X-ray light comes from gas heated to millions of degrees by outflows from the supermassive black hole, winds from giant stars, and stellar explosions. This central region is the most energetic place in our galaxy.
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Rocky planets may be habitable depending on their 'air conditioning system'
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The quest for potentially habitable planets is often interpreted as the search for an Earth twin. And yet, some rocky planets outside our Solar System may in fact be more promising candidates for further research. Scientists have run 165 climate simulations for exoplanets that permanently face their 'sun' with the same side. They discovered that two of the three possible climates are potentially habitable.
via Science Daily
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The quest for potentially habitable planets is often interpreted as the search for an Earth twin. And yet, some rocky planets outside our Solar System may in fact be more promising candidates for further research. Scientists have run 165 climate simulations for exoplanets that permanently face their 'sun' with the same side. They discovered that two of the three possible climates are potentially habitable.
via Science Daily
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Wendell Berry's 6 favorite books about environmental protection
Science Focus
original post »
Farmers of Forty Centuries: Organic Farming in China, Korea, and Japan by F. H. King (Dover, \$17). This book, first published in 1911, is an account of King's studies of the enduring small peasant farms of three Asian countries. How did the people keep their land productive for 4,000 years? By returning all "wastes" to the soil, leaving the fertility cycle intact.
Tree Crops: A Permanent Agriculture by J. Russell Smith (Island Press, \$60). Published in 1929, Tree Crops confronts the error we made when we "carried to the hills the agriculture of the flat plain." This is another "travel book": Smith, a Columbia University geographer, seeks and finds better ways to interact with the land.
An Agricultural Testament by Sir Albert Howard (Benediction, \$23). Published in 1943, this is one of the major books written by Howard, a British scientist who worked in India for decades. It argues, rightly, that farming can be made to last only by obeying the laws and incorporating the systems of nature. "Mother Earth never attempts to farm without livestock," Howard wrote. "There is no waste; the processes of growth and the processes of decay balance one another."
A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold (Ballantine, \$8). Leopold's masterwork, posthumously published in 1949, begins with close observation of the plant and animal life on the author's Wisconsin farm and then expands across North America. The book ultimately proposes a "land ethic" by which a human society might live in harmony with the biotic community.
Home Place: Essays on Ecology by Stan Rowe (NeWest Press, \$20). This book insists upon the importance of the ecosphere (not the biosphere, a term that refers only to the living environment) as the inescapable context of our life. Rowe wrote that we should "live on the annual interest and leave the land's capital alone."
Nature as Measure: The Selected Essays of Wes Jackson (Counterpoint, \$17). A scientist and advocate, Wes Jackson is fully and honorably the heir of the foregoing five writers. This 2011 book addresses "the problem of agriculture" and the prospects for practical solutions.
—Wendell Berry's newest essay collection, Our Only World, makes an urgent plea for an end to destructive land use practices.
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» see original post http://theweek.com/articles/543707/wendell-berrys-6-favorite-books-about-environmental-protection
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Richard III DNA: Infidelity surprise
Science Focus
original post »Analysis of Richard III's DNA has thrown up surprising evidence of infidelity somewhere in his family tree.
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» see original post http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-30281333#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa
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Why the government should fund research into finding a replacement for alcohol
Science Focus
original post »
Research into recreational drugs still carries a bad rap, following the anti-drug crusades of the Reagan years and beyond. But such research may be one of the most important scientific investigations happening today.
Here's why: the most popular recreational drugs, particularly alcohol, are atrocious. If pharmaceutical chemists could invent a less toxic replacement for alcohol, the social benefits could be enormous.
Despite the common phrase "drugs and alcohol," which seems to imply that alcohol is merely in a related category, alcohol is definitely a drug. Indeed, as Mark Kleiman writes, alcohol is more like the ur-drug: the oldest, most common, and most widely abused drug in the world.
It's also very often terrible. It can be extremely hard on the body. Heavy long-term use damages practically every organ, especially the heart, the brain, and the liver. Chronic overuse can cause slew of different kinds of brain damage; severe memory loss; cardiovascular disease and strokes; cirrhosis of the liver; cancer of the mouth, throat, larynx, esophagus, liver, colon, and breast; high blood pressure; pancreatitis; and dozens of other problems.
Contrast that with another hard drug, heroin. Though heroin is very addictive, and a lot easier to overdose on, long-term use is largely non-toxic to the body (setting aside the risk of contaminants). Even its infamous withdrawal is not as bad. Indeed, alcohol withdrawals are perhaps the worst of any drug, with the possible exception of some benzodiazepines. Heroin withdrawal is excruciating, but severe alcoholics in withdrawal often simply die of seizures or delirium tremens.
Roughly 18 million Americans have an alcohol use disorder, and about half the country has a close family member with a current or previous alcohol addiction.
Something like a third of convicted people in jail or prison were drinking when they committed their crime, and nearly 40 percent of violent criminals. Two-thirds of domestic violence victims report alcohol was involved. That doesn't necessarily mean all those crimes would not have happened without alcohol, but given its effects on impulse control, it's safe to say it was a big factor.
Worldwide in 2012, according to the World Health Organization, alcohol caused 3.3 million deaths, or 5.9 percent of the total. But alcohol was responsible for about a quarter of all deaths among people aged 20 to 39. In the U.S., alcohol accounts for almost 90,000 deaths yearly; it is the third-place finisher among causes of preventable death.
Alcohol also has many benefits. In minor doses it has some protective effects on the cardiovascular system, and may reduce the risk of kidney stones and gallstones.
Its primary benefits are probably social, however. Alcohol lubricates gatherings. Loosened inhibitions help people strike up conversations and become friends. Dedicated communities get great pleasure out of the complex flavors of scotch, beer, wine, and other drinks. And as I will be the first to testify, a nice buzz feels pretty good! I am certainly not in favor of reinstating full-scale prohibition.
But that brings us to the question: would it be possible to discover another drug with similar properties to alcohol, but without its toxic side effects? Dr. David Nutt is working on that question right now. Like the famed drug chemist Alexander Shulgin, who developed more than 200 new psychedelic drugs, Nutt has filed for patents on some 85 different compounds, and claims to have a new one called "alcosynth" that mimics alcohol's buzz without the long-term damage. He's got another that can apparently help people sober up quickly and prevent hangovers.
Of course, any new drug needs extensive study before it could possibly be used on a wide scale. And as we've seen with alcohol or tobacco, setting up a giant profitable industry dedicated to pushing drugs on people is highly problematic. As with marijuana, stiff regulations to deliberately keep such a business small and inefficient would be a good start. The idea would be to make it cheap and available enough to stop a black market from developing, but only just barely, as cheap drugs enable addiction.
But as I argued with respect to MDMA and psychedelics, alcohol replacement is some of the lowest-hanging scientific fruit out there. Dr. Nutt is currently looking for funding to do studies on his new drugs; private foundations and governments everywhere should pony up the cash, and look for more candidates. And while there will undoubtedly be some risk involved, it's important to remember that our current situation is already very bad, with millions of people suffering and dying. A replacement drug doesn't have to be a miracle drug — just better than booze.
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» see original post http://theweek.com/articles/542427/why-government-should-fund-researchintofinding-replacement-alcohol
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Zany Dancers and Blue spot Alien - Happy Birthday! Wrapping Paper
Get your out-of-this-world gift wrap here! Perfect for Christmas gifts for anyone who is fascinated by what the universe holds in store for us!
tagged with: dancing motifs, dance motifs, dancers logo, happy birthday, pbslawt, blue-spotted, pink alien, trunk, antennae, outer space visitors
Just Fun series Fun birthday wrapping paper featuring bright, zany, exuberant dancers in a variety of colourful poses to brighten the mood :) With a blue-spotted alien with droopy antennae, you can change the text from Happy Birthday to what you want - even the person's name.
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Helix Nebula, Galaxies and Stars Star Sticker
Here's a great sheet of stickers featuring a beautiful image from deep space
tagged with: star nurseries, star clusters, galaxies, stars, astronomy, nebulae, helixneb, helix nebula, starfields, european southern observatory, eso, vista
Galaxies, Stars and Nebulae series A fantastic colour-composite image of the Helix Nebula (NGC 7293). It was created from images obtained using the Wide Field Imager (WFI), an astronomical camera attached to the 2.2-metre Max-Planck Society/ESO telescope at the La Silla observatory in Chile.
The blue-green glow in the centre of the Helix comes from oxygen atoms shining under effects of the intense ultraviolet radiation of the 120 000 degree Celsius central star and the hot gas.
Further out from the star and beyond the ring of knots, the red colour from hydrogen and nitrogen is more prominent. A careful look at the central part of this object reveals not only the knots, but also many remote galaxies seen right through the thinly spread glowing gas.
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image code: helixneb
ESO/J. Emerson/VISTA www.eso.org
Reproduced under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.
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Stellar Nursery R136 in the Tarantula Nebula Room Stickers
Here's a great wall decal featuring a beautiful image from deep space
tagged with: stars, galaxies, astronomy, galaxy, wall decal, dorneblmc, stellar nursery, r136, 30 doradus nebula, massive stars, large magellanic cloud, star cluster, amazing hubble images, tarantula nebula
Galaxies, Stars and Nebulae series Hundreds of brilliant blue stars wreathed by warm, glowing clouds in appear in this the most detailed view of the largest stellar nursery in our local galactic neighborhood. The massive, young stellar grouping, called R136, is only a few million years old and resides in the 30 Doradus (or Tarantula) Nebula, a turbulent star-birth region in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), a satellite galaxy of our Milky Way.
There is no known star-forming region in our galaxy as large or as prolific as 30 Doradus. Many of the diamond-like icy blue stars are among the most massive stars known. Several of them are over 100 times more massive than our Sun. These hefty stars are destined to pop off, like a string of firecrackers, as supernovas in a few million years. The image, taken in ultraviolet, visible, and red light by Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3, spans about 100 light-years.
The movement of the LMC around the Milky Way may have triggered the massive cluster's formation in several ways. The gravitational tug of the Milky Way and the companion Small Magellanic Cloud may have compressed gas in the LMC. Also, the pressure resulting from the LMC plowing through the Milky Way's halo may have compressed gas in the satellite. The cluster is a rare, nearby example of the many super star clusters that formed in the distant, early universe, when star birth and galaxy interactions were more frequent.
The LMC is located 170,000 light-years away and is a member of the Local Group of Galaxies, which also includes the Milky Way. The Hubble observations were taken Oct. 20-27, 2009. The blue color is light from the hottest, most massive stars; the green from the glow of oxygen; and the red from fluorescing hydrogen.
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Image credit: Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3
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Proba-2’s partial eclipse
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Space science image of the week: ESA’s Sun-watching Proba-2 satellite experienced three partial solar eclipses yesterday
via ESA Space Science
http://www.esa.int/spaceinimages/Images/2015/09/Proba-2_eclipse
Space science image of the week: ESA’s Sun-watching Proba-2 satellite experienced three partial solar eclipses yesterday
via ESA Space Science
http://www.esa.int/spaceinimages/Images/2015/09/Proba-2_eclipse
SN 1006 Supernova Remnant (Hubble) 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!
tagged with: galaxy, space, universe, stars, travel, exploration, science, sun, the milky way, sn 1006 supernova remnant, planets, astronomy, telescope images, moons, phenomena, supernovas, cosmos, cosmology, nebula, star cluster, solar system, space shuttle, nasa, space images, themilkyway, 1006, supernova, remnant, hubble
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Breakthrough in the performance of 2D semiconductors
original post »
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Over the past ten years, the development of the so-called 2D semiconductors has evolved rapidly. 2D semiconductors are
The post Breakthrough in the performance of 2D semiconductors has been published on Technology Org.
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Astronomers peer into the 'amniotic sac' of a planet-hosting star
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Astronomers have successfully peered through the 'amniotic sac' of a star that is still forming to observe the innermost region of a burgeoning solar system for the first time.
via Science Daily
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Astronomers have successfully peered through the 'amniotic sac' of a star that is still forming to observe the innermost region of a burgeoning solar system for the first time.
via Science Daily
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Nebula Space Poster
Here's a great poster featuring a beautiful image from deep space
tagged with: space posters, stars and space posters, galaxy and space, space exploration, astronomy gifts, astronomy posters for students, astronomy and science, outer space, galaxies, starfields
Space Poster featuring the horses head Nebula, a full colour stunning galaxy inspired poster of space and star phenomenon.
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Space mission will explore terrestrial gamma ray flashes that originate in thunderstorms
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Researchers are heading into space in 2018 to measure and better understand terrestrial gamma ray flashes (TGFs) that originate from thunderstorms.
via Science Daily
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Researchers are heading into space in 2018 to measure and better understand terrestrial gamma ray flashes (TGFs) that originate from thunderstorms.
via Science Daily
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Enlarged Region of The Omega Nebula Square Sticker
Here's a great sheet of stickers featuring a beautiful image from deep space
tagged with: stars, galaxies, astronomy, universe, outer space, envelope sealers, eroton, galaxies stars, gas clouds, star forming activity, green hydrogen, omega nebula m17, ultraviolet radiation, young massive stars, red sulpher, blue oxygen
Galaxies, Stars and Nebulae series Like the fury of a raging sea, this bubbly ocean of glowing hydrogen, oxygen, and sulphur gas lies in the extremely massive and luminous molecular nebula Messier 17.
This Hubble photograph captures a small region within Messier 17 (M17), a hotbed of star formation. M17, also known as the Omega or Swan Nebula, is located about 5500 light-years away in the Sagittarius constellation.
Ultraviolet radiation is carving and heating the surfaces of cold hydrogen gas clouds and the warmed surfaces glow orange and red. The intense heat and pressure causes some material to stream away from the surface, creating the glowing veil of even hotter green-coloured gas that masks background structures. The colours in the image represent various gases. Red represents sulphur; green, hydrogen; and blue, oxygen.
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image code: eroton
Image credit: NASA, the ACS Science Team
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Name, Deep Space Hubble Astronomy Pictures Wrapping Paper
Get your out-of-this-world gift wrap here! Perfect for Christmas gifts for anyone who is fascinated by what the universe holds in store for us!
tagged with: hubble, outer space, astronomy, deep space, star galaxies, spiral galaxy, nebula, cosmic, interstellar dust, sky watching
Galaxies, Stars and Nebulae series Gift wrap paper - with the name of the person whose gift it is. Using four astronomy images from deep space, this is the perfect wrapping paper for an out of this world gift!
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Stellar Nursery R136 in the Tarantula Nebula Room Graphics
Here's a great wall decal featuring a beautiful image from deep space
tagged with: stars, galaxies, astronomy, galaxy, hotair balloons, wall stickers, dorneblmc, stellar nursery, r136, 30 doradus nebula, massive stars, large magellanic cloud, star cluster, amazing hubble images, tarantula nebula
Galaxies, Stars and Nebulae series Hundreds of brilliant blue stars wreathed by warm, glowing clouds in appear in this the most detailed view of the largest stellar nursery in our local galactic neighborhood. The massive, young stellar grouping, called R136, is only a few million years old and resides in the 30 Doradus (or Tarantula) Nebula, a turbulent star-birth region in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), a satellite galaxy of our Milky Way.
There is no known star-forming region in our galaxy as large or as prolific as 30 Doradus. Many of the diamond-like icy blue stars are among the most massive stars known. Several of them are over 100 times more massive than our Sun. These hefty stars are destined to pop off, like a string of firecrackers, as supernovas in a few million years. The image, taken in ultraviolet, visible, and red light by Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3, spans about 100 light-years.
The movement of the LMC around the Milky Way may have triggered the massive cluster's formation in several ways. The gravitational tug of the Milky Way and the companion Small Magellanic Cloud may have compressed gas in the LMC. Also, the pressure resulting from the LMC plowing through the Milky Way's halo may have compressed gas in the satellite. The cluster is a rare, nearby example of the many super star clusters that formed in the distant, early universe, when star birth and galaxy interactions were more frequent.
The LMC is located 170,000 light-years away and is a member of the Local Group of Galaxies, which also includes the Milky Way. The Hubble observations were taken Oct. 20-27, 2009. The blue color is light from the hottest, most massive stars; the green from the glow of oxygen; and the red from fluorescing hydrogen.
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image code: dorneblmc
Image credit: Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3
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Hubble Maps the Cosmic Web iPad Folio Cover
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!
tagged with: galaxy, space, universe, travel, exploration, science, sun, astronomy, phenomena, hubble maps the cosmic web, stars, planets, the milky way, telescope images, moons, supernovas, cosmos, cosmology, nebula, star cluster, solar system, space shuttle, nasa, space images, themilkyway, hubble, maps, cosmic, web
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