Symbiosis is a fascinating subject, with indescribable extensions, not devoid of universal implications, and metaphysical considerations.
Almost all animals and plants use symbiotic bacteria, which allow them to perform certain metabolic functions by proxy. Some plants have bacteria that fix nitrogen. In the stomachs of cows, there are bacteria that digest cellulose.
Mitochondria and chloroplasts, essential components of cells, were once independent creatures, living independently of their current hosts. It is their genomic DNA, very different from that of their current host cells, that bears witness to this distant past.
It is inferred that mitochondria and chloroplasts penetrated primitive cells at a remote time and then adapted to life inside these cells. The symbiosis between mitochondria, chloroplasts and primitive cells is at the origin of giant leaps in the evolution of life. The assembly of simple structures with specific biological properties has made it possible to build increasingly complex cellular structures faster and faster. The mechanism of symbiosis thus avoided the already advanced cells having to reinvent by chance of genetic mutations what the symbiotic creatures brought them directly, on a plateau of sorts.
Physicist Freeman Dyson observes that in the universe, very many cases of symbiosis are also observed. We’re talking about symbiotic stars. Many of the objects observed in the universe are associated in symbiotic systems, either in pairs or within more complex systems. Symbiotic galaxy pairs are widespread. These symbioses frequently prepare fusions, just as ancestral cells ingested mitochondria and chloroplasts. Thus large galaxies « swallow » small galaxies after having been symbiotically associated with them for some time. The nuclei of swallowed galaxies are observed inside those that have swallowed them. This is called « galactic cannibalism ».
At the star scale, there are also many cases of symbiosis. Symbiotic star pairs are composed of a highly condensed element such as a white dwarf, a neutron star or even a black hole, and another normal star, which will also eventually be swallowed.
Symbiosis phenomena have been discovered between two neutron stars, which slow each other down due to the interaction of their gravitational waves. In the end they merge together and create a unique star in a gigantic splash of light and stellar matter, within a few thousandths of a second. This type of phenomenon is observed several times a day, through gamma-ray discharges, which are considered to be the most violent events in the universe, even more so than supernova explosions.
The Sun and Earth also form a symbiotic couple. The Earth brings chemical and environmental diversity. The Sun guarantees a stable supply of energy. Life was born thanks to the combination of the Earth’s potentialities, its variability, with the constancy and stability of the Sun.
The symbiosis paradigm applies to cells and galaxies, and also to man. For example, in the human couple. Or, on a different scale, in cultures and civilizations that are capable of symbiotic union.
We can hypothesize the existence of other forms of symbiosis, more abstract or more philosophical. Thus, the relationship of tension between the manifest and the latent can be described as symbiotic, or the link between the evidence of the phenomenal world and the mystery of the noumenal world, or between the relationship between the human and the divine.
It is possible, in order to continue to spin the metaphor of symbiosis, that we are not alone, isolated in our minds and souls, solitary like navigators lost in the ocean. We may well be, without our own knowledge, associated by several kinds of symbioses with higher forms of life whose form and power we cannot conceive, but which accompany us, throughout our peregrinations, in different planes of reality.
If everything is a system, as the ancient Chinese civilization likes to emphasize, then it is possible that our very being is an integral, systemic part of a multiplicity of symbioses, of varying importance.
Just as mitochondria play a particular role in the metabolism of each cell, just as the entire universe constantly produces countless forms of symbiosis under the influence of gravitational forces, so men, individually and collectively, may play their symbiotic role, blind, unravelable, but not mythical, on scales of time and reality, which we are unable to suspect.


This month at BRUU we’re celebrating the wonders of the night sky and we’d like you to celebrate with us too. We’ve added a few space treats for you to enjoy like flying saucers and shooting chocolate meteors. But the real treat this month is our spacey tea collection...
Our Milky Way Mate is rich in liquorice and caramel offering a smooth creamy brew. Deep Space Black is grown high up in the Sri Lankan mountains at the renowned Nuwara Eliya tea estate; over 8000 ft above sea level. This high altitude helps to create a very mellow and floral cup. Finally, our Lullaby Dream Catcher is bursting with aromas of fruit, flowers and blossom, we love this colourful, caffeine-free infusion a lot!
So what has inspired us to go all Professor Brian Cox on you? Well, this month is a unique opportunity to witness The Lyrid Meteor Shower. Active between 16th to the 25th April every year and peaking around the 22/23rd it’s a beautiful spectacle of up to 20 shooting stars an hour at its peak. The best time to witness this wonderful light show is after midnight and before dawn. What better way to enjoy a delicious, hot BRUU than under a blanket of shooting stars?
But Anneka, I know nothing about star gazing!’ I hear you cry. Don’t worry with the free Skyview mobile phone app (available in the app store) you can point your phone to the sky and discover exactly what you’re looking at. But if you’re not that tech savvy you can always just look up in wonder - which would be my preference.
Have a wonderful April and remember to check out the new Teatox product if you’re feeling the need to kick start a healthier you following Easter. We’re not judging, promise. To infinity and beyond,


We continue our series of excerpts (and discussion) from the outstanding survey paper by George F. R. Ellis, Issues in the Philosophy of Cosmology.
In 1900, Karl Schwarzschild (1873-1916) was perhaps the first to suggest the idea of a small universe topology that would lead to multiple images of the same object at different points in the past. Though most cosmologists favor the idea of a very large universe with a simple topology, the possibility of a more complex small universe topology is still not out of the question. The universe might be measurably finite in some or all directions.
The smaller a finite topological region of space, the easier it should be to discover multiple images of the same object at different ages (except for CMB features which will all be the same age). The distribution of distant sources might show “patterns” that are related to more nearby sources. A comprehensive survey of sources at redshifts between about z=2 to z=6 is still needed before any conclusions can be drawn.
Another approach, of course, is to look at patterns in the CMB temperature (intensity) and polarization. Analyses of the most recent release of Planck satellite data, however, shows no evidence of a compact topology smaller than our visual horizon.
Ellis, G. F. R. 2006, Issues in the Philosophy of Cosmology, Philosophy of Physics (Handbook of the Philosophy of Science), Ed. J. Butterfield and J. Earman (Elsevier, 2006), 1183-1285.
Luminet, J.-P. 2016, arXiv:1601.03884v2 [astro-ph.CO]


written by Hans L.D.G. Starlife on June 21, 2005 | contact me
number of views: 76962 | printable version (text) (PDF)
We Humans are very shortsighted, stuck in our own little time and place. We often fail to see the big picture, just like the ants in an anthill can’t understand what’s going on beyond their little world. We are stuck with a narrow, near-term agenda. If a project doesn’t generate economic, strategic, scientific or technological benefits within a few years, it’s not worthwhile.
And we think we do all these things only to satisfy our own personal or collective needs. But hey – if we try to do what the ants cannot; if we manage to widen our perspectives and look beyond all these short-term "needs" and "wants", we too may find the presence of a much larger agenda - a reality just as real as our own, but hidden in the vastness of space and time...
This is the evolutionary agenda, not of us, but of our cosmos, quietly pushing us forward - whether we are aware of it or not. It’s the inherent and omnipresent "drive" of our cosmos, the drive that is behind all physical, chemical, biological and cultural evolution in our universe, from the first hydrogen atom to the latest Marsbound spacecraft.
This larger agenda is beyond our free will. All the things we like to think we do "just because we want to", we unconsciously also do on behalf of this greater but more subtle agenda. Just like the act of procreation, all the dreams and visions and hard work we undertake, are also the instruments of this natural, inherited and omnipresent drive of our cosmos.
Some people still being stuck with the "ant-view", often object changes and transformation in their societies. Spacefaring and settlements on other worlds are typical examples, sometimes deemed "unnatural" or "against the will of nature". Seeing this wider, evolutionary perspective however, it’s easy to also see that our expansion to new worlds in space is an instrument of natural evolution as well.
- And any attempt to stop it becomes rather unnatural, an action against the "will" - or evolutionary drive - of nature. Moreover – as you "discover" this naturalness, you suddenly also realize that all the space-age clichés you are confronted with through TV, movies, newspapers and even at school and professional conferences, doesn’t really tell you the whole truth. There, it seems all this "space stuff" is about making short-term science, technological advancements, and perhaps enterprising.
But not a word about the larger agenda. Suddenly, you see that behind all these fine words, beyond the needles of our anthills, our journeys to Mars and beyond are not really about this at all. It’s about nature. It’s about beauty. It’s about the joy of being born, of being alive - and of giving life. All the things the universe is in the process of doing.
Once you have opened your eyes to this perspective, the parallels between these two realities – our own little world and the cosmos – become growingly apparent. Just like the spiral whirlpools of water going down our bathtubs, suddenly merges with the images of swirling spiral galaxies beyond…
Perhaps you stray among the flowers on a beautiful summer field, thinking of our galaxy like a meadow with a billion suns, shining like yellow dandelions waiting to spread their seeds... Or perhaps you find yourself sailing across some archipelago of "islands in the Sun", realizing that our solar system is nothing but another archipelago of islands, just like on Earth connected through various forms of natural events.
Likewise, rocks have already traveled from Mars to Earth. Organic molecules and cosmic rays are soaring across the universe as well, all with the potentials to influence the paths of Life. And now we Humans, one of latest "instruments" of evolution, are learning to do the same, further contributing to the natural interaction between the worlds of the cosmos.
And in the process of sailing to and settling these new islands, first in the "archipelago", some day across the galactic oceans, we too are gaining the capability to help life on its way. To do what the birds and the insects have done all along here on Earth – to bring the seeds of life further. Here on Earth, it doesn't take long after the birth of a new volcanic island, until the first seeds of life find their way.
It’s all parts of the same greater agenda. It’s the same evolutionary drive present everywhere. And this drive, like the laws of physics, is very much universal, limited neither by Earthly jurisdictions nor by our planet’s gravity well. IF a life form can spread from one island to another here on Earth, it does. And if life can spread from one "island" to another in space, it surely would too. Life always finds a way.
We Humans often have difficulty adjusting to quick changes. If they take place over generations, it’s easier. But as a matter of fact, there is no magic, evolutionary "stop sign" above our planet - except perhaps in our minds. The unnaturalness some may feel exists only there, in our minds. Evolution itself will always ensure Life tries to enhance and expand wherever it possibly can. It’s nature’s way of doing business.
Earlier, we Humans haven’t questioned our interaction and interference with nature. Here on Earth, we have been influencing our environments by domesticating plants and animals for many thousands of years, moving from field to field, from island to island. We have been engineering our own planet for a long time. And other species have interfered with us as well.
When we now look outwards to the next island on the horizon, that rusty rock we call Mars, should we then do it differently? Even if we found some indigenous life forms there, nature – if it could think and talk - would want us to move ahead. Surely, if another species on Earth suddenly found a way to migrate to Mars, it would without any hesitation.
In fact, if we choose to hinder this evolutionary drive by not migrating to Mars and interact with its environment, it would be as if our ancestors had chosen not to start cultivating the fields, simply because they didn't want to disturb the local plant life there. Is anyone today seriously suggesting we Humans should have remained hunters and nomads, not starting to cultivate our lands for this reason…?
Interaction and interference are given ingredients in most evolution - physical, chemical, biological as well as cultural – here on Earth as well as everywhere else in our dynamic, everchanging universe. Dandelions and supernovas both influence their surroundings with their "seeds", for better or for worse. That’s how it’s supposed to be.
In the end, all these interactions often tend to speed up the evolutionary processes. And not only the evolution of the specific species, compounds or events that are best fit to survive and grow more complex. As a consequence – viewing things from that larger, cosmic agenda – they also favor the evolution of Life in the universe as a phenomenon.
As we now learn to set sail for the Red Planet beaconing in the sky, to visit or to settle, to change ourselves or to change the planet, we should think about this greater agenda, subtle and hidden as it may be. Because what we are doing, in essence, is not only to selfishly spread our own genes, increasing our own knowledge and opportunities. As instruments of the cosmos, we are also contributing to this grand experiment called Life, tirelessly and continuously trying to surpass itself.
- And that makes us the biggest environmentalists of all, more responsible and devoted to promote and broaden the "case for life" than any Earth-centered environmental campaigner ever seen. To promote the future of life on Earth, without also promoting its future beyond Earth, is irresponsible beyond forgiveness. Because in our interacting universe, these objectives go hand in hand.
As a matter of fact, we all live in, and have always lived in, and will always live in, a highly dynamic and ever-changing universe. Mars is not an old isolated museum, and was never intended to be. And nor is our Earth. Everything is changing over time, everything is interconnected, everything is interacting… the World with the Grain of Sand, the Heaven with the Wild Flower, to loosely cite English poet William Blake.
The ability to see this perspective, the fundamental naturalness of our emerging Human expansion to Mars and the uncounted worlds beyond – and the many great joys and rewarding moments that come with it – is what nourishes my interest and support for these adventures. No, sorry guys - I am not into this because of some shallow fascination for roaring spaceships, heroic astronauts and Moon-like landscapes. Perhaps I did as a young boy, but I am grown up now!
Instead, I am doing it out of this deep love for Life; for the richness and growth of Nature and Culture. I love it so much, that I don't just settle for protecting it. I want to share its beauty with other, less fortunate worlds - truly participating in that great cosmic awakening which we all are parts of. And perhaps, contributing to giving the Human civilization a new, unifying "Higher Purpose" as not only the Gardeners of Earth, but of many worlds.
And the more we can see the greatness of this evolutionary saga, in which we all are players, the more we will find that there is still room for the innocence, magic wonders and beautiful fairytales of our childhood - all those things we thougth were long gone. Because our interconnected, interacting and holistic cosmos is truly magic, truly beautiful.
I myself have learned to see this magic and beauty everyday, when I walk in the forests, when I look through a telescope, when I love somebody. The forest is there behind the telescope lens, the stars are there in the forest. Not only in my mind, but quite literally. It’s all parts of the same big whole, the same origin, the same destiny.
As a consequence, when I wander through the meadows a sunny summer day, when I watch the thriving wildflowers and the butterflies dancing by, listening to the whispering sounds of leaves in a gentle breeze, playing with my smiling daughter… I don't just see a local, natural environment. I feel the almost intoxicating, holistic presence of planets, stars, galaxies and cosmic evolution.
In the same way, when I look at pictures of planets, stars and galaxies, or someone is talking about our future potentials in space - I don't think of alien landscapes or roaring spaceships, not even of science and engineering. My apologies to you, my fellow scientists, engineers and space advocates, but my thoughts are somewhere else.
You’ll probably find me thinking of thriving wildflowers and butterflies dancing by, of the whispering sounds of leaves in the gentle breeze, of the smiling faces of playing girls...
On the fields of Mars.


- Karst morphologies are detected in an ILD in Juventae Chasma
- The landforms display similarity with terrestrial karst
- The features of the karst landforms suggest a young erosional age
- The landforms suggest the presence of liquid water
- The landforms are markers of climatic changes occurred in the early Amazonian period
This paper describes karst landforms observed in an interior layered deposit (ILD) located within Juventae Chasma a trough of the Valles Marineris, a rift system that belongs to the Tharsis region of Mars. The ILD investigated is characterized by spectral signatures of kieserite, an evaporitic mineral present on Earth. A morphologic and morphometric survey of the ILD surface performed on data of the Orbiter High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) highlighted the presence of depressions of various shapes and sizes. These landforms interpreted as dolines resemble similar karst landforms on Earth and in other regions of Mars. The observed karst landforms suggest the presence of liquid water, probably due to ice melting, in the Amazonian age.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
Baioni, Davide and Mario Tramontana.
Possible evaporite karst in an interior layered deposit in Juventae Chasma, Mars.
International Journal of Speleology,
Available at: https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/ijs/vol46/iss2/5


YOU ARE LEARNING:
Big Unanswered Questions
Big Unanswered Questions
What goes on in black holes? and what is the dark matter and energy that makes up 96% of the Universe? Nobody knows!
There are many things in physics that are still a mystery. This lesson will briefly introduce you to some of them.
The Universe is expanding, and it is doing so faster and faster and faster.
How do we know that the Universe is expanding?
In 1998, astronomers found that galaxies are actually moving away from us faster and faster. So the expansion of the universe is accelerating. There must be some energy that makes that happen, but scientists don't know what it is. What do you think they call it?
Scientists can't currently explain what it is that causes the acceleration of the Universe
They believe some form of energy must be the fuel for this acceleration, but it is an unknown form of energy. They have given it the name dark energy.
Scientists also cannot explain why there are some galaxies which are rotating faster than they should be, according to the physics that describes them.
It's gravity that causes galaxies to rotate. In order to work out exactly how fast a galaxy is spinning, what variable do scientists need?
So the rotation of an object depends on gravity, which is determined by its mass.
The more mass an object has the faster it spins due to gravity.
The mystery is that galaxies are spinning faster than they should be able to when we look at the amount of mass they have. So scientists believe that...
So scientists believe there is an unknown, invisible form of mass that means the galaxies are actually heavy enough to spin as fast as they are spinning. What do you think scientists call this unknown form of mass?
So scientists believe there is an unknown, invisible form of mass in the universe, which they cannot measure.
They have named it dark matter. We can only detect it by the effect its gravity has on nearby objects. Astronomers have calculated that 27% of the universe must be made of this dark matter! That's a huge part!
Black holes are the most massive objects in the Universe, so their gravitational field strength is...
A) the strongest in the Universe. B) the weakest in the Universe.
A black hole is essentially...
A) a sun that shines black. B) a hole someone poked in the universe. C) a dead star.
Black holes are created when the biggest supernovas implode and gravity pulls all the mass into an extremely dense point, the centre of which is called a singularity.
Scientists have no clue what goes on in a singularity. In fact, we may never know because anything that comes close enough to the edge of a black hole can never escape. It simply gets sucked in!
So if it isn't actually a hole, what makes a black hole black?
A) Even light can't escape the black hole. B) They are so far away that no light has come through to us yet. C) They are always in shadow, so they are always eclipsed.
Black holes appear black because we can't see any light reflected or emitted from them
They are essentially invisible to us. We can only see the edge around them where light is still just about able to escape. We call that the event horizon.
It get's crazier! The gravitational pull of black holes is so strong that it warps time!
Einstein's theory of relativity explains how space and time are actually the same thing, and gravity affects both.
This adds to the mystery about what happens in a singularity, where there might be an infinite amount of mass in a single point in space
If then there is an infinite amount of gravity, the laws of physics don't make sense anymore, so scientists really don't know whats happens in the centre of a black hole.
You will probably have learnt mostly about Classical Physics
But there are two other very important parts of physics: Quantum Mechanics and Relativity.
Quantum Mechanics and Relativity...
are only about 100 years old, but they are fundamental to how we understand the Universe and how we have developed technology.
The 4 fundamental forces in physics are gravity, electromagnetism, the weak nuclear force, and the strong nuclear force
Relativity explains gravity, but Quantum Mechanics explain the other three.
Ideally we want a theory which explains gravity in terms of ** quantum mechanics, so that one theory could explain all 4 fundamental forces in physics.
We would call that theory Quantum Gravity.
We don't know why the Universe is expanding faster and faster
Scientists believe the fuel for this acceleration must come from an energy form they have named dark energy, but they don't really know what it is.
Galaxies are spinning faster than they should
Scientists believe this is because there is a form of mass that we can't see and we can't measure. They call it dark matter.
We have no idea what is going on in a black hole
Maybe we will never know, because everything that comes too near one will get sucked in. They are essentially invisible to us, because light can't even escape its gravitational pull!
We don't have a single theory that can explain physical phenomena in all conditions
Sometimes Classical Mechanics works, sometimes Quantum Mechanics works. But the two theories don't always work together, so there must be something we don't know.
There are still some fascinating, fundamental truths about the Universe that physics is yet to discover!


I stumbled upon a thread on reddit where someone quoted a famous speech by Carl Sagan, referring to a famous photo of the Earth taken by the Voyager 1 space probe from 6 billion kilometers away – the most distant creation of humanity. It wasn’t the first time I’d read it or even seen the photo, but it still inspired me to find the original photo to use as my wallpaper.
Yet the original is pretty low resolution (the probe was launched in 1977),so I decided to recreate the photo in Blender in order to render it with as many pixels as I like :)
Blend file: http://gregzaal.com/files/pale_blue_dot.blend
License of both images and blend file is CC0 (public domain).


The Islamic calendar, or the Hijri calendar, is a lunar calendar used by Muslims worldwide.
It is based on the cycles of the moon, and it is different from the Gregorian calendar, a solar calendar commonly used in the Western world.
History and Origins
The Islamic calendar was introduced by Prophet Muhammad in 622 CE when he migrated from Mecca to Medina. This event, known as the Hijra, marks the beginning of the Islamic calendar. The Islamic calendar is based on the lunar cycle, which is why it is also known as the Hijri calendar.
Lunar Calendar System
The Islamic calendar follows a lunar calendar system, meaning that each month begins with the sighting of a new moon. The lunar cycle lasts approximately 29.5 days, meaning the Islamic year is about 11 days shorter than the Gregorian year.
12 Lunar Months
The Islamic calendar consists of 12 lunar months, each starting and ending with the sighting of the new moon. The months are Muharram, Safar, Rabi al-Awwal, Rabi al-Thani, Jumada al-Awwal, Jumada al-Thani, Rajab, Sha’ban, Ramadan, Shawwal, Dhu al-Qidah, and Dhu al-Hijjah.
Significance of Muharram
Muharram is the first month of the Islamic calendar and is considered a sacred month for Muslims. It is also the month when the Battle of Karbala occurred, a significant event in Islamic history.
Importance of Ramadan
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, considered the holiest month in Islam. Muslims fast during Ramadan from dawn until sunset, a time for spiritual reflection, prayer, and charity.
Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha
Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha are two major festivals in Islam that are celebrated according to the Islamic calendar. Eid al-Fitr marks the end of Ramadan, while Eid al-Adha commemorates the willingness of Prophet Ibrahim to sacrifice his son as an act of obedience to God.
The Islamic calendar is shorter than the Gregorian calendar by approximately 11 days, which means that the Islamic calendar shifts forward by about 11 days every year. To adjust for this, the Islamic calendar has leap years, which occur once every 2 or 3 years, depending on the sighting of the new moon.
Use in Daily Life
The Islamic calendar is used in daily life by Muslims all over the world. It is used to determine the dates of religious festivals and observances and personal and business matters.
Islamic New Year
The Islamic New Year, also known as Muharram, marks the beginning of the Islamic calendar. Muslims celebrate the Islamic New Year by reflecting on the past year and making resolutions for the year ahead.
Importance in Islamic Culture
The Islamic calendar is integral to Islamic culture and is deeply intertwined with religious beliefs and practices. It is a reminder of the importance of time and the need to use it wisely in service to God and humanity.
the Islamic calendar is a lunar calendar used by Muslims worldwide. It is based on the moon’s cycles and differs from the Gregorian calendar. The Islamic calendar has 12 lunar months, each starting and ending with the sighting of the new moon. It is an integral part of Islamic culture, and it is


THOR: a new way to look for water on Mars
The THOR mission provides NASA with a unique opportunity to Trace Habitability, Organics, and Resources in the Martian subsurface and atmosphere.
THOR will deliver two high-velocity impactors to excavate materials from the deep subsurface. This will provide the first access to environments where ice exists and liquid water may be present periodically today. THOR will determine the composition of these materials using a highly capable infrared spectrometer.
From orbit, THOR will determine the atmospheric abundance of trace gases, including methane. It will also map where these gases are found and look for variations over time as it seeks to determine their origin.
THOR also complements and extends the global atmospheric and surface mineralogy record of past missions.
A video tour of the mission's key elements is available.


Database general information
The database contains Afrho quantity data organized in a format suitable for an immediate analysis. The columns contain:
- comet designation (the number for periodic comets or the MPC designation is used in the data file)
- Julian Date
- Earth distance AU
- Sun distance AU
- Solar phase angle
- Photometric band
- Measured magnitude
- Radius windows (Km)
- Afrho (cm)
- Error (cm)
- Reference catalog
- Observer code
- Reference star
- Spectral class
- File name (for internal use)
Please take into account that both the observing procedure and the reduction method have been improved in the years (since 2001) and this means that the data have been obtained with different accuracy.
The error calculation was introduced in 2004 and gives an indicative quality on the single measurement but not all error sources have been taken into account.
A better estimate on the error can be achieved by an internal check with data referred to many reference stars where available. Esternal checks with professional data show that the accuracy is usually better than 10% and comparable with the expected error. The accuracy can change according with the observational situation (comet brightness, S/N ratio, twilight or noise from light pollution, crowded starfields, background faint nebulae, and so on), on an average it is expected between 10% and 20% with a smaller error in the brigher objects. Of course faint object can be affected by an even larger error.
B,V, R. I (Johnson-Cousins): R and I are higly suggested for a routine work and required to contribute to the CARA Project. For many comets can be assumed that the gas contamination is negligible in these passbands.
S : refers to the Vilnius System and is approximated with narrowband filters centered qt 647 or 650 nm (10 nm FWHM). This is theoretically the best suggested filter as gas emissions are negligible. But it can be used with very bright objects only as the peak transmission (for Edmund filters) is around 50% and the narrow passband require much longer exposures to achieve a good enough S/N (indicatively about 100 times longer than unfiltered).
B and V passbands have usually great gas contamination and could be used only in rare cases where no gas is present. In most case are useless.
Vu, Ru refers to unfiltered data approximated to V or R bands according to the sensitivity of the ccd. This approach was used in early tests but it is not encouraged. Anyway unfiltered data are accepted for faint comets where the use of a filter gives a too low S/N for photometry.
The digital era in amateur astronomers observing techniques allowed to explore new approaches in observing comets.
Starting about since 1995 the potentiality of the new tecnhiques started to be explored and after the apparition of comet Hale-Bopp both the image processing and the photometry approaches have been deeply investigated. For the photometry the starting points were the guidelines provided by the International Comet Quarterly and the precious pioneering experience of V band CCD photometry run at the Crni Vrh Observatory by Herman Mikuz.
A first impprovement was to run a photometric program based on magnitudes referred to specific fixed measuring windows in km at the comet comet of 50,000, 25,000, 12.500 km (adding other larger or smaller sizes in specific situations if needed). The goal was to get more accurate and homogeneous photometric data always measuring the same portion of the coma characterized by the same phenomenology going beyond the limit of the not well defined total magnitude. The first results were encouraging but our goal was to get more scientific information from our digital images and that could be also useful also for the scientific community. In doing this we looked for a compromise between the result and a relatively simple method. Moving to the Afrho quantity approach was a quite natural step.
In that period all calculations have been made by means of a simple executable code developed in Gwbasic and later in C language. All procedure was made by hand with a tedious and long procedure, entering all the data asked by the program (heliocentric and geocentric distances of the comet, flux (ADU) for the comet and the reference star, magnitude of the star...)
Fig 1 – the screenshot of the executable code made in C language
The first steps toward a concrete realization of the database started in 2003 when the measurement procedure was greatly improved with the development of the Winafrho software, made by Roberto Trabatti. Winafrho allowed to better standardize all the observing procedure and to save the data in a standard archive format.
In 2004 two released was made for Windows and Linux platforms, but only the Windows version was maintained and updated.Trabatti, it was clear that a multiaperture photometry with a larger number of windows could led to more accurate data.
Fig.2 - the screenshot of the Winarfrho software (release 1.53)
The first data format was based on fixed columns, but the format was slightly changed and improved in the years. The current database refers to the last format improvement made around 2008 (the format is described in the general information).
Fig.3 – the 1.9 release of Winafrho with many improvements. It allows to import the FITS images for making measurements.


It was a ridiculous idea from the start. Travel to the edge of the earth to see one of the planet’s rarest events – a total solar eclipse in the Arctic. Faced with the likely reality of bad weather obscuring the sun and having to battle frigid, arctic temperatures and winds, the odds did not favor success. Despite this the Salomon Freeski TV team and set out on an expedition to realize photographer, Reuben Krabbe’s grand vision to capture a single unique image- one of skiing during a solar eclipse. Persistence, preparation and a positive attitude was a guarantee of nothing as March 20th, 2015, dawned. The fate of the expedition’s goal would rest entirely in the hands of the weather gods.
Riders: Reuben Krabbe, Chris Rubens, Cody Townsend, Brody Leven


Bobak Ferdowsi visitará a Escola de Ciências da Universidade do Minho no dia 17 de Outubro para proferir uma palestra pelas 10h30, no Anfiteatro A1 do Complexo Pedagógico 1, no Campus de Gualtar, em Braga.
Convidaram-se todos os interessados a participar. A entrada na palestra é livre, mas requer inscrição prévia até 15 de Outubro, através do e-mail firstname.lastname@example.org.
Bobak Ferdowsi is a member of the Mission Engineering team on the Europa Clipper study at NASA?s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. His prior positions have included Engineering Systems, Mission Planner and Integrated Launch and Cruise Verification and Validation Engineer on Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity, as well as Science Planner on the Cassini mission. In addition he served as Flight Director during Curiosity operations.
Bobak earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautics and Astronautics in 2001 from the University of Washington and subsequently his Master of Science in the same area from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Bobak has always wanted to work on missions to Mars. He plays shortstop in the Jet Propulsion Laboratory softball league and usually rides his bike to work.
O evento tem o apoio da Embaixada dos Estados Unidos da América em Portugal.


There is no room for debate. Climate change is real, and a threat to mankind…3 months at a time. They are called seasons, and we have experienced them since man first appeared on Earth.
One season is really hot, another is really cold, while one season goes from hot to warm to chilly, and the last one goes from cold to chilly to warm.
This is denied by the alt-far-left, just as they deny the Sun and DNA (see ‘the trans‘).
Let’s go over some points of “settled science”. Some of these questions we asked, and others were suggested by the search:
‘how old is the sun?’
“The sun was born about 4.603 billion years ago. Many scientists think the sun and the rest of the solar system formed from a giant, rotating cloud of gas and dust known as the solar nebula.” –from “Earth’s sun: Facts about the sun’s age, size and history” via space.com
‘how long will the sun last?’
“Stars like our Sun burn for about nine or 10 billion years. So our Sun is about halfway through its life. But don’t worry. It still has about 5,000,000,000—five billion—years to go.” from “How Old Is the Sun?” via spaceplace.nasa.gov
‘how old is earth?’
“Earth is estimated to be 4.543 billion years old, plus or minus about 50 million years. Scientists have scoured the Earth searching for the oldest rocks to radiometrically date. In northwestern Canada, they discovered rocks about 4.03 billion years old.” –from “Age of Earth Collection” via nationalgeographic.org
‘how hot is the sun?’
“The temperature at the surface of the Sun is about 10,000 Fahrenheit (5,600 Celsius). The temperature rises from the surface of the Sun inward towards the very hot center of the Sun where it reaches about 27,000,000 Fahrenheit (15,000,000 Celsius).” –from “How hot is the Sun?” via coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu
‘what is the farthest earth gets from the sun?’
“Planet Earth reaches aphelion – when Earth is farthest from the sun – at 94,506,364 miles (152,093,251 km) from the sun.” –from “Earth farthest from sun – or aphelion” via earthsky.org
‘what is the closest earth gets to the sun?’
“Astronomers call this point perihelion, and at this time Earth is about 91.4 million miles (147.1 million km) away from the sun, according to NASA.” –from “How far is Earth from the sun?” via space.com, which also adds “Keep in mind that Earth’s distance from the sun does not determine the seasons we experience; the seasons are determined by the tilt of the planet’s axis.”
‘How much longer will the Sun sustain Earth?’
“Finally, the most probable fate of the planet is absorption by the Sun in about 7.5 billion years, after the star has entered the red giant phase and expanded beyond the planet’s current orbit.” –from “Future of Earth” via wikipedia.org
We will take a quick break to quote our old favorite, the article about The Sun from wikipedia, which is a left-wing site (just try and post anything non-leftist there and see how quickly it is edited to be leftist!), which states that our Sun is 99.86% of the mass of our solar system (that includes EVERYTHING like planets and moons and space dust and the Sun itself).
That article also states that the Sun is responsible for all of Earth’s energy, weather and climate, either directly or indirectly, with Earth being just a tiny part of that 0.14% mass (and man being an even more minuscule part of that tiny part of 0.14% mass) that is not the Sun. The left gives us WAY too much credit…uhm, no, blame.
Originally, this article was going to focus on Senator Mazie Hirono (D is for Delusional, Hawaii), after some ridiculous comments she made about the Hawaii ‘wild fires’, such as “I think that we need to very much acknowledge climate change is upon us.” and “Clearly, wildfires is an occurrence in Hawaii.”
But the truth is that democRATs and RINOs (Republicans In Name Only, so basically democRATs) will say and do whatever gives them more control over you, so that wasn’t really news.
Both of those groups are Sun deniers, and from the 1960’s on the combined left have pushed overpopulation, new ice age, acid rain, ozone hole, global warming and now climate change. But none of those is a real thing, and they were all designed to give the left more power over you.
Winter storms, summer heat and fires (no matter when they occur) are NOT caused by ‘climate’. In fact, the Hawaii fire was caused by democRAT neglect. They have controlled that state for DECADES! They are also the ones who didn’t put water in the fire hydrants and who didn’t set off the warning system they had just tested shortly before the fire. EVERY death in Hawaii (certainly more than the 100 or so admitted to so far, with some estimates being easily over 1000) is the fault of democRATs!
Now back to the last few searches, starting with those that back up that Sun article on wikipedia:
‘How does the Sun cause our weather?’
“The Sun plays a key role in the hydrological cycle, constantly evaporating water into the atmosphere. Some of that water is returned as rain, snow and dew. Part of this precipitation is rapidly evaporated back into the atmosphere. Some drains into lakes and rivers to commence a journey back to the sea.” –from “The Sun’s impact on the Earth” via public.wmo.int (World Meteorological Organization)
‘Does the sun produce all the energy on Earth?’
“The Sun is the major source of energy for Earth’s oceans, atmosphere, land, and biosphere. Averaged over an entire year, approximately 342 watts of solar energy fall upon every square meter of Earth. This is a tremendous amount of energy—44 quadrillion (4.4 x 1016) watts of power to be exact.” –from “The Balance of Power in the Earth-Sun System” via nasa.gov
There are two for ‘climate’…
‘Does the sun control earth climate?’
“For decades some scientists have noted that certain climate phenomena—warmer seas, increased tropical rainfall, fewer clouds in the subtropics, stronger trade winds—seem to be connected to the sun’s roughly 11-year cycle, which causes ebbs and flows in sunspots that result in variations in solar output.” –from “How Sunlight Controls Climate” via scientificamerican.com
AND “The Earth’s climate system depends entirely on the Sun for its energy. Solar radiation warms the atmosphere and is fundamental to atmospheric composition, while the distribution of solar heating across the planet produces global wind patterns and contributes to the formation of clouds, storms, and rainfall.” –from “The Sun’s Influence on Climate” via press.princeton.edu (Princeton University Press)
Then this one was definitely suggested…
‘What would happen if the Earth was 1 mile closer to the Sun?’
“The closer you are to the sun, the hotter the climate. Even a small move closer to the sun could have a huge impact. That’s because warming would cause glaciers to melt, raising sea levels and flooding most of the planet. Without land to absorb some of the sun’s heat, temperatures on Earth would continue to rise.” –from “What if Earth changed its orbit?” via science.howstuffworks.com
‘what was the Highest temperature recorded on Earth?’
“According to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the highest registered air temperature on Earth was 56.7 °C (134.1 °F) in Furnace Creek Ranch, …recorded on 10 July 1913…” –from wikipedia.org although it adds that “several meteorological experts asserting that there were similar irregularities.”
‘what was the Lowest temperature recorded on Earth?’
“The lowest natural temperature ever directly recorded at ground level on Earth is −89.2 °C (−128.6 °F; 184.0 K) at the then-Soviet Vostok Station in Antarctica on 21 July 1983 by ground measurements.” from wikipedia.org.
Using the left’s own ‘logic’, and despite those being recorded in two different places, Earth is getting colder since the coldest temperate ever recorded occurred more recently than the hottest temperature.
Please also be aware that the left pushes temperature readings from large cities or airports that are taken on or surrounded by CONCRETE or ASPHALT. They don’t take temperatures in a corn field in Nebraska! Why? Because they have an agenda, and the truth be damned.
They have even proposed in the recent past that we pump CO2 (carbon dioxide) into space via a pipe, or freeze CO2 and send it into space in a rocket (which would cost more than the CO2’s weight in gold PLUS use more carbon doing all of that).
Then the Biden usurpation just announced a risky scheme to develop two facilities that capture carbon which they will store underground, and that will ‘only’ cost $1.2 BILLION in borrowed money at high interest rates.
They once again prove their science denial by claiming CO2 is dangerous, when trees and other plants use it along with sunlight and water to produce energy AND oxygen! Less CO2 means less oxygen!! Why do leftists hate plants…and us?!
The Chinese communist party is actually very small but controls 1.412 BILLION people through terrorism. They are now spreading that to Western countries. In that vein, the globalist left in the West want you to believe that they can prevent something natural and non-dangerous by blaming you for it so they can shame you into paying them protection money.
Logic no longer has any effect on the alt-far-left. They march in lockstep pushing their communist agenda, and anyone who disagrees is demonized, persecuted or (now) indicted.
So, in conclusion, since ‘Stop-Drop-And-Roll’ works for being on fire, we will take a page out of the late Rush Limbaugh’s playbook and demonstrate absurdity by being absurd and propose that we try it for the alt-far-left climate hoax too…it might even work!
This article was approved by top scientists at the RealityShed Institute for Climate Optimization (RICO). Now we need to use RICO against all democRATs and RINOs.
Twitter account abandoned May 12, 2023, after Elon Musk hired WEF’er Linda Yaccarino as new CEO.


Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are camping. As they look up into the sky, Holmes asks, "Watson, tell me what you see."
Watson says, "I see millions of stars." Holmes then asks, "And what does that tell you?" Watson thinks for a minute then says, "Astronomically, it tells me there are millions of galaxies and potentially billions of planets. Theologically, it tells me that God is great and that we are small and insignificant. Meteorologically, it tells me that we will have a beautiful day tomorrow. What does it tell you?"
Holmes answers, "It tells me somebody stole our fucking tent."


Chinese researchers have successfully tested a full-system model of technology that could one day wirelessly transmit solar power from outer space to Earth.
A model power station at Xidian University in Shaanxi province captures sunlight high above the ground and converts it into microwave beams. It then transmits through the air to a receiver station on the ground, where it can be converted back to electricity.
The model sends the energy only 55 meters through the air. But the researchers hope the technology could one day be expanded to send power from orbiting solar panels to Earth.
The research team behind it recently conducted tests in front of a panel of outside experts. They verified its success on June 5, the university said in a press release.
The promise of solar power from space is that it would eliminate the clean energy technology’s biggest drawback – not being able to operate in darkness – by putting the panels in orbit where they can evade Earth’s shadow.


Look What We Found on Mars: Curiosity Rover Serves Up Awesome Science
Posted by admin on September 26, 2013
- News from NASA’s Curiosity rover, currently traveling across the surface of Mars, often comes out piecemeal. We learn what the probe did on one particular day but rarely how that fits in with our larger understanding of the Red Planet and its history.
Today, the scientists working with Curiosity offer a trove of detailed analyses. The have simultaneously published five papers in Science as well as an additional article in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets that incorporate everything the rover learned in its first months working at Gale crater.
“These papers, in a nutshell, present our summary of using the Curiosity laboratory for the first time on Mars,” said geologist John Grotzinger, the project scientist for the mission.
The findings offer a look at the soil, composition, mineralogy, and history of an area known as Rocknest, which Curiosity visited in October and November 2012. While there, the rover got to try out many of its instruments for the first time during a battery of testing. It shot the Martian surface with lasers, X-rays, charged particles, and even took five scoops from the surface to heat in its internal oven.
Here, we’ll take a look at the details the science team has provided in their glut of new papers. Much of this information will come in handy as Curiosity roves on to the base of Mount Sharp, its eventual target. The data will give context and insight into the next things the probe will find and could help unravel the complex history of water and its disappearance from Mars.
- Curiosity’s first investigations of a rock on Mars turned up something rather exciting: a type of rock never before seen on the Red Planet. The target, nicknamed Jake Matijevic or JM for short, is similar to rocks on Earth known as mugearites. These are found on oceanic islands and continental rifts, suggestive of the idea that JM could have been generated by magmas deep within the planet. Scientists still debate how long Mars had tectonic processes and how active they were, but this rock points to the fact that the ancient planet was fairly dynamic.
- Curiosity bombarded the Martian soil with X-rays in order to determine what sorts of minerals are there. The rover found crystals such as quartz and feldspar as well as non-crystalline materials that look like a substance called hisingerite. The science team concludes that the surface at Gale crater strongly resembles volcanic soils on Earth in places like Mauna Kea, Hawaii.
- Early in Curiosity’s mission, the science team let it slip that they had uncovered some very important finding. Speculation centered on the idea that the rover had found organic molecules, a potential indicator of past life. The eventual announcement — that the probe had found some simple organics that may or may not have come from Mars — wasn’t quite that exciting. But the scientists have analyzed those simple molecules it did find.
Curiosity detected chlorinated hydrocarbons, which are chemicals composed of both carbon and chlorine. A detailed look at the individual components suggests the chlorine in these molecules originated on Mars, though it’s still unclear if the carbon is indigenous or arrived as a contaminant from Earth. But the team has determined with high probability that the soil at Gale crater contains a large amount of perchlorates.
Perchlorates are chemical salts that release oxygen when heated. The reason this is important is the 1970s Viking missions heated Martian soil in order to see if it contained any simple life, and those results have been inconclusive and controversial for decades. But the presence of perchlorates would have messed with those original findings, destroying any organic molecules and leaving open the question of whether or not Viking detected any carbon. Because they are salts, perchlorates could have also formed briny water on ancient Mars and served as an energy source for microbes, as they do on Earth. So Curiosity’s detection of perchlorates may vindicate an old experiment and increase the habitability of Mars in the past.
If future Curiosity experiments find carbon on Mars, it doesn’t automatically indicate life past or present. A fair amount of organic carbon has arrived on the planet over millions of years during asteroid impacts.
- Curiosity is carrying a microwave-sized instrument called the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM). It is basically a very complicated scientific Easy-Bake Oven capable of heating samples of soil to more than 800 degrees Celsius and seeing what comes out. In analyzing its first soil sample, SAM found carbon dioxide, oxygen, and molecular water, which had been chemically bound in the sandy material.
The analysis is useful in deciphering Mars’ past because these sand grains hold a record of many chemical and geological processes. And because of the presence of these chemicals, the science team suggests fine-grained soil “could be a good source of water, CO2, and other volatiles to be leveraged by future human explorers on Mars.”
- Much of what we know about the Red Planet comes from orbital observations. Curiosity’s value on Mars is its ability to get up close and literally touch the soil. Looking at the composition and mineralogy of the soil is like reading the “history of the Martian crust, its meteoritic bombardment, and the physical and chemical weathering processes that transformed” it, wrote the authors of one paper.
Curiosity used its ChemCam instrument to analyze the Martian soil and create an inventory of the chemicals within it. These findings will come in handy when Curiosity roves over to the base of Mount Sharp and studies the processes that changed the planet from a warm and wet one to a cold and dry one.
- When Curiosity looked closely at the sand at Rocknest, “some grains showed bright glints in the Martian sunlight,” wrote the authors of one paper in Science.
A detailed analysis using X-rays showed that the Martian soil is made of roughly 55 percent crystalline material. Scientists found that the composition of the sand at Gale Crater was similar to that at other sites on Mars, such as those explored by the Spirit and Opportunity rovers. This suggests the sands of Mars have been blowing around for a good deal of time, long enough to have a relatively similar mix of material on a global scale.
Leave a Reply


Basic Parts of a Satellite
What's Inside a Satellite ?
Satellites have a great deal of equipment packed inside them. Most satellites have seven subsystems, and each one has special work to do.
1. The propulsion subsystem includes the rocket motor that brings the spacecraft to its permanent position, as well as small thrusters (motors) that help to keep the satellite in its assigned place in orbit. Satellites drift out of position because of solar wind or gravitational or magnetic forces. When that happens, the thrusters are fired to move the satellite back into the right position in its orbit.
2. The power subsystem generates electricity from the solar panels on the outside of the spacecraft. The solar panels also store electricity in storage batteries, which can provide power at times when the sun isn't shining on the panels. The power is used to operate the communications subsystem. The entire communications subsystem can be operated with about the same amount of power as would be used by 10 light bulbs.
3. The communications subsystem handles all the transmit and receive functions. It receives signals from the Earth, amplifies them, and transmits (sends) them to another satellite or to a ground station.
4. The structures subsystem helps provide a stable framework so that the satellite can be kept pointed at the right place on the Earth's surface. Satellites can't be allowed to jiggle or wander, because if a satellite is not exactly where it belongs, pointed at exactly the right place on the Earth, the television program or the telephone call it transmits to you will be interrupted.
5. The thermal control subsystem keeps the active parts of the satellite cool enough to work properly. It does this by directing the heat that is generated by satellite operations out into space, where it won't interfere with the satellite.
6. The attitude control subsystem points the spacecraft precisely to maintain the communications "footprints" in the correct location. When the satellite gets out of position, the attitude control system tells the propulsion system to fire a thruster that will move the satellite back where it belongs.
7. Operators at the ground station need to be able to transmit commands to the satellite and to monitor its health. The telemetry and command system provides a way for people at the ground stations to communicate with the satellite.
How Big Is a Satellite ?
Different kinds of satellites are used in different situations, for different purposes. To talk about the sizes of satellites, we'll use two examples, the HS 376, which is used mostly for network and cable TV, and the HS 601, which is used mostly for direct broadcast TV and business communication networks.
The HS 376 is a small, barrel-shaped structure with an antenna reflector that looks like a lid on the barrel. When the HS 376 is first launched, its antenna reflector and solar panels are stowed that is, put away so it can fit inside a launch vehicle. After launch, the satellite travels through space until it reaches its assigned orbital position. Then its reflector and solar panels are deployed that is, unpacked and put in the right position for doing their work.
A typical HS 376 is 2.16 meters (7 feet 1 inch) in diameter, and 2.82 meters (9 feet 3 inches) high, in its stowed position. When it is deployed, its diameter is the same, but it is much taller: 6.57 meters (21 feet 7 inches) tall. The height of the deployed satellite is more than twice its height when stowed.
The satellite body is made like a telescope; when it is deployed, an outer cylinder is driven down by tiny electric motors to reveal the inner cylinder and locks into place. All of the outside of the satellite body is made of solar cells, which take the sun's energy and convert it to electricity. That means that when the outside is in its full telescope position, more solar cells are exposed to the sun, and the satellite can generate more power. The deployed HS 376 can generate more than twice as much power as the stowed HS 376.
Satellites weigh more at the beginning of life in orbit than at the end. This is because they carry rocket fuel for the thruster engines that will keep them in place in their orbits. As the fuel is used up, the satellite gets lighter. The HS 376 weighs 634 kg (or 1395 pounds) at the beginning of its life in orbit.
The HS 601 is a larger and more powerful satellite. When it is stowed for launch, it looks like a big box, 3.8 meters (12.6 feet) high. The HS 601 carries its solar panels on long wing-like structures. When the satellite is deployed, the solar panels are extended to a width of 26 meters (86 feet), and the antenna reflectors make the middle of the satellite 7.1 meters (23.3 feet) wide. The HS 601 weighs 1727 kg (3800 pounds) at the beginning of its life in orbit.
The Anatomy of a Satellite
Satellites have only a few basic parts: a satellite housing, a power system, an antenna system, a command and control system, a station keeping system, and transponders.
The configuration of the satellite housing is determined by the system employed to stabilize the attitude of the satellite in its orbital slot. Three-axis-stabilized satellites use internal gyroscopes rotating at 4,000 to 6,000 revolutions per minute (RPM). The housing is rectangular with external features as shown bellow:
The materials used in the construction of satellite housings are typically very expensive. In newer satellites, lightweight and extremely durable epoxy-graphite composite materials are often used.
Satellites must have a continuous source of electrical power 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The two most common power sources are high performance batteries and solar cells. Solar cells are an excellent power source for satellites. They are lightweight, resilient, and over the years have been steadily improving their efficiency in converting solar energy into electricity. Currently the best gallium arsenide cells have a solar to electrical energy conversion efficiency of 15-20%. There is however, one large problem with using solar energy. Twice a year a satellite in geosynchronous orbit will go into a series of eclipses where the sun is screened by the earth. If solar energy were the only source of power for the satellite, the satellite would not operate during these periods. To solve this problem, batteries are used as a supplemental on-board energy source. Initially, Nickel-Cadmium batteries were utilized, but more recently Nickel-Hydrogen batteries have proven to provide higher power, greater durability, and the important capability of being charged and discharged many times over the lifetime of a satellite mission.
A satellite's antennas have two basic missions. One is to receive and transmit the telecommunications signals to provide services to its users. The second is to provide Tracking, Telemetry, and Command (TT&C) functions to maintain the operation of the satellite in orbit. Of the two functions, TT&C must be considered the most vital. If telecommunications services are disrupted, users may experience a delay in services until the problem is repaired. However, if the TT&C function is disrupted, there is great danger that the satellite could be permanently lost drifting out of control with no means of commanding it.
Command and Control System
This control system includes tracking, telemetry & control (TT&C) systems for monitoring all the vital operating parameters of the satellite, telemetry circuits for relaying this information to the earth station, a system for receiving and interpreting commands sent to the satellite, and a command system for controlling the operation of the satellite.
Although the forces on a satellite in orbit are in balance, there are minor disturbing forces that would cause a satellite to drift out of its orbital slot if left uncompensated. For example, the gravitational effect of the sun and moon exert enough significant force on the satellite to disturb its orbit. As well, the South American land mass tends to pull satellites southward.
Station keeping is the maintenance of a satellite in its assigned orbital slot and in its proper orientation. The physical mechanism for station keeping is the controlled ejection of hydrazine gas from thruster nozzles which portrude from the satellite housing. When a satellite is first deployed, it may have several hundred pounds of compressed hydrazine stored in propellent tanks. Typically, the useful life of a satellite ends when the hydrazine supply is exhausted usually after ten years or so.
A transponder is an electronic component of a satellite that shifts the frequency of an uplink signal and amplifies it for retransmission to the earth in a downlink. Transponders have a typical output of 5 to 10 watts. Communications satellites typically have between 12 and 24 on-board transponders.


It’s been an exciting week in the sky. On Wednesday, it was reported that astronomers found a diamond engagement ring in space. Of course, it was a planetary nebula and a star, aligned in such a way that gave the appearance of a ring. Telescopes captured the image and, indeed, the sky was bejeweled.
The excitement doesn’t stop there. Tonight and tomorrow, there will be a lunar eclipse. On average this happens only twice a year—making it special, rare, and captivating. In fact, we find the occurrence quite romantic. It requires that perfect moment when the sun and the earth line-up in just a way to cast a dark shadow over the moon. In every case, the moon must be full and, in certain cases, the moon is immersed in a deep reddish orange glow. Perhaps this time around we’ll be lucky enough to see a ruby or a garnet in the sky. Check here for the best viewing opportunities.
Like sunsets and sunrises, this lunar eclipse is not-to-be-missed. This kind of poetic romance reminds us of the beautiful engagement rings in our jewelry collection, such as our Emerald Cut Diamond Engagement Ring we have featured here. Set in Platinum, this Vintage design is accented with a single cut diamond in each side. Circa 1940s, this ring is elegant and delicate. Like a lunar eclipse, it’s one-of-a kind.


International Colloquium and Workshop
"Ganymede Lander: scientific goals and experiments"
Space Research Institute (IKI), Moscow, Russia
4-8 March 2013
The international Ganymede Lander Colloquium and Workshop (GLCW) has the status of COSPAR Colloquium, and COSPAR and Russian Foundation for Basic Research(RFBR)act as the event's co-sponsors. GLCW will be hosted by the Space Research Institute (IKI) of Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow, Russia, from 4 to 8 March 2013. It will last 5 days (including the days of arrival/departure and some sightseeing events) and consists of several scientific sessions (3 days on March 5-7, 2013).
The GLCW will continue the discussion of the science problems specific to the surface experiments on Galilean satellites started at Europa Lander Workshop in 2009. The Europa Lander Roscosmos mission was planned in parallel with EJSM NASA/ESA mission to the Jupiter system. In 2011 the EJSM was dismantled, the ESA part of the mission becoming the JUICE mission with the emphasis on Ganymede. In the meanwhile the Roscosmos studies of the Europa Lander Mission have shown the incompatibility of both the Europa Lander and a small telecommunication Europa Orbiter with a single Proton launch. In order to optimize expenses, the Ganymede Lander study was initiated, and cooperation/synergy with JUICE Ganymede orbital mission is being discussed between ESA and Roscosmos. The main goal of the GLCW is to discuss the advantages and drawbacks of this transfer from Europa to Ganymede.
The main topics of the Colloquium/Workshop will be:
- The current knowledge about Ganymede (interior, surface and exosphere). Results from previous missions (Pioneers, Voyagers, Galileo, New Horizons) and Earth-based observations;
- Ganymede or Europa? Astrobiology vision of Ganymede;
- The Lander project including radiation protection issues;
- Scientific payload for Ganymede Lander: scientific goals, scientific requirements, resources needed, technical aspects. Applicability of instrument proposed for Europa to Ganymede;
- Synergy with JUICE mission spacecraft. Orbital constraints, radio relaying options;
- Landing site selection priorities.
PRELIMINARY LIST OF INVITED SPEAKERS
Jim Head, Michel Blanc, Robert Pappalardo, Olga Prieto-Ballesteros, Lev Zelenyi, Maxim Martynov, Oleg Kuskov, Dmitri Titov, Alexander Basilevsky, Vladimir Zharkov, Senske David, Michele Dougherty, Hauke Hussmann, Kevin Hand.
REGISTRATION AND ABSTRACT SUBMISSION
Registration can be made using the online registration form. Important! Please register before December 17, 2012 if you need visa support from IKI. Accompanying persons are also asked to register.
The publication of proceedings is planned in a Special Issue of Advances in Space Research (ASR) after the meeting. Please submit your abstract before 21 January 2013. Abstracts cannot exceed 2 pages (with figures) and can be submitted as MS Word doc, docx or rtf files. The maximum accepted file size is 2 MB. Abstracts must include the title (uppercase, 14pt), authors, affiliations, text (10pt), as shown in the template. Abstract files must be named according to the following example: "AuthorLastName_GLCW_Session.doc/rtf/pdf", where Author is assumed to give a talk at GLCW. You can upload your abstract after registration using abstract submission form (available for logged-in registered participants).
If you don’t need the visa support from LOC and you are not going to submit an abstract, the final registration deadline is extended until February 15, 2013.
• Abstract template download
The workshop will take place in Space Research Institute (IKI) located near the Kaluzhskaya metro station (Kaluzhsko-Rizhskaya line N6 (orange line on the Moscow metro map http://engl.mosmetro.ru/flash/scheme01.html) on the southwest of Moscow city. The plan to access to IKI from the metro station can be found here.
LOC provides a list of hotels located close to Space Research Institute (IKI). You can choose a hotel and book it using a corresponding website.
• List of the hotels
A visa to enter Russia is required for most foreign participants. LOC provides visa support for participants registered before December 17. For participants from EC before the end of 2012 LOC will send out official invitations to be submitted to Russian consulates in January. For participants from other countries (for example: USA, Japan, China) Russia hasn’t the simplified visa procedure and we kindly ask them to register as early as possible, otherwise we cannot guarantee to send out official invitations before February 10, 2013.
Alternatively, a touristic visa to Russia can be obtained with a prepaid voucher from many hotels (see the list of Moscow hotels). Participants are encouraged to apply for the visa well in advance in order to avoid last minute problems.
- 17 December, 2012: Registration deadline (for people with a visa application)
- 21 January, 2013: Deadline to abstract submission
- 4 February, 2013: Program released
- 15 February, 2013: Final registration deadline
- 4-8 March, 2013: Workshop in Moscow
SCIENTIFIC ORGANIZING COMMITTEE
Lev Zelenyi (IKI, Chair), Oleg Korablev (IKI), Alexander Zakharov (IKI), Anatoly Petrukovich (IKI), Leonid Ksanfomaliti (IKI), Maxim Martynov (Lavochkin Association), Michael Marov (Vernadsky Institute and Keldysh Institute of Applied Mathematics), Vladimir Zharkov (Shmidt Inst.), Igor Alekseev (SINP MSU), Valery Galchenko (Institute of Microbiology), Alexander Basilevsky (Vernadsky Inst.), Oleg Kuskov (Vernadsky Inst.), Garry Popov (NIIPME MAI), Michel Blanc (IRAP-CNRS), Michelle Dougherty (Imperial College), Dmitri Titov (ESA), Jim Head (Brown Univ.), Robert T. Pappalardo (JPL), Kevin Hand (JPL), David Senske (JPL), Olga Prieto Ballesteros (Centro de Astrobiologia-INTA-CSIC), Hauke Hussmann (DLR).
LOCAL ORGANIZING COMMITTEE
L. Zelenyi (Chair), O. Korablev (Deputy Chair), K. Marchenkov (Secretary), O. Roste, D. Moiseev, E. Antonenko, N. Evdokimova, A. Ustinov.


Many of the problems currently limiting the human exploration of space such as resource utilization (water, oxygen, construction materials, and so on), food production and power generation potentially have solutions that would also benefit life on earth.
The exploration of another planetary system by humanity could be classified economically as a ‘gigaproject’, that is a project that would likely consume the equivalent GDP of the entire present day world. It is obvious that a project of this magnitude, a starship project, cannot be built by a civilization that cannot support it. The Interstellar Foundation came into existence after It was realized that by pursuing the base technologies necessary to make the project feasible would also help in creating the interplanetary society needed to support such a project.
To say it a different way, to launch an interstellar spacecraft humanity must become an interstellar species. This implies that many other societal problems have been overcome such a freedom from want, that is universal access to clean water and food, and full utilization of human resources. A famous American politician once said something along the lines that the cure for cancer lies unrealized somewhere in the ghetto, lamenting the untapped potential of people in his constituency. For a society to support a gigaproject, capable individuals cannot be sacrificed to societal ills such as racism or poverty.
The interstellar Foundations Mission statement is as follows:
Copyright © 2020 The Interstellar Foundation - All Rights Reserved.


Absolutely no previous knowledge of, or qualifications in, science, technology, engineering or mathematics is needed to join our group, just an interest in the way the world and the universe works. We have monthly self-prepared presentations on a wide variety of subjects, sometimes given by outside speakers. We also have visits to places like observatories, museums, laboratories and factories.
Meets: Last Tuesday of each month from 14.00 hours
Venue: Members’ homes
Contact the Group Leader:


This topic contains 0 replies, has 1 voice, and was last updated by Agnes Thompson 1 year, 2 months ago.
October 28, 2020 at 6:26 pm #42550
Sun and Moon Together
(Happy County, #2)
by Ethan Long
- Author: Ethan Long
- Series: Happy County, #2
- Format: hardcover, 48 pages
- ISBN: 9781250191748 (1250191742)
- Release date: August 11, 2020
- Ages: 3+
- Publisher: Holt Books for Young Readers (Henry Holt and Co. (BYR))
- Language: english
About The Book
Sun and Moon Together is a vibrant, graphic picture book compendium for preschoolers set in a Richard Scarry-inspired environment by Geisel Award-winning creator Ethan Long.
Welcome to another busy day in Happy County! The Sun is out and shining down on lots of friends. Grammy Tammy from Miami is doing grimey, slimey laundry. Sssonny Sssnakerton wants to grow sssunflowers. And when the Sun says goodbye for the day, the Moon pops up for a new set of adventures. Now Molly and her mom can make moon shadows and howl night noises.
This 48-page full-color primer is chock-full of charming characters and basic scientific concepts connected to the sun and the moon presented in simple, accessible terms for the young audience, touching on: the water cycle, phases of the moon, the solar system, and plenty of clever scenarios to keep little ones engaged.
Christy Ottaviano Books.
PDF book Sun and Moon Together Ethan Long read online. FB2 Sun and Moon Together iOS on Powells. Hardback ebook Sun and Moon Together by Ethan Long download for reader on Book Depository. Hardcover book Sun and Moon Together buy cheap.
Paperback ebook Sun and Moon Together on iPhone on Amazon. EPUB Sun and Moon Together Ethan Long buy. TXT ebook Sun and Moon Together by Ethan Long download. MOBI Sun and Moon Together read for Mac on IndieBound.


June to feature seven-planet viewing extravaganza
We are in for a exceptional sight in our morning sky in June.
We will not only see the 5 planets visible to the human eye – Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn – but also Uranus and Neptune.
Uranus and Neptune can be considered with binoculars or with a small telescope. Ideal dates for viewing will be June 16-27. The Moon joins this phenomenal sight from June 18-27.
We also will appreciate a go to from asteroid Vesta. The genuine thrill will be that the 5 obvious planets will be stretched across the ecliptic in the appropriate purchase from their distance from the Sunshine. The planets will be spread alongside a 106-degree line of the ecliptic.
The ecliptic is the imaginary line in the sky that marks the path of the Sun. It traces out the evident yearly motion of the Solar across the sky. The planets orbit in about the similar aircraft as Earth, so they show up alongside the ecliptic. So, we will be equipped to see how the obvious planets are lying together the ecliptic in our June predawn sky.
As we head into June, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn go on to set on a magnificent demonstrate in the predawn sky. Mercury will be way too faint to see in early June, but brightens to magnitude 1. on June 11, to .5 on June 16, . on June 21 and -.7 by month’s end. Mercury reaches biggest western elongation or distance from the Sunshine on the sky’s dome on June 16 and rises a small in advance of 5 a.m. That will give us 30 minutes of viewing before morning twilight interferes. The Solar rises just ahead of 6 a.m. Mercury can be located about 10 levels to the reduce remaining of Venus. You may possibly want binoculars.
The very best morning to consider in this rarity is June 24, 50 minutes just before sunrise, which is 5:54 a.m. The Moon will be positioned concerning Venus and Mars. So, the visible item lineup will be Mercury, Venus, the Moon, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. The magnitude of each and every planet is: Mercury -.1, Venus -3.9, Mars,.5, Jupiter -2.4, and Saturn .5.
Magnitude is the measure of clear brightness of a celestial item. The reduced the price, the brighter the item, therefore Venus is the brightest. Established your alarm and love this exceptional sight!
The world’s biggest and most potent house telescope, the James Webb Area Telescope, has entered the homestretch of its commissioning. Engineers are in the final tweaking phase to the devices. We may well see the initial illustrations or photos by late June!
Night time Sky for June
Planets and the Moon:
There will be no visible planets again this thirty day period in the night sky. Saturn rises following 1 a.m. and soon immediately after midnight by mid-June. Saturn reaches a stationary position on June 5 and begins retrograde movement. Jupiter and Mars rise with each other in the japanese sky on June 1, soon soon after 2:30 a.m. The pair stand much less than two levels aside, and Jupiter will be brighter. Jupiter and Mars will get started to drift aside each and every working day in June. Jupiter rises ahead of 1 a.m. at the conclusion of June. Neptune rises immediately after 2 a.m. in early June and following midnight in late June. Early June will be the finest time to identify Neptune. Track down Jupiter and appear westward to obtain 4th magnitude star, Phi Aquarii. Neptune will be concerning these two objects. Venus rises right before 4 a.m. all month and crosses the constellation Aries, the Ram to Taurus, the Bull, halfway through June. Finest time to find Uranus will be on June 24 when it is 6 degrees east of the Moon. The Moon pairs with each and every world in the early morning sky from mid to late June. Pairings will be Saturn on June 18, Jupiter on June 21, Mars on June 22, Venus on June 26 and Mercury on June 27. We celebrate the Summer time Solstice on June 21 at 5:14 a.m.
West – The two stars that search similar, Castor and Pollux, are portion of Gemini, the Twins. The star Capella, is to the right of Gemini and the star Procyon, is to the left of Gemini. Earlier mentioned Gemini you will see the condition of a backwards issue mark, which is the head of Leo, the Lion.
North – The Massive Dipper is significant in the sky. Next the two stars at the conclusion of the cup to the next vibrant star, Polaris, or the North Star. The constellation Cassiopeia, the “W” shape is below Polaris.
East – Head back to the cup of the Massive Dipper. Now, arc off the handle of the Huge Dipper to the dazzling yellow, orange star Arcturus. Seem appropriate for the shiny blue, white star, Spica. Just down below Arcturus, is a semi-circle of stars, the Northern Crown or Corona Borealis. Go on down and to the still left, you will see a keystone or crooked sq. form, which is the physique of Hercules. The bright blue, white star down and to the left is Vega, which is aspect of the Summer time Triangle. To the appropriate of Hercules is a purple, orange star, Antares, which is the heart of Scorpius.
Binocular Highlights – In the western sky, scan up and remaining of Gemini, the Twins. There you will find the Beehive Star Cluster. Proceed to scan, up as a result of the head of Leo (backwards issue mark). Halfway to the dazzling star Arcturus you will see a further star cluster, Coma Berenices. Uncover Hercules and scan all over the portion of Hercules that faces Corona Borealis. You will see a fuzzy item which is the greatest globular star cluster in the northern skies!
For even more night sky details, maps and audio, take a look at my web site www.starrytrails.com.
Take a look at Hoover Cost Planetarium
Commencing May perhaps 31, there will be everyday planetarium reveals from Tuesday by means of Saturday. Go to www.mckinleymuseum.org for clearly show dates and occasions. Planetarium shows are cost-free with museum admission. Seating is restricted and will be on a first-appear, first-serve foundation. The planetarium is found inside of the McKinley Presidential Library & Museum, 800 McKinley Monument Drive NW, in Canton. For far more information, contact the museum at 330-455-7043.
This write-up initially appeared on The Repository: Sky Shorts: June to characteristic 7 viewable planets in the early morning sky


There’s still a real way to go before it launches, though
Share this story
- Share this on Facebook
- Share this on Twitter
Share All sharing alternatives for: NASA finally rolls down finished core of its massive rocket that is new
Today, NASA rolled out of the finished core portion of its massive brand new rocket, the area publish System, which will be built to just take individuals into deep area. The core stage, manufactured at NASA’s Michoud Assembly center in New Orleans, Louisiana, has become maneuvering to Mississippi where it’ll go through key screening before it may introduce for the first-time.
The area publish System, or SLS, is just a critical section of nasa’s Artemis system, an effort to go back people to your area associated with the Moon by 2024. Whenever it is complete, it’ll function as the many effective rocket in the whole world, rivaling compared to the Saturn V rocket that took the initial astronauts towards the Moon. Nevertheless, the rocket has yet to truly travel. The SLS has been around development for many of this final ten years, experiencing numerous delays and increasing sweet pea expenses. Initially, the monster rocket had been designed to debut as soon as 2017; now, it probably won’t launch until 2021 during the earliest.
Now, the core will travel by watercraft to NASA’s Stennis area Center in Mississippi. Here, the phase will go through a test that is major to operate through all of the biggest actions of launch without really giving the rocket to room. Continue reading “NASA finally rolls out finished core of the massive new rocket”


Moody NASA photograph of the Earth - Apollo 11 view from 180,000 Km (112,000 miles). Most of Africa and portions of Europe and Asia can be seen in this photograph, taken from the Apollo 11 spacecraft during its translunar coast toward the moon. Apollo 11 was the spaceflight that landed the first two people on the Moon. Mission commander Neil Armstrong and pilot Buzz Aldrin, both American, landed the lunar module Eagle on July 20, 1969. Deep and rich black photograph framed in matching glossy black. The overall effect is minimalist yet mod. Printed in the USA.
DIMENSIONS: 16.75" W x 20.5" H x 1" D
Instagram and Facebook are where we post our finds first- follow us!
Join our mailing list to be notified of coupons, sales, and events! We value your privacy and promise never to share your information.
Vintage furniture, lighting, accessories, and art. Call / Text 616.856.0506 or email email@example.com
Please send a photo if you can!


The grass is cool under the weight of their bodies. Though the day was hot, there are mildews all over the field. The cool summer night wind blows mildly past them. If they were anyone else, they might be able to point out the constellations. They are not. So they just stare at the sky, blown away by how beautiful and humble the night sky is. The moon hangs low just a little over the trees which surround them. Crickets chirp (?) in the distance, lulling them to sleep. It feels so nice to be out here, just enjoying the view, thinks she. They have seen in a film once, of a teenage couple, stargazing all the time with their great telescope, pointing out the lines of stars. But here is the magical thing about stars. Even though you don't really understand them, you can still enjoy and cherish their beauty. She lays her hand on the grass and so does he. Without a sound, they link their hands together. Without a word, their fingers intertwine and their smiles spread, basking in the moonlight.


This video is really cool and reinforces how complex and grand the universe is. And we are but a mere speck in that grandness. The video is a time lapsed picture of the sun’s polarity from January 1997 to December 2013. The sun has literally flipped over. Anthony Watts has more on this phenomena over at Watts Up. The National Geographic ran a story in August here about what this means. Here is an excerpt.
A reversal of the sun’s magnetic field will have consequences throughout the solar system since the domain of the sun’s magnetic influence—called the heliosphere—extends far beyond Pluto. Changes to the field’s polarity ripple all the way out to the Voyager probes, which are racing toward interstellar space. Playing a central role in solar field reversals is the “current sheet,” a sprawling surface that juts out of the sun’s equator where the sun’s slowly rotating magnetic field induces an electric current. The current itself is small—only one ten-billionth of an amp per square meter—but there’s a lot of it, and the entire heliosphere is organized around it. During field reversals, the current sheet becomes very wavy. Scherrer likens the undulations to the seams on a baseball. As the Earth orbits the sun, our planet dips in and out of the wavy current sheet, and the transitions can stir up stormy space weather around us. The geometry of the current sheet can also affect Earth’s exposure to cosmic rays, which are high-energy particles accelerated to the speed of light by supernova explosions and other violent events in the galaxy. Cosmic rays pose a threat to astronauts and space probes, and some researchers say they might also affect the cloudiness and climate of Earth.
(Note that the green lines (positive magnetic fields) start at the top in 1997 but by 2013 are on the bottom.)


Dr Adriana Marais is a theoretical physicist, technologist and aspiring extraterrestrial, believes that we are living at a unique point in the history of life on Earth.
“The reason I want to explore beyond the world as we know it is simple:
The allure of the unknown is far more powerful than the comfort of the known.” #ProudlyHuman
Developments in engineering and science are taking place at an unprecedented rate, and the expansion of our society beyond this planet is within reach.
In December 2020, she and her team will depart for an overwinter, off-‐world settlement simulation experiment in Antarctica to demonstrate community living and off-‐grid capabilities
From life-‐support to communication systems, in the harshest and most isolated environment on Earth.
The expedition is an initiative of #ProudlyHuman: pioneering new frontiers in research and technology for a sustainable future on Earth, above and beyond.
Adriana is the Founder of #ProudlyHuman, as well as Director at the Foundation for Space Development, an initiative of which is Africa2Moon,
To inspire the youth of developing nations, in particular Africa, to “Reach for the Moon” through education and science.


By Lexor Adams and Nicholas Haberling
In Part 1: Escape From Earth we examined the current state of space exploration and several factors influencing the future. In this series we intend to examine the factors influencing a space economy. We mentioned humanity being a multi-planetary civilization as a prerequisite for a space economy, as seen in science fiction. This makes sense because otherwise trade is bound to a single planet...once there’s trading between planets...voila: space economy . That being said, most sci-fi films, books, and movies, with varying levels of realness, attempt to have some explanation for interplanetary travel beyond teleportation (except maybe Stargate...still a great show). These explanations typically center on a few key technologies that explain why the future humanity is capable of interstellar travel in a way we aren’t currently able.
In Part 1 we discussed how space exploration is a function of both the perceived benefits and available technology (which determines the cost). We also discussed how as the perceived benefits increase, more research money and time is devoted to new technologies, which lowers the cost even further. Most of the key technologies used in science fiction to explain the interstellar travel is conceivably possible in the future if enough research goes into it. Neither of us are physics majors; but, based on the reading we’ve done, the technologies mentioned below are conceivably possible according to the laws of physics.
There is one fundamental problem in interstellar travel--humans limited life span. The time it takes to cover the vast distances of space pose a serious problem to human’s comparatively short lives. Just making it to Mars, the closest planet in our solar system, would take approximately 7 months for a manned mission with our current technology. And that’s only one way. Of course, extending beyond Mars: the distance, and thus time, increases significantly. Humanity has two ways of addressing this problem (and these are also the two ways science fiction explains : covering the distance quicker or aging slower during the journey. This means humanity has to have a way to survive the long journey. This is assuming people won’t find multi-generational starships as a suitable form of space travel or simply send unmanned spacecraft filled with human embryos to distant worlds for colonization. It’s likely scenarios that require distances to be traversed in generations would eliminate any sort of economic activity between star systems. Why trade with your distant cousins who are a 200 years away as the probe flies when you can just mine asteroids in your own system?
The first is a problem of propulsion. While current rockets have advanced leaps and bounds (case in point Space X’s reusable rockets landing upright on their own), they still simply can’t handle the distance with as much speed as is necessary. This is where more advanced propulsion comes in. Current research into photon propulsion may seem outlandish; but, some estimates suggest a light spacecraft (in the realm of several hundred pounds) could make the journey to Mars in only three days (see Philip Lubin of UCSB’s research DEEP-IN for more on this). Photon propulsion (which relies on lasers accelerating spacecraft...yeah, that’s real life not science fiction) could allow speeds nearing the speed of light. There’s an interesting side effect to going this fast. The theory of relativity predicts an effect called time dilation. In stupid simple terms this is a conclusion that objects moving experience time differently. This effect has been observed repeatedly in a number of experiments involving atomic clocks at altitudes. The important part for science fiction, and potentially future space travel, is the faster you go, the more this effect increases. When going near (or over) the speed of light, time dilation would increase to the point those on board a space ship would experience time much slower than those on various planets, in effect delaying their aging while they were travelling vast distances at such a fast speed. (From the Nick corner: The Forever War is a fun book that looks at this. Do we really want to return to an Earth that is a few thousand years older from when we left it?)
New forms of propulsion solve the problem of distance and time, both directly by covering the distances faster and indirectly in the form of time slowing for humans onboard such a space expedition. But, science fiction has one other hypothetical technology trick up its sleeve to solve the time problem. This technology is essentially human hibernation, often called cryo-sleep. Games such as Halo and movies like Alien all rely on this technology to explain humans ability to not require as much sustenance and not age during space travel. Most explanations of this technology involve the human entering some sort of chamber that puts their bodies in a hibernation like state, typically utilizing extreme cold to slow down the body’s processes. While this is firmly in the science fiction realm, there are some facts that suggest this could be feasible at some point. Cold is actually good for humans in cardiac arrest. Victims who drown in cold water can be resuscitated much beyond the typical resuscitation period for those whose hearts stop on land. The cold slows down body processes and holds off brain damage. There is also some research suggesting therapeutic cooling provides better outcomes in cardiac arrest (even in cases where the patient hasn't started out cold). This may not seem important; but, it's essentially proof that cold slows body processes significantly and blunts the effects of a lack of oxygen. In theory, if there were a way to freeze a human without causing cell damage (the real kicker at this point), they could be unfrozen and everything resume without fail. Another example of current medical use of extreme chilling is cryo-therapy (many elite athletes visit hyper chilling centers that utilize extreme cooling for muscle therapy). These are both obviously a long ways from intentionally chilling and introducing a mix of chemicals to put someone to indefinite sleep and suspend their body processes for months or years. The underlying physiology suggests it’s not outside the realm of possibility though. Cryo-sleep definitely falls in the “more distant future” category along with Faster Than Light travel; but, in the future, these could be key technologies underpinning longer distance space travel.
Altogether, solving the time problem is critical for creating a truly interstellar species. Being able to go between Earth and Mars is great; but, hardly creates a space economy. Surviving a multi-year journey between planets asleep, with the equivalent of a biological month or so passing, makes for good science fiction, but a very slow moving economy. The true underpinning of any science fiction style space economy is extremely rapid interstellar transportation cutting the travel time between planets to days or weeks. We can dream.


Cass County looking to have park declared as a Dark Sky site
JONES — The Cass County Parks Department recently announced its intention to have Dr. T.K. Lawless Park recognized as a Dark Sky site as defined by the International Dark Sky Association.
Lawless Park is an 820-acre all-season jewel for outdoor enthusiasts. Biking trails, disc golf, fishing, cross-country skiing, softball fields, and pavilions for social gatherings are highlights of the park’s offerings. The attraction of wildlife and the beauty of nature also grace the park grounds.
To highlight and enhance that beauty, it is hoped that by attaining accreditation as a Dark Sky site, the artistry of the night sky can be preserved as a natural allure for the public to enjoy.
Standards provided by the IDSA will guide the process of obtaining Dark Sky status. Some of which include shaded lighting that is designed to focus illumination downward and eliminate its horizontal and upward escape. This action will limit in park light pollution thereby optimizing night sky viewing, according to Cass County officials.
In addition, the park will promote public education on curbing light pollution and its encroachment on the increasing loss of the natural night sky. This will include how biologists and the AMA have documented the harmful effects of light pollution on nocturnal wildlife and human health.
The wasteful energy use of over-illumination will also be presented. Public stargazing events will also offer astronomy education and opportunities to view the night sky through precision telescopes.
The goal of the parks department is to expand the elegance of nature to include the artistry of the night sky. By educating the public on the wastefulness and dangers of unchecked light pollution, it is hoped that the beauty of the heavens above will be promoted and preserved for generations, officials said.
More information can be obtained at the International Dark Sky site, darksky.org, or by contacting Robert Parrish at firstname.lastname@example.org.
CASSOPOLIS — There is a lot that goes into starting a coffee shop. Spaces need to be renovated, bars and... read more


Sega has announced the release date for their Cloud streaming free-to-play Phantasy Star Online 2: Cloud. Moreover, the Switch version will have in-game microtransactions (obviously). And because this MMORPG is Cloud-based, so you won’t need to worry about updates.
It will run at 30FPS, so depends on your network environment, you might experiencing lag pending or not. Despite running on the Cloud, Sega recommends to play in a stable network.
Unfortunately there’s no no cross-play with the PlayStation versions, you can only play the Switch version along with the PC version only. However, you can have one Sega ID, thus you share Arks Cash and Star Gems under the same account. Players will also get to play the same account across different versions as long as it’s not logged in on more than one version at a time.
In the year 283 of the New Light, “Oracle” traversed numerous galaxies and discovered countless worlds.
In the far reaches of outer space, groups known as “Arks” were set up to explore and research newly discovered planets. Their purpose was to move from one planet to another, helping to build and advance the infrastructures of civilization.
Seeking new adventure and new opportunity, different Arks work together in order to explore the depths of space and discover what may be waiting.
Now, as new Arks set off to explore unknown regions of space, a new journey begins …


…Data-intensive research, or big data technology, has come to Africa by way of the stars: the establishment of the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) pointed to the need for the continent to be able to analyze the extremely high volumes of data to be generated by the network of telescope dishes that will ultimately be placed across remote regions of southern Africa.
The SKA project is an internationally renowned effort to build the world’s largest radio telescope with more than a square kilometer of collecting area. It is one of the largest scientific endeavors in history and drives one of the world’s most significant big data challenges of the coming decade.
Three South Africa-based universities involved in the SKA project—North-West University, the University of Cape Town (UCT) and the University of the Western Cape (UWC)—established a partnership in 2015 to form the Inter-University Institute for Data Intensive Astronomy (IDiA)…
Big data is starting to open R&D opportunities for African scientists