In the Birthday Honours List, the Queen has made Jocelyn Bell, the astrophysicist a Dame of the British Empire .... and therein lies a fascinating tale of good science, male chauvinism and academic intrigue.
Jocelyn Bell was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland on July 15, 1943 when she failed her 11 plus examination for admission to public grammar school, her architect father (he had been a finalist in a radio quiz show "Brain of Britain") sent her to Mount School, a Quaker girls' boarding school in York. She took an early interest in astronomy through the the staff of the Armagh Observatory, which was near her home Belfast, who encouraged her interest in astronomy. It was a comfortable background, "We had a nanny, a nurse always. For a long time there was a cook and a maid in the kitchen. There was a gardener and maybe a second gardener and there was a handyman-come-chauffeur if you want to be really grand. It was a great life."
After a B.Sc in physics from Glasgow University ( 1 female in 50 students) she went on to work on her Ph.D. at Cambridge University working under the direction of Antony Hewish.
Her first 2 years at Cambridge were spent assisting in the construction of an 81.5-megahertz radio telescope that was to be used to track quasars. This was her baby and she was fed with 120 metres of charts every 4 days - analysis showed some unusual and irregular signals. These signals appeared to be made by a radio source too fast and regular to be a quasar. Jocelyn Bell had detected the first evidence of a pulsar.
There is a popular story that when Joyce and her advisor Anthony Hewish were not sure what these signals meant they called them LGM for Little Green Men. (see PBS illustrated strip explanation for children here) They thought it could possibly be a beacon from an alien source.
Hewish shared the Nobel prize for Physics in 1974 with Sir Martin Ryle for "for their pioneering research in radio astrophysics: Ryle for his observations and inventions, in particular of the aperture synthesis technique, and Hewish for his decisive role in the discovery of pulsars". The role of Joyce Bell was not so rewarded.
Publication of these strange new extra terrestrial radio signals followed in Nature in 1968 and astronomers wroldwide directed their attention to these new signals which were identified the signals as coming from rapidly rotating neutron stars. The term pulsar used to describe these is simply an abbreviation for pulsating radio star or rapidly pulsating radio sources.
The central part of a pulsar consists of a neutron star. The pulsars are also accompanied by magnetic fields many millions of times stronger than those found in laboratories on Earth. The neutron star is surrounded by an electrically-conducting gas or plasma. Each pulsar rotates and emits beams of radiation in the Universe, resembling those from a light-house. The beams strike the Earth periodically with high precision.
This came from a theory put forth by Robert Oppenheimer and Fritz Zwicky (who curiously lived next door to Lenin in Zurich) in the 1930s, predicting that when a massive star died, it would collapse into an incredibly dense, spinning body - a neutron star.
Jocelyn married and became Mrs Jocelyn Burnell and was elected Professor of Physics at the Open University for ten years (doubling the number of female UK Professors of Physics) , and then a visiting professor at Princeton University. Before retiring she was Dean of Science at the University of Bath between 2001 and 2004, and was President of the Royal Astronomical Society between 2002 and 2004. She is currently a visiting professor at Mansfield College, Oxford University.
A television documentary which anticipated her honour , about Bell Burnell's life was broadcast on BBC One Northern Ireland on 13 June 2007 "Northern Star" , see review and commentary by producers Belfast Telegraph
"a woman who failed her 11-plus, but went on to become a professor of astrophysics and a leading scientist in her field. ......the story of her role as a post-graduate student in the groundbreaking discovery of pulsars and the subsequent Nobel Prize that some believe she should have been co-awarded."
The program interviewed the 80 year old Anthony Hewish .."You know, in the popular mind, she is the key person in the discovery of pulsars," he says. "I'm totally fed up with it ! this stupid business that Jocelyn did all the work and I got all the credit, I get fed up with that comment because its just blarney, I mean it's just totally wrong.
"If she's disgruntled about the Nobel, well that's too bad quite honestly. It's a bit like an analogy I make - who discovered America? Was it Columbus or was it the lookout? Her contribution was very useful, but it wasn't creative. And I don't think you do get the Nobel prize for that".
...and the Little Green Men ? This is what Jocelyn, a devout Quaker said in the program..
"The universe is very big - there's about 100,000 million galaxies in the universe so that means an awful lot of stars. And some of them, I'm pretty certain, will have planets, where there was life, is life or maybe will be life. I don't believe we're alone."
Jocelyn also received on 7th June this year (along with ex student Bill Gates whose Foundation donates US$1.5 BN a year) an Honorary Doctorate from Harvard University - where the citation recorded "The United Kingdom and the United States have awarded her the Oppenheimer prize, the Michelson medal, the Magellanic Premium, and the Herschel medal. Universities in both nations conferred honorary doctorates on her. She was elected a Foreign Associate of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences in 2005." (Pic ? 1997 Nissan Pulsar)
The image below is a negative representation of 100 successive pulses from the first pulsar discovered, PSR 1919+21 by Bell & Hewish (Nature 217:709-713, 1968) and was taken from the Cambridge Encyclopedia of Astronomy- see right. It formed the cover design of Unknown Pleasures the first album by Joy Division, released in 1979. It was produced by that mad bastard Martin Hannett and recorded at Strawberry Studios, Stockport, England.


I'm a postdoctoral researcher at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and I recently finished my PhD under the direction of David Spergel in the Astrophysical Sciences Department at Princeton University. I like to think about testing theories of dark matter and dark energy with astrophysical data. I have also recently been interested in the gravitational waves produced by supermassive black hole binaries.
Check out my github here.
My research focuses on testing theories of dark matter and dark energy. Together, dark matter and dark energy make up over 95% of the Universe; however we still don't know their true natures. Astrophysical and cosmological observations are so far the only places we have observed either of these phenomena, and they remain the best places to test for their different properties.
I began my thesis work by considering novel tests of modified gravity. I tested Verlinde's Emergent Gravity Theory with dwarf galaxy velocity curve data and higher-dimensional theories for dark energy with gravitational waves.
I have now begun to focus on tests of dark matter particle theories. In collaboration with Harry Desmond and Pedro Ferreira (Oxford), I tested dark matter self-interactions using galaxy warps. I plan to continue thinking about particle dark matter tests in the future.
In my previous life, I worked on X-ray observations of dwarf galaxies to place limits on the number of supermassive black holes at their centers. This is one promising avenue for finding how supermassive black holes form.
Pardo, K.; Desmond, H.; Ferreira, P.G., Testing self-interacting dark matter with galaxy warps, PRD, 100, 12 (2019)
Goulding, A. D.; Pardo, K.; Greene, J. E.; Mingarelli, C.M.F.; Nyland, K.; Strauss, M. A., Discovery of a close-separation binary quasar at the heart of a z ~ 0.2 merging galaxy and its implications for low-frequency gravitational waves, ApJL, 879, L21 (2019)
Pardo, K.; Fishbach, M.; Holz, D.E.; Spergel, D. N., Limits on the Number of Spacetime Dimensions from GW 170817, JCAP, 07, 048 (2018)
Pardo, K., Testing Emergent Gravity with Isolated Dwarf Galaxies, submitted, arXiv:1706.00785
Pardo, K.; Goulding, A. D.; Greene, J. E.; Somerville, R. S.; Gallo, E.; Hickox, R. C.; Miller, B. P.; Reines, A. E.; Silverman, J. D., X-Ray Detected Active Galactic Nuclei in Dwarf Galaxies at 0 < z < 1, ApJ, 2, 203 (2016)
I grew up in South Florida and completed my undergraduate degree in Physics & Mathematics at Furman University in 2014. In my spare time, I volunteer with all of the good doggos at the Pasadena Humane Society. I also enjoy rock climbing, running, and hiking.


Another astro-map from Universe Today. This one's of the moon:
It's a topographical map, recently put together with data from Japan's Kaguya satellite. It shows the crests and dales of the moon's surface, from the Dirichlet-Jackson Basin near the equator (11 km high) to the Antoniadi crater near the south pole (9 km deep). (Is it official policy, by the way, that place names on the moon be unpronounceable?)
But besides mapping the moon's topography, the Japanese researchers did a neat trick. They measured the roughness of the moon's surface, which allowed them to figure out if there's water underground. See, if there is water there, then it would act as a sort of lubricant, and the surface would exhibit more flexibility. But if there's no water, then the surface will be more rigid, just like the rough, rigid surface of a desiccated fruit. And the moon? Turns out it's pretty rigid. So: no water. Bummer.
What's that, David Byrne? You have something to say on the topic of water underground? A-and the moon, too?
Thank you, David. Thank you for that.


We have thought a lot about how life came into our planet earth. Till now, it has been known that all the biological molecules that are present on earth are formed of six chemical elements (CHNOPS). They are –
Previously, Most of these elements were found in the comets. Carbon, Hydrogen, Nitrogen, and Oxygen form the main elements of carbonaceous asteroids. Sulfur was found in the analysis of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.
Researchers from the University of Turku discovered the final element phosphorus in solid dust particles from the inner coma of the same comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. The comet takes 6.5 years to orbit the sun. Phosphorus or P is the last element discovered among the CHNOPS elements. With the discovery of this element, it implies the cometary delivery of the elements as the source of life on earth.
The study has been published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
How was the element identified?
The Cometary Secondary Ion Mass Analyser (COSIMA) collected the dust particles and it was on board the Space Agency’s Rosetta spacecraft which traced the comet at a few kilometer distances between September 2014 and September 2016. After that three 1cm2 plates were photographed. The particles were identified from these images and measured with the mass spectrometer.
The identification of phosphorus (P+) ions in solid particles is accommodated in minerals or metallic phosphorus.
Project leader Harry Lehto said, “We have shown that apatite minerals are not the source of phosphorus, which implies that the discovered phosphorus occurs in some more reduced and possibly more soluble form.”
Fluorine was also identified along with CF+ secondary ions from the cometary dust particles although its role and value are still not known. The process of these identifications was carried out from the earth.
With this research, it is clear now that the comets brought the necessary elements that are needed in the formation of any biological molecule which exists in our planet earth.
What are your views about our origin on the planet earth? Do let us know in the comment below.
Source – utu


And the seasons they go round and round
And the painted ponies go up and down
We’re captive on the carousel of time
We can’t return we can only look
Behind from where we came
And go round and round and round
In the circle game
The Circle Game- Joni Mitchell
Just under a week to go until the shortest day of the year (see winter solstice countdown calendar here), and the end of what we here in Vancouver call 2015.
While our cultural beliefs and practices may differ, we all experience winter solstice together.
Come OUTside and get Involved in the 22nd Annual Winter Solstice Lantern Festival on Monday December 21, 2015 throughout Vancouver.
Meaning of Solstice
‘Solstice’ (Latin: ‘solstitium’) means ‘sun-stopping’. The point on the horizon where the sun appears to rise and set, stops and reverses direction after this day. On the solstice, the sun does not rise precisely in the east, but rises to the north of east and sets to the north of west, meaning it’s visible in the sky for a longer period of time.
Although the June solstice marks the first day of astronomical summer, it’s more common to use meteorological definitions of seasons, making the solstice midsummer or midwinter. From: http://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/june-solstice.html
December solstice and seasons
It is important to note that Earth does not move at a constant speed in its elliptical orbit. Therefore the seasons are not of equal length: the times taken for the sun to move from the vernal equinox to the summer solstice, to the autumnal equinox, to the winter solstice, and back to the vernal equinox are roughly 92.8, 93.6, 89.8 and 89.0 days respectively. The consolation in the northern hemisphere is that spring and summer last longer than autumn and winter (when the December solstice occurs).
The relative position of the Earth’s axis to the sun changes during the cycle of seasons. This phenomenon is the reason why the sun’s height above the horizon changes throughout the year. It is also responsible for the seasons through controlling the intensity and duration of sunlight received at various locations around the planet. From: http://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/winter-solstice.html
mid-13c., from Old French solstice (13c.), from Latin solstitium “point at which the sun seems to stand still,” especially the summer solstice, from sol “sun” (see sol) + past participle stem of sistere “to come to a stop, make stand still” (see assist (v.)). In early use, Englished as sunstead (late Old English sunstede). From: http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=solstice&allowed_in_frame=0
“the sun personified,” mid-15c. (also in Old English), from Latin sol “the sun, sunlight,” from PIE *s(e)wol-, variant of root *saewel- “the sun” (cognates: Sanskrit suryah, Avestan hvar “sun, light, heavens;” Greek helios; Lithuanian saule; Old Church Slavonic slunice; Gothic sauil, Old English sol “sun,” swegl “sky, heavens, the sun;” Welsh haul, Old Cornish heuul, Breton heol “sun;” Old Irish suil “eye”).
The PIE element -*el- in the root originally was a suffix and had an alternative form -*en-, yielding *s(u)wen-, source of English sun (n.). French soleil (10c.) is from Vulgar Latin *soliculus, diminutive of sol; in Vulgar Latin diminutives had the full meaning of their principal words. From: http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=sol&allowed_in_frame=0
early 15c., from Middle French assister “to stand by, help, put, place, assist” (14c.), from Latin assistere “stand by, take a stand near, attend,” from ad- “to” (see ad-) + sistere “stand still, take a stand; to set, place, cause to stand,” from PIE *si-st-, reduplicated form of root *stā- “to stand” (see stet). Related: Assisted; assisting. Medical assisted suicide attested from 1884. From: http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=assist&allowed_in_frame=0
direction to printer to disregard correction made to text, 1755, from Latin stet “let it stand,” third person singular present subjunctive of stare “to stand, stand upright, be stiff,” from PIE root *stā- “to stand, set down, make or be firm,” with derivatives meaning “place or thing that is standing” (cognates: Sanskrit tisthati “stands;” Avestan histaiti “to stand;” Persian -stan “country,” literally “where one stands;” Greek histemi “put, place, cause to stand; weigh,” stasis “a standing still,” statos “placed,” stater “a weight, coin,” stylos “pillar;” Latin sistere “stand still, stop, make stand, place, produce in court,” status “manner, position, condition, attitude,” stare “to stand,” statio “station, post;” Lithuanian stojus “place myself,” statau “place;” Old Church Slavonic staja “place myself,” stanu “position;” Gothic standan, Old English standan “to stand,” stede “place,” steall “place where cattle are kept;” Old Norse steði “anvil,” stallr “pedestal for idols, altar;” German Stall “a stable;” Old Irish sessam “the act of standing”). From: http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=stet&allowed_in_frame=0
PIE Proto-Indo-European, the hypothetical reconstructed ancestral language of the Indo-European family. The time scale is much debated, but the most recent date proposed for it is about 5,500 years ago. From: http://www.etymonline.com/abbr.php
Why doesn’t the earliest sunset come on the shortest day? The December solstice marks the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere and longest day in the Southern Hemisphere. But the earliest sunset – or earliest sunrise if you’re south of the equator – happens before the December solstice. Many people notice this, and ask about it.
The key to understanding the earliest sunset is not to focus on the time of sunset or sunrise. The key is to focus on what is called true solar noon – the time of day that the sun reaches its highest point, in its journey across your sky.
In early December, true solar noon comes nearly 10 minutes earlier by the clock than it does at the solstice around December 22. With true noon coming later on the solstice, so will the sunrise and sunset times.
It’s this discrepancy between clock time and sun time that causes the Northern Hemisphere’s earliest sunset and the Southern Hemisphere’s earliest sunrise to precede the December solstice.
The discrepancy occurs primarily because of the tilt of the Earth’s axis. A secondary but another contributing factor to this discrepancy between clock noon and sun noon comes from the Earth’s elliptical – oblong – orbit around the sun. The Earth’s orbit is not a perfect circle, and when we’re closest to the sun, our world moves fastest in orbit. Our closest point to the sun – or perihelion – comes in early January. So we are moving fastest in orbit around now, slightly faster than our average speed of about 30 kilometers (18.5 miles) per second. The discrepancy between sun time and clock time is greater around the December solstice than the June solstice because we’re nearer the sun at this time of year.
The precise date of the earliest sunset depends on your latitude. At mid-northern latitudes, it comes in early December each year. At northern temperate latitudes farther north – such as in Canada and Alaska – the year’s earliest sunset comes around mid-December. Close to the Arctic Circle, the earliest sunset and the December solstice occur on or near the same day.
By the way, the latest sunrise doesn’t come on the solstice either. From mid-northern latitudes, the latest sunrise comes in early January.The exact dates vary, but the sequence is always the same: earliest sunset in early December, shortest day on the solstice around December 22, latest sunrise in early January.
Bottom line: In 2015, the December solstice comes on December 21 at 10:03 p.m. CST. That’s December 22 at 4:48 UT. It marks the Northern Hemisphere’s shortest day (first day of winter) and Southern Hemisphere’s longest day (first day of summer). Happy solstice, everyone! From: http://earthsky.org/?p=2951#why


Seriously, could I not have come up with a more original title that that? At any rate, it is a new year, and for whatever reason now is the time we’re supposed to make changes and improvements in our lives. That’s right; if you haven’t made a “resolution” yet, you’re too late and will just have to wait until next year.
When I walked Cassie to her car I couldn’t help but stare at the beauty of the moon this evening: it’s invigorating glow penetrated the nighttime darkness and was encompassed by a rainbow ring up in the night sky.
Here’s an HDR merge of some of the shots I took before determining I wanted to go back to the semi-warmth of my house:


transcend the mind & heighten states of consciousness / shambhavi mudra
I am another you / feat. ryan wijayaratne by christian hutter 2018
e c l i p s e b a n g l e s * three things can't be hidden for long; the sun, the moon & the truth / buddha
a total eclipse occurs when the dark silhouette of the moon completely obscures the intensely bright light of the sun.
an annular eclipse occurs when the sun and moon are exactly in line with the earth, but the apparent size of the moon is smaller than that of the sun.
a hybrid eclipse shifts between a total and annular eclipse. at certain points on the surface of earth, it appears as a total eclipse, whereas at other points it appears as annular.
a partial eclipse occurs when the sun and moon are not exactly in line with the earth and the moon only partially obscures the sun.


The life of an astrophysicist
The worst part of the job, at least right now, is the temporariness of every contract.
Adding to the mix is the postdoctoral research position often abbreviated as "postdoc"a temporary job lasting two to five years in which you work to prove yourself as an independent researcher worthy of a faculty position.
Joyelle West I went to the University of Toronto and took all the general science classes. To learn a little about the day to day work of an astrophysicist, we spoke with Natalie HinkelPh.
How competitive is astrophysics
People will hire you to do anything. Techniques that seem like straight-up wizardry become, after sufficient practice, as second nature as blinking. You'll need four to six years just for a bachelor's degree, which is true of many other professions. So my assistant is very protective of which calls get through. My cousin thought that it looked like someone had put a sticker at the end of the telescope, because you could see Saturn and its rings so clearly. Galactic, solar, stellar and planetary astronomers study how the planets and stars were created and interactions between them. You might have to write a grant that would take a year to get funded. All of my research projects were very different pulsars, measuring gas ratios in nearby galaxies, and star formation and gave me a good sense not only of the science but also the skills I would need. But now there are still a lot of faculty-wannabes in the system, and still not enough positions for them. If the money is tied to one specific thing, you can't discover anything new. I thought, Wow. I was trying to think of something else I could do that I liked as much. My favourite celestial object is the moon.
The truth is that you're not expected to be an expert at the most difficult parts of being a scientist. So, there are more Ph.
Jumping into the world of astronomy and physics as a career can seem daunting, especially for precocious high schoolers with a passion for the field.
How did you go about getting your job? We think that every star in our night sky has at least one planet. He said, "You're going to be a dermatologist. Being an astrophysicist typically means your life will be comfortable but not extravagant. Then I had a job at a place called the Carnegie Institution for Science, which is a private research organization. As a teacher, I try to do what he did. And because jobs tend to be with universities, there are limited options within one city so getting a new job usually implies moving. I did that for three years.
To explain my current research, I have to go back to the beginning.
based on 92 review


a game of universal proportions on an handheld
The title that’s taking up the bulk of my play time this weekend is quite a novelty, Solar 2.
I’d never heard of the prequel, and only stumbled across this game by accident. I wish I had it last week for beach time.
This game is based on physics, first you begin as a lump of rock floating in space, an asteroid. By slamming into surrounding rocks your rock gains mass, until you make it to planet size.
Once you’ve achieved planet status your goal is then to attract asteroids into your orbit. Rotating rocks can then be absorbed into your planet, increasing its mass. Of however the comets fly into your planet, you lose mass… See how this could be fun? But it’s just the start!
Planets then evoke evolution. Remember this is on a galactic scale, so within a minute or two you have tiny space ships whizzing around the surrounding space, and your planet develops shields with missile defences. Other planets compete for the asteroid clusters, and enter stage left stars.
Once your planet has achieved a large enough mass from rock absorption you make the next galactic step to a sun. As before you collected asteroids now you collect planets.
Sweeping your sun by planets drops them into orbit. The planets continue to grow as they did before, and the star grows by dragging planets out of orbit into them. Missed planets crashing into your star reduce its mass, but as the growth continues your star progresses from small, medium, large, then grows in mass to neutron stars and finally black holes.
So you build up a planetary system, revolving around your sun, but space is not empty! Other solar systems are traveling around space, looking to survive and evolve, as well as aliens that are trying to destroy your creation.
Your sun has shields, like your planets, take to many hits, crash into top many galactic bodies and your sun explodes, to be quickly re born again. You can save at any time, taking a snapshot of your system, plus you can quickly start a session with any of the stars evolutions that you’ve played with.
And then there are missions, to add depth and longevity. If you choose you can set off around the universe finding and protecting planets, or destroying stars.
Controlling your space mass is quite intuitive, with a great use of the touchscreen. I’ve been playing on a N7, so not sure of how this will work on a smaller screen for a couple of reasons. First, some subtle deft manoeuvres are needed at times, and then on a galactic scale asteroids are not big objects.
The BGM is fantastic, mindful of 2001 a space odyssey. As we were told in Aliens, ‘in space no one can hear you scream’, but as even in the StarWars, a few sound effects to accentuate the moment doesn’t spoil the mood.
Other apps on my Nexus 7 are not getting much play time, and I can’t see the novelty wearing off any time soon… Wonder if there’ll be a Solar 3
Note: I wrote this draft on my N7 with swype, how the world has changed eh?


Each of the planets in our solar system experiences its own unique weather. But one thing is certain: Only Earth has weather we can live with. Let’s take a weather tour of the solar system to see what each planet has to offer.
Are there storms on other planets?
There are no other planets known to have warm water oceans from which true water cloud hurricanes can form. … Over 3,400 extrasolar planets have been found to date, but no others are confirmed to have convectively driven storms. However, there is every reason to believe such storms exist on extrasolar planets as well.
What weather is on different planets?
Venus has a thick atmosphere of carbon dioxide with extremely hot temperatures and storms. … Saturn has cold temperatures, high winds and a unique hexagon storm system at the north pole. Uranus and Neptune are blue due to a methane atmosphere. Neptune has the highest winds of any planet and freezing temperatures.
Can weather be predicted on other planets?
One hundred and sixty years ago, a disturbed English seaman discovered that the world’s weather could be predicted. … Today it is possible to forecast the weather on all of the planets in the solar system, and even of some of those that are farther away.
What planet does not have weather?
Since Mercury has hardly any atmosphere, it does not have weather like storms, clouds, winds or rain! But the surface of Mercury can reach 427 degrees during the day (because it is so close to the Sun) and can drop to -187 at night (because there is no atmosphere to trap the daytime heat).
What planet rains diamonds?
Deep within Neptune and Uranus, it rains diamonds—or so astronomers and physicists have suspected for nearly 40 years. The outer planets of our Solar System are hard to study, however. Only a single space mission, Voyager 2, has flown by to reveal some of their secrets, so diamond rain has remained only a hypothesis.
What is the stormiest planet?
The stormiest planet in our solar system is Neptune.
Does it rain diamonds on Jupiter?
Have you ever imagined that the sky can rain something other than water? In fact, this is what scientists have been searching for lately, and was proven through modern discoveries thanks to chemistry; the sky can rain diamonds on Saturn and Jupiter. …
Does it rain diamonds on Titan?
Diamonds big enough to be worn by Hollywood film stars could be raining down on Saturn and Jupiter, US scientists have calculated. Lightning storms turn methane into soot (carbon) which as it falls hardens into chunks of graphite and then diamond. …
Does Saturn have snow?
Saturn’s moon, Enceladus, has geysers that shoot water vapor out into space. There it freezes and falls back to the surface as snow. Some of the ice also escapes Enceladus to become part of Saturn’s rings. … All of this ice and snow make Enceladus one of the brightest objects in our solar system.
Does it rain diamonds on Saturn?
On the planet of the rings the atmosphere holds a treasure: real showers made from diamonds. Scientists believe that about 10 million tons of these stones are produced in its atmosphere each year. …
Does it rain on Mars?
At present, Mars’ water appears to be trapped in its polar ice caps and possibly below the surface. Because of Mars’ very low atmospheric pressure, any water that tried to exist on the surface would quickly boil away. atmosphere as well as around mountain peaks. No precipitation falls however.
What planets in our solar system have wind?
Earth, Venus, and Mars all show signs of wind erosion today. Particles are blown into waves — from the tiny sand ripples seen by the Mars rovers to giant dunes seen on images from orbiting spacecraft. Dunes are seen on the surfaces of all three planets.


Almost three weeks ago, the Hubble Space Telescope went offline. NASA has been working since then to determine the root cause and fix the problem, but troubleshooting a highly technical device that is in space is not the easiest task.
Workers have narrowed down the cause since the June 13 shutdown and discovered a slew of things that aren’t involved, but a more specific issue has yet to be detected. And since no action can be taken to resolve the issue until at least one general cause is found, the diagnosis is still ongoing. In the meantime, the telescope and its instruments are stored in a safe configuration.
Currently, NASA believes the problem is caused by something within the scientific instrument’s data processing and control unit, which contains the payload’s computer system. Since this module contains a control processor, a memory module, a communication bus, and a processor that formats data and commands so that the controller can communicate with other instruments (and transmit data to Earth), there is still a lot to dig.
An initial investigation indicated that the memory module was faulty, so the first thing the workers did was switch to one of the three backup memory modules. This had no effect, however, and after trying all three backups, Hubble still failed to write or read memory.
The team now believe the problem may lie elsewhere, and they are now investigating other top candidates like the Scientific Data Controller / Trainer and the Power Control Unit. If either of these is seen to be the problem, it will require a “more complicated operating procedure to move to the backup units” than the ones the team carried out on June 23-24.
The historic telescope was launched over 30 years ago and since then has made over 600,000 observations (such as the accelerating expansion of the universe) that have helped NASA and other institutions explore and better understand the universe around us and take some of the most breathtaking images we have objects in space. Scientists have already been able to fix other issues that Hubble encountered, such as a failed data trainer in 2008, so there is reason to stay positive with this issue.
Hopefully NASA is able to determine the cause of the problem and get the one-of-a-kind telescope back on track, because the information Hubble is providing us is invaluable. We want to keep it for years to come!


GravitationalRadiation Antenna In Leiden
Kamerlingh Onnes Laboratory, Leiden University, The Netherlands
Projects for students
BACHELOR PROJECT (4 months)
Data analysis: Implement exact timing in the filtered data.
Since the signal of a gravitational wave is so small, data of just one detector can never give a conclusion weather a signal was due to a gravitational wave or if it was due to noise. The energy of signals in at least two different detectors must be compared (coincidence measurements), so exact timing is very important. During this project the student has to calculate the timing of the filtered data/event list from the GPS time (PPS signals), acquired by fast acquisition.


Saturday, July 31, 2021
Time: 11:30am – 1:30pm
Place: Napa Sonoma Restaurant
At Plumbgate, 550 W. Plumb Lane
Cost: $30.00 members; $35.00 non-members
Join us for our annual luncheon meeting. Our keynote speaker will be UNR Professor Wendy Calvin, who is a planetary scientist specializing in optical and infrared spectroscopy of minerals and ices, at UNR’s Desert Research Institute. She will present an interesting talk on how, as a woman, she chose her field, which is mostly a male dominated area of science. She will talk about opportunities available for young women entering her field and related science areas. She will discuss her current projects, one of which deals with the planet Mars!


Check out Astronaut Mark Polansky's Twitter Page. He already has almost 35,000 followers, and you can see why from his last "tweet" (entry):
Now, if you're like me, and want to get a tweet from space, then you'll follow Mark, too.
Let's hope Mark and the rest of the crew of the USS Endeavour make it back to Earth safely, after their mission. It appears that the space shuttle incurred some damage during lift off.
(FoxNews.com) CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida — Space shuttle Endeavour rocketed toward the international space station Thursday as engineers on Earth pored over launch pictures that showed debris breaking off the fuel tank and striking the craft.
Mission Control told the astronauts late Wednesday that the damage looked less extensive at first glance than what occurred on the last shuttle flight, but it will take days to sort through available data to reach a conclusion.
The astronauts planned a Thursday afternoon inspection of their ship's thermal shielding, using a 100-foot laser-tipped boom. The procedure has been standard since shuttle flights resumed after the Columbia accident.
Update: Just received "tweet" from space...


The studios of...
||In mathematics and physics, a soliton is a self-reinforcing solitary wave (a wave packet or pulse) that maintains its shape while it travels at constant speed.|
The triple alpha process is a set of nuclear fusion reactions by which three helium nuclei (alpha particles) are transformed into carbon. Formation of the carbon atomic nucleus requires a nearly simultaneous triple collision of alpha particles (helium nuclei) within the core of a giant or supergiant star. This happens in conditions of temperature and helium concentration that the rapid expansion and cooling of the early universe prohibited, and therefore no significant carbon was created during the Big Bang. Instead, the interiors of stars in the horizontal branch transform three helium nuclei into carbon by means of this triple-alpha process. In order to be available for formation of life as we know it, this carbon must then later be scattered into space as dust, in supernova explosions, as part of the material which later forms second, third-generation star systems which have planets accreted from such dust. The Solar System is one such third-generation star system.


Among the most interesting technologies when it comes to telescopes is the opportunity to take images of the night skies. Many telescopes come furnished with video cameras on them; however it is still possible to take images of just what you translucent your eyepiece even if you simply have a routine telescope.
Whether you have a digital electronic camera or a normal electronic camera, it does not matter when it concerns taking photos with the eyepiece of your telescope. All you have to do is get focused on an object then position the camera where your eye would certainly go, click, and you’re ready! It’s as easy as your learn how to buy a star and name it.
Taking photos of the photos in the night skies through your telescope could be an uplifting experience– especially if you have a powerful telescope that can amplify all the galaxies, stars, and also earths that remain in our galaxy. Also if you are an amateur photographer and an amateur astronomer, you could still obtain excellent photos of just what you translucent your telescope.
Among the initial points you might intend to attempt photographing is Constellations or the celebrities of the Galaxy. Make certain your video camera is readied to the “B” setting as well as established the lens to its least expensive F quit number. This opens the lens completely and allows it the in the maximum amount of light. A lot of 28 to 50mm lenses have an F variety of 1.7 to 2.8 for their fastest setting.
When you have the location you wish to photo centered, focus your video camera on a celebrity to where it shows up the smallest as well as sharpest. You can soar to 30 second direct exposures with a 50mm lens prior to celebrities will certainly begin to show trails because of the Planet’s turning. Be sure not to agitate the cam during the direct exposure or your picture will obscure as well as all your celebrities will be increases.
Make use of a quick movie like Fuji 800 or 1600 or try Konica 3200 if you could find it. It is exceptionally quick however is somewhat grainy. If you have a digital video camera, be sure that it is readied to the greatest resolution it could deal with to take the best images. You won’t have the ability to take as many photos, however you will certainly have the ability to obtain the very best top quality pictures through your telescope.
Taking terrific photos with your telescope does not imply that you have to have a whole lot of expensive tools. All you require is a little know-how along with the need to capture exactly what you are seeing. Then you could want to seek to a blog site or a web site that allows amateur pictures to be uploaded to ensure that you can share exactly what you’ve seen with other individuals.
If you have an electronic video camera, be certain that it is set to the greatest resolution it can manage to take the best images. You won’t be able to take as numerous pictures, yet you will be able to obtain the finest high quality pictures through your telescope.
Taking excellent pictures with your telescope doesn’t suggest that you have to have a whole great deal of expensive equipment. You could want to look to a blog site or a website that allows amateur photos to be uploaded so that you could share just what you’ve seen with other individuals.


Experience the union of science and celestial elegance with our Moon Light featuring Magnetic Levitation. Elevate your decor, spark conversations, and invite the magic of the moon into your world. Order yours today and let the lunar enchantment begin!
Wooden base size: 160x110x22mm
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Sphere size: 14cm
Sphere material: 3d printing + led
Sphere color: Cool white light (support warm yellow gradient)
Gift box size: 20x15x40cm


The comparison of the U.S. Space Shuttle and USSR Buran
As Leonid Kadenyuk, the first Ukrainian astronaut, comes from Chernivtsi Oblast, it is no surprise that the city has own aerospace museum.
The museum has two permanent exhibitions devoted to various events.
The first floor describes the aviation history. Visitors have an opportunity to learn the history of aeronautics and aircraft starting from Mozhayskiy’s "flying tool” and Wright brothers’ aircraft to the most modern aircraft designs. It has a number of replica planes from both World Wars, record planes and the planes of ace pilots. All replicas of historical aircraft are completely accurate.
The museum has a collection of replica planes from Antonov Design Bureau created to O.K.Antonov’s 100th anniversary.
The exhibits in the second floor are devoted to space explorations.
The early space era (October 4, 1957 and on) is represented by models of the first man-made Earth satellites and rockets. A considerable part of the exhibition tells about Yuri Gagarin’s first manned space flight on April 12, 1961 and the flights by G.Titov, A.Nikolayev, P.Popovych, V.Bykovsky and Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman space pilot.
Besides achievements of the former USSR, the space exhibit also informs about U.S. space programs from suborbital flights to the Space Shuttle program, Moon expeditions by Apollo spaceships, the joint USSR-U.S. "Soyuz” – "Apollo” program.
The exhibit shows post stamps, post cards, badges, posters, photos and scaled replica.
A considerable part is devoted to Leonid Kadenyuk, the first astronaut of independent Ukraine. Unique exhibits include gifts from the National Aerospace Agency of Ukraine, NASA, cosmonauts, astronauts and other organizations and individuals.
In 2004-2006 Chernivtsi craftsman made more than 80 replicas of launch vehicles and space vehicles produced by leading space nations.
Photos courtesy of http://newsparky.dreamwidth.org/
A collection of military rockets
U.S. and USSR space rockets
Portraits of Ukrainian cosmonauts and astronauts


Last April, NASA’s Landsat Data Community Mission zoomed out, way out, to take “The Long Swath.” It’s a 6,000 mile-long 120 mile-wide strip of your favorite planet, Earth. And, yes, that’s a ridiculously long swath. At a modest 19.06 gigapixels, it’s the biggest photo of Earth, ever. Watch earth’s climates change and change again as you take a stroll from Russia to the bottom of Africa.
Follow NASA’s 6000 Mile Picture here:
Landsat’s a satellite (clever name, huh?) in orbit, so the entire shot only took around 20 minutes. Makes sense when you think about it hurtling through space at 17,000 miles per hour, so this shot is just what it was looking at for those minutes. Why is this so interesting, you might ask? Well, we’re seeing what was happening in all those places at the same time, which has never been done before. Landsat shows us a good bit of Mother Earth for twenty minutes. We think that’s a pretty important perspective. Next time you’re feeling a little confined, or you’re getting caught up in whatever you’re doing, take a tip from the Landsat and zoom out. If you have a minute, check out what these astronauts have to say about their zoom-out experience:


You should spend about 20 minutes on Question 14-26 which are based on Reading Passage below. You can also download this practice (pdf file)
The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) is conducted by dedicated scientists every day. In the movie Contact, Jodie Foster’s character, Ellie Arroway, searches the heavens with several large radio telescopes. When she receives a radio message from a distant star, there are profound implications for humanity. Modern SETI efforts began with a paper written by physicists Giuseppe Cocconi and Philip Morrison and published in the science press in 1959. Since then, SETI has been an extremely controversial scientific endeavor. Some scientists believe that it is a complete waste of time and money, while others believe that detection of a signal from ET would forever change our view of the universe.
The idea that life, especially life with intelligence, might exist in other parts of the universe is a very old one. Early ideas were based on an intuitive belief in the enormity of the universe and in what is now called the mediocrity principle, namely that there is nothing special about the Sun, the Earth, and the human race. Present ideas are also based on the mediocrity principle supported by the universality of the laws of physics and chemistry, and by the enormity of the universe. The chemical evolution, that is, the natural formation of complex organic compounds that led to the origin of life on Earth is quite common in the universe.


What are meteorites?
- Pieces of rock or iron that fall to earth from space. Many thousands fall to earth each year, mostly landing in the ocean, but significant numbers fall onto the continents.
- Mostly derived from the asteroid belt, where fragments are knocked out of orbit, eventually intersecting with the earth. A much smaller number are derived from the Moon and from Mars as the result of large collisions.
- Classified as either falls or finds. Falls are those recovered after being observed to fall to earth. A famous Queensland example is the 1879 Tenham meteorite shower, of which over 300 stones have been collected. A find is a meteorite discovery without the observation of a fall.
Meteorites have been found in many places in Australia. Most have been found in the desert and drier areas of the continent where they are easily seen without the vegetation cover.
Meteorites found in Australia may not be exported without a permit.
Types of meteorites
Iron meteorites are mostly made of nickel rich metallic iron and are believed to come from the cores of broken up asteroids. They contain few silicate minerals, and are very heavy. There are many different classes of iron meteorite.
Stony meteorites are meteorites rich in silica minerals such as olivine and hypersthene. They contain small amounts of metal. They are lighter in weight then iron meteorites. There are a large number of classes of stony meteorites.
Stony-iron meteorites have approximately equal amounts of iron and silicate minerals which make for very attractive meteorites. Again, there are many different types of stony-iron meteorites.
The study of meteorites is call meteoritics. Most, but not all meteorites are billions of years old. Their study can provide a great deal of information on the origin of the solar system and the formation of the earth itself.
Queensland Museum's Find out about... is proudly supported by the Thyne Reid Foundation and the Tim Fairfax Family Foundation.


This book and its companion volumes changed my life over the course of the 4 5 years that it took me to read all of sitchins books known collectively as the earth chronicles of which the 12th planet is the first. Download twelfth planet book i of the earth chronicles the earth chronicles in pdf or read twelfth planet book i of the earth chronicles the earth chronicles in pdf online books in pdf epub and mobi format click download or read online button to get twelfth planet book i of the earth chronicles the earth chronicles in pdf book now this site is like a library use search box in the widget to . The twelfth planet book 1 of the earth chronicles audiobook by zecharia sitchin the product of 30 years of intensive research the twelfth planet argues persuasively that humanity sprang from extraterrestrial forebears sitchin provides startling evidence of a superior race of beings who once inhabited the earth. Zecharia sitchins earth chronicles series with millions of copies sold worldwide deal with the history and prehistory of earth and humankind each book in the series is based upon information written on clay tablets by the ancient civilizations of the near east. The 12th planet is the first book of the earth chronicles series offering indisputable documentary evidence of the existence of the mysterious planet nibiru and tells why its astronauts came to earth eons ago to fashion mankind in their image
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BOOKINGS WILL CLOSE AT 17.30 ON 12 OCTOBER 2021!
12th October 2021
Speaker: Dr Steve Banham – Imperial College London
Topic: Mars Curiosity Rover’s Adventures in the Gale Crater
Since 2012, the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity has been traversing the lower foothills of Mount Sharp in Gale crater. During this time, the rover has driven over 28km and has encountered an array of rocks which indicate substantial changes in surface conditions between the formation of Gale crater some 3.8 billion years ago, and the present day.
The rocks encountered by the rover record evidence abundant surface water across a range of depositional; environments: the Bradbury group records evidence of fluvial systems reworking coarse sediment into fluvial bar-forms; the Mount Sharp group records deposition of silts and mud in a lacustrine setting, with occasional coarser sediment brought in by rivers. Toward the top of the explored section of the Mount Sharp group – where Curiosity is currently exploring – evidence of increased aridity is preserved in the rock strata. Overlying, and draping across these strata are the Stimson formation, which records the existence of an aeolian dune field that was located on the flank of Mount Sharp.
These discoveries point to a habitable environment where life could have flourished, and the rover has found evidence of the chemical precursors for life. In this presentation, we will look in detail at these findings and the future for Curiosity’s investigation of Gale crater.
Steve Banham is a Sedimentologist who complete his PhD at the University of Leeds investigating the impact of halokinesis on fluvial systems. He then worked as a Petroleum Basin Analyst at the BGS, investigating hydrocarbon resources on the UKCS, before moving to a research position at Imperial College. Since moving to imperial college, he has participated on the NASA-JPL Mars Science Laboratory mission, as a collaborator on the Mastcam instrument team, and is now a collaborator on the PanCam instrument of the ESA ExoMars rover, Rosalind Franklin.
This event is kindly hosted by:
This event will be delivered online.


NASA.gov brings you the latest images, videos and news from America’s space agency. Get the latest updates on NASA missions, watch NASA TV live, and learn about our quest to reveal the unknown and benefit all humankind.
Space mission and science news, images and videos from NASA’s Jet Propulsion …
WASHINGTON, July 20, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — Visitors to AirVenture Oshkosh 2018 can get a close look at the latest in NASA aerospace technology during the Experimental Aircraft Association’s annual
A new NASA supercomputer project builds on the agency’s satellite measurements of carbon dioxide and combines them with a sophisticated Earth system model to provide one of the most realistic views yet of how this critical greenhouse gas moves through the atmosphere.
NEW YORK –For the first time since 2012, NASA has released a global map of Earth at night — and the results are breathtaking. NASA has examined the different ways that light is radiated
Space.com is your source for the latest astronomy news and space discoveries, live coverage of space flights and the science of space travel.
NASA Mars InSight lander mission to teach us more about Earth. The landing will kick off a two-year mission in which InSight will become the first spacecraft to study Mars’ deep interior.
NASA’s InSight probe safely landed on Mars Monday after a tense seven-minute descent. The robot has now dusted itself off and has sent back the first images of its view on the surface of the Red planet. The first image that came back was a smudged, fish-eye lense view of Mars. Thankfully, a later
NASA’s InSight lander is scheduled to touch down on the Red Planet at approximately 3 p.m. EST Nov. 26, and viewers everywhere can watch coverage of the event live on NASA Television, the agency’s website and social media platforms.
NASA’s Latest Mars Probe to Attempt Landing Voice of America 21:53 24-Nov-18 How to Watch NASA’s Mars InSight Landing Online Parabolic Arc 21:25 24-Nov-18 NASA’s new robotic explorer will offer new insight on Mars Chicago Sun-Times 21:01 24-Nov-18
NASA’s real-time portal for Mars exploration, featuring the latest news, images, and discoveries from the Red Planet. NASA’s real-time portal for Mars exploration, featuring the latest news, images, and discoveries from the Red Planet. NASA’s next mission to Mars will be the topic of a media briefing Thursday, March 29, at JPL. The
The Latest from Mars. All News. 06. Nov. 2018. Curiosity on the Move Again November 06, 2018 NASA’s Mars Curiosity rover drove about 197 feet over the weekend to a site called Lake Orcadie, pushing its total odometry to over 12 miles. Curiosity on the Move Again. NASA’s Mars Curiosity rover drove about 197 feet over the weekend to a site called
Nov 27, 2018 · Home Tech Nasa releases new pics from surface of Mars – so where are Tech; Nasa releases new pics from surface of Mars – so where are the ‘ancient aliens’? By. DvKavi – HOT NEWS. Tech. Facebook is showing people old, sad or cringeworthy messages they’d rather


1. OUR SOLAR SYSTEM
This material presents an overview of the ASTRO-METRIC concept of solar system formation. It indicates that the seeds of the planets and their satellites were formed at the atomic level. This is why the solar system appears to be just one large "atom" in the cosmos. The theosophical side of this concept is contained in Appendix A, and many may find it quite mathematical. That appendix shows how theosophical considerations lead to the ASTRO-METRIC concept. As scientists may be prejudiced against such concepts, only the physical results are presented here.
ASTRO-METRICS proposes that formation of multiple star systems and their associated planets is the result of tidal interaction between primordial black holes (PBHs) formed during the Big Bang. Two principal PBHs attracted one another based on gravitational/electrostatic forces and quantum spin states, then co-orbited. Gravitational resonance, together with this co-orbital rotation, ejected smaller PBHs from these primary PBHs. The exact process is derived from a relativistic quantum mechanical theory beyond the scope of this web site. The ejected PBHs became seeds for the planets or satellites of our solar system. Growth to their current size occurred later in a two step process.
This theory proposes that the orbital radius of the ejected PBHs (formed on the atomic scale) expanded to macroscopic size as the universe rapidly expanded in its first few minutes. The periodic generation of the small planetary PBHs, formed by the co-orbiting stellar PBHs, is the basis of the Titus-Bode law. The heavy element core of the planets and the heavy element contribution to the stars pre-date the galaxies.
The application of this simplistic model to our solar system is shown in Figure 4-1. Here, the two principal Primordial Black Holes (PBHs), the Sun's PBH (or SPBH) and Vulcan's PBH (or BCPBH), co-orbit during the early phases of the formation of the universe. Both these stellar PBHs are somewhat disc shaped because they are envisioned to possess substantial angular momentum. As Vulcan's smaller PBH begins to orbit the Sun's PBH, it passes close to an angle aligned with the edge of the Sun's PBH disc and shakes it much like a housewife shakes a rug. The passage of Vulcan's PBH produces a standing wave in the Sun's PBH disc which terminates in the ejection of a planetary PBH (or PPBH). However, only a quantized potential energy is permitted when defining the orbits about these atomic size nuclei. Specific energy levels, defined by quantum mechanical laws, restrict the possible orbits into which the planetary PBHs can be cast. See Figure 4-2.
These tidal forces (caused by Vulcan's orbiting PBH) resonate with the Sun's PBH disc when Vulcan's PBH is passing within a few degrees of the Sun's PBH spin plane. The first PBH becomes the seed for the outer most and the last, the seed for the inner most, solar planet.
As Vulcan's PBH completes a half orbit of the Sun's PBH, another planet's PBH is shaken off. No matter escapes the Primordial Black Holes. The black holes are simply sub- divided and their matter remains incarcerated.
Enormous amounts of orbital angular momentum transfer from Vulcan's PBH is required to cast the planets' PBHs from the Sun's PBH. Note, even quantum mechanics cannot violate the law of conservation of angular momentum. This momentum is recovered by the planets' PBH, and eventually the planets themselves. In other words, the planets capture angular momentum from the co-orbit rotation of the Sun's and Vulcan's PBHs. This is why the planets, not the Sun, possess the bulk of the angular momentum in the solar system. The spin angular momentum associated with the individual Sun's or Vulcan's PBH has little to do with the planets' PBH's orbital angular momentum. Normally, the greatest transfer of angular momentum would be to the outermost planet's PBH since it was first formed. But the transition of the laws of physics from quantum to classical mechanics alters this process.
With each orbital pass by Vulcan's PBH, both the PBH solar system and the universe are growing larger. The orbital separation between Vulcan's, the Sun's and the planets' PBH increases. The geometric progression found in the Titus-Bode law reflects the slowing down of the expansion of the universe, with each planet's PBH closer to the next one until the last one is dislodged. The gravitational tidal effects eventually lessen until no more PBHs are shaken off. The last PBH ejected is the seed for the innermost planet and has the smallest terrestrial core (least casting energy). This entire process occurs quickly and at near atomic dimensions. It is governed first, by quantum mechanical, then classical mechanical, laws as the universe expands.
Most of the later cast planets' PBHs will remain in the Sun's PBH's spin plane (which has become known as the ecliptic). However, some of the initial planets' PBHs can be influenced by the presence of Vulcan's PBH and it may cause a significant perturbation of their orbit. If the inclination of the orbit plane of Vulcan's PBH is at significant angle to the ecliptic (the Sun's PBH spin plane), quantum forces, may or may not, drag the initial planets' PBHs into an orbit likewise inclined. But the effect on the actual orbital structure is unknown. The later formed planets PBH's will be less effected by Vulcan's PBH because the expanding universe carries them farther and farther away.
Similarly, the Sun's PBH may shake planetary PBHs off Vulcan's PBH since its spin also makes it disc shaped. These may remain in orbit about Vulcan's PBH, or be captured by the Sun's PBH. If Vulcan's PBH orbit is severely inclined to the Sun's PBH spin plane, the PPBHs ejected from Vulcan's PBH will be found at a substantial angle to the ecliptic plane. The spin angular momentum of the planet's PBHs formed from Vulcan's PBH is small, because only a small planet PBH can be dislodged from Vulcan's "more spherical" PBH.
It is unreasonable to assume that ours and all other PBH "solar systems" drift through the universe at their expanded dimensions until they acquire mass from some nebula of gas and dust. Separation of the planets' PBHs orbiting the Sun's PBH would be truly astronomical, about 1034 light years, which is larger than the known universe. See ASTROMETRICS; pg. 23.
It is more reasonable to postulate that the primordial black hole solar system gains mass (especially the heavy elements) as the universe just begins its expansion. First, the PBHs would form, then heavy elements and finally the lighter elements, especially hydrogen. It is hard to see how the PBHs could acquire matter just after forming. However, there will be a point during the expansion of the universe when the PBH solar system is floating in a sea of condensing matter. If the PBHs acquired mantels of heavier elements just after the beginning of the universe, prototype solar systems would form with planets much the size observed today. Suns, made of heavy elements, would radiate by gravitational contraction for millions of years. Then they would cool, forming large astronomical bodies of dark matter, not observable by the astronomer's telescope. While the heavy elements form first, both they and the clouds of hydrogen and helium gas form at approximately the same time. But the heavy element solar systems aand the clouds of hydrogen and helium gas may not get together until much later.
Prototype solar systems can add significantly to the estimated mass of the universe. These prototype solar systems can drift through the universe for billions of years before being attracted to the gravitational potential of a huge cloud of hydrogen. Then, the dark stars begin to acquire substantial hydrogen mass. The cloud need not have specific angular momentum or be disc shaped, but may appear like most of the gaseous nebula usually observed (e.g. the Orion nebula).
Multiple prototype solar systems made of dark matter are attracted to these nebula, and their presence stabilizes the galactic disc. Some of these bodies gain hydrogen mass, but not in direct proportion to their heavy element mass, as they finally pass into the gaseous nebula. The heavy element core of the stars compared to that of the tiny planets would gain the most as they are the larger bodies. Their hydrogen finally ignites, forming a real star. The hydrogen from the nebulae also adds to the outer mantel of the prototype planets' surface, forming atmospheres and seas.
The proposed model for formation of the heavy elements does not require a supernova. Heavy element poor stars are really only hydrogen rich ones (not old ones, as commonly thought), and these are ones whose prototype solar systems have drifted into the denser regions of a hydrogen nebulae.
The planets in the prototype solar system acquire matter from the gaseous nebula in a manner proportional to their mass. Effectively, they concentrate material from the gaseous nebula into the ecliptic plane. Then, the surface of prototype planets hydrogenate and their atmospheres begin to resemble those of Uranus or Neptune. As our dark Sun gained mass, the orbital radii of the planets within the prototype solar system shrink until they exhibited the currently observed Titus-Bode law's geometric progression. The Sun's mass alone determined the planets orbital radii as the mass of the planet is insignificant.
Gas is gathered from the nebula into the ecliptic plane by the Sun and inner planets. But when the Sun ignites, it is blown outward into the ecliptic plane by the solar wind. This, and other inter-planetary matter, is mostly scattered with only a small amount captured by the Jovian planets.
All nucleation need not occur via these heavy Primordial Black Holes. Some bodies can also form through gravitational processes, but they would have no significant heat engine and little cohesiveness. Examples include comets (which appear to be formed of material of low melting point) and small planetary satellites. Some objects (especially the very small satellites) are likely residues from the prototype solar system. Detonation of small PPBH (which had formed planetesimals) supplied primordial matter to the Oort cloud. Similarly, detonation of PSPBHs that had originally formed small satellites became rings (along with the rings' shepherding satellites) orbiting their parent planet.
Distant planets, seeded by PBHs ejected from Vulcan's PBH, may have experienced detonations of these tiny PBHs because they were so very small. These detonations may have produced many fragments of primordial heavy element matter which became hydrogenated as the Sun grew to its present size. These primordial fragments are the likely source of cometary bodies found in both the inner and outer Oort cloud. Thus, cometary material constitute the remains of the crust or mantels of these primordial planets. Such material may often show evidence of prior melting such as that found in the Murchison meteorite Therefore, comets are representative of the early universe, especially as far as the originally formed prototype solar system is concerned. This concept is consistent with many of the current theories concerning comets, which describes their genesis as primordial.
Those planetary PBHs ejected from Vulcan's PBH would soon be captured by the Sun's PBH in an orbit substantially inclined to the solar ecliptic plane. Remember, to form planetary PBHs, Vulcan's PBH must be in an orbit plane significantly tilted to the Sun's PBH spin plane (which is now known as the solar ecliptic plane), or planetary PBHs could not be cast. Consequently, the shattered remains of these primordial planets (now comets) will seldom be found in the solar ecliptic plane. Instead, they are found to have highly inclined and eccentric orbits as would be expected. Some of these tiny bodies have also been captured by solar planets, becoming their satellites.
2. PLANET ORBITAL SPACING
Figure 8-1 illustrates how the orbits of the planet's PBHs would have appeared shortly after the Big Bang. Then, quantum mechanical laws governed the planetary PBH orbital separation. These orbits were likely constrained to the solar ecliptic plane when cast by quantum mechanical forces.
Both Vulcan's and the Sun's planets were formed in the same way. When the co-orbiting Sun's PBH crossed the spin plane of Vulcan's PBH (the BCPBH), planetary PBHs were also cast from it. Eventually, the more massive Sun's PBH captured Vulcan's planetary seeds. Most of Vulcan's tiny inner planets' PBHs have already detonated. Debris from their shattered crust is found in the outer solar system. This debris either adds to or forms the Oort cloud.
Pluto's small size, orbital eccentricity and inclination are out of step with the rest of the Jovian planets. Thus, it is likely that Pluto was seeded by one of Vulcan's planetary PBHs. Since both the Sun's and Vulcan's planetary PBHs were formed at about the same time, the relative positions, predicted by the Titus-Bode law, applies for both systems.
Table 8-1 summarizes the resulting orbits of Vulcan's and the Sun's PBHs when they were first cast. Vulcan's PBHs were transferred into orbits about the Sun's PBH, and these orbits are estimated later (in ASTRO-METRICS, they are not included on this web site). The following equation is a variation of the Titus-Bode law predicting the relative orbits of both the Sun's and Vulcan's planetary PBHs assuming they are determined by the geometric expansion of space:
R = 0.3 X 2(10 - u/12:00) = 0.3 X 2exp.(10 - u/12:00)
Here, u is the net angular rotation (hr.:min.) from the first cast to the newly cast planet's PBH. Table 8-2 illustrates the application of this equation to generate the separation, in relative AU (rAU), for the planetary PBHs. For the Sun's planets, u/12:00 = 0 to 10 and for Vulcan's planets, u/12:00 + 0.1764 = ranges from 0.1764 to 10.1764 unless double planet formation is involved. The Sun's PPBHs remained in their initial casting orbits and assumed the familiar planetary orbits (AU or rAU) as the universe grew to its current size.
|Vulcan's Planets Casting order||Solar Planets Casting order|
|Planet/Orbit (rAU)||Planet/Orbit (rAU)|
|1 st cast- (Undiscovered?)||Occupied (Vulcan)*|
|0.3 X 2exp.(10.1764) = 347.2 AU||0.3 X 2 exp.(10) = 307.2|
|0.3 X 2 exp.(9.6472) = 240.5|
|2 nd cast- (Pluto)||Occupied (Vulcan)*|
|0.3 X 2exp.(9.1764) = 173.6 AU||0.3 X 2 exp.(9) = 153.6|
|3 rd cast-Septimus-A** Mid.|
|0.3 X 2 exp.(8.6472) = 120 AU|
|4 th cast- (1996TL66)||Occupied Pluto*|
|0.3 X 2exp.8.1764 = 86.84 AU||0.3 X 2 exp.(8.0) = 76.8 AU|
|5 th cast- (Detonated?)||Occupied (Pluto)*|
|0.3 X 2exp.(7.1764) = 43.4 AU||0.3 X 2 exp.(7) = 38.4 AU|
|6 th cast-Neptune/Triton** Mid.|
|0.3 X 2 exp.(6.6472) = 30.0|
|7 th cast- (Detonated?)||8 th cast- Uranus|
|0.3 X 2exp.(6.1764) = 21.7 AU||0.3 X 2exp.(6) = 19.2 AU|
|9 th cast- (Detonated?)||10 th cast- Saturn|
|0.3 X 2exp.(5.1764) = 10.85 AU||0.3 X 2exp.(5) = 9.6 AU|
|PERTURBATION BY CHANGE FROM|
QUANTUM TO CLASSICAL MECHANICS
|11 th cast-Planet x-1 Septimus-B||12 th cast-Jupiter|
|0.3 X 2 exp.(4.1764) = 5.4 AU||0.4 + 0.3 X 2exp.(4) = 5.2 AU|
|13 th cast-Planet x-2 (Detonated?)||14 th cast (Detonated) - Asteroids|
|0.4 + 0.3 X 2exp.(3.1764) = 3.1 AU||0.4 + 0.3 X 2exp.(3) = 2.8 AU|
|15 th cast-Planet x-3 (Detonated?)||16 th cast-Mars|
|0.4 + 0.3 X 2exp.(2.1764) = 1.8 AU||0.4 + 0.3 X 2exp.(2) = 1.6 AU|
|PERTURBATION FADES AWAY|
|17 th cast-Planet x-4 (Detonated?)||18 th cast- Earth/Moon** Mid.|
|0.3 X 2exp.(1.1764) = 0.7 AU||0.3 X 2exp.(1.6472) = 0.94 AU|
|19 th cast-Planet x-4 (Detonated?)||20 th cast- Venus|
|0.3 X 2exp.(0.1764) = 0.34 AU||0.3 X 2exp.(1) = 0.6 AU|
|21 th cast-Planet x-4 (Detonated?)||22 th cast- Mercury|
|0.3 X 2exp.(0.1764 - 1.0000) = 0.17 AU||0.3 X 2exp.(0) = 0.3 AU|
* Vulcan crosses the ecliptic at 182 and 285 AU and has a Perigee/Apogee of 134/454 AU respectively. Thus it occupies these orbital position. Likewise, Pluto occupies two orbital positions because its orbit now varies from about 30 AU to 50 AU
** occupied (by Vulcan or Pluto) so potential casting is forbidden (i.e. no planet is formed). The planet casting is delayed until an acceptable mid-orbit casting position is reached, then it is cast
3. THE KNOWN PLANETS
|Planet||Actual (AU or rAU)||Predicted (AU or rAU)|
|Neptune/Triton||30.0||30.0 (Double Planet)|
|Asteroids||Varies||2.8 (planet that exploded)|
|Earth/Moon||1.0||0.94 (Double Planet)|
Table 8-2 lists the actual and predicted location of the planets using the R = 0.3 X 2(10 - u/12:00) ASTRO-METRICS version of the slightly modified Titus-Bode law. These values are in rAU at the time of casting. They are scaled downward in distance as the Sun's and Vulcan's PBH accrue first heavy, then lighter element matter. Neptune's orbital position is usually considered to violate the Titus-Bode law. However, the mid-orbit casting process now explains why this happened. The casting order for Vulcan's and the Sun's planets PBHs is offered as an explanation for this apparent violation. See Figure 8-2.
Quantum mechanical forces likely forbid casting of a planet's PBH into a given orbit if another (Pluto's) PBH is already there. Then, the stimulated (Sun's or Vulcan's) PBH retains this energy and momentum until it is again stimulated. When this occurs, a double planet is formed and it is denoted herein as a mid orbit casting.
Stimulation occurs when one of the co-orbiting PBHs perturbs the other. The mid orbit casting is a result of spin axis stimulation, not spin plane crossing. It casts two planetary PBHs (one a reflection of the casting force) at almost the same time but at a slightly smaller distance.
The mid orbit casting of Neptune's, the Earth's and possibly Planet A's PBH was from this abnormal reflection of energy and momentum. A second, much smaller, planetary PBH was ejected from the opposite side. Thus, Triton's PBH was cast slightly later than Neptune's PBH and into a slightly smaller orbit. Consequently, it had a slightly shorter period. Eventually, Triton's PBH caught up with Neptune's PBH. As it attempted to pass, it was dragged backward (probably by gravitational forces) into a retrograde orbit. A non-retrograde orbit would be possible only if Triton's PBH orbit was slightly greater than Neptune's was, or quite eccentric. The former condition would be impossible because the primary, not the reflected, PBH is in the larger (earlier cast) of the two orbits.
Saturn's, Jupiter's, the Asteroid's and Mars' PBHs were formed from the co-orbiting Sun/Vulcan PBH system at the time the laws governing formation of the solar system were changing from quantum mechanical to classical mechanical ones. See Appendix F (found in ASTRO- METRICS, not included in this web site). The transient, resulting from this change, required 0.4 to be added to the orbital radii computed from the casting equations already discussed just during this transition period. The casting equations predict Mercury's orbit to be at 0.3 AU, without the influence of the transition (or the addition of 0.4). However, there is a nagging possibility that tiny Mercury may have been the first cast of Vulcan's planets (at 348 AU). Possibly so, but the capture geometry has never been worked out.
The largest asteroid, Ceres, may have been the planet seeded by the Sun's and Vulcan's PBH system during this transient phenomena. Both this planet (and its satellites) would have had very small PBHs, many of which have already evaporated. The detonation of these small PBHs shattered their heavy element crust thereby forming the asteroid belt. Possibly the two satellites of Mars are the result of a shattered Martian satellite because they are so small and in the Martian spin plane. However, they may also be captured asteroids as most suspect.
Apparently, the disturbance of this transient phenomena was enough to generate a mid orbit casting of the Earth's (and then the Moon's) PBH. Both were cast into a slightly perturbed orbit. Table 8-2 illustrates that the Earth's orbital position is the result of a mid orbit casting at 0.3 X 21.6472 = 0.94 AU. Note: An Astronomical Unit (the AU) is defined as the average distance the Earth is from the Sun. The 0.94 value is the theoretical value the ASTRO-METRICS model predicts. The transient (in going from quantum mechanical to classical mechanical laws) perturbed the Moon's original solar orbit and made it elliptical enough to be captured by the Earth in a normal posigrade orbit (now orbiting Earth 5 deg. off the ecliptic). Either retrograde or posigrade orbits would have been possible, depending on the impact of this transient.
4. THE NEW PLANETS
The two most important new planets predicted by this work are Vulcan and Septimus. Marginal, but reasonable, evidence exists that Vulcan has been found.1 Its orbit has a Perihelion/Aphelion of 134/454 AU respectively. Therefore its average separation from the Sun is just a little larger than average. Normal visual binary star separation is usually less than 200 AU.2.
Septimus may have also been found and is discussed in the same reference 1b. But there is disagreement as to whether the Sun or Vulcan cast it. Septimus-A in Table 8-1 was cast by the Sun and should be at least 30 or 40 Earth Masses in size.3. Notice that Septimus' casting was delayed three times because Vulcan (or its PBH seed) restricted casting. The required quantum state was not available. Two normal castings and one polar casting opportunity was possible. Septimus-A was (or presumably would have been) cast in the Sun's spin plane like the well known solar planets. Cranking of its orbit by Vulcan could have occurred, and that would have tilted its orbital inclination.
Septimus-B would be cast in an orbit around Vulcan, but it would be quickly captured by the Sun (near Vulcan's perihelion). See Table 8-3A. Both Septimus-A and Septimus-B could eventually fall into an orbit similar to the one already found by Forbes. However, both, or only one, could also be scattered completely out of our solar system or be captured into a orbit about the Sun far removed from it. See: Table 4A in the 1999 Paper.1
|SURVIVING VULCAN'S PLANETS||PREDICTED VULCAN CASTING DISTANCE (rAU)|
Septimus-B is a transition planet cast from Vulcan. Its mass is difficult to estimate. Scaling its mass to the current estimate of the mass of Vulcan's heavy element core leads to about 0.2 Earth Masses but it could easily be the size of the Earth or even a little larger. Pluto and 1996TL66 are all we have to go on. Masses of planets spawned by dark stars are risky esitmates at best. See Table 8-3B.
|Mass(Earth = 1)||?||4||5|
|Period (Years)||1,076||1,019||700 - 1,000|
While stability calculations have not been made, planets like Septimus-A would likely have been scattered by Vulcan, or cranked into an orbit inclination much less than 45 deg. This is inconsistent with Forbes', Harrington's or Anderson's anticipated planet.5 Additionally, the masses of any of these anticipated planets is not consistent with the anticipated mass of Septimus-A. Thus, Septimus-B seems to be the best estimate for the planet anticipated by Forbes, Harrington and Anderson. There orbital parameters are also a reasonable fit. Most of the other planetismals' (seeds) cast from Vulcan may have detonated, therefore these bodies are no longer anticipated. However, one more undiscovered planetisimal still is anticipated (undiscovered), and is thought to be larger than Pluto. It is anticipated to be in a highly elliptical solar orbit (like 1996TL66) and to have an orbital inclination similar, but smaller than, Vulcan's. The transfer dynamics of it or Septimus-B have not yet been fully investigated.
Figure 8-3. The Akkadian Seal © Sitchin 12th Planet
5. ANALYSIS OF THE AKKADIAN SEAL
It is asserted that the 4,500 year-old Akkadian seal (Courtesy Z. Sitchin, the 12th Planet) offers a truthful depiction of our known solar system and that it indicates the presence of additional planets within it. See figure 8-3.Obviously, it contains size and count information about the known planets. The analysis contained in this work indicates the presence of two new planets, (and by inference the comet swarm that Sitchin denotes as the planet Marduk & its satellites) with a 3,600 year highly elliptical (comet like) orbit. This indicates that knowledge beyond today's astronomical data was available to the Akkadians. But just how coherent is the seal's data with known data?
[Updated 15 July 2015]
Beginning with objects on the Akkadian seal(Figure 8-3) after Vulcan, in clockwise order, the inter planets are designated A, B, C and are followed by the Jovian bodies Uranus, Neptune, Jupiter and Saturn. The three distant tiny ones are X Eris? (with a smaller Biden VP313 further out?) and Y (Pluto?) near A and B. Planet Z is between Neptune and Jupiter. Planet Z does not clearly appear, but Sitchin claims that it is there and labels it Pluto. When someone is shown a depiction of our solar system, the Sun, Jovian planets and Vulcan are clearly illustrated but often the inner planets are displayed on an expanded scale.4 Outer bodies, like Pluto, Eris or Planet Z may be displayed on other scales or they may be just too difficult to measure their small diameters.
|Planet||Mass*||Log Mass|| Diameter
|Vulcan||Not Known||2.54||4.65||2.15 +/- 0.1||141|
|INNER PLANETS||(b) Seal Size 3 X too Big|
|Mars (B)||0.107||-0.971||2.0||-0.5893 +/-0.1||.257|
|Planet Z##||?||Unknown||1.9 (est.)||-0.69165||0.2034|
|VULCAN'S OR||DISTANT PLANETS||(c) Seal Size 15 X Too Big|
# Reference body
## hard to see on this Akkadian seal image.
*In terms of Earth Masses.
**See reference 1 of this section.
The diameter of the "planets" were measured. The count of the Jovian planets and the inner planets is also correct. Four planets, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto and Eris would be visually undetectable to the Akkadians. Two extra Pluto-like planets, as the seal indicates, are Also anticipated in this section. Scaling to Vulcan's planets offers an Earth size planet at 128 AU (see Forbe's planets).97 Vulcan is smaller than the 237 Earth masses anticipated/indicated by crop circle T367.1 In conclusion, the diameter of planets on the Akkadian seal are associated with the logarithms of the masses of the known planets in our solar system.
Distance measurements were also attempted on the "planets" found in Figure 8-3. See Table 8-5. Pluto (Planet Z) related measurements are taken from Sitchin's sketches. The distant planets X, Y, Z, Septimus and Vulcan are at different distances from the Star (presumed to be our Sun). The ratio of the distances of Septimus to Vulcan is 3.59. Note that if this value is a logarithmic distance based on the number 3 (maybe they have three digits on each limb), its value of 33.59 = 51.6. That is, Septimus would be 51.6 times as far as Vulcan is from the Sun. This distance of 23,426 AU corresponds well to Matese' postulated planet thought to be orbiting at 25,000 AU in the outer Oort cloud.6 While this seems very far away, it is only about twice as far away from the Sun as Proxima Centauri is from Alpha Centauri A (also a G2 class star).
|Star to:||millimeters (mm)||Object: X [Z] Planet:||Unknown|
|X or Y||16.95||1.000 [1.22]||1.000 [unknown]|
|Z (Pluto?) [1996TL66]||13.9||0.820 [1.00]||0.385[1.00]|
Three sources for the Akkadian astronomical information are postulated; extra-terrestrial alien contact, "channeling" or an advance human civilizations like Atlantis or Mu. Channeling would provide information in the "language of the times". This seems to be ruled because the planets' mass are scaled to "truth" by logarithms. There is also little (if any) evidence of a human civilization technologically advanced beyond our own. Only one with a far- advanced astrology could provide the insights necessary to compute Vulcan's and Septimus' orbits, and there is no evidence that the ancients had any understanding of orbital mechanics necessary to describe this planet even if they had found it. Extra-terrestrials (the Hill aliens - discussed in a later section) have exhibited the propensity to count in binary (or logarithmically) and they also have displayed 3-D holographic maps whose perspective could account for Septimus' small size. But there is no reason to believe that the Akkadian seal came from them. Another Extra-terrestrial alien species, however, that count distances in powers of three, as the Hill aliens count in powers of two, offer a possible source for the Akkadian seal. Moreover, they also, could have holographic 3-D displays of our solar system.
Septimus' mass still remains an enigma. Its size could have been obscured by a holographic 3-D projection. If Matese's planet is Septimus A, it may have a core mass of about 40 earth Masses. Being far from the Sun, it could have acquired and held 50 times its core mass in hydrogen. The Sun would be too far away to heat the hydrogen and disburse it. It is postulated that Jupiter acquired its metallic hydrogen core before the Sun ignited. But this distant Septimus could have continued to acquire hydrogen after solar ignition. Thus, Septimus is anticipated to have a higher concentration of hydrogen than Jupiter (90%). It may be mostly lighter elements like the Sun (98%). Then Septimus' net mass would be around 2,000 earth masses or 6 Jovian masses, just as Matese anticipates. The evidence for the above is very thin, with the most substantial being the distance ratio scaled to Vulcan. Range data from the Akkadian seal is most tenuous and there is little, if anything reliable, to calibrate it with.
Nevertheless, the image of our Sun & Vulcan, the Jovian and terrestrial planets as well as a few planetesimals in the outer solar system is conveyed by the Akkadian seal. A distant planet, as Matese predicts, is likewise in the same image. Matese's distant planet may not influence the crop circle T367 image, as that image is to warn of the pending pass of a swarm of comets about the Sun. Its purpose, unlike that of the Akkadian seal, is not to describe our entire solar system.
1. VULCAN, COMETS AND THE IMPENDING CATASTROPHE
2. Bahcall and Sonelra; THE ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL; 15 May 1981; pg. 129.
3. Yari Danjo; ASTRO-METRICS OF UNDISCOVERED PLANETS AND INTELLIGENT LIFE FORMS; D & L Associates, P. O. Box 2581, Sunnyvale CA, 94087; 1994; Appendix F, and especially Figure F-1 pg. 245
4. Supplement to the National Geographic, August 1990, Page 34A, Vol. 178, No. 2- SOLAR SYSTEM.
5. Mark Littmann; WHERE IS PLANET X?, Sky and Telescope; December 1989; pg. 596 ff.
6. Cometary Evidence of a massive body in the outer Oort cloud - J. J. Matese, P. G. Whitman, and D. P. Whitman. Accepted for publication in Icarus as of 19 May 1999.


An international research team led by Academy Research Fellow Mikko Kaasalainen has found an asteroid whose rotation receives an extra kick from solar radiation.
The asteroid 1862 Apollo’s diameter is about 1.5 km, it has a small moonlet, and its orbit crosses that of the Earth.
The team reconstructed Apollo’s shape and determined its rotational state using brightness measurements from several years. They found that Apollo’s rotation speed steadily increases, and showed that this is due to the re-radiation of solar energy from its surface. The study was published in Nature online on 7 March.
Apollo’s rotation period is slightly over three hours, and it decreases only by four thousandths of a second per year, so the analysis required accurate mathematical methods. Because of the acceleration, Apollo is likely to break apart or radically change its figure in the future. It may already have done so earlier, and its present moonlet may be a remnant of such a breakup.
The study confirms that non-gravitational forces are important in the dynamical evolution of asteroids. Re-radiation of solar energy acts as a propulsion engine on the asteroid’s surface. There are two coupled manifestations of this phenomenon: the one changing the orbit (the Yarkovsky effect), and the one changing the spin state (the Yarkovsky-Radzievskii-O’Keefe-Paddack or YORP effect).
The study confirmed the latter, and the former was detected by radar in 2003. Non-gravitational orbital and spin changes can be significant or even critical over long time intervals. They affect the motion of asteroids that may collide with the Earth. The phenomenon can also be used to estimate the masses of asteroids. Apollo is now the first object larger than one kilometre across for which the propulsion effect has been detected.


Nikon Coolpix 950 dark frame (under construction)
Most CCD has bad pixels and all CCD has noisy pixels after a long exposure because of dark current. Dark current is the electrons of the CCD acting as though light has reached the CCD chip. This response is generated by the effects the temperature has on the silicon that makes up the CCD chip. In general, the CCD would be saturated with heat generated electrons within a few seconds, completely obliterating any image.
Hotter the camera is, more CCD noise you'll see. Since the camera's temperature not only depends on how much you was using it, but also depends on the surrounding temperature. For astrophotography, one should take a dark frame right before or after each picture one has taken with the exact timing setting so that later we can "cancel" out the CCD noise.
In a more serious astrophotography, one should also take a flat field. The flat field is an exposure taken with the CCD uniformly illuminated. The image identified the irregularities in the response of the CCD since each pixel is not necessarily as sensitive as its neighbor. Taking a flat field exposure gives you a map of the CCD's irregularities. During later image processing, you can divide the desired image by the flat field to correct the irregularities in the CCD chip.
|Here is the dark frame I took right after I
took the picture of the M5 globular cluster.
Not too bad. Can't really "see" much noise.
|Using the Photoshop to "Stretch" the meaningful
viewing brightness level.
There are the noisy pixel I was talking about.
|Here is the M5 globula cluster with the same "Stretching"
of the viewing brightness adjustment.
By comparing this picture with the dark frame, you know there are not that many stars. :)
|Subtract out the noise and do a little more "Stretching".|
|Here's the final image.|
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The non-state Russian House in Mali celebrated Cosmonautics Day, which is widely celebrated in Russia on April 12 every year. It is the day when the first space satellite in the world with a man on board was put into Earth orbit, in 1961, and this year, the head of the Russian House decided to organize an event to share this tradition with Malian students.
This day since 1961 has been celebrated in Russia as Cosmonautics Day and in the world as the International Day of manned space flight.
The spacecraft was piloted by the Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, who has since become a symbol of space exploration and one of the most famous characters of the twentieth century.
The event took place at ENSUP in Bamako (École Normale Supérieure), where more than 70 students were able to acquire a large number of new and fascinating information. The students’ interest in the history of Russian cosmonautics testifies to the strengthening of cooperation in the fields of culture and education between Mali and Russia.
The head of the Russian House in Mali, Mr. Aliou Tounkara, presented a lecture to students on the history and development of Soviet and Russian cosmonautics and introduced the audience to heroes of the Soviet Union such as Yuri Gagarin, Alexei Leonov and Valentina Tereshkova.
As a reminder, this is not the first event organized by the Non-state Russian House in Bamako. Just recently, in March, an event was organized to celebrate the International Women’s Rights Day, on March 8th. Members of the CNT attended the event and the public was able to appreciate the performances of four creative groups.
The Russian Non-state House is an organization created following the signing of an agreement between Mali and Russia on June 1, 2022, whose mission is to develop historical cooperation between the two countries in the field of science, education, health, sport and others. The President of the non-state Russian House is Aliou Tounkara.


- Where is the oldest rock in the United States?
- How old are the oldest known minerals?
- Who created earth?
- How long have humans existed?
- What is the oldest written history?
- When did life first appear on Earth?
- What was Earth like 4.5 billion years ago?
- What was the first human on earth?
- What is the oldest stone on earth?
- Who found the first crystal?
- What was on Earth a billion years ago?
Where is the oldest rock in the United States?
The really old rocks in America are found in Wyoming and the states around Minnesota.
They date from the Paleoarchean Era and are more than 3 billion years old..
How old are the oldest known minerals?
The oldest zircon dates are 4.36 billion years. Before this study, the oldest dated rocks were from a body of rock known as the Acasta Gneiss in the Northwest Territories, which are 4.03 billion years old.
Who created earth?
Earth formed around 4.54 billion years ago, approximately one-third the age of the universe, by accretion from the solar nebula. Volcanic outgassing probably created the primordial atmosphere and then the ocean, but the early atmosphere contained almost no oxygen.
How long have humans existed?
about 200,000 yearsWhile our ancestors have been around for about six million years, the modern form of humans only evolved about 200,000 years ago. Civilization as we know it is only about 6,000 years old, and industrialization started in the earnest only in the 1800s.
What is the oldest written history?
As with the wheel, cities and law codes, the earliest examples of written literature appear to have originated in ancient Mesopotamia. The Sumerian civilization first developed writing around 3400 B.C., when they began making markings on clay tablets in a script known as cuneiform.
When did life first appear on Earth?
4.5 billion years agoThe age of the Earth is about 4.54 billion years; the earliest undisputed evidence of life on Earth dates from at least 3.5 billion years ago. There is evidence that suggests life began as early as 4.5 billion years ago.
What was Earth like 4.5 billion years ago?
A little more than 4.5 billion years ago, roughly 70 million years after Earth formed, planetary bodies were being pummeled by asteroids and planetoids of all kinds. Earth was struck by a Mars-sized asteroid (Figure below). An artist’s depiction of the impact that produced the Moon.
What was the first human on earth?
Homo habilisThe First Humans One of the earliest known humans is Homo habilis, or “handy man,” who lived about 2.4 million to 1.4 million years ago in Eastern and Southern Africa.
What is the oldest stone on earth?
Jack Hills Zircon The Jack Hills Zircon is believed to be the oldest geological material ever found on Earth, dating back to about 4.375 billion years, give or take 6 million years – the zircons are not technically rocks, but we felt that they should be included on this list.
Who found the first crystal?
SumeriansEarly historical notes. Probably the first historical references to the use of crystals come from the Ancient Sumerians (4th millennium BC), who included crystals in magic formulas. Crystals were (and are) also used for healing in traditional Chinese Medicine, which dates back to at least 5000 years.
What was on Earth a billion years ago?
What did Earth look like 3.2 billion years ago? New evidence suggests the planet was covered by a vast ocean and had no continents at all. Continents appeared later, as plate tectonics thrust enormous, rocky land masses upward to breach the sea surfaces, scientists recently reported.


One mysterious phenomenon seen in the sky over New Zealand caught the attention of locals, who recorded images of a bluish spiral shape on site last Sunday night (19). Photos and videos of the phenomenon soon went viral on social media, leaving netizens intrigued about its true origins.
In an interview with the newspaper The Guardphysicist Richard Easther of the University of Auckland said that while this episode is “strange”, it is “easily explainable”.
The expert revealed that these “completely crazy looking clouds” form when a rocket carries a satellite into orbit. In this case, the phenomenon was caused by the SpaceX rocket launchElon Musk’s company, held in Florida a few hours before being seen in New Zealand.
“When the propellant is ejected from the back, you have what is essentially water and carbon dioxide; which briefly forms a cloud in space that is illuminated by the sun. (…) The geometry of the satellite’s orbit and also the way in which we’re sitting in relation to the sun: this combination of things was perfect to produce these completely crazy looking clouds that were visible from the South Island,” Easther said.
One fuel tank or an escape plume was the cause of the curious spiral, said the New Plymouth Astronomical Society.
“The spiral that was seen in the sky tonight [dia 19] around 7:30pm it was likely a fuel depot or an exhaust plume from a SpaceX rocket launch,” the Facebook post reads.