5 Years And Counting
Sunday, January 04, 2009
Back in 2004, the Spirit Mars Rover landed with Opportunity landing 21 days later. NASA gave the American public a 3 month windows on these machines but 5 years later they are still moving around, collecting data and sending it back to Earth. According to NASA the rovers have returned 250,000 images, driven more than 13 miles, climbed a mountain, descended into craters, struggled with sand traps and aging hardware, survived dust storms, and relayed more than 36 gigabytes of data via NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter.
Thank you NASA.......
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/mer/news/mer-20081229.html
Posted by mardenhill 1/04/2009 12:58:00 PM 1 comments
Labels: Science
When We Left Earth
Saturday, June 07, 2008
Starting tomorrow night at 9pm, Discovery Channel will be airing a 6 part series regarding NASA and the last 50 years of space exploration. Like Planet Earth, this is in High Def and has never before seen footage. I am looking forward to this series since I enjoy anything space related and when its in HD its even better. You can check out the promo at the site below.
http://dsc.discovery.com/tv/nasa/nasa.html
Posted by mardenhill 6/07/2008 12:01:00 PM 0 comments
Labels: Science, Technology
Lunar Eclipse
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Tonight was the lunar eclipse and if you are reading this right now, go outside to catch it in action. As of 10:05pm the moon was nearly covered and it was dark orange in color. In about 20 minutes you should see the white starting to appear from the left. Unfortunately its 19 degrees out so staying outside for more than 15 minutes at a time is pretty hard. I couldn't find the eye pieces to my telescope so I had to pull out some old binoculars to watch. They did the trick so I wasn't too upset. The last time I witnessed a lunar eclipse was back in '99 while living in Oregon.
Posted by mardenhill 2/20/2008 10:14:00 PM 0 comments
Labels: Science
1 In 75
Friday, December 21, 2007
Although its only a 1 in 75 chance of happening its worth hoping for. There is an asteroid hurling towards Mars and may hit the red planet on January 30th. If it does this will give scientists a great way to study impacts and their aftermath. The earth has had its fair share but the last big one was in 1908 in Siberia. We won't be able to view much of the impact if it does occur with the naked eye but there are enough satellites and telescopes that will be watching.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/science/article3082960.ece
Posted by mardenhill 12/21/2007 11:42:00 AM 0 comments
Labels: Science
Earth Watch
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Courtesy of Gizmodo.com
If you're one of the dozen people in the world who still wears a watch, you might have already been lusting after this Ulysse Nardin Tellurium J. Kepler masterpiece, one of just 99 to be made in the world. It's named after Johannes Kepler, the 14th/15th-century astronomer who was one of the first scientists to document the laws of planetary motion.
In its middle, the watch shows you the Earth as seen from the North Pole, or if you live in the southern hemisphere, you can order a model that shows a view of the South Pole. There's a flexible spring that rotates around as the day progresses, showing which half of the earth is in daylight hours. One part of the watch rotates once per year, and another shows you when there will be eclipses of the Sun and the Moon. Made of platinum, this is one spectacular-looking timepiece—too bad it costs $118,000.
http://www.ulysse-nardin.com/e/collection.e/watchdetail.e.jsp?ID_Group=10000T
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I love globes and maps and anything that have photos of the earth from space. I have the coolest wallpaper on my mac, its called earthdesk and it rotates clouds and night time across the screen. With that in mind when I saw this watch I was blown away. I will admit I don't wear watches but if I had one with the earth on it I might. Unfortunately this one comes in at $118,000 so I don't expect to be getting it anytime soon. Actually, I don't think I would even feel comfortable wearing something that expensive. I guess I should head to Canal St to look for a knockoff. I have a great Movado I got for $20, maybe I could get one of these.
http://www.xericdesign.com/earthdesk.php
Posted by mardenhill 8/16/2007 01:41:00 PM 0 comments
Labels: Science, Technology
Electromagnetic Globe
Friday, July 20, 2007
I love globes and while we are at it maps as well. Erika got me a very cool globe a few years ago that we keep in the living room and I have another one on my desk upstairs. The idea of a electromagnetic one is very cool but the one here is a bit too small. Its comes in at 4 inches, good for a desk but I would prefer a full size one. You can spin the globe just like you would with one on a handle or pedestal.
http://blog.scifi.com/tech/archives/2007/07/19/electromagnetic.html
Posted by mardenhill 7/20/2007 09:55:00 AM 0 comments
Labels: Science, Technology
New Planet
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
The Planet's local orbit.
Size of the new planet in relation to the Earth.
Artist rendition of what the planet could look like.This is very good news and I was excited to hear about it on NPR this morning as well. Most planets discovered in distant galaxies tend to be gaseous in nature, i.e. Jupiter, Saturn and very few are rock based. This one orbits a star that is much dimmer than our own which allows the close proximity and is believed to have a temperature range between 32 and 102 degrees. If true this is perfect for the formation of water and life. Now we are looking at a planet 20 light years away, a bit of a distance but something achievable in the future. This planet was discovered using the huge telescope down in Chile. You can read more about the discovery at the link below.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/technology/technology.html?in_article_id=450467&in_page_id=1965
Posted by mardenhill 4/25/2007 11:21:00 AM 0 comments
Labels: Science
Update: Lunar Eclipse
Saturday, March 03, 2007
It doesn't look like we will be seeing anything here in MI. We are covered in clouds and its snowing out and I don't see it clearing in 45 minutes. Bummer....
Posted by mardenhill 3/03/2007 05:17:00 PM 0 comments
Labels: Science
Lunar Eclipse
LONDON (AP) - The moon will turn shades of amber and crimson Saturday night as it passes behind the Earth's shadow in the first total lunar eclipse in three years.
The eclipse will be at least partly visible from Asia to the Americas, although those in Europe, Africa and the Middle East will have the best view. Lunar eclipses occur when Earth passes between the sun and the moon, blocking the sun's light. The event is rare because the moon spends most of its time either above or below the plane of Earth's orbit.
Although it will pass completely under Earth's shadow, light from the sun will still reach the moon after being refracted through Earth's atmosphere, giving the moon an eerie dark reddish tinge.
Earth's shadow will begin moving across the moon at 3:18 p.m. EST Saturday, with the total eclipse occurring at 5:44 p.m. EST and lasting more than an hour.
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Not sure how much of this we will be able to see but its something to keep your eye out for tonight. I have seen them in the past and they are really cool, lets hope we don't get some crazy cloud cover that blocks what chance we have to see anything. If we get a good sighting I will try to take some real pics or possibly some video footage....
Posted by mardenhill 3/03/2007 09:28:00 AM 0 comments
Labels: Science
New Symbol
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Welcome to the new radiation symbol being proposed by the IAEA. After 5 years of interviewing 1600 people in 11 countries they felt the need to add the running man, skull and crossbones and emitting radiation waves. In all serious its probably a good idea but come on, 5 years to draw that? Does that mean I will have to get my radiation tattoo updated?
Posted by mardenhill 2/15/2007 09:04:00 AM 1 comments
Labels: Science
Latest Weather Forcast
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
The snow is a coming.....
We are expecting 5-8 inches in Metro Detroit area by tomorrow. We are not at the 12 ft that Upstate NY had but its still snow that I will be shoveling for the next 2 days...
Posted by mardenhill 2/13/2007 03:52:00 PM 0 comments
Labels: Science
Endangered Species List
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
Polar bears to be listed on Endangered Species list
by Chris in Paris - 12/27/2006 12:27:00 PM
Thanks to legal action by a few environmental groups, the Bush administration is being pushed to accept facts, something which is often a challenge for them.
Northern latitudes are warming twice as rapidly as the rest of the globe, according to a 2004 scientific assessment, and by the end of the century annual ocean temperatures in the Arctic may rise an additional 13 degrees Fahrenheit. As a result, researchers predict that summer sea ice, which polar bears use as a platform to hunt for ringed seals, will decline 50 to 100 percent. Just this month, researchers at the National Center for Atmospheric Research outlined a worst-case scenario in which summer sea ice could disappear by 2040.
By submitting the proposal today, the Interior Department is meeting a deadline under a legal settlement with three environmental advocacy groups -- the Center for Biological Diversity, the Natural Resources Defense Council and Greenpeace -- that argue the government has not responded quickly enough to the polar bear's plight. The department has been examining the status of polar bears for more than two years.
NRDC senior attorney Andrew Wetzler, one of the lawyers who filed suit against the administration, welcomed the proposal for listing.
"It's such a loud recognition that global warming is real," Wetzler said. "It is rapidly threatening the polar bear and, in fact, an entire ecosystem with utter destruction."
http://www.americablog.blogspot.com/
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If it takes forcing Bush's hand with animals on the endangered species list to recognize global warming, then its a start and we are making progress. I am a member of the NRDC, its a great environmental group and I have supported them since the mid 90s. The NRDC doesn't stage protests, they take people to court and win. Its the only way you can get things accomplished these days.
Posted by mardenhill 12/27/2006 12:35:00 PM 0 comments
Labels: Science
Weather & Wine
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
Here are a few more of my xmas presents. I got a very cool Weather Pro Center kit with a rain & wind gauge, display and optional computer connectivity. I setup the wind vane and rain collector outside in the backyard. I am still on the fence with the location of the units since the wind direction may be blocked a bit by my neighbor's shed. The display will give me inside/outside temps, humidity levels, wind direction/speed, wind chill, rain level, absolute barometric pressure and atomic time/date.
My other favorite present was a Riedel decanter and CO2 wine opener. The opener rocks, you stick it down into the cork and hit the C02 cartridge. I first saw these back in Napa and wanted one ever since. Its quick and easy and no broken corks. The Riedel decanter is currently holding a full 750ml bottle and has a glass stopper to keep air out.
Posted by mardenhill 12/26/2006 08:15:00 PM 0 comments
Portrait Of Excess and Greed
Friday, December 22, 2006
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- A federal appeals court on Friday cut in half a $5 billion jury award for punitive damages against Exxon Mobil Corp. in the 1989 Valdez oil spill that smeared black goo across roughly 1,500 miles of Alaskan coastline.
The case, one of the nation's longest-running, non-criminal legal disputes, stems from a 1994 decision by an Anchorage jury to award the punitive damages to 34,000 fishermen and other Alaskans. Their property and livelihoods were harmed when the Valdez oil tanker struck a charted reef, spilled 11 million gallons of crude oil.
In the third quarter of 2006, ExxonMobil reported earning about $10.5 billion in net income, and in the first nine months of 2006, it earned just under $30 billion.
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Remember the Exxon Valdez spill in '89 the one with the drunken captain that decimated the Alaskan coastline and destroyed the livelihoods of many people? Yep that one and since '89 Exxon has held up paying with litigation. From what I have read before, Exxon had put money aside for the settlement and since then has been collecting interest on it. Talk about screwing the American public and making money on a tragedy. Another reason why you should avoid any Exxon Mobil station when filling up your gas tank.
Posted by mardenhill 12/22/2006 01:24:00 PM 0 comments
Labels: Science
Its Easy Being Green
I have no magazine subscriptions, I get whatever I need from work. I found this one the other day and was impressed. The magazine is called Plenty and is an enviro-rag about issues and eco-living. Its a bimonthly release and on their 13th publication.
Generation X'ers have taken the environmental movement and turned it mainstream. With our disposable income and values, environmental products have moved from hippy hemp pants to affordable and good looking products. You will find articles/reviews on home furnishings, clothing, autos, travel, food etc. I am not a die hard enviro-consumer, some of the products are not what I am looking for or in my price range but I do my best to live lightly. If you are at the bookstore, look for this mag and check it out, I think you will find it very interesting.
Another good resource for eco-living is www.treehugger.com a blog and website devoted to the movement.
http://www.plentymag.com/
Posted by mardenhill 12/22/2006 10:58:00 AM 0 comments
Labels: Science
Mount St. Helens
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Looks like Mount St. Helens has started smoking again. Just a few years ago it started back up but went back to sleep. Lets hope this happens again, we don't need another natural disaster within the US. We are still recovering from Katrina and the current leadership in office would no doubt screw this one up also.
On the scientific side, this is fascinating since we are dealing with the "Ring Of Fire" and the possibilities for geological change are great. I just watched a special the other nite on volcanos, the earth's core, plate techtonics, the ocean currents, the merging and breaking up of the continents etc. Erika was bored out of her mind but I loved it.
SCIENCE ROCKS!!!!!!
Posted by mardenhill 12/19/2006 05:34:00 PM 0 comments
Labels: Science
Water On Mars?
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
Its been a great week for space aficionados like me, first it was the announcement of a moon base now we have water on Mars. If this is indeed true, the idea of manned space trips to Mars is one step closer to reality. Yeah there are some logistics that need to be figured out but if we can get people to Mars in my lifetime then warp speed is just around the corner.
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http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/mars/news/mgs-20061206.html
"These fresh deposits suggest that at some places and times on present-day Mars, liquid water is emerging from beneath the ground and briefly flowing down the slopes. This possibility raises questions about how the water would stay melted below ground, how widespread it might be, and whether there's a below-ground wet habitat conducive to life. Future missions may provide the answers," said Malin.
Posted by mardenhill 12/06/2006 02:28:00 PM 0 comments
Labels: Science
Moon Base 2020
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
Nasa announced plans today regarding our return to the moon. By 2020, Nasa would like a permanent base where future missions can be launched avoiding Earth's gravity. Besides all the cool space exploration that could go on from here, think about the tourism aspect. People would pay lots of money to stay on the moon and Nasa could use that money to fund other projects. My goal in life is to make it to space before I die and since Mars is not feasible, the moon will do. I will be in my late 40s/early 50s by the time we have a base but that won't be a problem, I will make sure I am in excellent shape.Posted by mardenhill 12/05/2006 09:04:00 PM 0 comments
Labels: Science
Hubble Day
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Today is the day when we will find out if Hubble will undergo one last maintenance before being decommissioned. The telescope needs some new batteries and gyroscopes but a shuttle mission would have to be launched. After the 2003 shuttle disaster, NASA ruled against the repairs but now with new leadership, it looks to be on. Later this morning they will announce if the mission will happen. I really hope they send up astronauts to repair the telescope since it will give us another 7 years of images. At that point we will have a replacement in place.
http://hubblesite.org/
Posted by mardenhill 10/31/2006 08:51:00 AM 0 comments
Labels: Science
Doomsday Clock
Monday, October 16, 2006
Since 1947 there has been a Doomsday clock counting down the minutes until nuclear obliteration. Below is a writeup from Wikipedia regarding its history. It hasn't been adjusted since 2002 but people are wondering if the North Korea nuclear test will move it. Currently we are 7 minutes til midnight. We have been as close as 2 minutes and as far back as 17.
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The clock was started at seven minutes to midnight during the Cold War in 1947, and has subsequently been moved forwards or backwards at intervals, depending on the state of the world and the prospects for nuclear war. Its setting is relatively arbitrary, set by the Board of Directors at the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists in response to global affairs. The setting of the clock has not always been fast enough to cope with the speed of global events, either; one of the closest periods to nuclear war, the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, reached its head and resolution in a number of weeks, and the clock either could not be changed or was not changed to reflect any of this at the time. Nevertheless, the changing of the clock usually does provoke attention, which is presumably the goal of the Bulletin Directors.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doomsday_clock
Posted by mardenhill 10/16/2006 05:07:00 PM 0 comments
Labels: Science
