Discoveries and Perceptions

Valentine’s Day special for plus size costumes, our top picks

2012-01-30T03:26:00.000-08:00

Valentines Day is fast approaching, and whether you’re loved up or planning some fun with your friends, a collection of plus size costumes will always bring the surprise and giggles.

Halloweenfantasy have a amazing selection of plus size costumes whether you’re looking for something sexy or silly and we’ve picked out a few of our favorites to give you some inspiration.

We have every comic book lover’s fantasy, this super fun costume comes complete with leotard, cape, wrist guards and boot tops, belt, headband, this outfit will transform you into seductive super-heroine extraordinaire.

For those of you who are looking more for cute accessories rather than complete costumes, Halloweenfantasy also have a series of Valentines related items.

Dog groomers experience busiest week of the year leads up to Christmas

2011-12-28T23:44:00.001-08:00

Dog groomers across Sydney have experienced their busiest week of the year leads up to Christmas.

While most dog owners are chooses for basic treatments, others have gone for holiday-specific treatments such as Christmas costumes, collars and even festive nail polish or "paw-di-cures".

Many customers upgrade their treatments during the holiday period, opting for something "fancier" to impress friends and family.

While Christmas-themed treats such as turkey and cranberry dog biscuits have been fashionable, Christmas outfits have proved the most admired.

Watchout the Halloween Contestants

2011-10-24T22:13:00.000-07:00

World’s Top Smallest People

2011-10-11T06:35:00.000-07:00

Ajay kumar (world smallest actor)
32-year-old Indian comedy star Ajay Kumar, who is just 2 feet 6 inches tall has been officially recognized as the world's smallest actor.

Chen Guilan & Li Tangyong (World's Shortest Couple)
The Chinese pair Chen Guilan, 2ft 4ins and Li Tangyong 3ft 7ins hope to get into the record books as the world's shortest couple since their marriage in October 2007.

Edward Nino Hernandez (Previous World's Smallest Man)
On September 4, 2010, Edward Niño Hernández, 2ft 3 1⁄2 in and 10 kg, was officially named as the world's shortest living man.

Jyoti Amge (World's Smallest Girl)
At a weight of 11lbs (around 5kg) and height of 1ft 11inch (around 58 cm), Jyoti Amge 15-year-old Indian teenager is the smallest girl in the world.

Junrey Balawing (Current World's Smallest Man)
In June 2011, right on his 18th birthday anniversary, Junrey Balawing was officially recognized as the world’s smallest man by Guinness World Records at a height of 23.6 inches (59.93cm) and a weight of 5kg.

Boo the Pomeranian: World’s Cutest Dog has Two Millions Fans on Facebook

2011-10-03T22:25:00.000-07:00

Boo the Pomeranian, 5, has nearly two million fans on social networking site facebook and a book deal. His owner uses the pseudonym J.H Lee, but conceals her identity and location in the US. Boo is now busy promoting his new £8.99 book that includes exclusive photos of him “doing all his favorite things, lounging around, playing with friends, exploring the whole wide world, and making those famous puppy-dog eyes” entitled “Boo, the life of the world's cutest dog”.

Seven Genetic Differences among all Dog Breeds

2011-09-27T01:12:00.000-07:00

While the physical difference between a great dane and a chihuahua is apparent, the genetic makeup of all dog breeds is pretty much the same. In fact, there are only seven genetic variations that differentiate the thousands of dog breeds living today.

Spaniels have notably floppy ears, basset hounds have extremely short legs, and St. Bernards are large and big boned. Not to mention Chihuahuas.

But a new study reports that the physical variance among dog breeds is determined by differences in only about seven genetic regions. These seven locations in the dog genome explain about 80 percent of the differences in height and weight among breeds, said Carlos Bustamante, a geneticist at Stanford University and one of the study’s authors.

“We are trying to identify genes that might be important in governing the differences between different dogs,” Dr. Bustamante said. The project was conducted jointly by researchers at Stanford, Cornell University and the National Human Genome Research Institute.

A stronger understanding of dog genomes may shed more light on how genes are involved in disease processes, said Elaine Ostrander, a geneticist at the National Human Genome Research Institute and another author of the study. For instance, it has been hypothesized that osteosarcoma, a type of bone cancer, is a common disease in long-legged breeds, she said.

Discoveries about dog genomes may in turn help researchers understand the role of genetics in human disease.

World’s Most Shocking X-rays

2011-09-22T23:10:00.001-07:00

Six nails embedded in the skull of construction worker Isidro Mejia, 39, after an industrial incident caused a nail gun to shoot nails into his head and brain on April 19, 2004, is seen in this X-ray image from Providence Holy Cross Hospital in Los Angeles.

This photo taken aug. 6, 2011 and released Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2011 by the Cicero Police Department shows an x-ray revealing a diamond ring inside Wilfredo Gonzalez-Cruz, 30, of Chicago, that he allegedly stole from the home of a women in Cicero, Ill., and then and swallowed.

An X-ray of an four foot long pine snake who swallowed a couple of light bulbs is on display during the grand opening of Ripley's Believe It Or Not Odditorium Thursday, June 21, 2007 in New York's Times Square.

An x-ray made on February 13, 2011 in Lyon, shows a pair of surgical pliers in the abdomen of Anne, a women who complained of abdominal pain after a surgery.

In this undated photo, an X-ray image of Chinese woman, Luo Cuifen, 29, released by Richland International Hospital, needles are seen in her body.

An undated X-ray shows steel balls and magnets inside of 8-year-old Haley Lents, after the Huntingburg, Ind. child swallowed the pieces from a magnetic toy set on May 8, 2008. The child required emergency surgurky and was hospitalized for two weeks.

An X-ray showing a 17centimeter (6.7 inches) pair of surgical scissors in the abdomen of 69-year-old Pat Skinner in Sydney, Australia, Tuesday, April 20, 2004.

The X-ray picture shows a 5-centimeter nail stuck in an unidentified South Korean patient's skull Thursday, Dec. 2, 2004. According to a Seoul hospital, doctors found the nail after the man came to the hospital, They speculate that the nail stuck in the man's head four years ago in an accident but the man didn't know about it. The nail was removed in a surgery last Saturday.

Most peculiar Hotel Designs on Earth

2011-09-19T01:49:00.000-07:00

Magic Mountain Hotel

The Magic Mountain Hotel is the most popular four-star hotel in Southern Chile situated in the heart of the Huilo Huilo Reserve. The luxurious hotel is located in a magical mountain behind a waterfall that offers you great views of the rainforest, high chances of kayaking and hiking and great sound of waterfall cascading from the pinnacle of the roof.

Costa Rican Hotel

The unbelievable Costa Rican hotel has two air-conditioned bedrooms with one queen-sized bed, hand-carved furniture and its own private bath.

Everland Hotel

Hotel Everland is the one room movable inn that is placed on the roof of the Palais de Tokyo museum through 2008.

De Vrouwe van Stavoren Hotel

The hotel is located in the ancient port of Stavoren; thus, it provides views over picturesque harbor and green terraced fields

Propeller Island City Lodge Hotel

Propeller Island City Lodge is the most innovative and creative hotel in the world

Boot B&B Hotel

Boot Bed N' Breakfast in New Zealand is the creation of Steve Richards. The hotel is actually a two-story cottage in the shape of a giant boot

The Hobbit Motel, Woodlyn Park, New Zealand

The pint-sized, barrel-shaped motel in Waiton, New Zealand takes its inspiration from the famous movie “Lord of the Rings”

Crowning Moment of Miss Universe 2011, Leila Lopes

2011-09-15T05:58:00.001-07:00

The Angolan beauty pageant has won the Miss Angola 2011. 25-year-old Leila Lopes, whose real name is Leila Luliana da Costa Vieira Lopes, is Miss Universe 2011 representative from Angola. Leila Lopes, Miss Universe 2011 winner, was born on February 26, 1986 in Benguela, Angola as a daughter to parents of Cape Verdean background. She is a business management student in Great Britain.

Beautiful Stadiums on Earth

2011-09-12T23:07:00.000-07:00

Allianz Arena Stadium

Beijing National Aquatics Center

Yoyogi National Gymnasium

Beijing National Stadium

Qi Zhong stadium

Olympic Stadium

Anti-gravity Yoga Exercise

2011-08-22T22:57:00.000-07:00

Antigravity Yoga class is a combination of aerial arts and yoga by using hammocks to help practitioners gain greater flexibility. Moreover, people of any size, shape, or age can learn Anti-gravity Yoga.

According to Christopher Harrison, Antigravity Yoga Creator, the classes were open three years ago in New York City, by making use of silk hammocks, "Anti-gravity" yoga helps practitioners gain greater flexibility, allowing for a wider range of yoga postures.

Interestingly, Antigravity Yoga is a new form of exercise promising numerous benefits ranging from increased joint mobility to improved muscle and mental strength.

Stunning Space Pictures by Astronomers

2011-08-16T02:04:00.001-07:00

"Yosemite Falls Moonbow Star Trails" by Jeffrey Sullivan

"Equinox" by Juan Carlos Casado

"Orion Nebula Area" by Fabian Neyer

"MangaiaOePan" by Tung Tezel

"Hayabusa over the Sky II" by Kouji Ohnishi

"Annapurna Sanctuary" by Anton Jankovoy

"Aurora Star Trails" by Stewart Watt

Most Powerful Womens In Technology

2011-08-03T00:25:00.000-07:00

marissa-mayer

Head of Key Area of Serving Ads and Information at Google

Sheryl Sandberg

Chief Operating Officer of Facebook

Deborah Conrad

In-charge of brand management, market research and product launch management, is the vice president of sales and marketing at Intel Corporation

Chloe Sladden

The Vice President of Twitter, Special Programming Projects at Current TV

Karen Quintos

Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for Dell, also works as the executive sponsor of the largest networking group at Dell

Cher Wang

Founder of HTC, is one of the most innovative leaders in the technology world. She is in charge of launching new smartphone technologies to the marketplace

Astonishing Sand Statues Around the World

2011-07-22T23:04:00.000-07:00

A sand sculpture entitled "Flea Circus" carved by Susanne Ruseler from the Netherlands is seen at the Creepy Crawlies Sandsculpting Exhibition on the Frankston waterfront on December 26, 2010 in Melbourne, Australia.

A sand sculpture entitled "Alice and the Caterpillar" carved by Christina Mija from Australia is seen at the Creepy Crawlies Sandsculpting Exhibition on the Frankston waterfront on December 26, 2010 in Melbourne, Australia.

A sand sculpture entitled "Giant Scorpion" carved by Fergus Mulvany from Ireland is seen at the Creepy Crawlies Sandsculpting Exhibition on the Frankston waterfront on December 26, 2010 in Melbourne, Australia.

A detail of a sand sculpture at the Australian Sand Sculpting Championships, February 16, 2003 in Rye, Victoria, Australia.

A Russian boy stands near a sand sculpture of (L to R) former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, US President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Soviet dictator Josef Stalin sitting together during the Yalta Conference of February 1945, in Moscow on April 30, 2010.

A sand sculpture is pictured on the site of the Sand Sculptures Festival on July 15, 2004 in Zeebrugge, Belgium. The Sand Sculptures Festival in Zeebrugge is one of the largest sand sculptures festivals in the world, this year's theme is Hollywood.

A sand sculpture entitled "Enchanted Garden" carved by Meg Murray from Australia is seen at the Creepy Crawlies Sandsculpting Exhibition on the Frankston waterfront on December 26, 2010 in Melbourne, Australia.

Check Out the Big Talent in Pool

2011-07-18T21:58:00.000-07:00

Artists perform during the opening ceremony at the FINA Swimming World Championships in Shanghai, China.

Beauty Of The Natural World

2011-07-15T02:02:00.000-07:00

Acadia national park

Mangrove (Florida)

Mammoth Cave

yellowstone National Park

Arches National Park

Mount Rainier National Park

Independence Day with Birthday Party

2011-07-05T22:46:00.000-07:00

It’s the 4th of July holiday weekend, checkout the celebrations of Independence Day with a birthday party.

Scientists Sequence Endangered Tasmanian devil’s

2011-06-28T02:40:00.000-07:00

A revolutionary species-preservation approach based on whole-genome analysis of two Tasmanian devils -- one that had died of a contagious cancer known as Devil Facial Tumor Disease (DFTD) and one healthy animal -- has been used to develop a theoretical model to predict which individuals would need to be kept in captivity to maximize chances of preserving enough genetic diversity for the species to survive. The research helps to formulate one possible plan of action to prevent the extinction of the Tasmanian devil -- a marsupial found in the wild exclusively in the Australian island-state of Tasmania. The research model also may be extended to other endangered species.

DFTD, which disfigures the victim and causes death from starvation or suffocation within months, is an unusual sort of cancer. It would eradicate our species very quickly. The scientists explained that if a number of healthy Tasmanian devils were kept in zoos and other facilities in "protective custody" until the tumor ran its course and disappeared in the wild, then the captive animals could be released back into their former habitat and the population could begin to grow anew.

World’s Shortest Man

2011-06-14T02:55:00.000-07:00

A poor Filipino blacksmith's son who stands less than 2 feet (60 centimeters) tall was declared the world's shortest man by Guinness World Records on his 18th birthday Sunday, sparking a celebration in his hometown.

Junrey Balawing was certified by the Guinness World Records as the shortest man in the world with a standing and lying down average measurement of 23.5 inches (59.93 cm), on his 18th birthday on Sunday.

Unbelievable Architectures in Dubai

2011-06-08T23:15:00.000-07:00

7-star-hotels

Rotating-wind-power-tower

Burj Dubai

Dubai Creek Golf and Yacht Club

The Louvre Abu Dhabi

Burj Al Arab Hotel

Nearly 10 million people fight drought in China

2011-06-07T05:58:00.000-07:00

Students have water provided by the local government at a Primary School

A villager stands at the a partially dried-up well

A farmer works on a dried-up pond

A local resident fills a container with water taken from a partially dried-up reservoir

People wait to get drinking water distributed by the local government at a drought-hit village.

A child drinks water from a pot cover near a partially dried-up pond

Why Human Getting Taller, Way Taller

2011-06-03T04:05:00.000-07:00

It’s been called the “most significant development in human history” and researchers have been looking into the evolution of human height and overall growth for decades now. The findings are outlined,

The change in human physiology is a result of a number of factors, according to the authors of the study, including food technology, public health, medicine, and sanitation and is resulting in much more dramatic changes than that which could have been predicted by Darwinian methods.

“The rate of technological and human physiological change in the 20th century has been remarkable, This “technophysio evolution,” powered by advances in food production and public health, has so outpaced traditional evolution, the authors argue, that people today stand apart not just from every other species, but from all previous generations of Homo sapiens as well.

According to Mr. Fogel, "If babies are deprived of sufficient nutrition in the womb and early in life, they will be more fragile and more vulnerable to diseases later on. These weakened adults will, in turn, produce weaker offspring in a self-reinforcing spiral."

Enjoying the Blooms

2011-05-30T05:23:00.000-07:00

There is something about flowers that attracts us. Don’t forget to spend time to smell the flowers, as these sweet animals and birds certainly did.

Earth Core is Melting and Freezing As Well

2011-05-25T01:54:00.001-07:00

The inner core of Earth is simultaneously melting and freezing due to circulation of heat in the overlying rocky mantle, according to new research from the University of Leeds, UC San Diego and the Indian Institute of Technology.

"Our new model provides a fairly simple explanation to some of the measurements that have puzzled scientists for years. It suggests that the whole dynamics of Earth's core are in some way linked to plate tectonics, which isn't at all obvious from surface observations.

Earth's inner core is a ball of solid iron about the size of our moon. This ball is surrounded by a highly dynamic outer core of a liquid iron-nickel alloy (and some other, lighter elements), a highly viscous mantle and a solid crust that forms the surface where we live.

Over billions of years, Earth has cooled from the inside out causing the molten iron core to partly freeze and solidify. The heat given off as the core cools flows from the core to the mantle to Earth's crust through a process known as convection. This escaping heat powers the geo dynamo and coupled with the spinning of Earth generates the magnetic field.

Scientists have recently begun to realize that the inner core may be melting as well as freezing. They show that heat flow at the core-mantle boundary varies depending on the structure of the overlying mantle. On the other hand, melting would produce a layer of dense liquid above the boundary. Therefore, the blobs of light elements will rise through this layer before they stir the overlying outer core.

Mom with Twins Have Longer, Healthier Lives

2011-05-17T23:51:00.000-07:00

Women who give birth to natural twins are probably more reproductively fit to do so, according Compared with other mothers, women who deliver twins live longer, have more children than expected, bear babies at shorter intervals over a longer time, and are older at their last birth, according to a University of Utah study.

"Having twins will not make you stronger or healthier, but stronger, healthier women are more likely to have twins naturally," says Shannen Robson, the study's first author and a recent Ph.D. graduate in anthropology at the University of Utah.

"Women having children are fundamentally young and healthy," he adds. "So the risk of dying in childbirth is quite low. The women who have twins have a somewhat elevated risk of mortality over those [child-bearing] years, but the vast majority of those women reach age 50, and we're able to observe that they have healthier lives."

Real Heroes in Action

2011-05-10T06:21:00.000-07:00

SEAL training is very rigorous, one of the toughest training programs for special operations in the world. The dropout rate for SEAL classes is regularly 80 per cent. The average Navy SEAL spends over a year in a series of formal training environments. Making them unique among the world's special-ops teams, Navy SEALs can perform combat operations completely submerged in saltwater or freshwater.

Royal Wedding - William and Catherine

2011-05-03T00:11:00.000-07:00

Man with Love and Care

2011-04-29T23:21:00.000-07:00

Big Personality Bird

2011-04-18T23:38:00.001-07:00

Great Tits

The research, led by scientists at Oxford University, has also found that smaller immigrant birds – those flying into, and staying, in a better habitat – are likely to have faster personalities than those born in the better habitat.

"Great tits can probably see the woods from several kilometers away and we think the immigrants were born in towns or hedgerows where the habitat quality is not so good,’ Dr. Quinn says. His study showed that immigrant birds flying into Wytham were likely to have fast personality types.

Great tits are generally calm, and readily adapt to captivity, but there were clear differences between fast and slow personalities. "The slow types just sat on the trees and did very little while the hyperactive types moved around constantly.

Dont Miss to Check Out

2011-04-09T03:13:00.000-07:00

India Deserve It

2011-04-04T05:13:00.000-07:00

Indian cricket team won the World Cup 2011 .The Dhoni Blue team won the ICC World Cup 2011 after 28 years.The Indian team created History in Mumbai.

Polar Bear Knut Dies Suddenly

2011-04-01T01:39:00.000-07:00

Knut, the still-young and much beloved polar bear, died suddenly at the Berlin Zoo. The world famous bear’s death took his zookeepers by surprise and threw a world of fans into mourning. Rest in peace young knut – your antics will be missed.

Knut, an international star who as a cuddly, fluffy cub graced magazine covers, movies and merchandise, died Saturday. The celebrity bear died suddenly in his compound at the Berlin Zoo on Saturday afternoon, bear keeper Heiner Kloes told The Associated Press. He waded into the water in his enclosure before having a short spasm and then dying in front of hundreds of zoo visitors.

Japan a week after Tsunami and Earth quake

2011-03-21T21:56:00.000-07:00

Massive Earthquake and Tsunami in Japan

2011-03-14T05:56:00.000-07:00

Japan was hit by a massive earthquake the measured 8.9 on the Richter scale, on March 11. This was followed by a 10 meters high Tsunami wave that washed away Northern Japan. The nearest city to the epicenter is the coastal city of Honshu, 130 km (80 miles) from the quake center. Japan's capital city Tokyo is situated 373 km (231 miles) away.

Panda Population Booms This Year

2011-03-07T05:14:00.000-08:00

China’s panda population is booming this year to a record number of births in captivity – a rare accomplishment for the endangered species known for being poor breeders. The most recent addition – the birth of female twins – brought the total number of births this year to 19, surpassing the record of 18 births in 2006.

Through artificial insemination, researchers have been able increase the number of pandas in captivity to more than 300 – a number that experts say should remain steady.

Illegal Rise of Grey Parrot Trade

2011-02-28T23:22:00.000-08:00

Grey parrots are found only in the rain forests of West and Central Africa, but they’re prized as pets in countries around the world. People are captivated by their beautiful colors, gentle nature and ability to mimic humans. But demand for the birds could be threatening their very existence.

The Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) estimates that 450,000 of the birds were captured and exported from Africa between 1994 and 2003. The number would be even higher if it included illegal exports.

Seeing the danger of extinction, many countries in Europe, North America and Africa have banned trade in grey parrots. Cameroon issued a ban three years ago. But conservationists say the measures have failed to reduce the trade. Illegal operations have continued and have even increased.

Lemon Festival in France

2011-02-24T02:37:00.000-08:00

The 78th Lemon Festival, taking place in Menton, southern France is themed “The Great Civilizations”. About 145 metric tons of bright citrus fruits were used to create some large-sized sculptures

Cool Your Summer

2011-02-16T05:23:00.000-08:00

The Library Hotel, Koh Samui

Marina Bay Sands Hotel, Singapore

Shoreditch House, London

The Fasano Hotel, Rio de Janeiro

The Lalu, Taiwan

Discover New Home for your Girl

2011-02-08T22:44:00.000-08:00

Best Mom and Baby

2011-02-03T02:37:00.000-08:00

Check out the best mom and baby photos below:

Biologists call for regulation of rare plant sales

2011-02-01T02:30:00.000-08:00

People are increasingly obtaining endangered or threatened plants, often illegally, and moving them outside their native range.

According to their research last year, nearly 10 percent of the 753 plants listed as threatened and endangered are being sold — or, at least, advertised — online. Many buyers are horticulturalists who want flowers for their gardens. But increasingly, anecdotal evidence suggests that online shoppers include individuals and citizen groups involved in ‘assisted colonization’ projects. Here, species or genetic subtypes at risk of extinction are moved to non-native environments in which they might thrive — in the face of climate change, for instance.

Brain 'GPS' Illuminated in Migratory Monarch Butterflies

2011-01-27T21:48:00.000-08:00

A new study takes a close look at the brain of the migratory monarch butterfly to better understand how these remarkable insects use an internal compass and skylight cues to navigate.

Dr. Steven Reppert from the University of Massachusetts Medical School explains that information from both eyes is integrated and time compensated for the sun's movement by a circadian clock so that flight direction is constantly adjusted to maintain a southerly bearing over the day."

Dr. Heinze says, our results reveal the general layout of the neuronal machinery for sun compass navigation in the monarch brain and provide insights into a possible mechanism of integrating polarized skylight information and solar azimuth," concludes. "More generally, our results address a fundamental problem of sensory processing by showing how seemingly contradictory skylight signals are integrated into a consistent, neural representation of the environment.

Quantum robins go ahead the way

2011-01-24T02:41:00.000-08:00

Researchers have been investigating the mechanism which enables birds to detect the Earth's magnetic field to help them navigate over vast distances. This ability, known as magneto reception, has been linked to chemical reactions inside birds' eyes.

The experiment showed that the magnetic compass used by robins could be disrupted by extremely small levels of magnetic 'noise'. When this noise, a tiny oscillating magnetic field, was introduced it completely disabled the Robins' compass sense which then returned to normal once the noise was removed - good news for robins which have to navigate on the long migration route to Scandinavia and Africa and back every year.

In their analysis the Oxford/Singapore team shows that only a system with components operating at a quantum level would be this sensitive to such a small amount of noise.

Mother Tiger Adopts Baby Pigs

2011-01-20T01:33:00.000-08:00

In a Californian zoo a tiger gave birth to three tiger cubs. Due to complication in pregnancy the cubs died. The mother tiger was depressed with her triplet tiger cubs’ death and her health was wretched so the veterinarians came up with a decision. They took orphan piglets and wrapped them in tiger skin and placed the babies around the tiger.

The 'Ark' Eco Building in Future

2011-01-18T03:55:00.001-08:00

The housing of the future as envisioned by Russian architect Alexander Remizov could be constructed quickly, withstand environmental disasters, and house 10,000 people at a time. The eco-friendly dome, 'The Ark,' is designed to withstand biblical flood levels and can be built on land or sea.

Newborn lions in Argentina

2011-01-10T01:48:00.000-08:00

Three white lion cubs showed their presence for the first time in Argentina. According to a survey these are the first white lions to be born in South America.

Mites are not insects

2011-01-07T05:04:00.001-08:00

Common dust mites in the home are not actually insects at all. Instead, they belong to the class Arachnids -- which includes spiders and the subclass acarina that includes ticks. Long believed to be solitary animals in general, several species of spiders and one species of mites, spider mites, have been shown to cooperate within species groups in building nests and raising young. This is the first evidence that house dust mites share some rudiments of sociality.

House dust mites, nearly microscopic creatures that inhabit every crevice of our lives and make us sneeze has long been assumed to be solitary in behavior. Now new research has shown that they are actually quite social.

A group of ethologists -- animal behaviorists -- have demonstrated that these mites migrate through our homes in crowds. They like the occasional communal road trip, and they follow each other using some signal, perhaps chemical, to chose the route more traveled.

Sapsaree-Rare Asian Dog Breed

2011-01-03T23:18:00.000-08:00

2011-Rabbit Year

2010-12-30T22:32:00.000-08:00

A pet rabbit is dressed as Santa Claus to celebrate Christmas and the Year of the Rabbit at a pet rabbit shop in Yokohama, south of Tokyo. The year 2011 is the Year of the Rabbit on the Chinese zodiac calendar.

‘Jellyfish Joyride’ a threat to the oceans

2010-12-30T02:16:00.001-08:00

Early action could be crucial to addressing the problem of major increases in jellyfish numbers, which appears to be the result of human activities. New research led by CSIRO Climate Adaptation Flagship and University of Queensland scientist, Dr Anthony Richardson, presents convincing evidence that this 'jellyfish joyride' is associated with over-fishing and excess nutrients from fertilizers and sewage.

Dense jellyfish aggregations can be a natural feature of healthy ocean ecosystems, but a clear picture is now emerging of more severe and frequent jellyfish outbreaks worldwide,' Dr Richardson says.

The new research, by Dr Richardson and colleagues at the University of Miami, Swansea University and the University of the Western Cape, has been published in the international journal.

Fish normally keep jellyfish in check through competition and predation but overfishing can destroy that balance,' Dr Richardson says. Climate change may favor some jellyfish species by increasing the availability of flagellates in surface waters - a key jellyfish food source. Warmer oceans could also extend the distribution of many jellyfish species.

'Mounting evidence suggests that open-ocean ecosystems can flip from being dominated by fish, to being dominated by jellyfish,' Dr Richardson says.

Finest Chocolate from Cacao Tree

2010-12-28T02:35:00.000-08:00

“The production of high quality chocolate, and the farmers who grow cacao tree, will benefit from the recent sequencing and assembly of the chocolate tree genome”, according to an international team led by Claire Lanaud of CIRAD, France, with Mark Guiltinan of Penn State, and including scientists from 18 other institutions.

The team sequenced the DNA of a variety of Theobroma cacao, considered to produce the world's finest chocolate. Many growers prefer to grow hybrid cacao trees that produce chocolate of lower quality but are more resistant to disease.

"Fine cocoa production is estimated to be less than 5 percent of the world cocoa production because of low productivity and disease susceptibility," said Guiltinan, professor of plant molecular biology.

The trees are also seen as an environmentally beneficial crop because they grow best under forest shade, allowing for land rehabilitation and enriched biodiversity.

The team's work identified a variety of gene families that may have future impact on improving cacao trees and fruit either by enhancing their attributes or providing protection from fungal diseases and insects that effect cacao trees.

Brain is not fully mature until 30s and 40s

2010-12-27T05:05:00.000-08:00

Professor Sarah-Jayne Blakemore, a neuro scientist with the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience at University College London, said until around a decade ago many scientists had "pretty much assumed that the human brain stopped developing in early childhood," but recent research has found that many regions of the brain continue to develop for a long time afterwords.

The prefrontal cortex is the region at the front of the brain just behind the forehead, and is an area of the brain that undergoes the longest period of development. It is an important area of the brain for high cognitive functions such as planning and decision-making, and it is also a key area for social behavior, social awareness, for empathy and understanding and interacting with other people, and various personality traits. Prof. Blakemore said the prefrontal cortex “is the part of the brain that makes us human,” since there is such a strong link between this area of the brain and a person’s personality.

Prof. Blakemore said brain scans show the prefrontal cortex continues to change shape as people reach their 30s and up to their late 40s. She said the region begins to change in early childhood and then is reorganized in late adolescence but continues to change after that.

The research could explain why adults sometimes act like teenagers, sulking or having tantrums if they do not get their own way, and why some people remain socially uncomfortable until they are well out of their teens.

Newly Discovered Species of 2010

2010-12-20T03:01:00.000-08:00

Tree Frog

O'Shaughnessy's Dwarf Iguana

Glass frog

Lungless Salamander

Eyed gecko

Stick Insect

The slug sucking snake

Rain Frog

Natures New Discoveries

2010-12-16T03:05:00.000-08:00

Black Smokers From Under the Sea

2010-12-13T00:47:00.000-08:00

What is a black smoker?

You've probably seen or heard of natural hot springs on land, like Old Faithful at Yellowstone National Park. Similar phenomena occur under the oceans within mid-ocean ridge volcanoes and are called deep-sea hydrothermal (hot water) vents. They are known as black smokers.

These black smokers are chimney like structures made up of sulfur-bearing minerals or sulfides that come from beneath Earth's crust. They form when hot (roughly 350¡C); minerl-rich water flows out onto the ocean floor through the volcanic lava on a mid-ocean ridge volcano. Sulfide minerals grow or crystallize from the hot water directly onto the volcanic rocks at the place where the hot, mineral-rich water flows from the ground. This crystallization forms a hollow, chimney like sulfide structure through which the hot water continues to flow. As the hot, mineral-rich water rushes out of this chimney and mixes with the cold ocean bottom water, it precipitates a variety of minerals as tiny particles that make the vent water appear black in color. This is why these sulfide chimney structures are called black smokers.

Where is the black smoker?

Deep-sea hydrothermal vents occur along the mid-ocean ridges. Several different vents have been discovered since the first site was found in 1977 near the Galapagos Islands by earth scientists in the small research submersible ALVIN. One reason that relatively few sites have been observed is that scientists have explored only a small portion of the 50,000 kilometers of mid-ocean ridges. So it is likely that as scientists explore more of the mid-ocean ridges they will discover more deep-sea hydrothermal vent sites. In fact, scientists also have found that not every ridge has a deep-sea hydrothermal vent site. Scientists don't know exactly why some ridges have deep-sea hydrothermal vents and others don't. Two areas of active research are exploration of ocean basins and investigation of the processes that cause deep-sea hydrothermal vents. This expedition will make observations and collect samples that scientists will use to learn more about the processes at deep sea hydrothermal vent sites.

Why do we need to know about black smoker?

Large amounts of heat and chemical mass are transferred from deep within Earth to Earth's surface through deep-sea hydrothermal vents. The chemistry of ocean water is controlled in part by this process. Thus, understanding how deep-sea hydrothermal vents work is critical to understanding the dynamic nature of our planet.

Deep-sea hydrothermal vents support extraordinary ecosystems deep beneath the surface of the oceans. These ecosystems are the only communities on Earth whose immediate energy source is not sunlight. Life on Earth, and even possibly on other planets, may have formed in environments similar to these.

The life-forms that support the food chain at deep-sea hydrothermal vents also participate in the formation of the minerals that make up the sulfide chimney structures. Understanding this biochemical mineral formation process will help us to understand ore (minerals of economic interest) formation processes in general.

Coconut a fruit, nut or seed?

2010-12-06T02:56:00.000-08:00

Botanically speaking, a coconut is a fibrous one-seeded drupe, also known as a dry drupe. However, when using loose definitions, the coconut can be all three: a fruit, a nut, and a seed.

Botanists love classification. However, classification of plants can be a complicated matter for the average person. Coconuts are classified as a fibrous one-seeded drupe. A drupe is a fruit with a hard stony covering enclosing the seed (like a peach or olive) and comes from the word drupa meaning overripe olive. A coconut, and all drupes, have three layers: the exocarp (outer layer), the mesocarp (fleshy middle layer), and the endocarp (hard, woody layer that surrounds the seed).

The coconut we buy in the store does not resemble the coconut you find growing on a coconut palm. An untouched coconut has three layers. The outermost layer, which is typically smooth with a greenish color, is called the exocarp. The next layer is the fibrous husk, or mesocarp, which ultimately surrounds the hard woody layer called the endocarp. The endocarp surrounds the seed. Generally speaking, when you buy a coconut at the supermarket the exocarp and the mesocarp are removed and what you see is the endocarp.

Some scientists like to refer to the coconut as a water dispersal fruit and seed. A seed is the reproductive unit of a flowering plant. From a reproductive point of view, a seed has the “baby” plant inside, with two basic parts: the embryo root (hypocotyl) and the embryo leaves (epicotyl). In the coconut’s case, if you look at one end of the coconut, you’ll see three pores (also called eyes). The coconut seed germinates and a shoot emerges from one of the pores. In addition to the “baby” plant in the seed, there is the food to kick off its life called the endosperm. The endosperm is what makes up most of the seed and, in the coconut’s case, is the yummy white stuff we eat.

The word coconut itself can also be confusing because the word “nut” is contained in the word. A nut can be defined as a one- seeded fruit. With that loose definition, a coconut can also be a nut. However, a coconut is not a true nut. A true nut, such as the acorn, are indehiscent or do not open at maturity to release its seeds. The seeds are released when the fruit wall decays or are digested by an animal.

Yet another interesting aspect of the coconut that has baffled scientists for over 200 years is where did it originate? Is it of Old World or New World origin? Scientists have used art, botany, entomology, etymology, folklore, fossils, genetics, and travel records to try to figure out where the coconut first appeared.

Odoardo Beccari, a renowned palm specialist from the early 20th century, suggests that the coconut is of Old World origin and more than likely came from the Indian Archipelago or Polynesia. To strengthen his argument, there are more varieties of coconut palms in the Eastern hemisphere than in the Americas.

However, some scientists (O.F. Cook , H.B. Guppy, K.F.P. von Martius,) argue that the coconut is of New World origins, having migrated westward across the Pacific.

Interesting Coconut Facts

* Every bit of the coconut is used. As a result, coconuts are called the “Tree of Life” and can produce drink, fiber, food, fuel, utensils, musical instruments, and much more.

* When intra-venous (IV) solution was in short supply, doctors during World War II and Vietnam used coconut water in substitution of IV solutions.

* Botanically, the coconut palm is not a tree since there is no bark, no branches, or secondary growth. A coconut palm is a woody perennial monocotyledon with the trunk being the stem.

* Possibly the oldest reference is from Cosmas, a 5th century AD Egyptian traveler. He wrote about the “Indian nut” or “nut of India” after visiting India and Ceylon, Some scholars believe Cosmas was describing a coconut.

* Soleyman, an Arab merchant, visited China in the 9th century and describes the use of coir fiber and toddy made from coconuts.

* In 16th century, Sir Francis Drake called coconut “nargils”, which was the common term used until the 1700’s when the word coconut was established.

* It takes 11 -12 months for the coconut to mature.

* At one time scientists identified over 60 species of Cocos palm. Today, the coconut is a monotypic with one species, nucifera. However, there are over 80 varieties of coconut palms, which are defined by characteristics such as dwarf and tall.

* Coconut growing regions are as far north as Hawaii and as far south as Madagascar.

Listen to Song of the Sun

2010-12-01T02:18:00.000-08:00

To most of us, the sun seems to dangle in space silently without making so much as a peep. Nevertheless, "the sun is a very noisy place," said Scott McIntosh of the National Science Foundation -supported National Center for Atmospheric Research.

The sun sounds like a low hum punctuated by frequent rhythmic, bass-y thumps. Sun generate its sound composed of gases; the sun's core contains a giant nuclear fusion factory, where hydrogen is pressed into helium at temperatures of about 27,000,000° Fahrenheit (15,000,000° Celsius). The energy of this nuclear fusion factory generates convection that reaches all the way to the sun's surface.

The convection follows regions, or cells, and is driven by gas that roils and boils, similar to the boiling of water in a pot. The motion of the gas within the convection cells changes the light waves emitted by the surface of the sun.

Scientists measure the changing light waves using an instrument called a dopplergraph that is mounted on a spacecraft called the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO). The measured light changes are translated into motion (sound) waves by computer models that capture the relationships between light waves and sound waves.

Because the resulting sound waves are at a frequency too low to be heard by humans, the signals are sped up to become audible. The result: an inferred composite of solar sound waves that includes "all kinds of frequencies," McIntosh said.

The sun's serenade can only be inferred because there is no air in the 93 million miles of space between the Earth and sun. And since sound cannot travel through a vacuum, the sun cannot be directly heard from Earth.

McIntosh compares the multi-frequency song of the sun to the ringing of cathedral bells that each hit different notes. Just as cathedral bells get louder and chime out certain pitches when certain bells are simultaneously rung, the sun belts out rhythmic bass thumps over its background hum when certain frequencies overlap with one another.

The relatively recent discovery and understanding of the sun's waves are enabling scientists to, for the first time, go under the surface and actually "see" inside the sun. With the help of the dopplergraph, which is used to track the time taken by certain waves to travel through the sun and back--similar to the way that seismographs are used to track waves of energy traveling below and along the Earth's surface (in order to help scientists detect earthquakes).

From the dopplergraph measurements, scientists can deduce the temperature, chemical composition and motions of gases from just below the sun's surface to close to its core. This technique is also being used to investigate the surfaces and interiors of other stars besides the sun.

Explorers Begin Voyage of Discovery

2010-11-26T02:22:00.000-08:00

Scientists from the United States and Indonesia have begun a journey of discovery in a region of the deep ocean near Indonesia where almost no one has gone before, sharing what they learn as it happens with scientists, students and citizens around the globe.

The Indonesia-USA Deep-Sea Exploration of the Sangihe Talaud region, called INDEX 2010, is a three-year partnership between the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Indonesian Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, and the Indonesian Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology to map the seafloor and study the rich marine biodiversity of an area of southeast Asia where the Indian and Pacific oceans meet.

The expedition advances the approach that President Obama called for in his June 2009 commitment at Cairo University to renew U.S. engagement with Muslim-majority countries.

The expedition includes two specially equipped exploration and research ships and two state-of-the-art exploration command centers ― one in Seattle and one in Jakarta ― where U.S. and Indonesian scientists will work side by side during ship operations and open their discoveries to students and the public through a dedicated website.

Data and images from the seafloor are being sent from the ships and from the U.S. ship’s remotely operated vehicle (ROV) in near real time via broadband satellite and high-speed Internet, allowing scientists and other participants ashore to engage in the expedition via telepresence, giving them an up-close view of the area being explored.

“We’re very happy that the government of Indonesia has welcomed us in a partnership of science and technology development,” Craig McLean, acting assistant administrator of NOAA’s Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, told America.gov, “to bring our relatively newfound exploration capabilities in the United States to share with our Indonesian colleagues at a scientific level and at a level of public interest and education.”

“The area of the ocean that we’re going to look at has been of interest to ocean explorers for some time,” McLean said. “Biologically it’s recognized as a particularly diverse, if not potentially the most diverse, area of ocean in the world.”

“The tectonic phenomenon of Indonesia, such as underwater volcanoes, hydrothermal vents and other natural activities, contributes to greater deep-sea biodiversity,” Indonesian Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries Fadel Muhammad told America.gov July 14.

“This scientific knowledge provides extensive understanding of climate crisis and its related challenges,” he added. “As we still know very little about our ocean, it is important to continue scientific exploration in order to discover nature’s benefits for our communities.”

The information gathered and products developed, like digital maps and high-definition video, will help experts better understand, use and protect ocean resources. Coral ecosystems, sponges and other marine organisms offer promise for treating diseases. Some deep-sea ecosystems include organisms that can be used as food. And information from deep-sea exploration can add to knowledge about earthquakes and tsunamis.

Only about 5 percent of the world’s oceans has been explored.

EXPLORING THE UNKNOWN

For the expedition, each nation is contributing a ship with special capabilities. INDEX 2010 is the maiden voyage of NOAA ship Okeanos Explorer, the only U.S. government ship dedicated to ocean exploration. Okeanos is from the Greek word for ocean exploration, and the ship was named in a contest for schoolchildren.

Among the ship’s many systems is a hull-mounted multibeam sonar, which uses sound pulses to detect shapes on the seafloor and produce high-resolution maps of the seafloor as deep as 7,000 meters. It also has a two-piece ROV, attached to the ship by a tether, that is able to operate to depths of 4,000 meters. One vehicle is suspended above the other to light up and record the surroundings.

“We’re putting the ship in a position where it’s going out to largely unknown areas of the ocean ― areas where, if there were a map, there would be a big question mark,” scientist John McDonough, deputy director of the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, told America.gov.

“The mapping system will allow us to bring back good maps of an area,” he added, “creating a foundation of information that others can use to make determinations about going back and doing follow-up work.”

The Okeanos Explorer will map the deep ocean floor and water column, collecting oceanographic data and obtaining high-definition video through the ROV’s cameras. The Indonesian ship Baruna Jaya IV will map the seafloor in different locations and collect biological and other samples from the sea.

THE JOURNEY BEGINS

The expedition’s work has already begun. Between June 24–July 14 for Okeanos Explorer and July 14–19 for Baruna Jaya IV, Okeanos conducted multibeam mapping and ROV operations and Baruna Jaya conducted mapping operations and more traditional sampling.

The final leg takes place July 21–August 7 for Okeanos and July 20–August 7 for Baruna Jaya IV.

McDonough said the Okeanos Explorer plans to return to Indonesia in the summer of 2011 for a second year of operations. He said the results of exploration and discussions with the project’s science team and partners will determine activities for the rest of the three-year project.

Organic Light Emitting Devices To The Masses

2010-11-21T21:02:00.000-08:00

One of the most recent inventions in the field of light emitting devices may modify the way people light their homes and design clothes. The device represents a thin film of plastic able to carry out electricity and generate solar power.
Scientists working on the international project are looking ahead to bring the organic light emitting devices to the masses. Thus the success of this invention could significantly cut costs by billions of dollars each year.
Due to the reality that the organic light emitting devices are very thin and supple, electronic display screens could be with no trouble created on nearly every material, thus, for example, clothing could, for the first time in history, display specific electronic information.
There are various ways of using this OLED, like for example modify the color of clothes, beer would be clever to display various sports results. In addition the OLED is much more resourceful than the light bulb used today.
Currently these plans are used in mobile phones and MP3 players. However, such OLED is not quite reliable for large TV or computer screens.
In order to create the device more efficient so later to open it to mass market, the international consortium of researches, Modecom, headed by the University of Bath, United Kingdom, started a three-year project which will cost about $1,700,000.

Robert that Discovers of its own

2010-11-18T03:10:00.000-08:00

Scientists at Aberystwyth University and the University of Cambridge in the UK engaged to invent world's first robot that can carry out its own experiments, produce hypotheses as well as make scientific discoveries. Researchers dubbed their latest invention Adam.

Working on its own, the robot-scientist already managed to find new functions for several genes of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, also known as brewer's yeast. The lead-researcher of the project is Ross King, a computational biologist at Aberystwyth. He says that up till now Adam made modest findings, but all the discoveries were real. Their latest invention consists of a room equipped with different laboratory instruments. It includes 4 personal computers that work as one brain. In addition, Adam has robot arms, a number of cameras, liquid handlers, incubators and more.

The robot was also supported with a database that enclosed information on the yeast genes, enzymes and metabolism, as well as a delivery of hundreds of metabolites. In case the strain was spotted to grow not very well, Adam registered new information about the function of the deleted gene.

It is worth mentioning that Adam is able to perform over 1,000 related experiments daily. So far, the robot came up with and tested 20 hypotheses about the coding of genes for 13 enzymes, from which 12 were confirmed by researchers, who carried out their own experiments.

According to Will Bridewell, an artificial intelligence researcher at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, this discovery is yet another step on the way of latest technological inventions.

Hazardous waste are harmful to human health and for the environment

2010-11-09T04:01:00.000-08:00

Many things that are thrown out in the rubbish – like some household batteries, car oil, or old paint – can contain harmful chemicals that damage the environment. Find out how to dispose safely of domestic hazardous waste.

Waste is hazardous when it has properties that might make it harmful to human health or the environment. The term 'hazardous' does not always mean that such waste is immediately harmful, though some can be.

Domestic wastes that may be hazardous include:

* asbestos
* pesticides
* fluorescent tubes
* oils
* some paints
* some household and car batteries
* discarded electrical equipment like TVs and computer monitors, fridges and freezers
* discarded energy saving light bulbs (also known as CFLs)

Hazardous waste – including electrical items like TVs, computers and fridges – should not be put into the mixed municipal waste collection. Most of it can be taken to your local waste and recycling centre (sometimes referred to as the 'tip' or the 'dump'), which is run by your local council.

In some cases, your local council may be able to collect the waste from you. There may be a charge for this. They will also be able to advise you on where to take all types of hazardous waste in your area.

Batteries

From February 2010, all shops that sell large amounts of household batteries must provide a collection bin for used batteries. You may also be able to put old batteries in your regular household recycling bins - check to see if your local council accepts them. You can also take batteries to a waste and recycling centre.

Car batteries should also be taken to a waste and recycling centre. Some shops that sell car batteries also accept old batteries for recycling. Check when you buy a new car battery to see if the shop will recycle your old battery for you.

Energy saving lightbulbs (CFLs) can be hazardous if not disposed of properly, as they contain mercury. 'Energy saving light bulbs' explains how to recycle them safely.

If medicines are flushed down the toilet, traces of them can end up in water courses, like rivers or the sea.

You can take any unwanted medicines to your local pharmacy, who will dispose of them safely.

You could also ask your GP about disposing of medicines that are still in-date and useable. Some GP practices are registered to donate unwanted medicines to charities, for use in developing countries.
Asbestos

Asbestos can become dangerous if it's broken. You should contact your local council for special advice on how to deal with asbestos. More information on dealing with asbestos can be found in the 'Asbestos removal' article in the Home and Community section.

Reduce plastic waste

2010-11-01T05:12:00.000-07:00

Reducing the amount of plastic and other packaging you buy helps reduce the amount of energy and water used in manufacturing and recycling. This also helps reduce the amount of waste that ends up in landfill.

You might already be recycling hard plastics in your recycling bin. In some areas, plastic bags can be recycled at supermarkets. Most other types of soft plastics are not recycled and end up in landfill.

For most situations, the best solution to reducing plastics and packaging is to choose re-usable options as much as possible.
Refuse and reduce

An easy way to reduce plastic waste is to reduce the need for plastic shopping bags. You can:

* Remember to take your own bags with you when you shop. You can use re-usable bags, boxes, a backpack or your own shopping trolley.
* If you need bags for a specific purpose, ask your local shop if they have bags made from recycled plastic.
* Encourage and remind friends and family to use re-usable bags.
* Take note of where you are using bags and think about whether you can reduce them.
* Save on plastic wraps, freezer bags and other soft plastics by using re-usable containers as much as possible. Think about covering food in a bowl with a lid or plate instead of plastic wrap.

Re-use and recycle

Many of the plastics we use can be re-used for other purposes, and eventually recycled:

* Washed takeaway containers make good stackable containers for frozen food and can be used again and again.
* Use bread bags, cereal bags and any other plastic packaging to wrap wet and smelly rubbish like meat bones or dirty nappies. You could also use these as bin liners.
* Most supermarkets accept plastic bags for recycling.
* If you have left-over plastic bags, see if other people need them. Charities and community groups often need bags for markets and sales.

Green Environment : Steps to Increase The Efficiency of Your Heating and Cooling System At Home

2010-10-27T23:13:00.000-07:00

Heat & Cool Efficiently

As much as half of the energy used in your home goes to heating and cooling. So making smart decisions about your home's heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) system can have a big effect on your utility bills — and your comfort. Take these steps to increase the efficiency of your heating and cooling system. For more information, see our Guide to Energy Efficient Heating & Cooling PDF (708KB).

Change your air filter regularly

Check your filter every month, especially during heavy use months (winter and summer). If the filter looks dirty after a month, change it. At a minimum, change the filter every 3 months. A dirty filter will slow down air flow and make the system work harder to keep you warm or cool — wasting energy. A clean filter will also prevent dust and dirt from building up in the system — leading to expensive maintenance and/or early system failure.

Tune up your HVAC equipment yearly

Just as a tune-up for your car can improve your gas mileage, a yearly tune-up of your heating and cooling system can improve efficiency and comfort. Learn more:

* Maintain your Equipment: A Checklist
* Finding the right contractor: 10 tips

Install a programmable thermostat

A programmable thermostat is ideal for people who are away from home during set periods of time throughout the week. Through proper use of pre-programmed settings, a programmable thermostat can save you about $180 every year in energy costs.
Seal your heating and cooling ducts

Ducts that move air to-and-from a forced air furnace, central air conditioner, or heat pump are often big energy wasters. Sealing and insulating ducts can improve the efficiency of your heating and cooling system by as much as 20 percent — and sometimes much more.

Focus first on sealing ducts that run through the attic, crawlspace, unheated basement, or garage. Use duct sealant (mastic) or metal-backed (foil) tape to seal the seams and connections of ducts. After sealing the ducts in those spaces, wrap them in insulation to keep them from getting hot in the summer or cold in the winter. Next, look to seal any other ducts that you can access in the heated or cooled part of the house. See our See our Duct Sealing brochure PDF (1.13MB) for more information. for more information.

Consider installing ENERGY STAR qualified heating and cooling equipment

If your HVAC equipment is more than 10 years old or not keeping your house comfortable, have it evaluated by a professional HVAC contractor. If it is not performing efficiently or needs upgrading, consider replacing it with a unit that has earned the ENERGY STAR. Depending on where you live, replacing your old heating and cooling equipment with ENERGY STAR qualified equipment can cut your annual energy bill by nearly $200. But before you invest in a new HVAC system, make sure that you have addressed the big air leaks in your house and the duct system. Sometimes, these are the real sources of problems rather than your HVAC equipment.

Ask about Proper Installation of your new equipment

Replacing your old heating and cooling equipment with new, energy-efficient models is a great start. But to make sure that you get the best performance, the new equipment must be properly installed. In fact, improper installation can reduce system efficiency by up to 30 percent — costing you more on your utility bills and possibly shortening the equipment's life.

Department of Energy Announces Winners of Federal Energy and Water Management Awards

2010-10-24T23:56:00.000-07:00

The U.S. Department of Energy today announced that more than 30 individuals, teams, and organizations across the federal government were selected to receive Federal Energy and Water Management Awards for outstanding and innovative efforts to implement sustainable strategies that improve energy, water, and vehicle fleet efficiency. These awards demonstrate the commitment by federal agencies to invest in efficiency measures that save money for taxpayers, reduce carbon pollution, and create a stronger economy for the American people. The 31 initiatives receiving awards today saved taxpayers almost $42 million in energy and water costs in fiscal year 2009 and kept the equivalent of about 190,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide from being released into the atmosphere. These efforts are also helping to move cutting-edge clean energy technologies into the marketplace, create new American jobs, and strengthen our national security.

"As the single largest consumer of energy in the country, the federal government has a responsibility and an opportunity to lead by example in implementing clean energy projects that save taxpayers money, create new jobs, and reduce carbon pollution," said Secretary of Energy Steven Chu. "Today's award winners show what is possible when it comes to implementing energy efficiency and renewable energy projects in the federal government and beyond."

The 2010 Federal Energy and Water Management Awards winners were selected from nominations submitted by 17 federal agencies. Included among the award winners are employees from the U.S. Air Force, Army, Marine Corps, and Navy; the Departments of Defense, Energy, Homeland Security, Interior, Transportation, and Veterans Affairs; the Environmental Protection Agency; General Services Administration; and National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Last year, President Obama signed Executive Order 13514 on Leadership in Environmental, Energy, and Economic Performance, which called on the federal government to dramatically reduce its greenhouse gas emissions and implement aggressive energy and water efficiency programs. As part of their commitment to meet the president's goals to "green the government," agencies are undertaking projects to increase their use of renewable energy, make their buildings and vehicles more efficient, and limit their use of fossil fuels.

The federal government has already achieved substantive results towards cleaner energy and improved energy efficiency. Data for fiscal year 2009 shows that the federal government has decreased energy consumption per square foot of building space by approximately 13.1% compared with fiscal year 2003, surpassing the goal of 12% for the year. The federal government also reported purchasing or producing 2,331 Gigawatt-hours of electricity from renewable sources, equivalent to 4.2% of their electricity use, surpassing the goal of 3% for fiscal year 2009.

The combined accomplishments of this year's winners include:

* Saving 38 billion Btu through the installation of renewable energy systems, including solar thermal and photovoltaic systems, wind turbines, and methane gas generated by landfills.
* Implementing facility-wide comprehensive changes to operations and maintenance practices, saving 1.7 trillion Btu by upgrading heating, ventilation, and air conditioning equipment, and by installing high efficiency lighting and energy management control systems.
* Installing significant water efficiency improvements, saving 3.2 billion gallons of water through high efficiency plumbing fixtures, upgrades to irrigation systems, use of native landscaping, discovery and repair of major leaks, and reuse of reclaimed and recovered ground water.
* Building Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) facilities with state-of-the-art technologies and environmentally friendly workspaces.
* Implementing energy savings performance contracts, in which a federal agency partners with an energy service company, who designs and constructs a project, arranges the necessary financing, and guarantees that the improvements will generate energy cost savings sufficient to pay for the project over the term of the contract.
* Implementing utility energy services contracts, where a utility arranges financing to cover the capital costs of the project, which are repaid over the contract term from cost savings generated by the energy efficiency measures.

This awards program is one of several held each year in October in conjunction with Energy Awareness Month to highlight the critical importance of energy efficiency and renewable resources and federal efforts to lead by example in energy management. To see the complete list of this year's winners visit the 2010 Federal Energy and Water Management Award Winners Web page.

Few Trees and Insects Are Made for Each Other

2010-10-20T05:23:00.000-07:00

Coevolution--mutual adaptation of two or more species to one another--shapes much of the natural world and produces some of the most remarkable biological phenomena, from the exceptional speed of cheetahs and gazelles, to the virulence of the HIV and swine flu viruses.

The interaction between plants and insects is another prime example. These range from pollination relationships where both species benefit to insect outbreaks that kill entire forests. Plants and insects are also amazingly diverse, with more than 300,000 described species of insects and at least 200,000 species of flowering plants. Many scientists, starting with Charles Darwin, have suggested that coevolution might be responsible for the enormous diversity of these two groups of organisms. However, why mutual adaptation would lead to species diversity is not clear. New research is shedding light on this century-old question.

"The most repulsive tree"

Joshua trees are probably some of the strangest plants in the world. Relatives of agaves, they look like an aloe on steroids, with short, spiny leaves, and long spindly branches that form twisted candelabra.

Their bizarre appearance inspires the imagination of anyone who sees them. Early American explorer John C. Fremont described them as, "The most repulsive tree in the Vegetable Kingdom." Mormon settlers saw in their silhouette the figure of the prophet Joshua. More recent visitors to Joshua Tree National Park have called Joshua trees, "The Dr. Seuss Tree."

"The most remarkable fertilization system"

The strangest thing about Joshua trees may be the way that they are pollinated. These desert plants produce no nectar. So, in order to reproduce, the Joshua tree relies on small, inconspicuous grey moths. The moths have tentacle-like appendages that grow out of their jaws, which they use to collect pollen from Joshua tree flowers. The moths then crawl from flower to flower, deliberately spreading pollen onto the female part of each flower.

Why would a simple moth go to so much trouble to help a tree? The answer is that the moth needs the Joshua tree for her own reproduction. Before she pollinates each flower, the moth lays her eggs on the immature seeds of the Joshua tree, cutting into the flower with a thin, blade-like organ called an ovipositor. Her eggs will eventually hatch into caterpillars that will eat some of the seeds before crawling to the ground to form a cocoon. So, for her babies to eat, the moth needs to ensure that there will be Joshua tree seeds, and for there to be seeds, the moth must pollinate the flower.

Needless to say, the relationship between the Joshua tree and its pollinators is fascinating. In fact, Charles Darwin considered it "the most remarkable fertilization system ever described."

Seven years in the desert

In 2003, much of what we thought we knew about Joshua trees and their pollination changed. That year, biologist Olle Pellmyr of the University of Idaho discovered that Joshua trees were actually pollinated by two similar-looking-but-genetically-distinct species of moth.

Olle, his graduate students and I have spent the last seven springs living in the Mojave Desert seeking to understand how this difference affects the relationship between the Joshua tree and its pollinators. The results show that coevolution between plants and insects may indeed be the reason both groups are so startlingly diverse.

One of the first discoveries that we made was that the two moth species occur in different parts of the desert. The slightly larger of the two species exists in California and central Nevada. The second, smaller species is distributed throughout southern Nevada and Arizona.

Second, it seems that the trees pollinated by each moth species are not exactly the same. When we looked at the flowers of different trees, we found the covering that protects the immature seeds was much thicker on plants that were pollinated by the larger moth.

Finally, we noticed that the ovipositors--the organ that they use to lay their eggs on the seeds--of the two moth species matched the thickness of the wall surrounding the seeds. Each moth has an ovipositor that is just the right length to reach the seeds of the flower it pollinates, almost as if the moth and the tree were made for each other.

This view of life

The implications of these findings were tantalizing. First, the match between the Joshua tree flowers and the moths' ovipositors suggested that coevolution might have molded the relationship between the plant and the pollinator. Second, because the plants are completely dependent on the moths for reproduction, the differences in the flowers might have caused Joshua trees to split into two different species.

This might provide an explanation for how interactions between species have generated the diversity of plants and insects. I am working to further test that hypothesis by measuring natural selection acting on the moths and the trees.

Though the two moth species occur mostly in different parts of the desert, they live side-by-side in a small stretch of desert in Nevada. At that site, both moths visit trees with both flower types, but when moths lay eggs on a tree that is normally pollinated by the other species, the moths produce fewer caterpillars. That is, moths that lay eggs on the 'wrong' tree have lower fitness.

I'm currently conducting experiments that will address why this happens, and whether the trees also pay a cost when pollinated by the wrong species of moth.

The most exciting part of this research is the prospect that a single natural process--natural selection--has produced both the spectacular diversity of plants and insects and the remarkable fit between insects and the flowers they pollinate.

Toxic Grass Puts Animals to Sleep

2010-10-18T00:19:00.000-07:00

Legend has it that five railroad surveyors killed by Indians in 1854 in New Mexico lost their lives because they unwittingly allowed their horses to graze on "sleepy grass" the night before. The next morning, under attack, the surveyors jumped on their horses to escape--but the animals were frozen in place. Without the means for a quick getaway, the workers were doomed.

Whether true or apocryphal--the story is unverified--it could have happened, considering the toxic effects of sleepy grass, also known as robust needle grass, which commonly grows in many western states and causes animals that eat it to turn into living statues--or, if they consume too much of it, even die.

"Native Americans are said to have fed a single seed to colicky babies to quiet them, and they--and ranchers--have fed small amounts to cattle to make them more sedate and easily managed when moving them from summer to winter ranges in the mountains," said Stan Faeth, professor of biology and head of the biology department at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro.

Moreover, in a book called "Horse Tradin," by Ben K. Green, the author recounts "how he bought a horse from the Mescalero Apaches in the 1920s which seemed tame and broken, but later found it was unbroken and wild--but had been fed a small amount of sleepy grass," Faeth added.

Sleepy grass has this effect because, like all plant species, it harbors microbial "partners," that is, microbes such as bacteria or fungi that "infect" the plant and live within plant tissues. The microbes can dramatically change plant growth and performance, frequently to the plant's benefit. Also, like plant and animal species, microbes also can hybridize and create new genetic species and variants.

Fungal endophytes, which are found in many types of grasses, make alkaloids which fight against drought and insects. But, as is the case with sleepy grass, these alkaloids also can be poisonous to animals--including humans.

"If ingested, infected sleepy grass--but only from a few selected populations--has the same effects on humans as in livestock," Faeth said. "One main alkaloid is lysergic acid amide--very closely related to LSD, but apparently without the hallucinogenic effects."

Faeth and his colleagues, who include Nadja Cech, associate professor in the university's department of chemistry and biochemistry, are trying to better understand the workings of fungal endophytes. Because their research could have broad implications for the multi-billion dollar livestock industry, as well as for the restoration of native grasslands and the management of forage grasses, the National Science Foundation (NSF) is funding the program as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

In replenishing native grasses, for example, it would help to know whether seeds were infected before planting them. The knowledge also could help the turf grass industry in the planning and maintenance of recreation areas.

"You can plant grass with high endophytes in places where nothing is grazing--golf courses, for example," Faeth said. "The grass uses less water and resists insects. It's good for golf courses, but you don't want to plant it in pastures where it will make livestock sick."

Faeth's team has been conducting field experiments in Arizona on two native grasses--"sleepy grass," and Arizona fescue. The endophytes within Arizona fescue also make alkaloids but they are harmless to livestock.

The research team has created "common garden experiments" to understand how the endophytes work within the plant, and whether changing certain conditions can increase the grass's ability to survive and compete better in harsh environmental conditions.

"We take plants with different strains of endophytes and grow them," he said. "Then we alter the factors that can change the endophyte effect on the host--such as water, nutrients and competition. The alkaloid production stays the same. We are looking at the plant's response in terms of growth and reproduction--how does the plant respond to these variants? We want to better understand how [endophytes] work."

Endophytes sometimes are not beneficial to the plants, depending on the strain. "We are studying this, as well," Faeth said. Although generally thought to be positive to plants, "most of our research is showing you can get highly variable effects," he said. Also, one section of land can have mixed strains containing areas with toxic-producing endophytes--or not. There's no way to tell without testing--although livestock, once sickened, will not eat there again.

Faeth and his colleagues also have been collecting native grasses in very remote mountainous areas of New Mexico--Lincoln National Forest, near Cloudcroft, for example--as well as insects from the plants. They want to test the effects of endophytes and their alkaloids on herbivores. "Just like livestock, endophytes may protect grasses from insect consumers," he said.

The researchers gather the bugs using a machine, called a Burkhard Vortis Insect Sampling device, that suctions them out of the plant. "It makes a lot of noise--it runs on a gas leaf blower engine--and looks like some type of weapon," Faeth said.

These field trips may seem relatively benign, but sometimes, the unexpected happens. "On more than one occasion, we've had the local ranchers approach us, gun-in-hand, wondering 'what the hell are you doing out here?'" he said.

Another time, a rancher and his wife--who happily gave permission for the researchers to work on his land--often enjoyed chatting with the three young undergraduate and graduate students Faeth brought along--all of them women, and all raised in the city.

Bone-crushing Experiments possibly will Yield Better Protective Gear

2010-10-11T03:54:00.000-07:00

No sample is safe in Nikhil Gupta's Composite Materials and Mechanics Lab at the Polytechnic Institute of New York University.

Whether it's a small nugget of rabbit bone or a piece of industrial protective foam, all are bound for a custom-built compression machine designed to study how materials split and shatter.

Gupta, a materials scientist and mechanical engineer, and his team capture each compression with a high-speed camera that records over 10,000 frames per second to study every crack and splinter. The results are critical--they may ultimately help physicians better diagnose and treat injuries and aid engineers as they improve protection for military and civilian armor, including helmets.

Along with collaborator Paulo Coelho, a New York University College of Dentistry materials scientist (and a dentist who specializes in surgical research well beyond the jaw bones), Gupta has pioneered research that reveals surprising insights about the effect of compression on bones, and about the limitations of the foams used to protect bones in helmets and armor.

Gupta and Coelho found that bone injuries differ dramatically depending on the speed at which the bone is compressed. At high compression rates--like a shock wave from a bomb blast or a hard hit in a football scrimmage--bones show widespread micro-cracks so small they can only be detected by a scanning electron microscope.

When bones are compressed slowly, as when jogging or falling, fewer cracks occur, but they tend to be larger and easily spotted. The experiments were conducted on rabbit femur bones, though the scientists believe similar findings would apply to a range of human bones.

"We were surprised to find that not only did the nature of the bone fractures change depending on the speed of compression, but that bones crack in different directions based on speed," Coelho said. Learning that bones need to be reinforced from multiple angles to prevent injury brought Gupta back to the initial impetus for his research--improving the foams used in protective military gear.

Two years ago, Gupta attended a conference at which veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan were discussing injuries related to Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs). At that time, more than one-third of all war casualties were due to IEDs, which cause a unique type of brain injury that is difficult to diagnose. Those "closed" brain injuries result not from a direct impact or penetration of the skull, but from the force of the compression. Similar damage may be happening to other organs and bones, as well.

Damage from blast injuries is often not visible with today's diagnostic equipment, and soldiers may be pronounced healthy enough to return to the field. In many cases, the extent of the injury only becomes evident over time.

"I was already studying foams and body armor and developing new protective materials, but my approach changed when I learned about the nature and prevalence of IED injuries," Gupta said. "I realized it was critical to understand how the bones themselves behaved in these circumstances in order to devise the next-generation of protection."

Gupta set out in search of a collaborator who could bring essential medical expertise to the investigations. When colleagues introduced him to Coelho, the connection was immediate. "I had discussed the project with several physicians, but we spoke completely different languages," Gupta said. "But because Coelho's previous research has focused on bone surgery and we have a common background in materials science, we were able to start working very quickly."

In addition to researching bone injuries, Coelho and Gupta also exposed protective foams to their compression machine, called a "Kolsky Bar" system. They found that much like bone, foam materials behave differently as the rate of compression changes. Foams that seem soft when slowly compressed can become much stiffer under higher compression speeds. The team plans to investigate whether this change can actually increase, instead of reduce, the risk of injuries.

The next step for these two scientists is to combine the findings of the foam and bone studies by testing human bones and soft tissues with new formulations of protective foam. The ultimate goal is to enable manufacturers to create customized foams tailored to specific activities or environments. The implications are wide-reaching and may help designers create safer military armor, sports equipment and even automobiles and boats.

Since Gupta and Coelho showed widespread microscopic damage occurs in bones subjected to high compression rates, their findings also point to the need for improvements in medical diagnostic equipment that can one day detect injuries on a scale much smaller than current CT scanners.

According to Coelho, "now that we've seen how much bone damage happens at the extreme microscopic level, it's an opportunity to develop more sensitive devices that can diagnose such injuries and allow physicians to better treat that damage quickly."

Good Bacteria can solve world's most complex problems

2010-10-07T03:56:00.001-07:00

Good Bacteria Eat Bad Greenhouse Gas

A small rectangular window on the front of the fermenter shows bubbling liquid inside. If it is clear, then that means it is only solution. If it is foggy, then bacteria have been added. Today, the liquid looks milky grey. It fizzes and froths as the correct amounts of air and methane are added, growing and feeding the bacteria inside.

This solution is more than just bacterial soup; it could hold the answers to some of the world's most complex problems, including how to mitigate global warming and how to clean up toxic waste in the environment.

At first, that doesn't seem possible. How could a simple, one-celled organism do something that advanced technology struggles to do?

Amy Rosenzweig, a professor of biochemistry, molecular biology, cell biology and chemistry at Northwestern University, explains that this type of bacteria uses copper from the environment to metabolize methane, turning it into methanol for food.

Not only does this mean the bacteria leech heavy metals from the soil, but they also consume a potent greenhouse gas--solving two environmental issues in one molecular gulp.

"The process is very basic science," said Rosenzweig, whose work is funded by a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant from the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) (MCB-0842366). "But it has potential for a lot of real-life applications."

Some people suggest venting methane emissions through filters of these bacteria to scrub the methane out of the atmosphere. Others suggest feeding leftover methane from natural gas reserves to the bacteria so they can convert the gas into methanol--instead of exercising the typical solution of burning it. Then, the methanol could be stored and later used for fuel. The bacteria could also be used to dispose of copper and other heavy metals where levels are unnaturally high, preventing illness in humans.

But, before these real-world applications are explored, it's important to understand the physiological processes of how the bacterial cells work.

"There are always problems with stability," explained Rama Balasubramanian, a postdoctoral fellow in Rosenzweig's lab. "Any biological molecule is going to die over time. If we understand how it works, then we can design something more stable that will last for years."

For Rosenzweig's group, this involves better understanding how these bacteria are able to acquire copper from environmental mineral resources. Previous work suggests that the bacteria secrete a molecule called methanobactin, which binds tightly to copper ions to deliver them back to the cell.

"Something outside the cell would have to recognize the molecule, grab it, and push it back inside," she said. "We're trying to discover what cellular machinery makes this happen."

The process is explored by closely watching the bacteria in action. Members of Rosenzweig's lab spend their days growing bacteria in a 15-liter fermenter that's calibrated with an optimal flow of air and methane. The bacteria are starved of copper to force them to secrete methanobactin into the extracellular solution.

The researchers place the medium into a centrifuge and spin it at 7,000 times the force of gravity until the cells fall to the bottom, allowing methanobactin in the solution to be isolated. After a couple of purification steps, the molecule is ready to be studied.

"We don't know if all methane-consuming bacteria make methanobactins and secrete them to get copper," Rosenzweig said. "And if they do, is the process different in different species? You could imagine that every type of bacteria might make something slightly different to help them compete for copper."

The particular strain of bacteria that Rosenzweig studies was originally isolated in the hot baths in Bath, England, so the bacteria prefer high temperatures. But she emphasizes that methane-metabolizing bacteria, known as methanotrophs, are found everywhere.

Although Rosenzweig's grant covers three more years of research, Balasubramanian feels optimistic that a breakthrough will happen sooner.

"If our experiments continue to run correctly, then we may be just a year or two away from understanding how this molecule works," he said. "It will take much longer for the applications, but knowing how the molecule enters the cell is step number one."

3-D Images Disclose New Composition of the Sun

2010-10-04T22:55:00.000-07:00

Improved 3-D simulations carried out at the NSF-supported Texas Advanced Computing Center are leading scientists to reevaluate the sun's composition and theories about the structure and evolution of stars

What would happen if the yardstick that astronomers used to measure the universe was too long?

This is what Carlos Allende Prieto, a researcher at the Institute of Astrophysics of the Canary Islands (IAC), and his colleagues, David Lambert of the University of Texas at Austin and Martin Asplund of the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics, proposed in their 2001 paper, "The Forbidden Abundance of Oxygen in the Sun," stirring up controversy in the world of astronomy.

The team's investigation of the chemical abundance of the sun suggested that the amount of carbon and oxygen in our star is 30 to 40 percent lower than previously believed. Since the chemical make-up of the sun is a reference point for the composition of other objects in the universe, many models that relied on the higher abundances were also put into question by Allende Prieto's assertion. A dozen rebuttals appeared in scientific journals.

In 2009, more comprehensive simulations computed at the National Science Foundation (NSF)-supported Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC) proved that Allende Prieto's measurements were accurate. This discovery has led to new notions about our cosmic evolution, as well as a reevaluation of the distinctiveness of the sun.

"Everything we know from objects in the universe comes from the analysis of light," said Lars Koesterke, Allende Prieto's collaborator and a research associate at TACC. "We analyze the light of stars to figure out what they're made of, what their temperature is and how much energy they emit."

Certain characteristics, like an object's color or intensity, give us clues about the source of the light. Astronomers developed a method called "spectral analysis," where they refract and analyze light to determine the amount of a given chemical species in a star or planet.

By breaking light down into optical bands signifying different chemical elements and comparing this spectrum with models of the sun, astronomers can accurately determine the solar abundance.

Or so they believed.

For decades, scientists had been using one-dimensional models of the solar surface to perform these analyses.

"In a one-dimensional model of a star, we assume that everything is static, frozen," Allende Prieto said. "In reality, everything is moving and you have this boiling at the surface. That changes the dynamics, the energy balance and the appearance of the spectrum."

Using a new three-dimensional model of the solar surface and updated atomic data, Allende Prieto obtained a spectrum that indicated significantly lower amounts of carbon and oxygen than those determined by earlier studies.

This huge change in chemical abundance alters prevailing theories about the structure and evolution of stars. For instance, the sun's chemical composition is a primary piece of evidence used in telling the story of our galaxy's evolution: the cycle of birth and destruction that led to the creation of Earth and its heavy elements.

"If you believe that there's now less carbon and oxygen, then our view of the chemical evolution of the galaxy has to be changed," Koesterke said.

Originally, critics claimed that Allende Prieto's conclusion was based on a small fraction of the spectrum and used unproven models and codes. Allende Prieto would have liked to present more proof, but the simulations required all of the computer processing power available to produce just a few lines of the spectrum.

A full spectrum analysis, using 3-D models, required computers a million times more powerful than what was available. Which is to say: impossible.

It was at this time, in 2004, that the McDonald Observatory hired Lars Koesterke to assist with Allende Prieto's problem. Working over a period of four years, Koesterke created a tool that simulates in 3-D the light emerging from the solar atmosphere much more efficiently. Simultaneously, computers grew dramatically more powerful.

"Suddenly, we're able to compute the whole spectrum, something that seemed utterly impossible five years ago," Koesterke said.

In 2008, as a consequence of this speed-up, Koesterke and Allende Prieto proved definitively that the initial assessment of chemical abundances was no fluke. The pair published a paper describing their work, and increasingly, the new abundances are being accepted and integrated into solar models. Furthermore, work done in parallel by the German group led by Martin Asplund has also independently confirmed their results.

"A good fraction of astrophysics relies on getting the chemical composition of the stars right," Allende Prieto said. "If the huge revisions to carbon and oxygen abundances we've seen with the sun are waiting for us with other stars, then there will be exciting surprises."

Bonobos are close to humans, yet people know very little about them

2010-09-30T05:29:00.000-07:00

Primatologist Brian Hare wishes more people could discover what bonobos can teach us about human nature. "I really think they are the smartest ape in the world," he said. "We have a lot to learn from them."

Bonobos are genetically close to humans, yet most people know very little about them. Through his ongoing research, Hare hopes to change that.

"Bonobos really are our less familiar cousins that we have kept at arm's length," Hare said. "The general public is so unfamiliar with them that even many reporters who have interviewed me have written in their stories that they are bonobo 'monkeys,' not realizing they are apes--like us. So it is great when the bonobos can have some attention."

Bonobos are often confused with chimpanzees, but actually are quite different. In looks, bonobos are smaller, with black faces, pink lips and long black hair, neatly parted in the middle. Chimps have low, loud voices, while bonobos' voices are high-pitched.

More significantly, chimps make war, males take charge, and chimps can be quite violent, even to the extent of killing one another. Bonobos, on the other hand, are governed by females, they use sexual activity to maintain a peaceful collective temperament, and scientists have not observed any instances of bonobos killing one another.

Hare, assistant professor of evolutionary anthropology at Duke University, spends several months of the year in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where he studies bonobos. He focuses on their behavior, specifically on how they solve problems and interact with other bonobos.

Recently, he and his colleagues found that bonobos are natural sharers. The researchers' work, published in a recent Current Biology and funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the European Research Council, described how bonobos enjoy sharing food with other bonobos, and never outgrow their willingness to do so--unlike chimpanzees, who become more selfish when they reach adulthood.

In one experiment, the animals in an enclosure were allowed to keep an entire food pile for themselves or open a one-way door that would allow another bonobo to enter the room to eat with them. Invariably, they opened the door.

"What we found is that the bonobos voluntarily chose to open the door for their neighbor so they could share the food," Hare said.

Another set of experiments, at the Tchimpounga Sanctuary in Congo, compared chimpanzees to bonobos. The young chimps were quite similar to young bonobos in their willingness to share food, but researchers discovered that the chimps became less willing to share as they grew older. Bonobos, on the other hand, continued to share like juveniles, even after reaching adulthood, the scientists said.

"It seems like some of these adult differences might actually derive from developmental differences," said Victoria Wobber, a Harvard graduate student who collaborates with Hare. "Evolution has been acting on the development of their cognition."

Hare and his mentor, Richard Wrangham at Harvard, believe bonobos act this way because they always have enjoyed an abundant environment. They typically live south of the Congo River, where there is plenty of food, and where they don't have to compete with gorillas--as chimpanzees must--or with each other.

However, bonobos have human enemies, specifically hunters engaged in the illegal international trade in bush meat. Conservationists are working to rescue bonobos who have been orphaned by these activities, sheltering them in sanctuaries, where they are protected for as long as they live.

"Unfortunately, bonobos are not immune to the bullets of hunters and often fall prey," Hare said. "Their meat is sold in big cities in Congo, but bush meat traders try to sell infants that survive their mothers' deaths as pets. Here in Congo, it is illegal to buy and sell bonobos, so when an infant is discovered in the market, or in the possession of a wildlife trafficker, they are confiscated."

The animals live in a sanctuary called Lola ya Bonobo, located in Les Petites Chutes de la Lukaya, just outside of Kinshasa. "Lola ya Bonobo" means "paradise for bonobos" in Lingala, the main language of Kinshasa.

Lola ya Bonobo cares for more than 60 bonobo orphans. The facility is run by a staff of conservation and welfare experts who "do an amazing job quickly rehabilitating the infant bonobos, so that they quickly recover from the trauma of their capture, and live a very normal and happy life with other bonobos here at the sanctuary," Hare said, adding: "They have a huge 75-acre forest they play in each day."

Many of these rescued bonobos serve as Hare's research subjects. At the sanctuary, Hare and his fellow researchers use experimental techniques to test the bonobos and observe their behavior. "Essentially, we design fun games that the bonobos can play and enjoy, but at the same time, (the games) can reveal how they solve problems," he said. "The study, published in Current Biology, is a great example of how experiments are important to understand the psychology of animals."

After the games, "we let the bonobos back out into their giant outdoor enclosures so they can play with all the other bonobos in the primary tropical forest they live in during the day," Hare added. "Basically, they stay inside for an hour or so, and get a lot of yummy food, and they go back outside."

Born and raised in Atlanta, Ga., Hare, 34, was always interested in animals and biology, so a career studying animal behavior, "comes kind of naturally," he said. He went to Emory University, where, among other things, he studied chimpanzees.

"However, I'd always wanted to study bonobos and compare them to chimpanzees," he said. "I did my Ph.D. work at Harvard with Richard Wrangham, who encouraged me to start working in African sanctuaries, like Lola ya Bonobo. This is exciting because our research dollars go to organizations in ape habitat countries working on welfare and conservation efforts."

Hare's wife, Vanessa Woods, is a research scientist in biological anthropology and anatomy at Duke. She has written a book about the bonobos, Congo and their research on bonobos, entitled "Bonobo Handshake," scheduled to be released in June by Gotham/Penguin. "I do think it could be a great reference if people want to learn more about bonobos," Hare said. "She detailed a lot of the story about our research--maybe too much detail in some places--a good place to look for embarrassing stories."

Lola ya Bonobo is the largest bonobo captive facility in the world that supports research, Hare said, which enables scientists "to do a number of comparisons between chimpanzees and bonobos that would otherwise be impossible."

Hare is especially pleased that one of his research colleagues, Suzy Kwetuenda, based at Lola ya Bonobo, is the first Congolese student ever to study the psychology of bonobos.

"Hopefully, she will be the first of many students studying bonobos' behavior and psychology," added Hare, "and that will get average Congolese citizens excited about saving the bonobo, which is only found in their country."

Lost bugs Found Again in South Dakota

2010-09-30T05:23:00.000-07:00

Research entomologist Louis Hesler takes readers along as he and others search for types of ladybugs that were once common but have become extremely rare in eastern North America

I was frustrated. I had been searching for years for the so-called "lost ladybugs," but hadn't found any.

It was 2008, and only a few had been found by anyone in the last three decades, although they were once common in many areas, especially crop fields such as wheat and alfalfa.

There are actually hundreds of kinds of ladybugs, but three in particular--the two-spotted, nine-spotted and transverse ladybugs--seemed to have vanished from the landscape of eastern South Dakota.

Research scientists publish findings from their observations and experiments. So, I began to question myself. "How can I, as a scientist, publish my findings of 'no findings?'" I wondered if maybe my methods and approach were wrong.

I had been working from three hunches about the fate of lost ladybugs. First, maybe the once-common lost ladybugs would recover in abundance on their own, as some populations of insects have rebounded after prolonged periods of sparseness. There was added hope for this since populations of the soybean aphid had recently exploded in soybean fields of the north-central United States, providing a new prey source for ladybugs. Nonetheless, after years of sampling soybean and other crops, I had not found the lost ladybugs.

A second possibility was that lost ladybugs had moved from crop fields to habitats such as prairies, tree belts or weedy patches. At about the time native ladybugs were lost from crop fields, two kinds of ladybugs imported from Eurasia--the seven-spotted and multicolored Asian ladybugs--had become plentiful in fields over much of North America. The apparent aggressiveness of these newly established ladybugs may have forced some of the native ladybugs into non-crop habitat in order to minimize competition. However, despite searching various habitats, I was still unable to detect lost ladybugs.

I then followed up on a notion that the ladybugs may have only been lost locally, and that I could find them by simply surveying a few hundred miles from my workstation. This led my colleagues and me to venture into southeastern North Dakota, Iowa and Minnesota, but sampling again failed to yield any lost ladybugs. More importantly, based on similar surveys by scientists in other regions, there was also increasing alarm that lost ladybugs had become extremely rare throughout eastern North America.

However, a glimmer of hope arose after Robert Kieckhefer, a retired U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) entomologist, found two-spotted ladybugs in western South Dakota. This finding sparked a hunch that lost ladybugs might fare better in more arid western North America. So, I called Michael Catangui, an entomologist at South Dakota State University who heads up the National Science Foundation (NSF)- sponsored Lost Ladybug Project with me in South Dakota. Buoyed by Kieckhefer's recent finds, we headed to western South Dakota with sweepnets and other gear to sample for lost ladybugs.

We arrived in the Badlands of western South Dakota on a typical June day--sunny, fairly hot and breezy. We sampled roadside vegetation and various patches of grasses and forbs within and around Badlands National Park, finding various ladybugs but not lost ladybugs.

At sunset, while sampling roadside vegetation near the southern unit of the park, Mike called excitedly to me from about 10 yards away. "Hey, Louis. Come see what I have," referring to the nine-spotted lady beetle he had just found on a curlycup gumweed plant.

"Okay," I replied, "but maybe you should first see what I found," as I carefully teased a nine-spotted lady beetle from gumweed into a container and headed toward Mike.

We fondly remember our simultaneous discoveries. "We had searched for lost ladybugs all day, and been stumped. Then, as daylight was fading, each of us independently found a nine-spotted lady beetle. Remarkable!" Catangui recalls.

Soon afterward, John Losey, the entomologist in charge of the Lost Ladybug Project at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., joined the hunt for lost ladybugs in western South Dakota. John and I found transverse and two-spotted ladybugs at several spots there. That same summer, colleagues conducting grasshopper surveys in western South Dakota found more nine-spotted ladybugs, and I found both transverse and nine-spotted ladybugs during a survey of sites in western Nebraska.

The presence of lost ladybugs in western South Dakota and western Nebraska fits a pattern in which most recent finds have occurred in western states. Many of these recent finds were submitted as digital images by citizen scientists to the Lost Ladybug Project website, run by Losey and colleagues at Cornell. Our recruitment of citizen scientists to the project was paying off. Now, both they and the entomologists on the project were finding lost ladybugs. And my self-doubt had faded as I realized lost ladybugs actually were hard to detect in the east, but could be found in western states.

These findings raise questions as to why lost ladybugs are more easily found in western than eastern parts of North America, and why their populations have declined in general. Entomologists on the Lost Ladybug Project are now avidly seeking answers through field and laboratory experiments.

As Corals rapidly declining, Scientists Watch for Signs of Evolution

2010-09-26T21:13:00.000-07:00

Our oceans are getting warmer and more acidic every year; as a result, coral reefs are rapidly declining. Biologist Mikhail Matz is monitoring this process at the genomic level, in anticipation of evolutionary developments that may signal better news.

"Corals have a substantial potential to evolve, and this is the high time for them to do it," said Matz, assistant professor of integrative biology at the University of Texas at Austin and an expert on coral DNA. "I want to watch them very closely as it happens to see how evolution works."

Only a few years ago, studying an organism like coral through its genes would have been impossible because of the cost and time involved. Now, with the emergence of next-generation gene-sequencing devices, scientists are moving beyond mice, flies and worms--the traditional platforms for DNA research--to study the genetic makeup of a much wider variety of organisms.

In 2009, Matz and his team sequenced the entire transcriptome (the set of all RNA molecules, reflecting the genes at work at a particular moment) of a common Pacific coral for a fraction of the cost of previous efforts. For Matz's purposes, the transcriptome is a better resource than the genome because it provides a concise summary of the information relevant to the study of evolution. Matz's study was one of the first successful full-transcriptome sequences for a novel model organism.

However, sequencing an organism's transcriptome is only the beginning. The next step is interpreting the genetic data to make connections between genes and traits.

"How does the genome drive variation in gene function, and how does it lead to physiological modifications and eventually adaptation to the changing environment?" Matz asked. "We want to forge those links."

Matz is one of the first researchers to use next-generation sequencers to study evolution. In doing so, he is developing a workflow that will allow the broader biological community to use next-generation sequencing effectively.

"Imagine someone having an evolution- or biomedicine-related question that can be best addressed using some obscure marine worm as a model," Matz explained. "We want to show how to do it--basically, how to elevate your favorite worm to the state of full-blown genomic model in a matter of several months."

Perhaps paradoxically, one of the biggest problems for biologists is that next-generation sequencers produce too much data. It takes the Texas Advanced Computing Center's (TACC) Ranger supercomputer, with its massive size and speed, to make full sense of the data. TACC is one of 11 partner sites around the U.S. that compose the TeraGrid. Funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), TeraGrid is the world's largest, most comprehensive, distributed cyberinfrastructure for open scientific research. Currently, TeraGrid resources include more than a petaflop (a thousand trillion calculations per second) of computing capability and more than 30 petabytes of online and archival data storage, with rapid access and retrieval over high-performance networks.

Matz relies on Ranger's power to experiment with various approaches, select optimal procedures and eventually bring the analysis within the reach of standard desktop computers.

At the same time, Matz continues to analyze the coral results, waiting for the telltale genomic signs of evolution.

"The old corals are dying, yes, but that's a part of evolving. This may be horrible news, or this can be good news, all depending on how the next generation of corals turns out," Matz said. "Once we know how corals evolve, we might be able to help them in this, or at least avoid standing in evolution's way."

Shuttle Discovery Preparing for Flight

2010-09-23T00:33:00.000-07:00

In preparation for its last planned mission to the International Space Station, shuttle Discovery was lowered onto its external fuel tank and solid rocket boosters in High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The lift and mate operation began Sept. 9 and wrapped up early Sept. 10.

On Sept. 21, 2010, Discovery completed its last planned trip to the launch pad at 1:49 a.m., leaving the Vehicle Assembly Building at about 7:23 p.m. on the slow, 3.4-mile crawl to the pad.

Discovery, the oldest of NASA's three active orbiters, first launched Aug. 30, 1984, on STS-41D and is being readied for the STS-133 mission to station. Liftoff is targeted for Nov. 1 at 4:40 p.m. EDT.

Desert Dust Cuts Colorado River Flow

2010-09-21T00:23:00.000-07:00

Snow melt in the Colorado River basin is occurring earlier, reducing runoff and the amount of crucial water available downstream. A new study shows this is due to increased dust caused by human activities in the region during the past 150 years.

The study, led by a NASA scientist and funded by the agency and the National Science Foundation, showed peak spring runoff now comes three weeks earlier than before the region was settled and soils were disturbed. Annual runoff is lower by more than five percent on average compared to pre-settlement levels.

The findings have major implications for the 27 million people in the seven U.S. states and Mexico who rely on the Colorado River for drinking, agricultural and industrial water. The results were published in this week's Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The research team was led by Tom Painter, a snow hydrologist at both NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., and UCLA. The team examined the impact of human-produced dust deposits on mountain snowpacks over the Upper Colorado River basin between 1915 and 2003. Studies of lake sediment cores showed the amount of dust falling in the Rocky Mountains increased by 500 to 600 percent since the mid-to-late 1800s, when grazing and agriculture began to disturb fragile but stable desert soils.

The team used an advanced hydrology model to simulate the balance of water flowing into and out of the river basin under current dusty conditions, and those that existed before soil was disturbed. Hydrologic data gathered from field studies funded by NASA and the National Science Foundation, and measurements of the absorption of sunlight by dust in snow, were combined with the modeling.

More than 80 percent of sunlight falling on fresh snow is typically reflected back into space. In the semi-arid regions of the Colorado Plateau and Great Basin, winds blow desert dust east, triggering dust-on-snow events. When dark dust particles fall on snow, they reduce its ability to reflect sunlight. The snow also absorbs more of the sun's energy. This darker snow cover melts earlier, with some water evaporating into the atmosphere.

Earlier melt seasons expose vegetation sooner, and plants lose water to the atmosphere through the exhalation of vapor. The study shows an annual average of approximately 35-billion cubic feet of water is lost from this exhalation and the overall evaporation that would otherwise feed the Colorado River. This is enough water to supply Los Angeles for 18 months.

"The compressed mountain runoff period makes water management more difficult than a slower runoff," Painter said. "With the more rapid runoff under dust-accelerated melt, costly errors are more likely to be made when water is released from and captured in Colorado River reservoirs."

Prior to the study, scientists and water managers had a poor understanding of dust-on-snow events. Scientists knew from theory and modeling studies that dust could be changing the way snowfields reflect and absorb sunlight, but no one had measured its full impact on snowmelt rates and runoff over the river basin. The team addressed these uncertainties by making systematic measurements of the sources, frequency and snowmelt impact of dust-on-snow events.

"These researchers brought together their collective expertise to provide a historical context for how the Colorado River and its runoff respond to dust deposition on snow," said Anjuli Bamzai, program director in the National Science Foundation's Division of Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences in Arlington, Va. "The work lays the foundation for future sound water resource management."

Painter believes steps can be taken to reduce the severity of dust-on-snow events in the Colorado River basin. He points to the impact of the Taylor Grazing Act of 1934 for potential guidance on how dust loads can be reduced. The act regulated grazing on public lands to improve rangeland conditions. Lake sediment studies show it decreased the amount of dust falling in the Rocky Mountains by about one quarter.

"Restoration of desert soils could increase the duration of snow cover, simplifying water management, increasing water supplies and reducing the need for additional reservoir storage of water. Peak runoff under cleaner conditions would then come later in summer, when agricultural and other water demands are greater," Painter said.

"It could also at least partially mitigate the expected regional impacts of climate change, which include reduced Colorado River flows, increased year-to-year variability in its flow rate, and more severe and longer droughts," he added. "Climate models project a seven to 20 percent reduction in Colorado River basin runoff in this century due to climate change."

Other institutions participating in the study include the National Snow and Ice Center in Boulder, Colo.; U.S. Geological Survey Southwest Biological Center in Moab, Utah; University of Washington in Seattle; Center for Snow and Avalanche Studies in Silverton, Colo.; and the University of Colorado-NOAA Western Water Assessment in Boulder.

ARTEMIS - The First Earth-Moon Libration Orbiter

2010-09-16T00:03:00.000-07:00

In August 1960, NASA launched its first communications satellite, Echo 1. Fifty years later, NASA has achieved another first by placing the ARTEMIS-P1 spacecraft into a unique orbit behind the moon, but not actually orbiting the moon itself. This type of orbit, called an Earth-Moon libration orbit, relies on a precise balancing of the Sun, Earth, and Moon gravity so that a spacecraft can orbit about a virtual location rather than about a planet or moon. The diagrams below show the full ARTEMIS-P1 orbit as it flies in proximity to the moon.

ARTEMIS-P1 is the first spacecraft to navigate to and perform stationkeeping operations around the Earth-Moon L1 and L2 Lagrangian points. There are five Lagrangian points associated with the Earth-Moon system. The two points nearest the moon are of great interest for lunar exploration. These points are called L1 (located between the Earth and Moon) and L2 (located on the far side of the Moon from Earth), each about 61,300 km (38,100 miles) above the lunar surface. It takes about 14 to 15 days to complete one revolution about either the L1 or L2 point. These distinctive kidney-shaped orbits are dynamically unstable and require weekly monitoring from ground personnel. Orbit corrections to maintain stability are regularly performed using onboard thrusters.

After the ARTEMIS-P1 spacecraft has completed its first four revolutions in the L2 orbit, the ARTEMIS-P2 spacecraft will enter the L1 orbit. The two sister spacecraft will take magnetospheric observations from opposite sides of the moon for three months, then ARTEMIS-P1 will move to the L1 side where they will both remain in orbit for an additional three months. Flying the two spacecraft on opposite sides, then the same side, of the moon provides for collection of new science data in the Sun-Earth-Moon environment. ARTEMIS will use simultaneous measurements of particles and electric and magnetic fields from two locations to provide the first three-dimensional perspective of how energetic particle acceleration occurs near the Moon's orbit, in the distant magnetosphere, and in the solar wind. ARTEMIS will also collect unprecedented observations of the space environment behind the dark side of the Moon – the greatest known vacuum in the solar system – by the solar wind. In late March 2011, both spacecraft will be maneuvered into elliptical lunar orbits where they will continue to observe magnetospheric dynamics, solar wind and the space environment over the course of several years.

ARTEMIS stands for “Acceleration, Reconnection, Turbulence and Electrodynamics of the Moon’s Interaction with the Sun”. The ARTEMIS mission uses two of the five in-orbit spacecraft from another NASA Heliophysics constellation of satellites (THEMIS) that were launched in 2007 and successfully completed their mission earlier this year. The ARTEMIS mission allowed NASA to repurpose two in-orbit spacecraft to extend their useful science mission, saving tens of millions of taxpayer dollars instead of building and launching new spacecraft. Other benefits of this first ever libration orbit mission include the investigation of lunar regions to provide a staging location for both assembly of telescopes or human exploration of planets and asteroids or even to serve as a communication relay location for a future lunar outpost. The navigation and control of the spacecraft will also provide NASA engineers with important information on propellant usage, requirements on ground station resources, and the sensitivity of controlling these unique orbits.

The ARTEMIS mission implementation and operation represents a joint effort between NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Calif., and the University of California, Berkeley, Space Sciences Laboratory.

NASA's Phoenix Shed New Light About Water and Volcanoes on Mars

2010-09-12T22:02:00.000-07:00

Data from NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander suggest liquid water has interacted with the Martian surface throughout the planet's history and into modern times. The research also provides new evidence that volcanic activity has persisted on the Red Planet into geologically recent times, several million years ago.

Although the lander, which arrived on Mars on May 25, 2008, is no longer operating, NASA scientists continue to analyze data gathered from that mission. These recent findings are based on data about the planet's carbon dioxide, which makes up about 95 percent of the Martian atmosphere.

"Atmospheric carbon dioxide is like a chemical spy," said Paul Niles, a space scientist at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. "It infiltrates every part of the surface of Mars and can indicate the presence of water and its history."

Phoenix precisely measured isotopes of carbon and oxygen in the carbon dioxide of the Martian atmosphere. Isotopes are variants of the same element with different atomic weights. Niles is lead author of a paper about the findings published in Thursday's online edition of the journal Science. The paper explains the ratios of stable isotopes and their implications for the history of Martian water and volcanoes.

"Isotopes can be used as a chemical signature that can tell us where something came from, and what kinds of events it has experienced," Niles said.

This chemical signature suggests that liquid water primarily existed at temperatures near freezing and that hydrothermal systems similar to Yellowstone's hot springs have been rare throughout the planet's past. Measurements concerning carbon dioxide showed Mars is a much more active planet than previously thought. The results imply Mars has replenished its atmospheric carbon dioxide relatively recently, and the carbon dioxide has reacted with liquid water present on the surface.

Measurements were performed by an instrument on Phoenix called the Evolved Gas Analyzer. The instrument was capable of doing more accurate analysis of carbon dioxide than similar instruments on NASA's Viking landers in the 1970s. The Viking Program provided the only previous Mars isotope data sent back to Earth.

The low gravity and lack of a magnetic field on Mars mean that as carbon dioxide accumulates in the atmosphere, it will be lost to space. This process favors loss of a lighter isotope named carbon-12 compared to carbon-13. If Martian carbon dioxide had experienced only this process of atmospheric loss without some additional process replenishing carbon-12, the ratio of carbon-13 to carbon-12 would be much higher than what Phoenix measured. This suggests the Martian atmosphere recently has been replenished with carbon dioxide emitted from volcanoes, and volcanism has been an active process in Mars' recent past. However, a volcanic signature is not present in the proportions of two other isotopes, oxygen-18 and oxygen-16, found in Martian carbon dioxide. The finding suggests the carbon dioxide has reacted with liquid water, which enriched the oxygen in carbon dioxide with the heavier oxygen-18.

Niles and his team theorize this oxygen isotopic signature indicates liquid water has been present on the Martian surface recently enough and abundantly enough to affect the composition of the current atmosphere. The findings do not reveal specific locations or dates of liquid water and volcanic vents, but recent occurrences of those conditions provide the best explanations for the isotope proportions.

Kepler Mission Update

2010-09-07T04:43:00.000-07:00

The Kepler team continues with its very busy operations and data analysis activities. Monthly science data downloads were successfully completed in July and August 2010 on schedule. These downloads represented Quarter 6, Months 1 and 2, of the Kepler mission data set. Project management and engineers recently gathered to assess Kepler flight system performance since operations began on May 12, 2009. Spacecraft subsystem engineers presented data summaries and analyses on several functional areas: power, thermal, attitude determination and control, telecommunications, avionics, propulsion and photometer. These engineers were able to see how their systems performed over a Kepler year (371 days), and even a bit of an overlap with the beginning of year 2.

During the course of a Kepler Year, several changes occur. As the spacecraft orbits the sun, while maintaining the telescope pointed at the science field of view, the sun position changes on the solar panels, changing the solar array output. As equipment moves in and out of the sun, heaters go on and off to maintain stable temperatures. The star trackers, which are used for coarse attitude control, use different stars each season. The relative angles to the Earth also change throughout each quarter, causing the telecom signal levels to change. All these things can change the spacecraft’s performance. In addition, with the year 2 overlap, we are able to see how performance has changed since we were at the same conditions as we were one year ago.

In general, predictions were close to actual flight performance for all systems. The power systems (solar panels and battery) have performed somewhat better than expected. Thermal analysis shows the spacecraft is a bit warmer than expected in some areas, probably due to some initial degradation of the surfaces exposed to the sun, but well within expected ranges and all heaters are working well. Since the flight software and star tracker patches that were made in April 2010, the ADCS system has been nominal and the fine pointing control used in science observations are well below the required accuracy and stability requirements.

The telecom system has been performing without problems and is matching predicted performance levels. Kepler is the first mission that uses Ka-Band to downlink science data and we have been very pleased with both our spacecraft performance and that of the Deep Space Network operations. We have been able to communicate with the spacecraft at lower elevation angles than initially planned, and the data drop-out rate has been very small. Avionics have been working well, with good margins on processing capacity.

The propulsion system on Kepler is used about once every 3 days to spin down the reaction wheels that are used to maintain attitude control. Analysis shows that we are using slightly less propellant to do this than our conservative, pre-launch models. The photometer continues to work well and although one module failed back in January 2010, we still exceed the requirement for field of view.

Predictions for the rest of the mission are all positive, and we see nothing that would cause us to change our operating plans. The only expendable resource we have on Kepler is propellant, and estimates are that we have sufficient propellant for another 10 years (well above the 2.5 years remaining in the nominal mission). Currently our most challenging issue as we look out in the long term, is the telecom margin as the spacecraft gets further from the Earth. We will have to continue to drop our data rate over time, as the signal strength drops due to distance. Overall, the project is quite pleased with the spacecraft's performance so far.

Meanwhile, the Kepler Science Team has been quite busy analyzing all the data Kepler has collected to date. There are many planetary candidates that the team must assess and verify as a true planet or a false signature. As you know, the Kepler Mission has a primary goal of measuring the brightnesses of 100,000+ stars with unprecedented precision. If an Earth-sized planet orbits in front of a sun-like star, the blocking of the starlight causes the star to dim over and over, allowing Kepler to detect the planet. The bigger the planet, the more light it blocks, allowing the Kepler team to determine the diameter of the planet.

Such a discovery is called a "planet candidate" because it has not yet been verified as a true planet. If it isn't a planet, why does the star appear to dim, over and over? One nagging possibility is that behind the star are two additional stars that orbit each other, eclipsing themselves when they cross in front of each other. Such a background "eclipsing binary star" would dim once per orbit, mimicking the dimming signature of a planet. In that case, the "planet candidate" would not be a planet at all. We would be fooled. With hundreds of planet candidates emerging from Kepler, as announced in June 2010, the challenge of weeding out the eclipsing binary stars from the bona fide planets is a daunting task.

The Kepler Mission assesses these false planets with its "Follow-up Observing Program" (FOP) designed to distinguish true planets from the imposters. The FOP consists of 15 team members, each with different expertise in different methods of identifying pesky eclipsing binary stars. The first approach is to obtain high quality pictures of the field of stars around the main stars. The FOP takes images of the field surrounding Kepler stars using a 1-meter telescope at Lick Observatory, 2-meter telescopes operated by the Las Cumbres Observatory, and even the Keck telescope in Hawaii for the highest priority stars. So far the FOP has obtained images of over 400 Kepler stars. To obtain more detailed images, the FOP uses the adaptive optics system on the 5-meter Palomar telescope and the MMT telescope on Mt. Hopkins. Adaptive optics can take pictures capable of detecting any eclipsing binary located exceedingly close to the star. Any star showing no eclipsing binary by adaptive optics is unlikely to have one still hiding, by chance, behind the glare of the star.

Another way the FOP weeds out eclipsing binary star is by taking a "reconnaissance" spectrum of the star. Using telescopes with 3-meter diameter mirrors at Mt. Hopkins, McDonald, Lick and the Canary Islands observatories, the light of a star can be spread out with a spectrometer into the colors (i.e. wavelengths) of which the light is composed. Eclipsing binary stars reveal themselves by the two distinct rainbows of colors they each produce, painted one on top of the other, but displaced from each other by the Doppler Effect. The Doppler effect is what allows a police officer to detect a speeding car on the highway. An eclipsing binary star would exhibit two different speed readings in its spectrum of colors, betraying the existence of two orbiting stars whizzing around each other. The reconnaissance spectrum also permits the FOP to determine how many "spectral lines" the star has and how sharp those lines are. Spectral lines are light at a particular frequency, just as a piano has notes of a particular frequency. The spectral lines come from atoms in the star’s atmosphere, and a large number of lines and their sharpness offers a chance to measure the Doppler effect with extreme precision, measuring the speed of the star to within human walking speed. Indeed, the highest priority planet candidates (those nearly Earth-sized) are then observed with the Keck telescope in Hawaii with its "HIRES" spectrometer, with the goal of measuring the Doppler Effect with extreme precision of one meter per second. A planet will pull gravitationally on its host star, yanking it to and fro, and such motion of the star can be detected by the changing Doppler effect. Thus, the planet candidate can be certified as a bona fide planet by detecting the orderly "wobble" of the star as seen in the continuously oscillating Doppler effect.

Moreover, the Kepler FOP measures the amount of Doppler effect of the star. The more massive the planet, and greater the gravitational tug on the host star. So the FOP can use the amount of Doppler effect of the star to measure the mass of the planet. This is a glorious achievement, as the dimming measured by Kepler gives us the planet's diameter, while the Doppler effect gives us the planet's mass. The beauty of this is that we can directly determine the density of the planet, which is its mass divided by its volume. Planets like Earth have the high density of rock, about 5 grams per cubic centimeter, while gaseous planets like Jupiter have much lower densities of about 1 gram per cubic centimeter. The FOP measurement of the planet's density allows the Kepler team to distinguish true rocky planets, like Earth, from gaseous planets, like Jupiter.

The FOP has its work cut out for it. With hundreds of candidate planets from Kepler, there are thousands of imaging and spectroscopic observations that must be made. The FOP scientists are incredibly hard-working, spending hundreds of long nights at telescopes around the world. The two goals of the FOP are crucial to the Kepler mission, namely to weed out the eclipsing binary stars that mimic planets and to measure the masses of the credentialed planets. So far, many hundreds of images and over 700 spectra have already been taken of the Kepler planet candidates. A dozen eclipsing binaries have indeed been found, cleansing them from the planet candidates that Kepler continues to pursue. In the end, Kepler plus the FOP will provide the hard data that secure the discovery of Earth-sized planets around other stars.

NASA Watching Storms in the Atlantic and the Pacific

2010-09-06T06:06:00.000-07:00

NASA satellites and the International Space Station are keeping eyes on Hurricane Earl as it heads for New England. Watches and Warnings are posted in the U.S. northeast.

Having felt the effects of both increasing wind shear and cooler waters, Hurricane Earl weakened to a Category 2 storm on the Saffir-Simpson scale with winds still powerful at 90 knots (104 mph) as it neared the North Carolina coast. It was at this time that the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite captured the data about TRMM's rainfall rates.

The rainfall pattern associated with Earl and was made using data from the TRMM satellite when it flew over the storm on September 3 at 08:22 UTC (4:22 a.m. EDT). Rainbands from Earl were visible over the outer banks, eastern North Carolina, and southeastern Virginia, but the storm no longer has a well-defined eye. TRMM observed moderate rainfall mostly to the north of Earl's center.

Meanwhile, from a second vantage point in space, at the International Space Station, Astronaut Douglas Wheelock caught an image of the eye of the storm on September 3. As the ISS flew over Hurricane Earl Wheelock noted that it looked like magnificent chaos from up there on the Space Station and called it incredibly breathtaking.

At 11 a.m. EDT on Sept. 3, Hurricane Earl's maximum sustained winds were near 85 mph. It was located about 350 miles south-southwest of Nantucket, Mass. near 36.8 North and 73.1 West. Earl's minimum central pressure was 961 millibars, and he was moving north-northeast at 21 mph.

Because Earl is now forecast to track farther away from the coast, many of the watches and warnings have been discontinued, but new watches and warnings are in place. The current watches and warnings in effect include: a hurricane warning is in effect for Woods Hole eastward around Cape Cod to Sagamore Beach Massachusetts, including Marthas Vineyard and Nantucket Island. In addition a Hurricane Watch is now in effect for Nova Scotia, Canada from Ecum Secum westward to Digby.

Earl is expected to weaken further as it continues northward over cooler waters along the Eastern Seaboard. Updates on Earl are available through the National Hurricane Center at www.nhc.noaa.govand through the NASA Hurricane twitter page.

Hurricane Earl lashed the North Carolina coast last night and this morning, September 3, and is now headed for Cape Cod, Massachusetts. This morning's image from the GOES-13 satellite saw Hurricane Earl's clouds covering most of the northeastern U.S.

The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite known as GOES-13 captured an image of Hurricane Earl at 7:32 a.m. EDT this morning, September 3. The image clearly showed a huge Hurricane Earl northeast of North Carolina with cloud cover stretching over the northeastern U.S. A disorganized Fiona was also seen southeast of Earl near Bermuda. GOES satellites are operated by NOAA, and images and animations are created by the NASA GOES Project at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.

Hurricane Warnings and Watches and Tropical Storm Warnings and Watches were in effect today from North Carolina to Massachusetts. For all warnings, visit: www.nhc.noaa.gov/.

At 8 a.m. EDT today, Earl was a Category 2 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale with maximum sustained winds near 105 with higher gusts. Hurricane force winds extend outward up to 70 miles from the center and tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 205 miles.

At 8 a.m. EDT Dare County (North Carolina) regional airport North Carolina reported a wind gust to 70 mph. Estimated minimum central pressure is 955 Millibars.

The National Weather Service forecast for Nags Head, North Carolina for Friday calls for "Tropical storm conditions expected, with hurricane conditions possible. Showers, mainly before 11am with a high near 87. Northwest wind 45 to 55 mph decreasing to between 25 and 30 mph. Winds could gust as high as 75 mph." Nags Head is currently under a hurricane warning.

Earl is about 130 miles east-northeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina and 395 miles south-southwest of Nantucket, Mass., near 36.2 North and 73.6 West. It was moving north-northeast near 18 mph and is expected to turn toward the northeast between 8 p.m. EDT tonight and 8 a.m. EDT on Saturday. Earl will approach southeastern New England tonight.

NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope reveals a Flavorful Mix of Asteroids

2010-09-02T23:20:00.001-07:00

New research from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope reveals that asteroids somewhat near Earth, termed near-Earth objects, are a mixed bunch, with a surprisingly wide array of compositions. Like a piñata filled with everything from chocolates to fruity candies, these asteroids come in assorted colors and compositions. Some are dark and dull; others are shiny and bright. The Spitzer observations of 100 known near-Earth asteroids demonstrate that the objects’ diversity is greater than previously thought.

The findings are helping astronomers better understand near-Earth objects as a whole -- a population whose physical properties are not well known.

"These rocks are teaching us about the places they come from," said David Trilling of Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, lead author of a new paper on the research appearing in the September issue of Astronomical Journal. "It's like studying pebbles in a streambed to learn about the mountains they tumbled down."

After nearly six years of operation, in May 2009, Spitzer used up the liquid coolant needed to chill its infrared detectors. It is now operating in a so-called "warm" mode (the actual temperature is still quite cold at 30 Kelvin, or minus 406 degrees Fahrenheit). Two of Spitzer's infrared channels, the shortest-wavelength detectors on the observatory, are working perfectly.

One of the mission's new "warm" programs is to survey about 700 near-Earth objects, cataloguing their individual traits. By observing in infrared, Spitzer is helping to gather more accurate estimates of asteroids' compositions and sizes than what is possible with visible light alone. Visible-light observations of an asteroid won't differentiate between an asteroid that is big and dark, or small and light. Both rocks would reflect the same amount of visible sunlight. Infrared data provide a read on the object's temperature, which then tells an astronomer more about the actual size and composition. A big, dark rock has a higher temperature than a small, light one because it absorbs more sunlight.

Trilling and his team have analyzed preliminary data on 100 near-Earth asteroids so far. They plan to observe 600 more over the next year. There are roughly 7,000 known near-Earth objects out of a population expected to number in the tens to hundreds of thousands.

"Very little is known about the physical characteristics of the near-Earth population," said Trilling. "Our data will tell us more about the population, and how it changes from one object to the next. This information could be used to help plan possible future space missions to study a near-Earth object."

The data show that some of the smaller objects have surprisingly high albedos (an albedo is a measurement of how much sunlight an object reflects). Since asteroid surfaces become darker with time due to exposure to solar radiation, the presence of lighter, brighter surfaces for some asteroids may indicate that they are relatively young. This is evidence for the continuing evolution of the near-Earth object population.

In addition, the fact that the asteroids observed so far have a greater degree of diversity than expected indicates that they might have different origins. Some might come from the main belt between Mars and Jupiter, and others could come from farther out in the solar system. This diversity also suggests that the materials that went into making the asteroids -- the same materials that make up our planets -- were probably mixed together like a big solar-system soup very early in its history.

The research complements that of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, an all-sky infrared survey mission also up in space now. WISE has already observed more than 430 near-Earth objects -- of these, more than 110 are newly discovered.

In the future, both Spitzer and WISE will tell us even more about the "flavors" of near-Earth objects. This could reveal new clues about how the cosmic objects might have dotted our young planet with water and organics -- ingredients needed to kick-start life.

Other authors of the paper include Cristina Thomas, also from Northern Arizona University; Michael Mueller and Marco Delbo of the Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur, Nice, France; Joseph Hora, Giovanni Fazio, Howard Smith and Tim Spahr of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, Mass.; Alan Harris of the DLR Institute of Planetary Research, Berlin, Germany (DLR is Germany's space agency and stands for Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt); Bidushi Bhattacharya of the NASA Herschel Science Center at the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena; Steve Chesley and Amy Mainzer of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.; Bill Bottke of the Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, Colo.; Josh Emery of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville; Bryan Penprase of the Pomona College, Claremont, Calif.; and John Stansberry of the University of Arizona, Tucson.

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., manages the Spitzer Space Telescope mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Science operations are conducted at the Spitzer Science Center at the California Institute of Technology, also in Pasadena. Caltech manages JPL for NASA. For more information about Spitzer, visit http://spitzer.caltech.edu/ and http://www.nasa.gov/spitzer .

A new experiment designed to reveal the origin and structure of the universe

2010-08-30T06:01:00.000-07:00

A new experiment designed to reveal the origin and structure of the universe has reached its last stop on Earth before it’s set to ride into orbit aboard space shuttle Endeavour early next year.

The long-awaited Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer-2 (AMS) arrived Aug. 25 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, secured in the belly of a U.S. Air Force C-5M cargo plane that arrived at the launch center with a late-morning touchdown on the shuttle's runway.

Nobel Prize-winning physicist Samuel Ting of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology nurtured AMS from concept to reality.

"I'm very pleased to be here," Ting said as he waited for the experiment's arrival. He was joined at the runway by several members of the international AMS team and the STS-134 astronaut crew.

Boasting a large magnet and state-of-the-art particle detector, AMS will use its lofty vantage point on the International Space Station's main truss to measure cosmic rays with unprecedented sensitivity and accuracy. In addition to a better understanding of cosmic radiation -- a major challenge of long-duration spaceflight -- the instrument could uncover evidence of mysterious dark matter or missing antimatter, discoveries that would help answer lingering questions about the universe and its beginnings.

"Over the last 50 years, all our knowledge about space has come from measuring light rays," Ting explained. "Hubble Telescope is a good example. But besides light rays, there are charged particles: electrons, positrons, protons, antiprotons, helium, and antihelium."

Ting and his scientific team theorize that the best chance to detect these particles is in space, before they have hit Earth's atmosphere.

"And because it carries a charge, you need a magnet," he added.

Because AMS is the first experiment of its kind to fly in space for a long period of time, anything learned from it will be new knowledge.

"Nobody has really measured the charged-particle field precisely," Ting said. "So you enter into a new field."

The AMS instrument will be installed on the space station's main truss during the STS-134 mission, scheduled to be the last flight for space shuttle Endeavour. Led by Commander Mark Kelly, the mission's crew also comprises Pilot Gregory H. “Box” Johnson and Mission Specialists Michael Fincke, Greg Chamitoff, Andrew Feustel and European Space Agency astronaut Roberto Vittori.

AMS is expected to operate for the rest of the station's life, at least 10 years.

"It's a really neat design and as an astronaut, I appreciate the elegance of it," said Fincke. During the flight, the Endeavour astronauts will use the shuttle's robotic arm to remove AMS from the payload bay and hand it off to the station's arm.

"We're going to put it right on the space station. No bolts required, no human intervention," he explained. "Box Johnson's going to hit a couple buttons, and it's going to be captured automatically. The two umbilicals for power and data are going to stretch right in, and it'll be up and running."

Sponsored by the Department of Energy, AMS-2 was developed by an international team of 56 scientific institutions from 16 countries. The nearly 15,000-pound experiment was built and tested at the European Laboratory for Particle Physics, or CERN, in Switzerland.

"NASA's extremely excited to have AMS on board the International Space Station, because we think that it is a perfect experiment for the International Space Station," said Trent Martin, AMS project manager for the agency's Johnson Space Center in Houston.

"It shows you can bring together 500 physicists, engineers and technicians and do a collaboration, build an experiment, launch it to the International Space Station, operate it for an extended period of time and hopefully get extremely exciting data that tells us something about the origins of the universe," Martin said.

Several members of the international AMS team gathered at the runway, excited to see the product of so many years of hard work finally on the ground at Kennedy. A cheer, followed by the clicking of camera shutters, met the cargo plane as it rolled onto the runway's parking apron for offloading.

Still in its packing crate, the 15-foot-wide, 13-foot-tall experiment was carefully removed from the cargo plane and transported to Kennedy's Space Station Processing Facility, where it will undergo final testing and integration before it's deemed ready to fly.

"We have our online testing that we have to do, which is basically making sure it works with the space station, making sure it can talk to the orbiter," said Joe Delai, payload mission manager for STS-134. "That should bring us to about the end of October, and in between October and February, the AMS folks will be calibrating their sensors. Then, we're ready for launch in February."

That's a sentiment shared by the entire team, including the STS-134 astronauts, who will have trained for this mission for about a year and a half when Endeavour is targeted to launch in February 2011.

"It's fitting that on its (Endeavour's) last assembly mission, the space station is going to be complete," STS-134 Commander Mark Kelly said. "It's Important to note it's going to be completed with a very complex and, hopefully, very successful physics experiment. We look forward to seeing the results that Dr. Ting is going to produce over the next decade."

Nasa's Next Mars Rover Starts Rolling

2010-08-20T23:42:00.000-07:00

A test operator in clean-room garb holds umbilical cables for NASA's Mars rover Curiosity during the rover's first drive test.

NASA's Mars Science Laboratory Project will launch Curiosity in late 2011 for arrival at Mars in August 2012. The mission will study whether an intriguing area of Mars has offered environmental conditions favorable for supporting microbial life and for preserving evidence of whether life existed there.

On Mars, of course, Curiosity will not need an umbilical cord. It will communicate by radio, and it will be powered by a radiosotope thermoelectric generator -- essentially a nuclear battery that reliably converts heat to electricity -- to be installed just before launch.

Technicians and engineers conducted the drive test in the Spacecraft Assembly Facility at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology, manages the Mars Science Laboratory Project for the NASA Science Mission Directorate.

NASA's hurricane airborne research mission GRIP 'Shakedown' Flight Planned over Gulf Coast

2010-08-18T01:55:00.000-07:00

The first flight of NASA's hurricane airborne research mission is scheduled to take off from Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., on Tuesday, Aug. 17. NASA's DC-8 research aircraft will be making a planned five-hour flight along the Gulf Coast from western Florida to Louisiana primarily as a practice run for the many scientific instruments aboard.

Mission scientists, instrument teams, flight crew and support personnel gathered in Fort Lauderdale this weekend to begin planning the six-week Genesis and Rapid Intensification Processes mission, or GRIP. NASA's DC-8, the largest of NASA's three aircraft taking part in the mission, is based at the Fort Lauderdale airport. The two other aircraft -- the WB-57 based in Houston and the autonomous Global Hawk flying out of southern California -- will join the campaign in about a week.

The target for Tuesday's "shakedown" flight is the remnants of Tropical Depression 5, a poorly organized storm system whose center is currently hugging the coasts of Mississippi and Louisiana and moving westward. While forecasters do not expect this storm system to strengthen significantly before it reaches landfall in Louisiana, the system offers the DC-8's seven instrument teams an opportunity to try out their equipment on possible convective storms. Rainfall rates, wind speed and direction below the airplane to the surface, cloud droplet sizes, and aerosol particle sizes are just some of the information that these instruments will collect.

GRIP science team members and project managers are now meeting daily at the airport to review weather forecasts and plan upcoming flights with their counterparts in two other airborne hurricane research missions sponsored by the National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration (NOAA) and the National Science Foundation. Instrument teams are also working on their equipment onboard the DC-8 in preparation for the flight.

On Sunday, Aug. 15, NASA's Global Hawk completed a successful test flight over NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center in Edwards, Calif., that took the remotely piloted plane to an altitude of 60,000 feet. The last of three instruments being mounted on the Global Hawk for GRIP is being installed this week.

Shocking Surprise from Supernova's Little Cousin

2010-08-12T22:12:00.000-07:00

Astronomers using NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope have detected gamma-rays from a nova for the first time, a finding that stunned observers and theorists alike. The discovery overturns the notion that novae explosions lack the power to emit such high-energy radiation.

A nova is a sudden, short-lived brightening of an otherwise inconspicuous star. The outburst occurs when a white dwarf in a binary system erupts in an enormous thermonuclear explosion.

"In human terms, this was an immensely powerful eruption, equivalent to about 1,000 times the energy emitted by the sun every year," said Elizabeth Hays, a Fermi deputy project scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. "But compared to other cosmic events Fermi sees, it was quite modest. We're amazed that Fermi detected it so strongly."

Gamma rays are the most energetic form of light, and Fermi's Large Area Telescope (LAT) detected the nova for 15 days. Scientists believe the emission arose as a million-mile-per-hour shock wave raced from the site of the explosion.

A paper detailing the discovery will appear in the Aug. 13 edition of the journal Science.

The story opened in Japan during the predawn hours of March 11, when amateur astronomers Koichi Nishiyama and Fujio Kabashima in Miyaki-cho, Saga Prefecture, imaged a dramatic change in the brightness of a star in the constellation Cygnus. They realized that the star, known as V407 Cyg, was 10 times brighter than in an image they had taken three days earlier.

The team relayed the nova discovery to Hiroyuki Maehara at Kyoto University, who notified astronomers around the world for follow-up observations. Before this notice became widely available, the outburst was independently reported by three other Japanese amateurs: Tadashi Kojima, Tsumagoi-mura Agatsuma-gun, Gunma prefecture; Kazuo Sakaniwa, Higashichikuma-gun, Nagano prefecture; and Akihiko Tago, Tsuyama-shi, Okayama prefecture.

On March 13, Goddard's Davide Donato was on-duty as the LAT "flare advocate," a scientist who monitors the daily data downloads for sources of potential interest, when he noticed a significant detection in Cygnus. But linking this source to the nova would take several days, in part because key members of the Fermi team were in Paris for a meeting of the LAT scientific collaboration.

"This region is close to the galactic plane, which packs together many types of gamma-ray sources -- pulsars, supernova remnants, and others in our own galaxy, plus active galaxies beyond them," Donato said. "If the nova had occurred elsewhere in the sky, figuring out the connection would have been easier."

The LAT team began a concerted effort to identify the mystery source over the following days. On March 17, the researchers decided to obtain a "target-of-opportunity" observation using NASA's Swift satellite -- only to find that Swift was already observing the same spot.

"At that point, I knew Swift was targeting V407 Cyg, but I didn't know why," said Teddy Cheung, an astrophysicist at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) in Washington, D.C., and the lead author of the study. Examining the Swift data, Cheung saw no additional X-ray sources that could account for what Fermi's LAT was seeing.

V407 Cyg had to be it.

Half an hour later, Cheung learned from other members of the LAT team that the system had undergone a nova outburst, which was the reason the Swift observations had been triggered. "When we looked closer, we found that the LAT had detected the first gamma rays at about the same time as the nova's discovery," he said.

V407 Cyg lies 9,000 light-years away. The system is a so-called symbiotic binary containing a compact white dwarf and a red giant star about 500 times the size of the sun.

"The red giant is so swollen that its outermost atmosphere is just leaking away into space," said Adam Hill at Joseph Fourier University in Grenoble, France. The phenomenon is similar to the solar wind produced by the sun, but the flow is much stronger. "Each decade, the red giant sheds enough hydrogen gas to equal the mass of Earth," he added.

The white dwarf intercepts and captures some of this gas, which accumulates on its surface. As the gas piles on for decades to centuries, it eventually becomes hot and dense enough to fuse into helium. This energy-producing process triggers a runaway reaction that explodes the accumulated gas.

The white dwarf itself, however, remains intact.

The blast created a hot, dense expanding shell called a shock front, composed of high-speed particles, ionized gas and magnetic fields. According to an early spectrum obtained by Christian Buil at Castanet Tolosan Observatory, France, the nova's shock wave expanded at 7 million miles per hour -- or nearly 1 percent the speed of light.

The magnetic fields trapped particles within the shell and whipped them up to tremendous energies. Before they could escape, the particles had reached velocities near the speed of light. Scientists say that the gamma rays likely resulted when these accelerated particles smashed into the red giant's wind.

"We know that the remnants of much more powerful supernova explosions can trap and accelerate particles like this, but no one suspected that the magnetic fields in novae were strong enough to do it as well," said NRL's Soebur Razzaque.

Supernovae remnants endure for 100,000 years and affect regions of space thousands of light-years across.

Kent Wood at NRL compares astronomical studies of supernova remnants to looking at static images in a photo album. "It takes thousands of years for supernova remnants to evolve, but with this nova we've watched the same kinds of changes over just a few days," he said. "We've gone from a photo album to a time-lapse movie."

NASA's Mars Rover Starts Rolling

2010-08-12T02:52:00.001-07:00

NASA's Mars Science Laboratory Project will launch Curiosity in late 2011 for arrival at Mars in August 2012. The mission will study whether an intriguing area of Mars has offered environmental conditions favorable for supporting microbial life and for preserving evidence of whether life existed there.

On Mars, of course, Curiosity will not need an umbilical cord. It will communicate by radio, and it will be powered by a radiosotope thermoelectric generator -- essentially a nuclear battery that reliably converts heat to electricity -- to be installed just before launch.

Technicians and engineers conducted the drive test in the Spacecraft Assembly Facility at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology, manages the Mars Science Laboratory Project for the NASA Science Mission Directorate.

Crew Prepares for Wednesday Spacewalk

2010-08-11T02:07:00.000-07:00

Expedition 24 Flight Engineers Doug Wheelock and Tracy Caldwell Dyson spent Tuesday completing preparations for their second spacewalk Wednesday out of the Quest airlock to replace the failed ammonia coolant Pump Module on the S1 truss of the complex while the International Space Station Mission Management Team gave its final approval to proceed with the spacewalk.

NASA managers decided to begin Wednesday's spacewalk one hour later than originally planned. The additional time will allow teams to fine-tune robotic procedures and get some extra rest. NASA TV coverage now will begin at 7 a.m., and the crew is scheduled to switch to battery power at 7:55 a.m.

Overnight, ground controllers activated the Gaseous Pressure Regulator Valve (GPRV) for the Loop A Nitrogen Tank Assembly, lowering the overall pressure in the plumbing for the inactive cooling loop in advance of Wednesday’s spacewalk by Wheelock and Caldwell Dyson. The GPRV’s pressure reduction will assist in the closure of quick disconnect valves at the S0/S1 truss interface Wednesday by Wheelock and Caldwell Dyson as part of the isolation of the line for the removal of the fourth and final fluid line connector holding the failed pump module in place. The lowered pressure will also facilitate the remate of all of the fluid lines once the new pump is installed. That activity is targeted for the third spacewalk no earlier than Sunday.

Once outside on Wednesday, Wheelock and Caldwell Dyson will isolate the Loop A ammonia cooling line upstream from that final connector by closing quick disconnect valves, then will use a tool to vent residual ammonia from the failed Pump Module before the final cooling line is disconnected. That will lead to the disconnection of five electrical and data cables and four bolts from the old pump so it can be extracted from the truss through the use of a grapple bar and parked on a payload bracket on the station’s Mobile Base System. If all goes as planned, the spare pump will be installed during the third spacewalk.

Wheelock and Caldwell Dyson conducted final timeline reviews Tuesday with flight controllers and moved into the Quest airlock just before 4 p.m. EDT to begin their overnight “campout” to reduce the nitrogen in their bloodstreams. They will be awakened at 2 a.m. Wednesday to complete spacewalk preparations and to suit up for their day’s work. This will be the fifth spacewalk for Wheelock, who will wear the suit bearing the red stripes, and Caldwell Dyson’s second spacewalk. She will wear the unmarked suit.

INSPIRE students Learn Flight Testing First-hand

2010-08-09T22:42:00.000-07:00

Eight high school students who participated in the INSPIRE internship program at NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center this summer learned first-hand about the start-to-finish process of flight testing experimental aircraft.

INSPIRE student interns Elizabeth Toller, Eric Chang, Bryce Anglin, and Brandon Le (standing) pore over data being downlinked from the DROID mini-unmanned aircraft during their flight test project on Rosamond Dry Lake.INSPIRE student interns Elizabeth Toller, Eric Chang, Bryce Anglin, and Brandon Le (standing) pore over data being downlinked from the DROID mini-unmanned aircraft during their flight test project on Rosamond Dry Lake. NASA Dryden controls and dynamics engineer Brian Taylor, who served as mentor to the INSPIRE interns, said the students modeled, tested, and analyzed the aerodynamic and mass properties of a large model aircraft called the Dryden Remotely Operated Integrated Drone – or DROID – while going through the Dryden flight-approval process. The process included a series of technical reviews, safety analyses, development of mission rules and flight operations before conducting actual data-collection flights.

They then completed two days of flight tests in late July totaling nearly two hours of flight time on the DROID aircraft. All planned test points were completed during 13 short flights at the Muroc Model Masters model aircraft flight operations area on the north side of Rosamond Dry Lake. The students then analyzed the data transmitted from sensors on the aircraft, comparing the results to their models.

While one group of students flight tested the aircraft to determine the takeoff distance, best rate of climb, thrust required for level flight, and lift to drag ratios, the other group performed inertia swings on the aircraft in order to determine its mass properties.

NASA Dryden operations engineer Leslie Monforton of Tybrin Corp., who flew the aircraft for the students’ flight-test project, found the experience rewarding.

NASA Dryden’s DROID 3 radio-controlled model climbs out steeply following a takeoff during the INSPIRE students’ flight-test projectNASA Dryden’s DROID 3 radio-controlled model climbs out steeply following a takeoff during the INSPIRE students’ flight-test project. “It was a privilege working with these gifted students, both in coaching and flying the DROID for them,” she said. “They all will have a great future.”

INSPIRE – an acronym for Interdisciplinary National Science Project Incorporating Research and Education Experience – is a multi-tiered year-round program designed for students in ninth-to-12th grades who are interested in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education and careers.

“The INSPIRE summer internship program provides the opportunity for students interested in careers in engineering to get direct project experience prior to entering their senior year of high school or first semester of college,” said Kendra Titus, Student & Faculty Programs Coordinator at NASA Dryden’s Office of Education.

The DROID aircraft used in the INSPIRE flight tests is one of four such aircraft at Dryden used for research and for pilot training on remote-controlled aircraft.

Next Repair Spacewalk No Earlier Than Wednesday

2010-08-09T01:57:00.000-07:00

The next spacewalk to complete the removal of a failed ammonia pump module and installation and activation of a new pump module on the International Space Station’s S1 Truss will take place no earlier than Wednesday.

Expedition 24 Flight Engineers Doug Wheelock and Tracy Caldwell Dyson completed the first spacewalk to remove and replace the pump module at 3:22 p.m. EDT Saturday. As the result of an ammonia leak in the final line that needed to be disconnected from the failed pump module, the day’s tasks were only partially completed. The decision was made to reconnect the line on the pump module and install a spool positioning device to maintain proper pressure internal to the ammonia line.

Teams on the ground are evaluating the impact of the leak on plans to replace the failed pump, as well as possible fixes for the leak. The completion of the process will most likely require at least two additional spacewalks.

Saturday’s excursion lasted 8 hours, 3 minutes, making it the longest expedition crew spacewalk in history and the sixth longest in human spaceflight history.

Wheelock conducted the fourth spacewalk of his career. Caldwell Dyson made her first spacewalk. Flight Engineer Shannon Walker operated Canadarm2, the station’s robotic arm, and assisted the spacewalkers from inside the station.

After the loss of one of two cooling loops July 31, ground controllers powered down and readjusted numerous systems to provide maximum redundancy aboard the orbiting laboratory. The International Space Station is in a stable configuration, the crew is safe and engineers continue reviewing data from the failed pump.

A Galactic Collision

2010-08-05T23:45:00.000-07:00

A beautiful new image of two colliding galaxies has been released by NASA's Great Observatories. The Antennae galaxies, located about 62 million light years from Earth, are shown in this composite image from the Chandra X-ray Observatory (blue), the Hubble Space Telescope (gold), and the Spitzer Space Telescope (red).

The collision, which began more than 100 million years ago and is still occurring, has triggered the formation of millions of stars in clouds of dusts and gas in the galaxies. The most massive of these young stars have already sped through their evolution in a few million years and exploded as supernovas.

The X-ray image from Chandra shows huge clouds of hot, interstellar gas that have been injected with rich deposits of elements from supernova explosions. This enriched gas, which includes elements such as oxygen, iron, magnesium and silicon, will be incorporated into new generations of stars and planets. The bright, point-like sources in the image are produced by material falling onto black holes and neutron stars that are remnants of the massive stars. Some of these black holes may have masses that are almost one hundred times that of the Sun.

The Spitzer data show infrared light from warm dust clouds that have been heated by newborn stars, with the brightest clouds lying in the overlap region between the two galaxies. The Hubble data reveal old stars in red, filaments of dust in brown and star-forming regions in yellow and white. Many of the fainter objects in the optical image are clusters containing thousands of stars.

The Antennae galaxies take their name from the long antenna-like "arms," seen in wide-angle views of the system. These features were produced by tidal forces generated in the collision.

NASA's Juno spacecraft Taking Shape in Denver

2010-08-05T02:00:00.001-07:00

Assembly has begun on NASA's Juno spacecraft, which will help scientists understand the origin and evolution of Jupiter. The mission, whose principal investigator is Scott Bolton of Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Tex., is expected to launch in August 2011 and reach Jupiter in 2016.

The assembly, testing and launch operations phase began April 1 in a high-bay clean room at Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Denver. Engineers and technicians will spend the next few months fitting instruments and navigation equipment onto the spacecraft.

"We're excited the puzzle pieces are coming together," Bolton said. "We're one important step closer to getting to Jupiter."

Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system. Underneath its dense cloud cover, the planet safeguards secrets to the fundamental processes and conditions that governed our solar system during its formation. As our primary example of a giant planet, Jupiter can also provide critical knowledge for understanding the planetary systems being discovered around other stars.

Juno will have nine science instruments on board to investigate the existence of a solid planetary core, map Jupiter's intense magnetic field, measure the amount of water and ammonia in the deep atmosphere, and observe the planet's auroras.

"We plan to be doing a lot of testing in the next few months," said Jan Chodas, the project manager based at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. "We want to make sure the spacecraft is ready for the long journey to Jupiter and the harsh environment it will encounter there."

JPL manages the Juno mission for the principal investigator, Scott Bolton. Lockheed Martin Space Systems is building the spacecraft. The Italian Space Agency, Rome, is contributing an infrared spectrometer instrument and a portion of the radio science experiment.

NASA's Lightning Research

2010-08-03T23:03:00.000-07:00

Lightning's connection to hurricane intensification has eluded researchers for decades, and for a riveting 40 days this summer, NASA lightning researchers will peer inside storms in a way they never have before.

Earth scientists and engineers at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., will soon fly the Lightning Instrument Package, or LIP, a flight instrument designed to track and document lightning as hurricanes develop and intensify. In August and September, LIP will fly on a remotely piloted Global Hawk airplane over the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean at an altitude of 60,000 feet. LIP will be part of a NASA hurricane study called Genesis and Rapid Intensification Processes, or GRIP for short. The study involves three storm chaser planes mounted with 15 instruments. LIP and the other instruments will work together to create the most complete view of hurricanes to date.

"We're now putting LIP on an aircraft that can stay in the air for 30 hours," said Richard Blakeslee LIP principal investigator and Earth scientist at the the Marshall Center. "That’s unprecedented. We typically fly on airplanes that fly over a storm for a period of 10-15 minutes. But this plane can stay with a storm for hours."

"We'll be able to see a storm in a way we’ve never seen it before," he added. "We'll see how the storm develops over the long term, and how lightning varies with all the other things going on inside a hurricane. It's the difference between a single photograph and a full-length movie. That’s quite a paradigm shift."

While scientists know an increase in lightning means the storm is changing, it remains a mystery as to whether that increase signifies strengthening or weakening. Though scientists have quite a few ideas, they lack the data to firmly establish a concrete relationship. Researchers hope LIP's upcoming flights will change that. If scientists can figure out the ties between lightning and hurricane severity, meteorologists may be able to greatly improve their short-term forecasts. Researchers have connected lightning to everything from strong winds to flooding to tornadoes, and a few extra minutes of warning time can save lives each year.

"We can use lightning as a natural sensing tool to see into the heart of a storm," said Blakeslee. "Lightning allows us to get at rain and other processes going on within a storm."

For Blakeslee and the rest of the LIP team, the hurricane study this fall presents a tremendous opportunity. In its nearly 15-year lifespan, LIP has flown nearly 100 missions in 10 major field campaigns, soaring over more than 800 storms. That's unparalleled for a lightning instrument, according to Blakeslee, and LIP researchers hope it will continue its long tradition of successful research.

The Guts of the Lightning Instrument Package

LIP's instruments may look simple, but they're surprisingly complex. To measure the electric field in a storm, the instrument relies on electric field mills, devices that allow scientists to measure the amount of lightning a storm produces. Originally developed at NASA, the mills look like big cans -- each about a foot long and approximately 8 inches across. As the instrument flies through the air, a plate covering each can rotates, covering and uncovering four metal disks housed inside. Uncover a disk and electricity from the storm rushes in. Cover the disk and it rushes back out. The whole process converts the electrical current from DC to AC and back to DC, allowing scientists to measure how strong a storm's electric field is, and how prone to lightning it might be. A sudden shift in the strength of the electrical field allows scientists to determine that a lightning strike has occurred.

In addition, a conductivity probe reveals how easily electrical current can flow through the storm to the upper part of the atmosphere. The probe is a small nose-cone shaped device with two sensor tubes attached to each side. As the plane flies near a hurricane, small electrical particles called ions rush through the tube, allowing the team to count them.

The LIP team uses all that data to determine how much lightning a hurricane produces and where it originates within the storm. By combining that data with wind speed, rainfall rate and other information, researchers can connect how lightning relates to hurricane intensification. And because Blakeslee and his team get their data real time, they can redirect the plane as needed to improve the likelihood of quality results.

After the summer hurricane study ends in September, the team will analyze, evaluate, and eventually release the data, a process which should take several months. Following that, the Lightning Instrument Package will continue to fly in hurricane and storm studies in hopes of collecting more data. The more data, the better the forecasts, Blakeslee said -- and the nearer scientists move to understanding these powerful storms.

The Long Journey of LIP

Of course, Blakeslee and the rest of the LIP team have had to overcome their fair share of challenges.

"When we first started out, we didn’t even know if what we do now was possible," Blakeslee said. "One of my colleagues told me, 'You won’t be able to make current measurements over storms.' But I said, 'Yes we can.' And now we do."

"It's a pretty rewarding feeling," he said. "The biggest challenge now is that there’s always more to study than we possibly can. We've got to pick and choose, and sometimes that can be frustrating."

But for Blakeslee, there's nothing else he'd rather do.

"Lightning is just cool," he laughed. "I've always enjoyed hands-on science, and everything about lightning measurements is hands-on science. You build the instruments. You put them on airplanes. You go out and fly them. You get back the data. And then there's the satisfaction that it’s not all abstract -- we can actually apply what we're learning to real people, real situations and real problem-solving."

For now, the LIP team looks forward with anticipation to sending their instrument out on an unprecedented journey -- hopefully one that will bring scientists one step closer to solving one of science’s biggest mysteries.

NASA Moves Forward on Commercial Partnership for Rocket Engine Testing

2010-07-27T04:08:00.000-07:00

Engineers at NASA's John C. Stennis Space Center recently installed an Aerojet AJ26 rocket engine for qualification testing as part of a partnership that highlights the space agency's commitment to work with commercial companies to provide space transportation.

Stennis has partnered with Orbital Sciences Corporation to test the AJ26 engines that will power the first stage of the company's Taurus® II space launch vehicle. Orbital is working in partnership with NASA under the agency's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) joint research and development project. The company is under contract with NASA through the Commercial Resupply Services program to provide eight cargo missions to the International Space Station through 2015.

Stennis operators have been modifying their E-1 test facility since April 2009 to test the AJ26 engines for Orbital. Work has included construction of a 27-foot-deep flame deflector trench.

The latest step in the project involved delivery and installation of an AJ26 engine for testing. In upcoming days, operators will perform a series of "chilldown" test, which involves running sub-cooled rocket propellants through the engine, just as will occur during an actual "hotfire" ignition test.

The chilldown tests are used to verify proper temperature conditioning of the engine systems and elapse time required to properly chill the engine, and to measure the quantity of liquid oxygen required to perform the operation.

Once the installed engine passes the chilldown and other qualification tests, it will be removed from the Stennis E-1 test facility. The first actual flight engine then will be delivered and installed for hotfire testing.

NASA is working with the General Electric Co. for Building a Better Plane

2010-07-26T05:25:00.000-07:00

Can airplanes be made that use less fuel and create fewer emissions? And can these airplanes also be significantly quieter than the planes currently flying through the skies?

As aeronautics technology continues to evolve, researchers from government agencies and companies around the globe are trying to answer these questions. Developing and testing technology for planes that produce significantly less noise and have a decreased environmental impact are two of NASA's key research goals.

Several NASA centers, including the Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, are involved in a multitude of initiatives regarding new aeronautics technology. Glenn scientists, engineers and researchers are working on several NASA projects and collaborating with the aerospace industry to investigate and test new technologies.

Through a Space Act Agreement, Glenn is working with General Electric Co., or GE, to test new technology for a jet engine with two high-speed propellers on the outside, called an open rotor. This effort, initiated under the Subsonic Fixed Wing Project, and now supported by the Environmentally Responsible Aviation Project, of NASA's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate in Washington, includes testing of the open rotor technology in a Glenn wind tunnel with a test rig designed and built specifically for open rotor testing.

The test rig allows the one propeller to spin in one direction while the propeller directly behind it spins in the opposite direction. This counter-rotating rig is a special piece of equipment. Very few exist, and none are available commercially in the United States.

"We bring the drive rig and the test capability and the test facility, the 9'X 15' wind tunnel. GE brings the design capability and fabrication capability for the open rotor systems," says Brian Fite, the chief of the Acoustics Branch at Glenn. "It is a good fit of the capabilities that each institution has to offer."

The unique shape and design of the high-speed propeller allows airplanes to fly at speeds close to that of airplanes with jet engines. Jet airplanes currently fly much faster than airplanes with standard propellers. Counter rotating propellers increase fuel efficiency but increase the amount of noise produced. Careful design of the open rotor blades is required to reduce the noise both outside and inside the passenger cabin.

"Our goal is to validate noise reduction with an open rotor system while still getting a good fuel burn performance metric," Fite says. Quieting the noise to make open rotors acceptable to the flying public is a major technical challenge.

NASA studied an earlier form of open rotor technology, called a prop fan, in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The Glenn team began this current testing by reevaluating the center's data from earlier studies to compare it to the new data derived from the new experiments. Some Glenn personnel from the original tests still work at Glenn, and they have provided invaluable input.

Glenn stored the counter rotating test rig from the original experiments, and so Glenn was able to restore it for new use with this testing.

"It had been so long since this kind of technology had been looked at; everyone else got rid of their experimental test capability for it. Glenn stored our rig at Plum Brook, and we were able to refurbish it," says Dale Van Zante, the Environmentally Responsible Aviation Project's open rotor research team lead. "With the run-up in fuel prices over the last few years and other environmental issues, engine companies and air framers are again looking at the open rotor technology. Potentially, it gives a big decrease in fuel burn -- gas mileage gets a lot better with that kind of system."

The open rotor collaboration began with the signing of a Space Act Agreement between NASA and GE in 2008. GE designed and manufactured the rotors that would be tested, while Glenn refurbished, tested and fine-tuned the counter rotating rig. GE then brought its hardware to Glenn, and began testing last summer. The acoustic and performance data generated will help engineers determine how the open rotor concept could be refined.

The testing has been taking place in the 9'x 15' Low-Speed Wind Tunnel at Glenn, with the testing conditions set up to simulate takeoff and landing. Low speed testing is scheduled to be completed in spring 2010. Testing to measure cruise performance, a major contributor to potential fuel burn reduction, is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2010.

The GE blade design is mounted on Glenn’s counter rotating test rig. For each test, the blades' operation is assessed for acoustic and aerodynamic performance. Variables are explored, including the angle of each blade and the geometric relationship between the rows of blades.

Testing will continue with diagnostic assessments such as using pressure sensitive paint on the propeller surface to explore how the aerodynamic pressure, or loading, is distributed on the blades. Glenn purchased a special phased array, or series of microphones, to measure acoustics in this test. The phased array displays sound as color and requires expert application and data processing to get meaningful results.

The project has been intensive -- the experiments in the tunnel have been running in two shifts, meaning testing is going on daily from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. A crew of about 30 NASA employees has been working with about five GE employees onsite.

"We have had very few issues with the hardware or the data systems. Since we've been up and running, things have gone smoothly with the test," Van Zante says."It's been both fun and challenging, and very dynamic."

Early results are promising, and there is a possibility of testing second generation blade designs with GE after company researchers have analyzed their data. Airplane manufacturers also have expressed interest in using the Glenn wind tunnel and counter rotating rig to test the blade technology with an influence model, which explores changes to the noise and fuel burn reduction when the open rotor is installed on the fuselage of an aircraft.

Both the current tests and the 1980s experiments have measured primarily takeoff and landing noise with minimal cruise noise data. Additional testing planned in the 8' x 6' Supersonic Wind Tunnel at Glenn, where conditions can simulate cruising velocity, will provide data on the high-speed performance of open rotors operating at cruise speeds.

Whatever exciting next steps the inquiry into open rotor calls for, Glenn will be ready with its unique blend of experienced personnel and specialized equipment.

"This drive rig is a unique contribution by NASA Glenn," Brian Fite says. "It's the only drive rig in the country that can do this testing."

Hubble Shows Black Hole Booted Star From Milky Way

2010-07-23T05:44:00.000-07:00

Most of the roughly 16 known hypervelocity stars, all discovered since 2005, are thought to be exiles from the heart of our galaxy. But this Hubble result is the first direct observation linking a high-flying star to a galactic center origin.

"Using Hubble, we can for the first time trace back to where the star comes from by measuring the star's direction of motion on the sky. Its motion points directly from the Milky Way center," says astronomer Warren Brown of the Harvard- Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Mass., a member of the Hubble team that observed the star. "These exiled stars are rare in the Milky Way's population of 100 billion stars. For every 100 million stars in the galaxy lurks one hypervelocity star."

The movements of these unbound stars could reveal the shape of the dark matter distribution surrounding our galaxy. "Studying these stars could provide more clues about the nature of some of the universe's unseen mass, and it could help astronomers better understand how galaxies form," says team leader Oleg Gnedin of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. "Dark matter's gravitational pull is measured by the shape of the hyperfast stars' trajectories out of the Milky Way."

The stellar outcast is already cruising in the Milky Way's distant outskirts, high above the galaxy's disk, about 200,000 light-years from the center. By comparison, the diameter of the Milky Way's disk is approximately 100,000 light- years. Using Hubble to measure the runaway star's direction of motion and determine the Milky Way's core as its starting point, Brown and Gnedin's team calculated how fast the star had to have been ejected to reach its current location.

"The star is traveling at an absurd velocity, twice as much as the star needs to escape the galaxy's gravitational field," explains Brown, a hypervelocity star hunter who found the first unbound star in 2005. "There is no star that travels that quickly under normal circumstances-something exotic has to happen."

There's another twist to this story. Based on the speed and position of HE 0437- 5439, the star would have to be 100 million years old to have journeyed from the Milky Way's core. Yet its mass - nine times that of our Sun - and blue color mean that it should have burned out after only 20 million years - far shorter than the transit time it took to get to its current location.

The most likely explanation for the star's blue color and extreme speed is that it was part of a triple-star system that was involved in a gravitational billiard-ball game with the galaxy's monster black hole. This concept for imparting an escape velocity on stars was first proposed in 1988. The theory predicted that the Milky Way's black hole should eject a star about once every 100,000 years.

A hundred million years ago, a triple-star system was traveling through the bustling center of our Milky Way galaxy when it made a life-changing misstep. The trio wandered too close to the galaxy's giant black hole, which captured one of the stars and hurled the other two out of the Milky Way. Adding to the stellar game of musical chairs, the two outbound stars merged to form a super- hot, blue star.

This story may seem like science fiction, but astronomers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope say it is the most likely scenario for a so-called hypervelocity star, known as HE 0437-5439, one of the fastest ever detected. It is blazing across space at a speed of 1.6 million miles (2.5 million kilometers) an hour, three times faster than our Sun's orbital velocity in the Milky Way. Hubble observations confirm that the stellar speedster hails from the Milky Way's core, settling some confusion over where it originally called home.

Brown suggests that the triple-star system contained a pair of closely orbiting stars and a third outer member also gravitationally tied to the group. The black hole pulled the outer star away from the tight binary system. The doomed star's momentum was transferred to the stellar twosome, boosting the duo to escape velocity from the galaxy. As the pair rocketed away, they went on with normal stellar evolution. The more massive companion evolved more quickly, puffing up to become a red giant. It enveloped its partner, and the two stars spiraled together, merging into one superstar - a blue straggler.

"While the blue straggler story may seem odd, you do see them in the Milky Way, and most stars are in multiple systems," Brown says.

This vagabond star has puzzled astronomers since its discovery in 2005 by the Hamburg/European Southern Observatory sky survey. Astronomers had proposed two possibilities to solve the age problem. The star either dipped into the Fountain of Youth by becoming a blue straggler, or it was flung out of the Large Magellanic Cloud, a neighboring galaxy.

In 2008 a team of astronomers thought they had solved the mystery. They found a match between the exiled star's chemical makeup and the characteristics of stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud. The rogue star's position also is close to the neighboring galaxy, only 65,000 light-years away. The new Hubble result settles the debate over the star's birthplace.

Astronomers used the sharp vision of Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys to make two separate observations of the wayward star 3 1/2 years apart. Team member Jay Anderson of the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Md., developed a technique to measure the star's position relative to each of 11 distant background galaxies, which form a reference frame.

Anderson then compared the star's position in images taken in 2006 with those taken in 2009 to calculate how far the star moved against the background galaxies. The star appeared to move, but only by 0.04 of a pixel (picture element) against the sky background. "Hubble excels with this type of measurement," Anderson says. "This observation would be challenging to do from the ground."

The team is trying to determine the homes of four other unbound stars, all located on the fringes of the Milky Way.

"We are targeting massive 'B' stars, like HE 0437-5439," says Brown, who has discovered 14 of the 16 known hypervelocity stars. "These stars shouldn't live long enough to reach the distant outskirts of the Milky Way, so we shouldn't expect to find them there. The density of stars in the outer region is much less than in the core, so we have a better chance to find these unusual objects."

The results were published online in The Astrophysical Journal Letters on July 20, 2010. Brown is the paper's lead author.

The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA and the European Space Agency. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center manages the telescope. The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) conducts Hubble science operations. STScI is operated for NASA by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc. in Washington, D.C.

Endangered baby sea Turtles get Helping Hand

2010-07-21T04:03:00.000-07:00

Dozens of endangered baby sea turtles are having an unusual birthday at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida with the help of dozens of officials and volunteers who rescued them from the oil spill-threatened northeastern shores of the Gulf of Mexico.

Two groups of Kemp's ridley sea turtle hatchlings have been released onto Atlantic Ocean beaches so far as the unprecedented operation to save sea turtle nests ramps up.

The release and relocation work is part of the environmental endeavor by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the National Park Service, NOAA, FedEx and conservationists to help minimize the risk to this year's sea turtle hatchlings from impacts of the oil spill. During the next several months, this plan involves carefully moving an anticipated 700 nests to Kennedy that have been laid on Florida Panhandle and Alabama beaches.

The hatchlings are part of the same populations of species that lay their eggs on Atlantic and Gulf coast. The endangered species include loggerhead turtles, but nests from leatherback and green turtles, in addition to Kemp's ridley, may be brought to the Kennedy hatchery. In all, about 50,000 hatchlings normally start their lives on Gulf coast beaches during hatching season.

FedEx is providing a specialized truck to ferry the sensitive eggs to Kennedy.

The Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1963 as an overlay of Kennedy Space Center, where it shares the land with space shuttle launch pads, rockets and research and development facilities. In addition, Canaveral National Seashore is partially in Kennedy also, and together these agencies provide more 24 miles of sea turtle nesting beach habitat.

"We are home to many species of protected wildlife and we hope to provide these sea turtles with a better chance of survival," said Kennedy Center Director Bob Cabana.

From hand-picking each egg from beaches on the northern Gulf of Mexico, to trucking them in custom vehicles from FedEx to incubating them at Kennedy and finally releasing them to crawl into the surf, the work is as about as delicate as it gets.

Left on their own, the turtles likely would have been helpless against the effects of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill, wildlife officials said.

"We understand that significant risks remain, but the option of allowing tens of thousands of turtle hatchlings to crawl into oiled waters of the northern Gulf of Mexico is not acceptable," said Rodney Barreto, chairman of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Jane Provancha, the lead biologist and environmental project manager for Innovative Health Applications (IHA) at the Kennedy hatchery, said the first nest was received June 26, about 10 days after expert opinions concluded that the relocation was viable and necessary. Eight nests have been received so far, but more than 700 are expected to be relocated by the time the operation closes at the end of hatching season in October.

"We were asked by USFWS and NOAA and we recommitted to support this action through the whole nesting season," Provancha said. "The plan is to move them all because the Gulf is in extremely bad condition."

At this point, the incubation process is producing normal amounts of hatchlings from the nests, Provancha said. "The process of incubation is actually quite simple."

The hard part is any physical movement of the eggs. For instance, the nests cannot be dug up in one scoop by an excavator. Instead, each egg is handled by a trained and authorized official who keeps the egg oriented exactly as it was in its nest. A single nest can hold 100 or more eggs.

The eggs and sand are placed inside Styrofoam containers and brought in the FedEx truck to Kennedy, where they are housed in comfortable darkness and relative quiet in a climate-controlled building. The nests are monitored on a daily basis for temperature and for signs of hatching. Coordination with the Gulf coast biologists on nest arrivals, tracking nest status, and the biologists say releases will be a continual challenge.

After they hatch, the tiny sea turtles, about half the size of an outstretched hand, are carried to different points along a 100-mile stretch of the Atlantic shore and set free. Typically, sea turtles make their way offshore to a developmental habitat where they can eat and grow.

With the first round of releases behind them with positive results, the people involved in the project are learning what works and what can change as they continue to relocate more nests.

"This option I hadn't really thought about, but it does make sense," Provancha said.

Making Home a Safer Place

2010-07-20T00:30:00.000-07:00

One day homeowners everywhere may be protected from deadly carbon monoxide fumes, thanks to a device invented at NASA's Langley Research Center. The device uses a new class of low-temperature oxidation catalysts to convert carbon monoxide to non-toxic carbon dioxide at room temperature and also removes formaldehyde from the air. The catalysts initially were developed for research involving carbon dioxide lasers.

NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer Mission to Complete Extensive Sky Survey

2010-07-17T03:26:00.000-07:00

NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, will complete its first survey of the entire sky on July 17, 2010. The mission has generated more than one million images so far, of everything from asteroids to distant galaxies.

"Like a globe-trotting shutterbug, WISE has completed a world tour with 1.3 million slides covering the whole sky," said Edward Wright, the principal investigator of the mission at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Some of these images have been processed and stitched together into a new picture being released today. It shows the Pleiades cluster of stars, also known as the Seven Sisters, resting in a tangled bed of wispy dust. The pictured region covers seven square degrees, or an area equivalent to 35 full moons, highlighting the telescope's ability to take wide shots of vast regions of space.

The new picture was taken in February. It shows infrared light from WISE's four detectors in a range of wavelengths. This infrared view highlights the region's expansive dust cloud, through which the Seven Sisters and other stars in the cluster are passing. Infrared light also reveals the smaller and cooler stars of the family.

To view the new image, as well as previously released WISE images, visit http://www.nasa.gov/wise and http://wise.astro.ucla.edu .

"The WISE all-sky survey is helping us sift through the immense and diverse population of celestial objects," said Hashima Hasan, WISE Program scientist at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "It's a great example of the high impact science that's possible from NASA's Explorer Program."

The first release of WISE data, covering about 80 percent of the sky, will be delivered to the astronomical community in May of next year. The mission scanned strips of the sky as it orbited around the Earth's poles since its launch last December. WISE always stays over the Earth's day-night line. As the Earth moves around the sun, new slices of sky come into the telescope's field of view. It has taken six months, or the amount of time for Earth to travel halfway around the sun, for the mission to complete one full scan of the entire sky.

For the next three months, the mission will map half of the sky again. This will enhance the telescope's data, revealing more hidden asteroids, stars and galaxies. The mapping will give astronomers a look at what's changed in the sky. The mission will end when the instrument's block of solid hydrogen coolant, needed to chill its infrared detectors, runs out.

"The eyes of WISE have not blinked since launch," said William Irace, the mission's project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. "Both our telescope and spacecraft have performed flawlessly and have imaged every corner of our universe, just as we planned."

So far, WISE has observed more than 100,000 asteroids, both known and previously unseen. Most of these space rocks are in the main belt between Mars and Jupiter. However, some are near-Earth objects, asteroids and comets with orbits that pass relatively close to Earth. WISE has discovered more than 90 of these new near-Earth objects. The infrared telescope is also good at spotting comets that orbit far from Earth and has discovered more than a dozen of these so far.

WISE's infrared vision also gives it a unique ability to pick up the glow of cool stars, called brown dwarfs, in addition to distant galaxies bursting with light and energy. These galaxies are called ultra-luminous infrared galaxies. WISE can see the brightest of them.

Study Finds Amazon a single, huge, violent Storm Killed Half a Billion Trees

2010-07-13T23:13:00.000-07:00

A single, huge, violent storm that swept across the whole Amazon forest in 2005 killed half a billion trees, according to a new study funded by NASA and Tulane University, New Orleans.

While storms have long been recognized as a cause of Amazon tree loss, this study is the first to actually quantify losses from a storm. And the losses are much greater than previously suspected, say the study's authors, which include research scientist Sassan Saatchi of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. The work suggests that storms may play a larger role in the dynamics of Amazon forests than previously recognized, they add.

Previous research had attributed a peak in tree mortality in 2005 solely to a severe drought that affected parts of the forest. The new study says that a single squall line (a long line of severe thunderstorms, the kind associated with lightning and heavy rainfall) had an important role in the tree demise. Research suggests this type of storm might become more frequent in the future in the Amazon due to climate change, killing a higher number of trees and releasing more carbon to the atmosphere.

Tropical thunderstorms have long been suspected of wreaking havoc in the Amazon, but this is the first time researchers have calculated how many trees a single thunderstorm can kill, says Jeffrey Chambers, a forest ecologist at Tulane University and one of the authors of the paper. The paper has been accepted for publication in Geophysical Research Letters, a journal of the American Geophysical Union.

Previous studies by a coauthor of this new paper, Niro Higuchi of Brazil's National Institute for Amazon Research (INPA), showed the 2005 tree mortality spike was the second largest recorded since 1989 for the Manaus region in the Central Amazon. Also in 2005, large parts of the Amazon forest experienced one of the harshest droughts of the last century. A study published in the journal Science in 2009 pointed to the drought as the single agent for a basin-wide increase in tree mortality. But a very large area with major tree loss (the region near Manaus) was not affected by the drought.

"We can't attribute [the increased] mortality to just drought in certain parts of the basin--we have solid evidence that there was a strong storm that killed a lot of trees over a large part of the Amazon," Chambers says.

From Jan. 16 to 18, 2005, a squall line 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) long and 200 kilometers (124 miles) wide crossed the whole Amazon basin from southwest to northeast, causing several human deaths in the cities of Manaus, Manacaparu, and Santarem. The strong vertical winds associated with the storm, blowing up to 145 kilometers per hour (90 miles per hour), uprooted or snapped in half trees that were in their path. In many cases, the stricken trees took down some of their neighbors when they fell.

The researchers used a combination of Landsat satellite images, field-measured tree mortality, and modeling to determine the number of trees killed by the storm. By linking satellite data to observations on the ground, the researchers were able to take into account smaller tree blowdowns (less than 10 trees) that otherwise cannot be detected through satellite images.

Looking at satellite images for the area of Manaus from before and after the storm, the researchers detected changes in the reflectivity of the forest, which they suspected were indicative of tree losses. Undisturbed forest patches appeared as closed, green canopy in satellite images. When trees die and fall, a clearing opens, exposing wood, dead vegetation, and surface litter. This so-called "woody signal" only lasts for about a year in the Amazon. In a year, vegetation re-grows and covers the exposed wood and soil. This means the signal is a good indicator of recent tree deaths.

After seeing disturbances in the satellite images, the researchers established five field sites in one of the blowdown areas, and counted the number of trees that had been killed by the storm; researchers can usually tell what killed a tree from looking at it.

"If a tree dies from a drought, it generally dies standing. It looks very different from trees that die snapped by a storm," Chambers says.

In the most affected plots, near the centers of large blowdowns, up to 80 percent of the trees had been killed by the storm.

By comparing their field data and the satellite observations, the researchers determined that the satellite images were accurately pinpointing areas of tree death, and they calculated that the storm had killed between 300,000 and 500,000 trees in the area of Manaus. The number of trees killed by the 2005 storm is equivalent to 30 percent of the annual deforestation in that same year for the Manaus region, which experiences relatively low rates of deforestation.

The team then extrapolated the results to the whole Amazon basin.

"We know that the storm was intense and went across the basin," Chambers says. "To quantify the potential basin-wide impact, we assumed that the whole area impacted by the storm had a similar level of tree mortality as the mortality observed in Manaus."

The researchers estimate that between 441 and 663 million trees were destroyed across the whole basin. This represents a loss equivalent to 23 percent of the estimated mean annual carbon accumulation of the Amazon forest.

Squall lines that move from southwest to northeast of the forest, like the one in January 2005, are relatively rare and poorly studied, says Robinson Negron-Juarez, an atmospheric scientist at Tulane University, and lead author of the study. Storms that are similarly destructive but advance in the opposite direction (from the northeast coast of South America to the interior of the continent) occur up to four times per month. They can also generate large forest blowdowns (contiguous patches of wind-toppled trees), although it's infrequent that either of these two types of storms crosses the whole Amazon.

"We need to start measuring the forest perturbation caused by both types of squall lines, not only by the ones coming from the south," Negron-Juarez says. "We need that data to estimate total biomass loss from these natural events, which has never been quantified."

Chambers says that authors of previous studies on tree mortality in the Amazon have diligently collected dead-tree tolls, but information on exactly what killed the trees is often lacking, or not reported.

"It's very important that when we collect data in the field, we do forensics on tree mortality," says Chambers, who has been studying forest ecology and carbon cycling in the Amazon since 1993. "Under a changing climate, some forecasts say that storms will increase in intensity. If we start seeing increases in tree mortality, we need to be able to say what's killing the trees."

ESA’s Planck mission Unveils the Universe -- Now and Then

2010-07-07T00:20:00.001-07:00

A new image from the Planck mission shows what it's been up to for the past year -- surveying the entire sky for clues to our universal origins. Planck, a European Space Agency mission with significant participation from NASA, has been busily scanning the whole sky at nine frequencies of light, with the ultimate goal of isolating fluctuations in the cosmic microwave background -- or light from the beginning of time. These fluctuations represent the seeds from which structure in our universe evolved.

"This image shows both our Milky Way galaxy and the universe 380,000 years after the Big Bang in one expansive view," said Charles Lawrence, the NASA project scientist for the mission at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. "The radiation from the Milky Way traveled hundreds or thousands of years to reach us, while the radiation from the early universe traveled 13.7 billion years to reach us. What we see in this picture happened at very different times."

The picture has been color-coded to show how the sky looks over the range of frequencies observed by Planck. Planck detects light that we can't see with our eyes -- light with low frequencies ranging from 30 to 857 gigahertz. The disk of the Milky Way galaxy, seen edge-on from Earth's perspective, is the bright band running horizontally down the middle. Diffuse, huge clouds of gas and dust relatively close to us in our galaxy can be seen above and below this band. The cosmic microwave background is apparent as the grainy structure towards the top and bottom of the image.

Scientists want to study this grainy signature across the entire sky, which means seeing through the "fog" of our Milky Way. The Planck teams are busy now removing this foreground fog, a meticulous process akin to identifying and removing all the hay in a haystack to reveal the needle within. The process will take about two more years, with the first processed data being released to the scientific community toward the end of 2012. The U.S. Planck team is helping with this task, with a primary tool being the Franklin supercomputer at the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center in Berkeley, Calif. One of the world's fastest computers, Franklin will handle the most computationally intensive analysis jobs for the Planck team worldwide.

Meanwhile, this fog is not something to discard. It contains a treasure trove of information about our galaxy and its structure, in addition to many other galaxies. The U.S. Planck team is responsible for releasing the first batch of this astronomy data, called the Early Release Compact Source Catalogue, an event schedule for January 2011.

Planck will continue surveying the sky until at least the end of January 2012, completing almost five all-sky scans.

The Russian Progress Resupply Craft Successfully Docks to Space Station

2010-07-05T06:07:00.000-07:00

The ISS Progress 38 cargo resupply ship successfully docked to the aft end of the International Space Station’s Zvezda service module at 12:17 p.m. EDT Sunday. The docking was executed flawlessly by Progress’ Kurs automated rendezvous system.

The Progress spacecraft carries 1,918 pounds of propellant, 110 pounds of oxygen, 220 pounds of water and 2,667 pounds of experiment equipment, spare parts and other supplies to the station. It launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on June 30. An attempted docking Friday, July 2, was aborted when telemetry between the Progress and the space station was lost about 25 minutes before its planned docking.

The most likely cause of Friday’s aborted docking was traced to the activation of the TORU “Klest” TV transmitter, which created interference with TORU itself, causing a loss of the TORU command link between Progress and the International Space Station that triggered the abort of the Progress docking. TORU was not activated for today’s docking. The TORU TV system is designed to provide a view of Zvezda's docking target to station Commander Alexander Skvorstov, if he had to operate a joystick in the service module to dock Progress manually.

The Expedition 24 crew members monitored the arrival of the spacecraft. The crew will enjoy an off-duty day Monday in observance of the U.S. Independence Day holiday.

New Launch Dates Announced for Space Shuttle Flights STS-133 and STS-134

2010-07-02T05:52:00.001-07:00

Space shuttle Discovery's STS-133 mission is now targeted for launch Nov. 1 at about 4:33 p.m. EDT. Endeavour's STS-134 mission is targeted for liftoff on Feb. 26, 2011, at about 4:19 p.m. EST. The target dates were adjusted because critical payload hardware for the STS-133 mission will not be ready in time for the previously targeted date. With Discovery's move, Endeavour had to plan for its next available window, which was February.

During space shuttle Discovery's final spaceflight, the STS-133 crew members will take important spares to the International Space Station along with the Express Logistics Carrier 4. Discovery is being readied for flight inside Kennedy's orbiter processing facility while its solid rocket boosters are stacked inside the nearby Vehicle Assembly Building. STS-133 is slated to launch in September.