The Strange Attraction of Gale Crater

Source - NASA Science News for Sept. 29, 2011:

NASA's newest rover "Curiosity" is getting ready to leave Earth. Its destination: Gale Crater on Mars. Today's story from Science@NASA explains the attraction of this Martian crater with a strangely-sculpted mountain the middle.

FULL STORY at

http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2011/29sep_galecrater/

Here is the video version of this story:

Source - ScienceAtNASA on Sep 29, 2011. This video can also be found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNqeftciRFA

Visit http://science.nasa.gov/ for more.

Strong Geomagnetic Storm on Sept. 26

Source - Space Weather News for Sept. 26, 2011: http://spaceweather.com

GEOMAGNETIC STORM: A strong geomagnetic storm is in progress following the impact of a coronal mass ejection (CME) today, Sept. 26th, at approximately 12:15 UT. Analysts at the Goddard Space Weather Lab report a "strong compression of Earth's magnetosphere" and the possibility that satellites in geosynchronous orbit have been exposed to solar wind plasma and magnetic fields. Mid- to high-latitude sky watchers should be alert for auroras after nightfall. Observing tip: The hours around local midnight are usually best for spotting Northern and Southern Lights. Check http://spaceweather.com for images and updates.

DON'T MISS THE STORM: Would you like a call when geomagnetic storms are in progress? Storm alerts are available from http://spaceweathertext.com (text) and http://spaceweatherphone.com (voice).

Big Picture Science for 09/26/11 - Rend Me Your Ears

Big Picture Science - Rend Me Your Ears

ENCORE Shh – can you keep it down? Nope. Not unless you want to do away with civilization. Our buzzing, humming, whirling, machine-driven world is a poster child for technological progress, right?

As is hearing loss. It’s driven one man to search the world for silence. We’ll hear what he didn’t hear, and what Einstein predicted we should hear in deep space, where gravitational waves may reveal the hidden sounds of the universe, including the birth of black holes.

Guests:

• George Foy – Author of Zero Decibels: The Quest for Absolute Silence
• Garret Keizer – Author of The Unwanted Sound of Everything We Want
• Craig Hogan – Director for Particle Astrophysics at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory

Permalink: http://radio.seti.org/episodes/Rend_Me_Your_Ears

You can listen to this and other episodes at http://radio.seti.org/, and be sure to check out Are We A Blog?, the companion blog to the radio show.

ScienceCast: Did Earth Have Two Moons?

Source - NASAtelevision on Sep 22, 2011:

Did our planet once have two moons? Some researchers say so. Moreover, the missing satellite might still be up there--splattered across the far side of the Moon. NASA's GRAIL mission could help confirm or refute the "two moon" hypothesis:



Companion article: GRAIL and the Mystery of the Missing Moon

Visit http://science.nasa.gov/ for more.

ScienceCasts: Secret Lives of Solar Flares

Source - ScienceAtNASA on Sep 15, 2011:

Researchers have just discovered that solar flares have been keeping a secret--and it's a big one:



Companion article: The Secret Lives of Solar Flares

Visit http://science.nasa.gov/ for more.

Strong Solar Activity Continues

Source - Space Weather News for Sept. 24, 2011: http://spaceweather.com

STRONG SOLAR ACTIVITY: New sunspot 1302 is crackling with strong solar flares. This morning it unleashed an X2-class flare--its second X-flare in two days--quickly followed by an M7-class eruption. So far the blasts have not been Earth-directed, but this could change in the days ahead as the sunspot turns toward our planet. The sunspot is growing and there is no sign that it will quiet down soon. Visit http://spaceweather.com for movies and updates.

DON'T MISS THE NEXT FLARE: Would you like a call when X-flares are in progress? Realtime solar activity alerts are available from http://spaceweathertext.com (text) and http://spaceweatherphone.com (voice).

Amazing Movie of Auroras from the ISS

Source - Space Weather News for Sept. 22, 2011: http://spaceweather.com

SPACE STATION AURORA MOVIE: Astronauts onboard the International Space Station have recorded their best views yet of auroras dancing in the high atmosphere of Earth during a geomagnetic storm on Sept. 17th. Their must-see movie, just released by NASA, is highlighted on today's edition of http://spaceweather.com.

UARS RE-ENTRY UPDATE: NASA's massive UARS satellite remains on track to re-enter Earth's atmosphere during the late hours of Sept. 23rd. The fireball will probably miss North America, according to latest estimates of UARS orbital elements, but almost every other continent falls under a possible re-entry ground track. Better estimates are expected in the next 24 hours. As it makes its last orbits, the tumbling satellite is flashing brightly in the night sky, attracting the attention of stargazers and photographers. Check SpaceWeather's satellite tracker for last-chance sightings over your location: http://spaceweather.com/flybys .

TURN YOUR CELL PHONE INTO A UARS TRACKER: For more information visit http://simpleflybys.com

Bus-sized satellite to re-enter Earth's atmosphere this week

Source - Space Weather News for Sept. 20, 2011: http://spaceweather.com

UARS, a NASA satellite the size of a small bus, will re-enter Earth's atmosphere later this week producing a brilliant fireball somewhere over our planet. Best estimates place the re-entry time during the late hours of Sept. 23rd over a still-unknown region of Earth. Observers of the rapidly-decaying satellite say it is tumbling and flashing, sometimes almost as brightly as Venus. Video images featured on today's edition of http://spaceweather.com show how the doomed satellite looks through a backyard telescope.

Readers who would like to catch a last glimpse of UARS streaking across the night sky should check SpaceWeather's Satellite Tracker for flyby times: http://spaceweather.com/flybys . You can also turn your smartphone into a UARS tracker by downloading our Simple Flybys app: http://simpleflybys.com

Solar Flares Have Been Keeping a Secret

Source - NASA Science News for Sept. 19, 2011

NASA-supported researchers say that solar flares have been keeping a secret. The new finding, reported in the Astrophysical Journal, suggests that explosions on the sun could affect Earth even more than previously thought.

FULL STORY at

http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2011/19sep_secretlives/

Big Picture Science for 09/19/11 - Whodunit, Who'll Do It?

Big Picture Science - Whodunit, Who'll Do It?

The tools of forensics have moved way beyond fingerprint kits. These days, a prosecutor is as likely to wave a fMRI brain scan as a smoking gun as “Exhibit A.” Discover what happens when neuroscience has its day in court.

Meanwhile, research into the gold standard of identification, DNA, marches on. One day we may determine a suspect’s eye color from a drop of blood.

Plus, why much of forensic science – from fingerprinting to the polygraph – is more like reading tea leaves than science. And will future crime victims be robots?

Guests:

• Owen Jones – Professor of law, Professor of biological sciences at Vanderbilt University, in Nashville, Tennessee
• Manfred Kayser – Forensic molecular biologist, Erasmus University Medical Centre, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
• Marc Goodman – Founder, The Future Crimes Institute
• David Faigman – Law professor, University of California, Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco

Permalink: http://radio.seti.org/episodes/Whodunit_Who_ll_Do_It_

You can listen to this and other episodes at http://radio.seti.org/, and be sure to check out Are We A Blog?, the companion blog to the radio show.

Cool Video: Giant Asteroid Fly-around

Source - NASA Science News for Sept. 16, 2011

A just-released video from NASA's Dawn spacecraft takes viewers on a beautiful flyover of the giant asteroid Vesta.

FULL STORY at

http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2011/16sep_vestaflyaround/

Kepler Discovers a Planet with Two Suns

Source - NASA Science News for Sept. 15, 2011

The existence of a world with a double sunset, as portrayed in the film Star Wars more than 30 years ago, is now scientific fact. NASA's Kepler mission has made the first unambiguous detection of a "circumbinary planet"--a planet orbiting two stars--200 light-years from Earth.

FULL STORY at

http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2011/15sep_doublesuns/

(Image copyright NASA)

Sundiving Comet

Source - Space Weather News for Sept. 13, 2011: http://spaceweather.com

SUNDIVING COMET: A comet is diving into the sun today. Just discovered by comet hunters Michal Kusiak of Poland and Sergei Schmalz of Germany in data from SOHO, the icy visitor from the outer solar system is expected to brighten to first magnitude before it disintegrates on Sept. 14th. Visit http://spaceweather.com today and tomorrow to follow the comet's death plunge.

Big Picture Science for 09/12/11 - Whither the Weather?

Big Picture Science - Whither the Weather?

We all talk about the weather. And now scientists are doing something about it: providing more accurate warnings before big storms hit. Discover how smart technology – with an eye on the sky – is taking monster weather events by storm.

Plus, why severe weather events caused by a warming planet may trigger social and economic chaos.

Also, meet the storm chaser who runs toward tornadoes as everyone else flees… and why your cell phone goes haywire when the sun kicks up a storm of its own.

Guests:

• Michael Smith – Meteorologist, founder of WeatherData and author of Warnings: The True Story of How Science Tamed the Weather
• George Kourounis – Explorer and storm chaser
• Jeffrey Scargle – Research astrophyscisit in the Astrobiology and Space Science Division at NASA Ames Research Center
• Ken Caldeira – Climate scientist at the Carnegie Institution for Science’s Deparment of Global Ecology
• Christian Pareti – Contributing editor of The Nation, visiting scholar at the City Univeristy of New York, and author of Tropic of Chaos: Climate Change and the New Geography of Violence

Permalink: http://radio.seti.org/episodes/Whither_the_Weather_

You can listen to this and other episodes at http://radio.seti.org/, and be sure to check out Are We A Blog?, the companion blog to the radio show.

Geomagnetic storm in progress on Sept. 9th

Source - Space Weather News for Sept. 9. 2011: http://spaceweather.com

GEOMAGNETIC STORM: A strong geomagnetic storm (Kp=7) is in progress following the impact of a CME during the middle hours of the day on Sept. 9th. This could be the first of several hits from a series of CMEs expected to reach Earth during the weekend. High-latitude sky watchers should be alert for auroras after nightfall. (Observing tip: The hours around midnight are often best for aurora sightings.) Check http://spaceweather.com for more information and updates.

SPACE WEATHER ALERTS: Would you like a call when geomagnetic storms are in progress? Storm alerts are available from http://spaceweathertext.com (text) and http://spaceweatherphone.com (voice).

GRAIL and the Mystery of the Missing Moon

Source - NASA Science News for Sept. 7, 2011

Did our planet once have two moons? Some researchers say so. Moreover, the missing satellite might still be up there--splattered against the far side of the Moon. NASA's GRAIL mission, due to launch on Sept. 8th, could help confirm or refute the "two moon" hypothesis.

FULL STORY at

http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2011/07sep_twomoons/

Strong Solar Activity Could Spark Auroras

Source - Space Weather News for Sept. 7, 2011: http://spaceweather.com

STRONG SOLAR ACTIVITY: On Sept. 6th, active sunspot 1283 produced two major eruptions including an impulsive X2-class solar flare. The blasts hurled a pair of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) toward Earth, which could spark geomagnetic activity when they arrive on Sept. 8-10.

High-latitude sky watchers should be alert for auroras in the nights ahead. Check http://spaceweather.com for images and updates.

DON'T MISS THE STORM: Would you like a call when geomagnetic storms are in progress? Storm alerts are available from http://spaceweathertext.com (text) and http://spaceweatherphone.com (voice).

Big Picture Science for 09/05/11 - Seth's Tool Shed

Big Picture Science - Seth's Tool Shed

Anyone who does gardening knows that life is tough. It’s also ancient – the first living things appeared on this planet nearly as soon as our world was habitable. We consider life on real worlds – like Earth and Mars – as well as fictional ones, such as the desert planet from the movie “Dune”. We’ll hear about a new scheme to find Martians, and practical approaches to coping with climate change.

And is Pluto seeking revenge? The unmasking of a fourth moon around this former planet!

We’re making some lively discoveries in Seth’s Tool Shed on Big Picture Science.

Guests:

• Philip Duffy – Physicist and senior scientist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
• Kevin Zahnle – Planetary scientist at the NASA Ames Research Center
• David Summers – Astrobiologist at the SETI Institute
• Christopher Carr – Researcher in the Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Mark Showalter – Research scientist at the SETI Institute

Permalink: http://radio.seti.org/episodes/Seth_s_Tool_Shed

You can listen to this and other episodes at http://radio.seti.org/, and be sure to check out Are We A Blog?, the companion blog to the radio show.

Dwarf Planet Mysteries Beckon to New Horizons

Source - NASA Science News for Sept. 2, 2011

Dwarf planet Pluto is a world of mystery waiting to be visited for the first time. NASA's New Horizons probe is racing across the solar system for a close encounter that could dramatically alter what researchers "know" about Pluto and other small worlds.

FULL STORY at

http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2011/02sep_newhorizons/

Companion video source - ScienceAtNASA on Sep 2, 2011