Monday, January 28, 2013

Record-setting Asteroid Flyby in February


Source - NASA Science News for Jan. 28, 2013

On Feb. 15th an asteroid about half the size of a football field will fly past Earth closer than many man-made satellites. Since regular sky surveys began in the 1990s, astronomers have never seen an object so big come so close to our planet.

The complete article can be found here: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2013/28jan_2012da/

A companion video is posted below and can also be viewed at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwidzVHvbGI



License: Standard YouTube License

Sunday, January 27, 2013

Big Picture Science for 01/28/13 - Skeptic Check: Science Blunders

Image for Big Picture Science weekly radio show
Big Picture Science - Skeptic Check: Science Blunders

We’ve all had an “oops” moment. Scientists are no exception. Sometimes science stumbles in the steady march of progress. Find out why cold fusion is a premier example why you shouldn’t hold a press conference before publishing your results. Also, how to separate fumbles from faux-science from fraud.

Plus, why ignorance is what really drives the scientific method.

And our Hollywood skeptic poses as a psychic for Dr. Phil, while our Dr. Phil (Plait) investigates the authenticity of a life-bearing meteorite.

Guests:

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

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

Sunday, January 20, 2013

Big Picture Science for 01/21/13 - We Heart Robots

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Big Picture Science - We Heart Robots

The machines are coming! Meet the prototypes of your future robot buddies and discover how you may come to love a hunk of hardware. From telerobots that are your mechanical avatars … to automated systems for the disabled … and artifical hands that can diffuse bombs.

Plus, the ethics of advanced robotics: should life-or-death decisions be automated?

And, a biologist uses robo-fish to understand evolution.

Guests:

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

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

Layers with Carbonate Content Inside McLaughlin Crater on Mars


This view of layered rocks on the floor of McLaughlin Crater shows sedimentary rocks that contain spectroscopic evidence for minerals formed through interaction with water. The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter recorded the image.

A combination of clues suggests this 1.4-mile-deep (2.2-kilometer-deep) crater once held a lake fed by groundwater. Part of the evidence is identification of clay and carbonate minerals within layers visible near the center of this image. The mineral identifications come from the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM), also on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

The scene covers an area about one-third of a mile (about 550 meters) across, at 337.6 degrees east longitude, 21.9 degrees north latitude. North is up. Figure 1 indicates the location of layers bearing clay and carbonate minerals and includes a scale bar of 100 meters (328 feet).


Source: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/MRO/multimedia/pia16710.html

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona

Friday, January 18, 2013

Comet of the Century?


Source - NASA Science News for Jan. 18, 2013:

Astronomers are keeping a close eye on newly-discovered Comet ISON, which could become visible in broad daylight later this year when it skims through the atmosphere of the sun. Some reporters have dubbed ISON the "Comet of the Century," but experts aren't yet sure how bright the sungrazer will become.

The complete article can be found here: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2013/18jan_cometison/

A companion video is posted below and can also be viewed at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_1HdOCOJ_Q



License: Standard YouTube License

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

NASA Finds 2012 Sustained Long-Term Climate Warming Trend


Source - NASA Science News for Jan. 15, 2013

NASA scientists say 2012 was the ninth warmest of any year since 1880, continuing a long-term trend of rising global temperatures. With the exception of 1998, the nine warmest years in the 132-year record all have occurred since 2000, with 2010 and 2005 ranking as the hottest years on record.

The complete article can be found here: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2013/15jan_warming/

Sunday, January 13, 2013

Big Picture Science for 01/14/13 - Whither the Weather?

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Big Picture Science - Whither the Weather?

ENCORE: 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:

This podcast first released September 12, 2011

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 Blog Picture Science, the companion blog to the radio show.

Friday, January 11, 2013

A Big Sunspot Turns Toward Earth


Source - Space Weather News for Jan. 11, 2013: http://spaceweather.com

ACTIVE SUNSPOT:  One of the biggest sunspots of the current solar cycle is now turning toward Earth. Named AR1654, the active region is crackling with medium-sized (M-class) flares and could be poised to break the recent spell of calm space weather around our planet.  Check http://spaceweather.com for images and updates.

SOLAR FLARE ALERTS: Would you like a call when solar flares are underway? X-flare alerts are available from http://spaceweathertext.com (text) and http://spaceweatherphone.com (voice).

Wednesday, January 09, 2013

Solar Variability and Terrestrial Climate


Source - NASA Science News for Jan. 8, 2013

A new report issued by the National Research Council, "The Effects of Solar Variability on Earth's Climate," lays out some of the surprisingly complex ways that solar activity can make itself felt on our planet.

The complete article can be found here: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2013/08jan_sunclimate/

Monday, January 07, 2013

ISS Update: Robonaut 2


Source - ReelNASA, Jan 7, 2013 :

ISS Update commentator Pat Ryan sits down with Dr. Ron Diftler, Robonaut project lead, to discuss the first humanoid robot in space.

Questions? Ask us on Twitter @NASA_Johnson and include the hashtag #askStation.



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Sunday, January 06, 2013

Big Picture Science for 01/07/13 - Ultimate Hook Up

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Big Picture Science - Ultimate Hook Up

ENCORE Imagine moving things with your mind. Not with telekinesis, but with the future tools of brain science. Meet a pioneer in the field of computer-to-brain connection and discover the blurry boundary where the mind ends and the machine begins.

Plus, how new technology is sharpening the “real” in virtual reality. And, whether our devotion to digital devices is changing what it means to be human.

Guests:

This podcast first released July 4, 2011

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

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