Must-See Sunset Phenomenon

Source - Space Weather News for Dec. 30, 2013: http://spaceweather.com

MUST-SEE SUNSET PHENOMENON: Like the Moon, Venus has phases, and this week the second planet from the sun is a whisper-thin crescent. The phenomenon is easy to observe. Venus is so bright, you can see it at sunset even before the sky fades to black (hint: face southwest).  A pair of binoculars or a small telescope reveals Venus's crescent shape.

Check http://spaceweather.com for photos and more information.

AURORA WATCH:  A solar wind stream is approaching Earth and could spark the first auroras of 2014 when it arrives on Jan. 2-4.  Would you like a call when the sky lights up? Geomagnetic storm alerts are available from http://spaceweathertext.com (text) and http://spaceweatherphone.com (voice).

Big Picture Science for 12/30/13 - Animal Instinct

Big Picture Science - Animal Instinct

ENCORE: Mooooove over, make way for the cows, the chickens … and other animals! Humans can learn a lot from our hairy, feathered, four-legged friends. We may wear suits and play Sudoku, but Homo sapiens are primates just the same. We’ve met the animal, and it is us.

Discover the surprising similarity between our diseases and those that afflict other animals, including pigs that develop eating disorders. Plus, what the octopus can teach us about national security … how monkeying around evolved into human speech … and the origins of moral behavior in humans.

Guests:

• Rafe Sagarin – Marine ecologist, Institute of the Environment, University of Arizona, author of Learning From the Octopus: How Secrets from Nature Can Help Us Fight Terrorist Attacks, Natural Disasters, and Disease
• Barbara Natterson-Horowitz – Professor of cardiology, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, and co-author of Zoobiquity: What Animals Can Teach Us About Health and the Science of Healing
• Kathryn Bowers – Writer, co-author of Zoobiquity: What Animals Can Teach Us About Health and the Science of Healing
• Asif Ghazanfar – Neuroscientist, psychologist, Princeton University
• Christopher Boehm – Biological and cultural anthropologist at the University of Southern California, director of the Jane Goodall Research Center, author of Moral Origins: The Evolution of Virtue, Altruism, and Shame

This encore podcast was first released on July 9, 2012

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

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.

Electric Blue Clouds Appear Over Antarctica

NASA Science News for Dec. 23, 2013

A vast bank of electric-blue clouds has appeared over Antarctica, signaling the start of the season for southern hemisphere noctilucent clouds.

The complete article can be found here: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2013/23dec_antarctica/

A companion video is posted below and can also be viewed at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHpxD807kM4




License: Standard YouTube License

Big Picture Science for 12/23/13 - Group Think

Big Picture Science - Group Think

ENCORE: If two is company and three a crowd, what’s the ideal number to write a play or invent a new operating system? Some say you need groups to be creative. Others disagree: breakthroughs come only in solitude.

Hear both sides, and find out why you always have company even when alone: meet the “parliament of selves” that drive your brain’s decision-making.

Plus, how ideas of societies lead them to thrive or fall, and why educated conservatives have lost trust in science.

Guests:

• Susan Cain – Author of Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking
• Keith Sawyer – Psychologist at Washington University in St. Louis and author of Group Genius: The Creative Power of Collaboration
• David Eagleman – Neuroscientist, Baylor College of Medicine and author of Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain
• Gordon Gauchat – Sociologist, University North Carolina, Chapel Hill
• Joseph Tainter – Professor, Environment & Society Department, Utah State University and author of The Collapse of Complex Societies

This encore podcast was first released on April 30, 2012

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

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.

Big Picture Science for 12/16/13 - Some Like It Cold

Big Picture Science - Some Like It Cold

We all may prefer the goldilocks zone – not too hot, not too cold. But most of the universe is bitterly cold. We can learn a lot about it if we’re willing to brave a temperature drop.

A chilly Arctic island is the closest thing to Mars-on-Earth for scientists who want to go to the Red Planet. Meanwhile, the ice sheet at the South Pole is ideal for catching neutrinos – ghostly particles that may reveal secrets about the nature of the universe.

Comet ISON is comet ice-off after its passage close to the Sun, but it’s still giving us the word on solar system’s earliest years.

Also, scientists discover the coldest spot on Earth. A champion chill, but positively balmy compared to absolute zero. Why reaching a temperature of absolute zero is impossible, although we’ve gotten very, very close.

Guests:

• Francis Halzen – Physicist, University of Wisconsin-Madison, principal investigator of The IceCube Neutrino Observatory
• Ted Scambos – Glaciologist, lead scientist, National Snow and Ice Data Center, University of Colorado
• Pascal Lee – Planetary scientist, SETI Institute, director, NASA Haughton-Mars Project, and co-founder of the Mars Society. His new book is Mission: Mars
• Andrew Fraknoi – Chair, astronomy department, Foothill College
• Vladan Vuletić – Physicist, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

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

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.

The "Magic Hour" for Geminid Meteors

Source - NASA Science News for Dec. 13, 2013

The Geminid meteor shower is underway. Forecasters say the best time to look is during the dark hours before sunrise on Saturday morning, Dec. 14th. Dark-sky observers could see dozens of bright shooting stars.

The complete article can be found here: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2013/13dec_geminids/

A companion video is posted below and can also be viewed at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kvpe1Qg7Ak



License: Standard YouTube License

The Geminid Meteor Shower is Underway

Source - Space Weather News for Dec. 12, 2013: http://spaceweather.com

GEMINID METEOR SHOWER:  Earth is entering a stream of debris from "rock comet" 3200 Phaethon, source of the annual Geminid meteor shower.  Last night, NASA cameras recorded more than a dozen fireballs over the USA.  Geminid activity should remain relatively high for the next three or four nights, with a peak expected on Dec. 13-14.  Check http://spaceweather.com for more information and observing tips.

GEOMAGNETIC STORM:  On Dec. 7th, a solar wind stream hit Earth's magnetic field, sparking an unexpected geomagnetic storm and Northern Lights over several US states. Did you miss it? 

Auroras alerts are available from: http://spaceweathertext.com (text) and http://spaceweatherphone.com (voice).

The Coldest Place on Earth

Source - NASA Science News for Dec. 10, 2013

Earth-orbiting satellites have found the coldest place on Earth. It's a group of hollows in Antarctica where temperatures can dip below minus 133.6 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 92 degrees Celsius) on a clear winter night.

The complete article can be found here: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2013/09dec_coldspot/

A companion video is posted below and can also be viewed at: http://youtu.be/Hp6wMUVb23c



License: Standard YouTube License

Andromedid Meteor Outburst

Source - Space Weather News for Dec. 8, 2013: http://spaceweather.com

METEOR OUTBURST:  The Canadian Meteor Orbit Radar is detecting echoes from a meteor outburst in the constellation Andromeda, in progress on Dec. 8th.  It appears to be debris from old Comet Biela, which broke apart in the 19th century.  Observers in the northern hemisphere, especially Europeans, should be alert for Andromedid meteors on the night of Dec. 8-9.  More information may be found at http://spaceweather.com.

GEOMAGNETIC STORM:  A solar wind stream hit Earth's magnetic field on Dec. 7th, sparking an unexpected geomagnetic storm and Northern Lights over numerous US states.  NOAA forecasters estimate a 35% chance of additional storms on Dec. 8th and 9th.

Auroras alerts are available from: http://spaceweathertext.com (text) and http://spaceweatherphone.com (voice).

Big Picture Science for 12/09/13 - Monster Mashup

Big Picture Science - Monster Mashup

Monsters don’t exist. Except when they do. And extinction is forever, except when it isn’t. So, which animals are mythical and which are in hiding?

Bigfoot sightings are plentiful, but real evidence for the hirsute creature is a big zilch. Yet, the coelacanth, a predatory fish thought extinct, actually lives. Today, its genome is offering clues as to how and when our fishy ancestors first flopped onto land.

Meanwhile, the ivory-billed woodpecker assumes mythic status as it flutters between existence and extinction. And, from passenger pigeons to the wooly mammoth, hi-tech genetics may imitate Jurassic Park, and bring back vanished animals.

Guests:

• Donald Prothero – Paleontologist, geologist, former professor at Occidental College, co-author of Abominable Science!: Origins of the Yeti, Nessie, and Other Famous Cryptids
• Chris Amemiya – Biologist and geneticist at the University of Washington and the Benaroya Research Institute, Seattle
• John Fitzgerald – Ornithologist and director, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Cornell University
• Ben Novak – Visiting biologist at the University of California, Santa Cruz, lead coordinating scientist of “The Great Comeback” at the Revive and Restore project, Long Now Foundation

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

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.

What Happened to Comet ISON?

Source - NASA Science News for Dec. 04, 2013

In full view of the NASA-ESA solar physics fleet, Comet ISON disintegrated when it flew through the sun's atmosphere on Thanksgiving Day. Researchers are still marveling at the images and the scientific data they contain.

The complete article can be found here: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2013/04dec_isonrecap/

Big Picture Science for 12/02/13 - Math's Days Are Numbered

Big Picture Science - Math's Days Are Numbered

Imagine a world without algebra. We can hear the sound of school children applauding. What practical use are parametric equations and polynomials, anyway? Even some scholars argue that algebra is the Latin of today, and should be dropped from the mandatory curriculum.

But why stop there? Maybe we should do away with math classes altogether.

An astronomer says he’d be out of work: we can all forget about understanding the origins of the universe, the cycles of the moon and how to communicate with alien life. Also, no math = no cybersecurity + hackers (who have taken math) will have the upper hand.

Also, without mathematics, you’ll laugh < you do now. The Simpsons creator Matt Groening has peppered his animated show with hidden math jokes.

And why mathematics = love.

Guests:

• Andrew Hacker – Professor of political science and mathematics at Queens College, City University of New York. His article, “Is Algebra Necessary?”, appeared in The New York Times in 2012.
• Bob Berman – Astronomy editor of The Old Farmer’s Almanac, the author of The Sun’s Heartbeat: And Other Stories from the Life of the Star That Powers Our Planet, and columnist for Astronomy Magazine. His article, “How Math Drives the Universe” is the cover story in the December 2013 issue.
• Simon Singh – Science writer, author of The Simpsons and Their Mathematical Secrets
• Rob Manning – Flight system chief engineer at the Jet Propulsion Lab, responsible for NASA’s Curiosity rover
• Edward Frenkel – Professor of mathematics at the University of California, Berkeley, author of Love and Math: The Heart of Hidden Reality. His article, “The Perils of Hacking Math,” is found on the online magazine, Slate.

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

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.