CME Impact and Geomagnetic Storm

Souce - Space Weather News for Feb. 27, 2014: http://spaceweather.com

CME IMPACT: As expected, a CME hit Earth's magnetic field today (Feb. 27th @ 1645 UT), and the impact has triggered geomagnetic storms around Earth's poles.  The CME is an after-effect of the X4.9 class solar flare reported on Feb. 25th.

Visit http://spaceweather.com for updates about this developing space weather event.

Rain and Snow Satellite Set to Launch

Source - NASA Science News for Feb. 26, 2014

NASA and JAXA are about to launch a new satellite that can see through storms, tracking rain and snow around the globe better than any previous observatory. The Global Precipitation Measurement Core Observatory is scheduled to lift off
from Japan on Feb. 27th.

The complete article can be found here: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2014/26feb_gpm/

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



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A Breakthrough in Planet Discoveries

Source - NASA Science News for Feb. 26, 2014

Today, NASA announced a breakthrough addition to the catalog of new planets. Researchers using Kepler have confirmed 715 new worlds, almost quadrupling the number of planets previously confirmed by the planet-hunting spacecraft. Some of the new worlds are similar in size to Earth and orbit in the habitable zone of their parent stars.

The complete article can be found here: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2014/26feb_multiplication/

A companion video is posted below and can also be viewed at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4hHt3bxaGQ



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X-class Solar Flare

Source - Space Weather News for Feb. 25, 2014: http://spaceweather.com

X-FLARE:  Long-lived sunspot AR1967 returned to the Earthside of the sun on Feb. 25th and promptly erupted, producing an X4.9-class solar flare.  This is the strongest flare of the year so far and one of the strongest of the current solar cycle. 

Check http://spaceweather.com for updates about this eruption and the possibility of more to come.

Big Picture Science for 02/24/14 - Before the Big Bang

Big Picture Science - Before the Big Bang

ENCORE: It’s one of the biggest questions you can ask: has the universe existed forever? The Big Bang is supposedly the moment it all began. But now scientists wonder if there isn’t an earlier chapter to our origin story. And maybe chapters before that!

What happened before the Big Bang? It’s the ultimate prequel.

Plus – the Big Bang as scientific story: nail biter or snoozer?

Guests

• Roger Penrose – Cosmologist, Oxford University
• Sean Carroll – Theoretical physicist, Caltech, author of The Particle at the End of the Universe: How the Hunt for the Higgs Boson Leads Us to the Edge of a New World
• Simon Steel – Astronomer, Tufts University
• Andrei Linde – Physicist, Stanford University
• Jonathan Gottschall – Writer, author of The Storytelling Animal: How Stories Make Us Human
• Marcus Chown – Science writer and cosmology consultant for New Scientist magazine

This encore podcast was first released on First released December 17, 2102

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

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.

Supernovas Slosh Before Exploding

Source - NASA Science News for Feb. 19, 2014

New data from a NASA X-ray observatory shows that the cores of supernovas probably slosh around before detonating. This helps solve a longstanding mystery about how massive stars explode.

The complete article can be found here: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2014/19feb_slosh/

CME Impact Sparks Northern Lights over the USA

Source - Space Weather News for Feb. 19, 2014 :http://spaceweather.com

CME IMPACT: A minor geomagnetic storm was already in progress during the early hours of  Feb. 19th when a CME struck Earth's magnetic field. The impact revved-up the storm and sent Northern Lights spilling across the Canadian border into the United States.   Visit http://spaceweather.com for updates and images of the display.

DID YOU MISS THE SHOW? Subscribers to SpaceWeather.com's aurora-alert system did receive late-night text messages on Feb. 18-19 stating that a geomagnetic storm was underway.  You can sign up for these alerts at http://spaceweathertext.com (text) or http://spaceweatherphone.com (voice).

Big Picture Science for 02/17/14 - Skeptic Check: Paleo Diet

Big Picture Science - Skeptic Check: Paleo Diet

What’s for dinner? Meat, acorns, tubers, and fruit. Followers of the Paleo diet say we should eat what our ancestors ate 10,000 years ago, when our genes were perfectly in synch with the environment.

We investigate the reasoning behind going paleo with the movement’s pioneer, as well as with an evolutionary biologist. Is it true that our genes haven’t changed much since our hunter-gatherer days?

Plus, a surprising dental discovery is nothing for cavemen to smile about.

And another fad diet that has a historical root: the monastic tradition of 5:2 – five days of eating and two days of fasting.

It’s our monthly look at critical thinking, Skeptic Check … but don’t take our word for it.

Guests:

• Loren Cordain – Professor of health and exercise science, Colorado State University, founder of the modern-day paleo diet, author, The Paleo Diet Revised: Lose Weight and Get Healthy by Eating the Foods You Were Designed to Eat
• Andrew Jotischky – Professor of medieval history, Lancaster University
• Louise Humphrey – Archeologist, Natural History Museum in London
• Marlene Zuk – Evolutionary biologist, University of Minnesota, and author of Paleofantasy: What Evolution Really Tells Us about Sex, Diet, and How We Live

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

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.

Mars Rover Solves Doughnut Riddle

Source - NASA Science News for Feb. 14, 2014

What if a rock that looked like a jelly doughnut suddenly appeared on Mars? That's just what happened in front of Mars rover Opportunity last month. Researchers have since determined that the "doughnut" is a piece of a larger rock broken and moved by the rover's wheels in early January.

The complete article can be found here: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2014/14feb_doughnut/

10 More Years for the ISS

Source - NASA Science News for Feb. 14, 2014

With the International Space Station no longer "under construction," the world's most advanced orbital laboratory is open for business. The station has just received a 10-year extension from NASA, giving researchers the time they need to take full advantage of its unique capabilities.

The complete article can be found here: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2014/14feb_10years/

A companion video is posted below and can also be viewed at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzjskjY4ihQ



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Auroras for Valentine's Day?

Source - Space Weather News for Feb 14, 2014: http://spaceweather.com

AURORAS FOR VALENTINE'S DAY? Three CMEs are heading for Earth. Individually they are minor clouds. However, by striking Earth's magnetic field in quick succession on Feb 14-15, they could cause significant geomagnetic activity around the poles. Check http://spaceweather.com for updates about possible auroras on Valentine's Day.

SOLAR FLARE ALERTS:  Big sunspot AR1974 has a 'beta-gamma-delta' magnetic field that harbors energy for strong flares.  

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

Big Picture Science for 02/10/14 - Gene Hack, Man

Big Picture Science - Gene Hack, Man

ENCORE: Computers and DNA have a few things in common. Both use digital codes and are prone to viruses. And, it seems, both can be hacked. From restoring the flavor of tomatoes to hacking into the president’s DNA, discover the promise and peril of gene tinkering.

Plus, computer hacking. Just how easy is it to break into your neighbor’s email account? What about the CIA’s?

Also, one man’s concern that radio telescopes might pick up an alien computer virus.

Guests:

• George Weinstock – Microbiologist, geneticist, associate director at the Washington University Genome Institute, St. Louis
• Jim Giovannoni – Plant molecular biologist, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cornell University campus
• Andrew Hessel – Faculty member, Singularity University, research scientist at Autodesk, and co-author of “Hacking the President’s DNA” in the November 2012 issue of The Atlantic
• Dan Kaminsky – Chief scientist of security firm DHK
• Dick Carrigan – Scientist emeritus at Fermilab, Batavia, Illinois

This encore podcast was first released on December 10, 2012

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

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.

California Drought

Source - NASA Science News for Feb. 7, 2014

California is experiencing an extreme drought--by some measures the deepest in more than a century. NASA researchers are investigating the underlying causes as satellites, aircraft, and high-altitude balloons collect sobering images of the desiccating landscape.

The complete article can be found here: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2014/07feb_drought/

A companion video is posted below and can also be viewed at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5HwRXsw2Q8



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Kepler Finds a Very Wobbly Planet

Source - NASA Science News for Feb. 4, 2014

Imagine living on a planet with seasons so erratic you would hardly know whether to wear Bermuda shorts or a heavy overcoat. That is the situation on a weird, wobbly world found by NASA's Kepler space telescope. The planet wobbles wildly on its spin axis, much like a child's top.

The complete article can be found here: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2014/04feb_wobble/

Big Picture Science for 02/03/14 - Stranded

Big Picture Science - Stranded

Imagine not knowing where you are – and no one else knowing either. Today, that’s pretty unlikely. Digital devices pinpoint our location within a few feet, so it’s hard to get lost anymore. But we can still get stranded.

A reporter onboard an Antarctic ship that was stuck for weeks in sea ice describes his experience, and contrasts that with a stranding a hundred years prior in which explorers ate their dogs to survive.

Plus, the Plan B that keeps astronauts from floating away forever … how animals and plants hitch rides on open sea to populate new lands … and the rise of the mapping technology that has made hiding a thing of the past.

Guests:

• Hiawatha Bray – Technology reporter, Boston Globe, author ofYou Are Here: From the Compass to GPS, the History and Future of How We Find Ourselves
• Andrew Luck-Baker – Producer, BBC radio science unit, London
• Alan de Queiroz – Evolutionary biologist, University of Nevada, Reno and author of The Monkey’s Voyage: How Improbable Journeys Shaped the History of Life
• Chris Hadfield – Astronaut and author of An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth: What Going to Space Taught Me About Ingenuity, Determination, and Being Prepared for Anything. His Space Oddity video.

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

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 Coldest Spot in the Known Universe

Source - NASA Science News for Jan. 30, 2014

NASA researchers are planning to create the coldest spot in the known Universe--inside the International Space Station. Their atomic refrigerator, known as the "Cold Atom Lab," could lead to the discovery of new forms of matter and novel quantum phenomena.

The complete article can be found here: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2014/30jan_coldspot/

A companion video is posted below and can also be viewed at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9_LmSTtpkI



License: Standard YouTube License