ScienceCasts: Total Eclipse of the Harvest Moon

Source - ScienceAtNASA

This Sunday, Sep. 27th, the super Harvest Moon will pass through the shadow of Earth, producing a lovely amber total lunar eclipse.



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The Hidden Meltdown of Greenland

Source - NASA Science News for August 28, 2015

NASA-supported researchers have found that ice covering Greenland is melting faster than previously thought.

The complete article can be found here: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2015/28aug_greenland/

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



Creative Commons Attribution license (reuse allowed)

Big Picture Science for Monday September 21, 2015 - No Face to Hide

Big Picture Science - No Face to Hide

Face it – your mug is not entirely yours.  It’s routinely uploaded to social media pages and captured on CCTV cameras with – and without – your consent.  Sophisticated facial recognition technology can identify you and even make links to your personal data.  There are few places where you’re safe from scrutiny.

Find out how a computer analyzes the geometry of a face and why even identical twins don’t fool its discerning gaze.  Proponents say that biometrics are powerful tools to stop crime, but the lack of regulation concerns privacy groups.  Do you want to be identified – and your habits tracked – whenever you step outside?

Plus, astronomy meets forensics.  How analyzing photos and paintings using weather records, sky charts, and phases of the moon help solve intriguing mysteries, including the history of an iconic V.J. Day photo.

Guests:

• Donald Olson – Physicist, astronomer, Texas State University  
• Marios Savvides – Computer engineer, Director, CyLab Biometrics Center, Carnegie Mellon University
• Alvaro Bedoya – Executive director, Center on Privacy and Technology, Georgetown Law

Download episode at: : http://bigpicturescience.org/episodes/no-face-to-hide

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

NASA spacecraft sees a rare double solar eclipse

Source - Space Weather News for Sept. 14, 2015: http://spaceweather.com

DOUBLE SOLAR ECLIPSE:  Yesterday, a NASA spacecraft witnessed a rare double eclipse.  The Solar Dynamics Observatory photographed Earth and the Moon passing in front of the sun at the same time.  Photos are highlighted on today's edition of http://spaceweather.com.

AURORA SEASON BEGINS:  For reasons researchers still don't fully understand, auroras love equinoxes. At this time of year even gentle gusts of solar wind can spark a nice display of Northern or Southern Lights.  Such an event is about to occur.  A stream of solar wind is expected to hit Earth's magnetic field on Sept. 14-15. Aurora alerts are available from http://spaceweathertext.com (text) and http://spaceweatherphone.com (voice).

Big Picture Science for Monday September 14, 2015 - Stranded

Big Picture Science - Stranded

ENCORE: 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.

This encore podcast was first released on February 3, 2014.

Download episode at: http://bigpicturescience.org/episodes/Stranded

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

Sept. 11th Geomagnetic Storm

Source - Space Weather News for Sept. 11, 2015: http://spaceweather.com

GEOMAGNETIC STORM: A stream of solar wind hit Earth's magnetic field on Sept. 11th, sparking one of the strongest geomagnetic storms of the year and auroras in multiple US states. This continues a trend of relatively high geomagnetic activity that began on Sept. 7th.  High-latitude sky watchers could see more auroras tonight.  Visit http://spaceweather.com for more information and updates.

AURORA WAKE-UP CALLS:  Did you miss last night's display?  Next time get a wake-up call. Geomagnetic storm alerts are available from http://spaceweathertext.com (text) and http://spaceweatherphone.com (voice).

Labor Day Geomagnetic Storm

Source - Space Weather News for Sept. 7, 2015: http://spaceweather.com

LABOR DAY GEOMAGNETIC STORM:  A G2-class geomagnetic storm is in progress on Sept. 7th as Earth moves through a stream of fast moving solar wind.  Sky watchers in Alaska witnessed bright auroras before daybreak on Monday, and they might see them again after nightfall. High-latitude observers everywhere should be alert for Northern Lights.

Check http://spaceweather.com for images and updates.

Big Picture Science for Monday September 7, 2015 - The Pest of Us

Big Picture Science - The Pest of Us

ENCORE: Picture a cockroach skittering across your kitchen. Eeww! Now imagine it served as an entrée at your local restaurant. There’s good reason these diminutive arthropods give us the willies – but they may also be the key to protein-rich meals of the future. Get ready for cricket casserole, as our relationship to bugs is about to change.

Also, share in one man’s panic attack when he is swarmed by grasshoppers. And the evolutionary reason insects revolt us, but also why the cicada’s buzz and the beetle’s click may have inspired humans to make music.

Plus, the history of urban pests: why roaches love to hide out between your floorboards. And Molly adopts a boxful of mealworms.

Guests:

•   Jeffrey Lockwood – Professor of natural sciences and humanities, University of Wyoming, author of The Infested Mind: Why Humans Fear, Loathe, and Love Insects
•   David Rothenberg – Musician, author of Bug Music: How Insects Gave Us Rhythm and Noise
•   Dawn Day Biehler – Assistant professor of geography and environmental studies, University of Maryland, Baltimore county, author of Pests in the City: Flies, Bedbugs, Cockroaches, and Rats (Weyerhaeuser Environmental Books)
•   Andrew Brentano, Jena Brentano and Daniel Imrie-Situnayake – Co-founders, Tiny Farms, Berkeley, California


This encore podcast was first released on January 27, 2014.

Download episode at: http://bigpicturescience.org/episodes/The_Pest_of_Us

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

156 Years Ago, A Solar Superstorm

Source - Space Weather News for Sept. 2, 2015: http://spaceweather.com

Today is the anniversary of an historic solar storm, the Carrington Event. On Sept. 2, 1859, a CME struck Earth's magnetic field with such power that telegraph stations caught fire and people in Cuba read their morning newspapers by the red light of the aurora borealis. If a similar storm struck our planet today, it might cause trillions of dollars of damage to society's high-tech infrastructure. Could the Carrington Event happen again?  It almost did just a few years ago.

Extreme solar storms--past, present and future--are highlighted on today's edition of http://spaceweather.com .

Big Picture Science for Monday 31 August 2015 - What Lies Beneath

Big Picture Science - What Lies Beneath

What you can’t see may astound you.  The largest unexplored region of Earth is the ocean.  Beneath its churning surface, oceanographers have recently discovered the largest volcano in the world – perhaps in the solar system.
 
Find out what is known – and yet to be discovered – about the marine life of the abyss, and how a fish called the bristlemouth has grabbed the crown for “most numerous vertebrate on Earth” from the chicken.
 
Plus, the menace of America’s Cascadia fault, which has the potential to unleash a devastating magnitude 9 earthquake. 
 
Follow Dr. Sager’s voyage back to Tamu Massif in Fall 2015.

Guests:
 
•  Bruce Robison – Deep sea biologist, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute
•  William Sager – Marine geophysicist, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Houston
•  Chris Goldfinger  - Marine geologist, geophysicist, paleo-seismologist, Oregon State University


Download episode at: http://bigpicturescience.org/episodes/what-lies-beneath

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

Aurora Watch, Aug.27-28

Source - Space Weather News for Aug. 27, 2015: http://spaceweather.com

Earth's polar magnetic field is storming as our planet passes through a region of south-pointing magnetism in the solar wind.  Last night (Aug. 26-27), observers around the Arctic Circle saw some of their first auroras in months and Northern Lights descended across the Canadian border into multiple US states.  Solar wind conditions favor more geomagnetic storms and high-latitude auroras on Aug. 27-28.  Check http://spaceweather.com for more information and updates.

AURORA ALERTS:  Don't sleep through the auroras.  Get a phone call when geomagnetic storms are underway.  Space weather alerts are available from http://spaceweathertext.com (text) and http://spaceweatherphone.com (voice).

Big Picture Science for Monday 24 August 2015 - The Light Stuff

Big Picture Science - The Light Stuff

The light bulb needs changing.  Edison’s incandescent bulb, virtually unaltered for more than a century, is now being eclipsed by the LED.  The creative applications for these small and efficient devices are endless: on tape, on wallpaper, even in contact lenses.  They will set the world aglow.  But is a brighter world a better one?
 
Discover the many ingenious applications for LEDs and the brilliance of the 19th century scientist, James Clerk Maxwell, who first discovered just what light is.  But both biologists and astronomers are alarmed by the disappearance of dark.   Find out how light pollution is making us and other animals sick and – when was the last time you saw a starry night?
 
Guests:
 
•  Ian Ferguson – Engineer, dean of the College of Engineering and Computing, Missouri University of Science and Technology
•  Jay Neitz – Professor, department of ophthalmology, University of Washington
•  Martin Hendry - Professor, gravitational astrophysics and cosmology, University of Glasgow
•  John Barentine  - Program manager, International Dark Sky Association



Download episode at: http://traffic.libsyn.com/arewealone/BiPiSci15-08-24.mp3

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

Astronauts see "sprites" and "trolls" from Earth orbit

Source - Space Weather News for Aug. 20, 2015: http://spaceweather.com

This month, astronauts onboard the International Space Station have witnessed exotic forms of lightning that reach up from thunderclouds near Earth's surface all the way to the edge of space.  Their photographs of "sprites" and "trolls" dancing over Mexico are a must-see.  These forms can been seen from Earth's surface, too. 

Observing tips and more information are available on today's edition of http://spaceweather.com

Big Picture Science for Monday 17 August 2015 - Skeptic Check: Skeptic Seth

Big Picture Science - Skeptic Check: Skeptic Seth

Are you skeptical?  Sure, you raise an eyebrow when some Nigerian prince asks for your bank numbers, or when a breakfast cereal claims that it will turn your kid into a professional athlete overnight.

But what do you really know about the benefits of organic milk?  Or the power of whitening ingredients in your toothpaste?  How credible is what you read on Twitter?

Today, information overwhelms us, and the need to keep our skeptical wits about us has never been greater.  We follow Seth around as he faces the daily onslaught of hype and hokum.

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

Guests: 
 
•   Steven Novella  – Assistant professor of neurology at Yale University School of Medicine and host of the “Skeptic’s Guide to the Universe” podcast
•   Guy P. Harrison – journalist and author.  His latest book, Good Thinking: What You Need to Know to be Smarter, Safer, Wealthier, and Wiser, will be in bookstores in October 2015.  
•   Andrew Maynard – Professor in the School for Innovation in Society, Arizona State University
•   Peter Adams – Senior vice president for educational programs with the News Literacy Project
•   Daniel Armistead – Dentist, Palo Alto, California


Download episode at: http://traffic.libsyn.com/arewealone/BiPiSci15-08-17.mp3

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

Rare "Gigantic Jets" erupt from Hurricane Hilda

Source - Space Weather News for Aug. 14, 2015: http://spaceweather.com

GIGANTIC JETS OVER HURRICANE HILDA: A rare form of upward lightning that reaches almost to the edge of space has been observed shooting up from Hurricane Hilda as the storm approaches Hawaii.  See the video and learn more about these "gigantic jets" on today's edition of http://spaceweather.com

INFERIOR CONJUNCTION OF VENUS:  The planet Venus is turning into a whisper-thin crescent as it passes almost directly between the Earth and Sun this weekend.  Photos and observing tips are available on http://spaceweather.com