Dawn Spacecraft Begins Approach to Dwarf Planet Ceres

Source - NASA Science News for Dec. 30, 2014

NASA's ion-propelled Dawn spacecraft has begun its approach to Ceres, a Texas-sized dwarf planet never before visited by a spacecraft.

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

Geomagnetic Storm and Naked-eye Comet

Source - Space Weather News for Dec. 29, 2014: http://spaceweather.com

GEOMAGNETIC STORM:  The year is ending with an outbreak of auroras.  Sky watchers around the Arctic Circle are seeing bright Northern Lights as Earth enters a stream of high-speed solar wind, causing G1-class storm conditions on Dec. 29th.

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

BRIGHTENING COMET:  The "Christmas Comet" C/2014 Q2 (Lovejoy) has continued to brighten, and now observers around the world are reporting seeing it with the unaided eye from dark-sky sites.  Comet Lovejoy is a fine target for backyard telescopes, as shown on today's edition of  http://spaceweather.com

AURORA ALERTS are available from http://spaceweathertext.com (text) and http://spaceweatherphone.com (voice).

Big Picture Science for Monday 29 December 2014 - Skeptic Check: Got a Sweet Truth?

Big Picture Science - Skeptic Check: Got a Sweet Truth?

ENCORE: The sweet stuff is getting sour press. Some researchers say sugar is toxic. A new study seems to support that idea: mice fed the human equivalent of an extra three sodas a day become infertile or die. But should cupcakes be regulated like alcohol?

Hear both sides of the debate. Another researcher says that animal studies are misleading, and that for good health, you should count calories, not candy and carbs.

Plus, an investigative reporter exposes the tricks that giant food companies employ to keep you hooked on sugar, salt, and fat.

Also, a listener corrects our pronunciation of Neil Armstrong’s birthplace in the Sounds Abound episode.

It’s Skeptic Check … but don’t take our word for it!

Guests:

• Robert Lustig – University of California, San Francisco, author of Fat Chance: Beating the Odds Against Sugar, Processed Food, Obesity, and Disease
• James Ruff – Biologist post-doc at The University of Utah
• John Sievenpiper – Knowledge Synthesis Lead of the Toronto 3D Knowledge Synthesis and Clinical Trials Unit, St. Michael’s Hospital, University of Toronto, Canada
• Michael Moss – Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist at The New York Times, and author of Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us

This encore podcast was first released on August 19, 2013

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

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.

Fantastically Colorful Clouds Spotted in Arctic Stratosphere

Source - Space Weather News for Dec. 22, 2014: http://spaceweather.com

STRATOSPHERIC CLOUDS: Around the Arctic Circle, sky watchers are seeing fantastic colors--but it's not the aurora borealis. A rare outbreak of polar stratospheric clouds is underway over our planet's north polar region.  These clouds, which are associated with the formation of ozone holes, float much higher than ordinary clouds and produce unforgettable colors during the hours around sunset.

Visit http://spaceweather.com for pictures and updates.

Big Picture Science for Monday 22 December 2014 - Science Fiction True

Big Picture Science - Science Fiction True

Don’t believe everything you see on TV or the movies. Science fiction is just a guide to how our future might unfold. It can be misleading, as anyone who yearns for a flying car can tell you. And yet, sometimes fantasy becomes fact. Think of the prototype cellphones in Star Trek.

We take a look at science that seems inspired by filmic sci-fi, for example scientists manipulating memory as in Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. And despite his famous film meltdown, Charleton Heston hasn’t stopped the Soylent company from producing what it calls the food of the future.

Plus, why eco-disaster films have the science wrong, but not in the way you might think. And, what if our brains are simply wired to accept film as fact?

Guests:

• Steve Ramirez -Neuroscientist, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Rob Rhinehart – CEO and founder of Soylent
• Jason Mark – Editor of Earth Island Journal
• Jeffrey Zacks – Cognitive Neuroscientist, Washington University, St. Louis, and author of Flicker: Your Brain on Movies

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

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.

X-flare on Dec. 20th

Space Weather News for Dec. 20, 2014: http://spaceweather.com

Solar activity is high.  A pair of large sunspots is crossing the center of the solar disk, and both are crackling with flares.  The strongest so far, an X1.8-class flare on Dec. 20th, caused a strong HF radio blackout over the South Pacific and might have hurled a CME toward Earth. 

Visit http://spaceweather.com for more information and updates.

Rosetta to Swoop Down on Comet in February

Source - NASA Science News for Dec. 19, 2014

The European Space Agency’s orbiting Rosetta spacecraft is expected to come within four miles of the surface of comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko in February 2015. The low flyby will be an opportunity for Rosetta to obtain imagery with a resolution of a few inches per pixel.

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

First Global Maps from Orbiting Carbon Observatory

Source - NASA Science News for Dec. 19, 2014

The first global maps of atmospheric carbon dioxide from NASA's new Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 mission show elevated carbon dioxide concentrations across the Southern Hemisphere from springtime biomass burning and hint at potential surprises to come.

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

New Evidence for a Mars Water Reservoir

Source - NASA Science News for Dec. 19, 2014

NASA and an international team of planetary scientists have found evidence in meteorites on Earth that indicates Mars has a distinct and global reservoir of water or ice near its surface.

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

Curiosity Detects Methane Spike on Mars

NASA Science News for Dec. 16, 2014

NASA's Mars Curiosity rover has measured a tenfold spike in methane, an organic chemical, in the atmosphere around it and detected other organic molecules in a rock-powder sample collected by the robotic laboratory’s drill.

The complete article can be found here: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2014/16dec_methanespike/

Needed: 11 Trillion Gallons to Replenish California Drought

NASA Science News for Dec. 16, 2014

It will take about 11 trillion gallons of water to recover from California's continuing drought, according to a new analysis of NASA satellite data.

The complete article can be found here: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2014/16dec_drought/

Interstellar 'Tsunami Waves' Sweep Past Voyager 1

Source - NASA Science News for Dec. 16, 2014

Since 2012, NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft has experienced three 'tsunami waves' in interstellar space. The most recent, which reached the spacecraft earlier this year, is still propagating outward according to new data.

The complete article can be found here: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2014/16dec_voyagercme/

Rosetta Reignites Debate over Earth's Oceans

Source - NASA Science News for Dec. 14, 2014

A popular theory holds that ocean water was brought to Earth by the ancient impacts of comets and asteroids. However, new data from the European Space Agency’s Rosetta spacecraft indicate that terrestrial water did not come from comets like 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.

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

Big Picture Science for Monday 15 December 2014 - Shocking Ideas

Big Picture Science - Shocking Ideas

Electricity is so 19^th century. Most of the uses for it were established by the 1920s. So there’s nothing innovative left to do, right? That’s not the opinion of the Nobel committee that awarded its 2014 physics prize to scientists who invented the blue LED.

Find out why this LED hue of blue was worthy of our most prestigious science prize … how some bacteria actually breathe rust … and a plan to cure disease by zapping our nervous system with electric pulses.

Guests:

• Siddha Pimputkar – Postdoctoral researcher in the Materials Department of the Solid State Lighting and Energy Electronics Center under Shuji Nakamura, winner of the 2014 Nobel Prize in Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara
• Jeff Gralnick – Associate professor of microbiology at the University of Minnesota
• Kevin Tracey – Neurosurgeon and president of the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research in New York

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

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.

Weekend meteor shower

Source - Space Weather News for Dec. 12, 2014: http://spaceweather.com

GEMINID METEOR SHOWER:  The best meteor shower of the year, the Geminids, peaks this weekend when Earth passes through a stream of debris from "rock comet" 3200 Phaethon. Forecasters expect to see as many as 120 meteors per hour when the shower peaks on Dec. 13th and 14th.  Visit http://spaceweather.com for photos and observing tips.

AURORA WATCH:  A geomagnetic storm is underway on  Dec. 12th as Earth enters a high-speed stream of solar wind.  Aurora alerts are available from http://spaceweathertext.com (text) and http://spaceweatherphone.com (voice).

Embers from a Rock Comet: The 2014 Geminid Meteor Shower

Source - NASA Science News for Dec. 12, 2014

Earth is passing through a stream of debris from "rock comet" 3200 Phaethon, source of the annual Geminid meteor shower. Forecasters expect as many as 120 meteors per hour when the shower peaks on Dec. 13-14.

The complete article can be found here: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2014/12dec_embers/

A companion video is posted below and can also be viewed at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sT3D6t8VT-k&feature=youtu.be



License: Standard YouTube License

New Horizons Wakes Up on Pluto's Doorstep

Source - NASA Science News for Dec. 7, 2014

After a voyage of nearly nine years and three billion miles —the farthest any space mission has ever traveled to reach its primary target – NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft came out of hibernation on Dec. 6th for its long-awaited 2015 encounter with the Pluto system.

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

A companion video is posted below and can also be viewed at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDIsbN-e1qU



License: Standard YouTube License

Big Picture Science for Monday 08 December 2014 - Living Computers

Big Picture Science - Living Computers

It’s the most dramatic technical development of recent times: Teams of people working for decades to produce a slow-motion revolution we call computing. As these devices become increasingly powerful, we recall that a pioneer from the nineteenth century – Ada Lovelace, a mathematician and Lord Byron’s daughter – said they would never surpass human ability. Was she right?

We consider the near-term future of computing as the Internet of Things is poised to link everything together, and biologists adopt the techniques of information science to program living cells.

Plus: What’s your favorite sci-fi computer?

Guests:

• Walter Isaacson – President and CEO of the Aspen Institute and the author of The Innovators: How a Group of Hackers, Geniuses, and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution
• Christopher Voigt – Bioengineer at MIT
• Andy Ihnatko – Technology journalist
• André Bormanis – Writer, screenwriter, Star Trek
• John Barrett – Electronic engineer, NIMBUS Centre for Embedded Systems Research at the Cork Institute of Technology, Ireland

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

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.

Study: Astronauts face a growing peril from space radiation

Source - Space Weather News for Dec. 6, 2014: http://spaceweather.com

SPACE RADIATION:  According to a new study just published in the research journal Space Weather, astronauts face a growing peril from space radiation.  Rising fluxes of cosmic rays inside the solar system place increasingly strict limits on the amount of time explorers can safely travel through interplanetary space.  Visit http://spaceweather.com for more information and links to the complete study.

AURORA WATCH:  Arctic sky watchers should be alert for auroras this weekend. Earth is passing through a fast-moving stream of solar wind, and this is causing geomagnetic unrest around the poles. Geomagnetic storm alerts are available from http://spaceweathertext.com (text) and http://spaceweatherphone.com (voice).

Japan Launches Asteroid Mission

Source - NASA Science News for Dec. 4, 2014

On Dec. 3, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) successfully launched its Hayabusa2 mission to rendezvous with an asteroid, land a small probe plus three mini rovers on its surface, and then return samples to Earth. NASA and JAXA are cooperating on the science of the mission.

The complete article can be found here: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2014/04dec_hayabusa2/

Climate Change and the Yin-Yang of Polar Sea Ice

Source - NASA Science News for Dec. 4, 2014

Arctic and Antarctic sea ice are both affected by climate change, but the two poles of Earth are behaving in intriguingly different ways.

The complete article can be found here: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2014/28nov_yinyang/

A companion video is posted below and can also be viewed at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hauoepPqns4&feature=youtu.be



License: Standard YouTube License

Geminid meteor shower gets an early start

Source Space Weather News for Dec. 1, 2014: http://spaceweather.com

EARLY GEMINIDS: Earth is entering a stream of debris from "rock comet" 3200 Phaethon, source of the annual Geminid meteor shower.  The shower is not expected to peak until Dec. 14th, but NASA meteor cameras are detecting Geminid fireballs over the USA two weeks early.  Visit http://spaceweather.com for images and updates.

AURORA WATCH:  A high-speed solar wind stream is buffeting Earth's magnetic field on Dec. 1-2.  High-latitude sky watchers, especially those around the Arctic Circle, should be alert for auroras in the nights ahead.  Geomagnetic storm alerts are available from  http://spaceweathertext.com (text) and http://spaceweatherphone.com (voice).