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The 2009 Leonid Meteor Shower
This year's Leonid meteor shower peaks on Tuesday, Nov. 17th. If forecasters are correct, the shower should produce a mild but pretty sprinkling of meteors over North America followed by a more intense outburst over Asia. The phase of the Moon will be new, setting the stage for what could be one of the best Leonid showers in years. "We're predicting 20 to 30 meteors per hour over the Americas, and as many as 200 to 300 per hour over Asia," says Bill Cooke of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office. "Our forecast is in good accord with independent theoretical work by other astronomers."1 Leonids are bits of debris from Comet Tempel-Tuttle. Every 33 years the comet visits the inner solar system and leaves a stream of dusty debris in its wake. Many of these streams have drifted across the November portion of Earth's orbit. Whenever we hit one, meteors come flying out of the constellation Leo. "We can predict when Earth will cross a debris stream with pretty...
kudos(1) | visits(22) | Nov 11, 09
What Are Hurricanes?
NASA studies hurricanes to learn how they form and to better predict where they will go. Image Credit: NASA Hurricanes are large, swirling storms. They produce winds of 119 kilometers per hour (74 mph) or higher. That's faster than a cheetah, the fastest animal on land. Winds from a hurricane can damage buildings and trees. Hurricanes form over warm ocean waters. Sometimes they strike land. When a hurricane reaches land, it pushes a wall of ocean water ashore. This wall of water is called a storm surge. Heavy rain and storm surge from a hurricane can cause flooding. Once a hurricane forms, weather forecasters predict its path. They also predict how strong it will get. This information helps people get ready for the storm. There are five types, or categories, of hurricanes. The scale of categories is called the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. The categories are based on wind speed. Category 1: Winds 119-153 km/hr (74-95 mph) -- faster than a cheetah Category 2: Winds...
visits(6) | Nov 11, 09
10 failed doomsday prophecies
Scientists have listed ten failed doomsday prophecies, which undermines the seriousness of the 2012 end of the world prediction by the ancient Mayans. According to National geographic News, the first failed domsday prophecy was when some ancient Romans saw the A.D. 79 eruption of Mount Vesuvius as a sign of a coming apocalypse, which never came. Then, there is the case of many Christian Europeans entering the year 1666 with trepidation, as the Bible describes 666 as the ominous Number of the Beast. A prolonged plague that had wiped out much of London's populace in 1665 didn't help assuage fears, and when the Great Fire of London occurred, many believed their time had come. The appearance of Halley's comet in 1910 stirred apocalyptic hysteria among Europeans and Americans, many of whom believed that the comet's tail contained a gas "that would impregnate the atmosphere and possibly snuff out all life on the planet," according to French astronomer Camille...
visits(4) | Nov 11, 09
Muslims defy ''fatwa''
Defying the ''fatwa'' issued by Jamiat-Ulama-e-Hind against rendition of Vande Mataram, a group of Muslims led by a clergyman joined people from other communities in singing the national song in front of a mosque here. A large number of people from a cross section of the society collected in front of the Jama Masjid at Betul Bazar at the invitation of its Imam Hafiz Abdul Razique and recited the song yesterday. The event was organised by "Rukmani Balaji Mandir", its founder Sam Verma, an NRI, said. After singing the national song at the temple, a rally acclaiming "Bharat Mata" was taken out and when it was proceeding towards the Bazar Chowk, Razique requested them to sing "Vande Mataram" in front of the Mosque. Several members of the minority community joined in. "It is not against Islam to sing Vande Mataram," Razique said and added that he himself requested those taking part in the rally to sing the national song in front of the Mosque. ...
visits(11) | Nov 09, 09
2012: Beginning of the End
Earth, as seen in the Blue Marble: Next Generation collection of images, showing the color of the planet's surface in high resolution. This image shows South America from September 2004. Remember the Y2K scare? It came and went without much of a whimper because of adequate planning and analysis of the situation. Impressive movie special effects aside, Dec. 21, 2012, won't be the end of the world as we know. It will, however, be another winter solstice. Much like Y2K, 2012 has been analyzed and the science of the end of the Earth thoroughly studied. Contrary to some of the common beliefs out there, the science behind the end of the world quickly unravels when pinned down to the 2012 timeline. Below, NASA Scientists answer several questions that we're frequently asked regarding 2012. Question (Q): Are there any threats to the Earth in 2012? Many Internet websites say the world will end in December 2012. Answer (A): Nothing bad will happen to the Earth in 2012. Our planet has been...
kudos(5) | visits(48) | comments(4) | Nov 08, 09
A Long Night Falls Over Saturn's Rings
Seen from our planet, the view of Saturn's rings during equinox is extremely foreshortened and limited. But in orbit around Saturn, Cassini had no such problems. From 20 degrees above the ring plane, Cassini's wide angle camera shot 75 exposures in succession for this mosaic showing Saturn, its rings and a few of its moons Aug. 12, 2009, beginning about 1.25 days after exact Saturn equinox, when the sun's disk was exactly overhead at the planet's equator. Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute As Saturn's rings orbit the planet, a section is typically in the planet's shadow, experiencing a brief night lasting from 6 to 14 hours. However, once approximately every 15 years, night falls over the entire visible ring system for about four days. This happens during Saturn's equinox, when the sun is directly over Saturn's equator. At this time, the rings, which also orbit directly over the planet's equator, appear edge-on to the sun. During equinox, light from the sun hits the ring...
kudos(4) | visits(28) | comments(3) | Oct 29, 09
Pakistan faces direct threat from extremism
Warning Pakistan that the direct threat from violent extremism it faces could destabilize the entire region, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has voiced the hope that the India and Pakistan will resume their stalled dialogue. 'But what we see as the direct threat to Pakistan right now comes from the violent extremism,' she said. 'Obviously, we are hopeful that there will be a resumption of dialogue between Pakistan and India, because I think the threat that Pakistan faces is a threat that could destabilize the entire region,' she said, according to the transcript of the interview with Pakistan's Dawn TV before leaving for her first trip to Islamabad. 'And what we want to do is to help Pakistan really finally eliminate that threat,' she said. 'And what we hope is that on the ongoing challenges between India and Pakistan that can be handled politically and it would never come to any kind of military action.' In a separate interview with Geo TV of Pakistan, Clinton...
kudos(1) | visits(18) | comments(1) | Oct 29, 09
Strange Shapes Seen In Milky Way's Tiny Neighbor
Astronomers obtained this portrait of Barnard’s Galaxy using the Wide Field Imager attached to the 2.2-metre MPG/ESO telescope at ESO’s La Silla Observatory in northern Chile. Also known as NGC 6822, this dwarf irregular galaxy is one of the Milky Way’s galactic neighbors. Credit: ESO A stunning new image of one of the Milky Way's nearest galactic neighbors, Barnard's Galaxy, reveals rich star formation and curiously-shaped nebulas. At the relatively close distance of about 1.6 million light-years, Barnard's Galaxy is a member of the Local Group, an archipelago of galaxies that includes our home, the Milky Way. The galaxy, also known as NGC 6822, was discovered by the American astronomer Edward Emerson Barnard in 1884. The new image, taken by one of the telescopes at the European Southern Observatory in La Silla, Chile, shows Barnard's Galaxy beneath a sea of foreground stars in the direction of the constellation of Sagittarius (the Archer). ...
kudos(1) | visits(13) | comments(1) | Oct 27, 09
India should be front-runner in space technology
Without mentioning China by name, Air Chief Marshal P.V. Naik Tuesday said India was against 'militarisation' of space but the country should aim to be the front-runner in the field of space technology. 'We are against militarisation of space. In fact, the entire world is against this,' Naik told reporters when asked about China's future plans to launch a space station. 'Our aim should be to be a front runner in everything, including in space,' he added. Asked about field evaluation trials of the medium multi-role combat aircraft, Naik said: 'We have finished the trials of F-16, F/A-18, Rafale and the MiG-35. All (aircraft) are going neck and neck'. India is scheduled to buy 126 multi-role combat aircraft for an estimated $11 billion to strengthen its depleting squadrons of fighter aircraft. Five companies, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Eurofighter, Gripen and RAC MiG are in the fray for this fourth generation fighter aircraft's sales to India
kudos(1) | visits(11) | Oct 27, 09
US Army Accepts First Sikh Recruit
In a major step to end the exclusion of Sikhs, the US Army has accepted a Sikh recruit who had declined to either remove his 'dastaar' (turban) or cut his hair as a condition for joining the military. The Sikh Coalition, a community advocacy, group applauded the Army's action in accepting Captain Kamaljeet Singh Kalsi Friday, but expressed concern that the decision was an exemption from Army policy only for a single individual Sikh. There has been no change in the overall policy excluding Sikhs from service, the group regretted. 'The Coalition is encouraged, however, that the Army has expressed its willingness to review its general policy of excluding Sikhs from service in the coming months.' Two Sikh men, Captain Kamaljeet Singh Kalsi, a doctor, and Captain Tejdeep Singh Rattan, a dentist, were recruited to join the Army's Health Professions Scholarship Programme several years ago. Both maintained their turbans throughout...