Blog Archives - Ascension Now

The Beauty of Mars : a video by the European Space Agency (ESA)

30/10/2013

From the highest volcano to the deepest canyon:
Amazing video uses space probe's 12,500 orbits to reveal the beauty of Mars

Video was put together using images taken over ten years by Mars Express
Nine detectors swept over the surface in sequence from nine different angles
This data was then processed into three dimensional images by scientists
Most of Mars' surface has been imaged at resolution better than 100 metres

Trenches 23,000 feet deep, psychedelic spirals of lava and the highest known mountain in the solar system - these are just some of the highlights seen by the Mars Express spacecraft over the past decade.

Mars Express, launched in 2003, has now orbited the planet nearly 12,500 times, providing scientists with unprecedented images and data collected by its range of scientific instruments. The data have been used to create an almost global digital topographic model of Mars' surface, providing a unique flyby video.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2480151/From-highest-volcano-deepest-canyon-Amazing-video-uses-space-probes-12-500-orbits-reveal-beauty-Mars.html#ixzz2jDaKwHIb

Space Weather Balloon : readings

30/10/2013

Members of the Earth to Sky Calculus science club have recovered the space weather balloon they launched on Oct. 27th. The payload, which landed in a remote area of California's Inyo Mountains, carried two high-energy radiation sensors into the stratosphere. These pictures show the erupting balloon and one of the sensors at the apex of the flight, 27 km (90,500 feet) above Earth's surface:

The reading on the LCD screen shows a dose rate of 3.7 uSv/hour, more than 20 times higher than radiation levels at the launch site. Another independent sensor was contained inside a thermally insulated capsule. Working together, the two sensors measured a complete profile of ionizing radiation from 2.8 km to 27 km above Earth's surface.

This experiment was prompted by a recent NASA report concerning the effects of space weather on aviation. Like astronauts, ordinary air travelers can be exposed to significant doses of radiation when the sun is active. The Oct. 27th flight showed that it is possible to count x-rays, gamma-rays, alpha particles and beta particles using relatively inexpensive equipment. Such data can be used to check and improve research models of radiation percolating through Earth's atmosphere.

Another balloon flight could be in the offing. Solar activity is high, and a new fusillade of X-flares could trigger a radiation storm around Earth. If so, the student scientists plan to send their sensors back to the stratosphere for another look. www.spaceweather.com

Higher Activity Levels on the Sun

30/10/2013

SPOOKY AURORAS? NOAA forcasters estimate a 25% chance of polar geomagnetic storms on Oct. 31st when a CME is expected to hit Earth's magnetic field. It was propelled in our direction by an M4-class flare from sunspot AR1882 on Oct. 28th. High-latitude sky watchers should be alert for auroras on Halloween.

ANOTHER X-FLARE: Consider it a parting shot. Just before sunspot AR1875 rotated over the sun's western limb on Oct. 29th, it unleashed a powerful X2-class solar flare. NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded the explosion's extreme ultraviolet flash:

X-rays and UV radiation from the flare ionized the top of our planet's atmosphere. Waves of ionization disturbed the normal propagation of radio waves over the Americas and the Pacific, and may have caused an HF communications blackout over the poles.

The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) recorded a bright CME emerging from the blast site. Given the sunspot's location on sun's western limb, however, it is unlikely the CME will reach our planet. Analysts at NOAA are busy evaluating the possibility of a glancing blow in the days ahead.

Sunspot AR1875 has left the Earthside of the sun, but other active sunspots remain. NOAA forecasters estimate a 60% chance of M-class flares and a 25% chance of X-flares on Oct. 30th.

www.spaceweather.com

'Perfect Day' by Lou Reed

28/10/2013

'Perfect Day' by Lou Reed
A tribute to singer/songwriter Lou Reed, who died on 27 October 2013 at the age of 71.

MF·81 videos : Uploaded on 1 Jun 2010

'Perfect Day' is a song written by Lou Reed in 1972, originally featured on 'Transformer', Reed's second post-Velvet Underground solo album. Its fame was given a boost in the 1990s when it was featured in the 1996 film 'Trainspotting', and after its release as a star-studded charity single in 1997. Reed re-recorded the song for his 2003 album 'The Raven'.

The original recording, like the rest of the Transformer album, was produced by David Bowie, with guitarist Mick Ronson providing the arrangement.The song has a somber vocal delivery and slow, piano-based instrumental backing balancing tones of sweet nostalgia ("it's such a perfect day, I'm glad I spent it with you") with an undercurrent of menace ("you're gonna reap just what you sow"). The line alludes to Galatians 6:7: "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap."

ANOTHER X-FLARE:

28/10/2013

Earth-orbiting satellites detected an X1-class solar flare from sunspot AR1875 on Oct. 28th at 0203 UT. This is the 3rd X-flare since Oct. 25th, which means solar activity is still high. Stay tuned for more information about the latest eruption.

Sir Ken Robinson on 'Passion'

27/10/2013

Sir Ken Robinson on Passion
schooloflifechannel .·39 videos : Published on 11 Apr 2013: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-M8Hl5MUr8w

Sir Ken Robinson* believes that everyone is born with extraordinary capability. So what happens to all that talent as we bump through life, getting by but never realizing our true potential?

For most of us the problem isn't that we aim too high and fail - it's just the opposite - we aim too low and succeed.

We need to find that magic spot where our natural talent meets our personal passion. This means we need to know ourselves better. Whilst we content ourselves with doing what we're competent at, but don't truly love, we'll never excel. And, according to Ken, finding purpose in our work is essential to knowing who we really are.

Get ready to unleash your inner fervor as Ken takes to our pulpit to inspire you to follow your passion.

*Sir Ken Robinson is a leader in the development of creativity, innovation and human resources, working with governments and the world's leading cultural organizations. Born in Liverpool, he was Director of The Arts Project (1985-89), and is Emeritus Professor of Education at the University of Warwick. He was knighted in 2003 for his contribution to education and the arts. Recent publications include 'Out of Our Minds: Learning to be Creative' (2001) and 'The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything' (2009). [He is also a very amusing speaker!]

This secular sermon took place at Conway Hall on Sunday 13 March 2011.

COMET LINEAR X1:

27/10/2013

The sun isn't the only thing exploding. Almost 450 million km from Earth, Comet C/2012 X1 (LINEAR) is having its own outburst. On Oct. 20th, amateur astronomers realized that the comet's brightness had increased 100-fold and its morphology resembled that of exploding Comet 17P/Holmes in 2007. Follow-up images in recent nights seem to show jet-like structures in Comet LINEAR X1's expanding atmosphere. Amateur astronomer Nick James of Chelmsford, UK, obtained these data on Oct. 26th:

Another set of images taken by James shows the comet's atmosphere or "coma" expanding over a period of two days. "The coma's diameter is increasing at a rate of 30 arcseconds per day," says James. "At a distance of 2.95 AU this corresponds to 65,000 km/day or a little less than 1 km/s." He made these observations using an 11-inch Celestron telescope.

Located in the constellation Coma Berenices (outside our solar system), Comet LINEAR X1 rises in the east about an hour before the sun. The low altitude of the comet in morning twilight is a challenge, but because the comet is fairly bright, magnitude +8.5, it is still a relatively easy target for backyard telescopes equipped with digital cameras. Monitoring is encouraged!
Resources: 3D orbit, ephemeris, sky map. www.spaceweather.com

X2-FLARE BLASTS EARTH'S IONOSPHERE:

26/10/2013

Electromagnetic radiation from today's X2-class solar flare had a significant effect on Earth's upper atmosphere. As a wave of ionization swept across the dayside of the planet, the normal propagation of shortwave radio signals was scrambled. In Alachua, Florida, electrical engineer Wes Greenman recorded the effects using his own shortwave radio telescope. Click on the frequency-time plot to view an animation (it takes about 4 seconds to start moving):

During the time that terrestrial shortwave transmissions were blacked out, the sun filled in the gap with a loud radio burst of its own. In New Mexico, amateur radio astronomer Thomas Ashcraft recorded the sounds. "This radio burst was a strong one and might be too intense for headphones," cautions Ashcraft.

Solar radio bursts are caused by strong shock waves moving through the sun's atmosphere. (Electrons accelerated by the shock front excite plasma instabilities which, in turn, produce shortwave static.) They are usually a sign that a CME is emerging from the blast site--and indeed this flare produced a very bright CME. www.spaceweather.com

X-FLARE UPDATE:

26/10/2013

New sunspot AR1882 isn't very big, but it is potent. The active region has already unleashed two strong solar flares today: An X1 at 08:01 UT followed by an X2 at 15:07 UT. There is no reason to think this fusillade will end soon, so stay tuned for more flares.

X-FLARE ON OCT 25TH:

25/10/2013

Solar activity is intensifying. New sunspot AR1882, which rotated over the sun's eastern limb earlier today, promptly unleashed an X1-class solar flare, adding to a days-long fusillade of flares already underway from sunspots AR1875 and AR1877. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded a bright flash of extreme UV radiation from the X1 flare, which peaked at 08:01 UT on Oct. 25th:

There may be more to this flare than meets the eye. Watch this movie of the sun's entire disk. The X1-flare was bracketed by two erupting magnetic filaments, each located hundreds of thousands of kilometers from AR1882. In other words, the X1 flare might have been just one piece of an interconnected global eruption.

More flares are in the offing. There are now three sunspot groups on the Earthside of the sun capable of strong eruptions: AR1875, AR1877 and AR1882. NOAA forecasters estimate a 55% chance of M-flares and a 10% chance of X-flares during the next 24 hours. www.spaceweather.com

A Lightworker's Creed

25/10/2013

http://www.pinterest.com/messengerspirit/spiritual-evolution/

SOLAR FLARE!

24/10/2013

Solar activity is high. On October 24th at 00:30 UT, Earth-facing sunspot AR1877 erupted, producing a powerful M9-class solar flare. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded the blast:

Update #1: The eruption hurled a faint CME into space and it appears to be heading toward Earth. The arrival time is not yet known.

Update #2: NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory has released a full-disk movie of the explosion. Play it.

More flares are in the offing. Two large sunspots, AR1875 and AR1877, have 'beta-gamma-delta' magnetic fields that harbor energy for strong eruptions. NOAA forecasters estimate a 40% chance of M-flares and a 5% chance of X-flares during the next 24 hours. www.spaceweather.com

CHANCE OF STORMS:

24/10/2013

Earth's magnetic field is about to receive a glancing blow from three CMEs observed leaving the Sun between Oct. 20th and 22nd. Forecast models suggest that the three clouds merged en route to Earth, and their combined impact could trigger a mild polar geomagnetic storm on Oct. 25. High-latitude sky watchers should be alert for auroras.
www.spaceweather.com

Asteroid Fear: Gaia Satellite sent into Space to monitor blind zone between Sun and Earth

23/10/2013

Emily Fox. The Express, UK : Sun, 20 Oct 2013 13:44 CDT

A state of the art satellite is being sent into space to monitor the blind zone between the Earth and the sun to warn of incoming asteroids. Astronomers have previously not been able to spot asteroids in the 'blind zone' due to radiation from the sun blocking information. But now The European Space Agency intends to launch the Gaia Space Telescope with its key task being to monitor the area between the Earth and the sun and warn of any impending collisions. One recent asteroid which could have been spotted as it travelled through the 'blind zone' months before it collided with the Earth, was that of the Russian asteroid of February this year which caused a spectacular fireball before smashing into Chelyabinsk, 900 miles east of Russia.

Gerry Gilmore, professor of experimental philosophy at Cambridge University's Institute of Astronomy told the Sunday Times: "Gaia will measure all the asteroids including those between us and the sun which are the really nasty ones because we can't see them."

During its five-year-mission the £800 million Gaia will also map the stars with unprecedented precision - giving astronomers the first accurate 3D map of our galaxy and measure distance between the stars. A spokseman for the ESA said: "During its anticipated lifetime of five years, Gaia will observe each of its 1billion sources about 70 times, resulting in a record of the brightness and position of each source over time.

"Together with the unprecedented accuracy of the astrometric measurements, this will lead to the discovery of planets around other stars, asteroids in our Solar System, icy bodies in the outer Solar System, brown dwarfs, and far-distant supernovae and quasars. The list of Gaia's potential discoveries makes the mission unique in scope and scientific return."

The satellite completed final preparations in Europe last year and will take off from a launch site in French Guiana on November 20.

http://www.sott.net/article/267825-Asteroid-fear-Gaia-satellite-sent-into-space-to-monitor-blind-zone-between-sun-and-Earth

The Milky Way does the Wave

23/10/2013

Sid Perkins, ScienceShot : Tue, 22 Oct 2013 17:45 CDT

Stars in our part of the Milky Way seem to be doing "the wave," a new study suggests. The finding comes from an analysis of the motions of more than 70,000 red giant stars that lie within 6500 light-years of Earth - a distance that, in one direction, reaches about one-fourth of the way to the center of the galaxy.

Above the horizontal plane that slices through the center of the galaxy, stars closer to the center of the galaxy than the sun are, in general, moving away from the plane at speeds of 10 kilometers per second or less. Meanwhile, those farther from the galactic center than the sun are moving toward the plane - in some cases, as fast as 17 kilometers per second.

Altogether, the complexity of motions observed by the team is similar to that seen among molecules in a gas with a sound wave passing through it, the researchers report this month in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

As of yet, the reasons for these anomalous motions aren't clear, the researchers note. The "wave" may indeed be a ripple caused by a long-ago collision with a small companion galaxy, or it may result from perturbations in pressure triggered as the Milky Way's spiral arms push their way through space as the galaxy rotates.
http://www.sott.net/article/267895-The-Milky-Way-does-the-Wave