Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Bring me up to date
Searching For Other Earths
We have been finding planets orbiting other stars for a while now and have found well over 300. The first ones were all what are called "hot Jupiters". Hot Jupiters are large gaseous planets that orbit close to the Sun. They were not observed directly, but rather by measuring the movement of the star as the planet orbtited. We measured the Doppler shift and could see the star move toward us and away from us as the planet orbited. This technique works well for large planets close to a star. We have gotten better at measruing Doppler shifts and have observed for longer periods of time. We have found smaller planets orbiting farther from their stars. We have developed other techniques for finding planets as well.
The transit method measures the brightness of a star continuously. When a planet passes in front of the star, it blocks a little bit of light and the star gets dimmer. This only works for a tiny fraction of the planets since you have to be lined up just right to see a planet cross the face of the star. The advantage is you can find planets that are small much easier and you can even get a measurement of their sizes.
The Kepler mission, scheduled to launch this Friday from Cape Canaveral on a Delta II, will search for Earth like planets through the transit method. Kepler is a .95 meter telescope attached to a sensitive 95 megapixel CCD camera. It will stare at one part of the sky (in the constellation Cygnus) for 3.5 years. It will continually monitor the brightness of about 100,000 stars, looking for the telltale drops in brightness. Kepler will undoubtedly find variable stars and lots of larger planets. The goal is to find planets that are the size of Earth and in similar orbits...orbits where liquid water could exist on the surface. For a planet orbiting a star similar to our Sun at about the same distance, the star will decrease in brightness by about .01%, not an easy measurement.
Yet we can do it. Kepler will not orbit the Earth, but rather orbit the Sun (in an Earth trailing orbit) to eliminate light from the Earth. The part of sky was carefully chosen to have a lot of stars, but not too many that they run together. It was also chosen so Kepler could observe the patch of sky continuously without the Sun getting in the way (and don't forget about maintaining contact with Earth so we can get the data!)
This mission will tell us a lot about our place in the universe. How many Earth-like planets are out there? How many could support life as we know it? Even if we find none, that is still a very important result. It would tell us that we are rare indeed. No one knows for sure how many we will find, but from everything I have read, a few dozen would be a reasonable estimate.
Kepler won't tell us if any of these planets have life. That will have to wait for future missions. We are already testing techniques that we can use to measure characteristics of planetary atmospheres and have had some success with larger planets. Kepler is the an important step on the road to answering the question of how common life is in the universe.Reprinted with permission from the Half-Astrophysicist Blog.
Dear Madame Zoltar
Hello, my darling little pansies. How are you? Warmer, then a little cold again, but then even a little warmer, a little longer . . . spring must be right around the corner. I can hardly wait. I have a few things I want to plant, permanently.Our first messáge today comes from the delightful Ms. Beejay, who writes:
My vacation in Barbados!
Mdm Zoltar, why did you not warn me of the obstacles I was to face on this trip with three other women! Why did you not tell me I would be dancing like a teenager and acting the same way? That my room would be given to cricket players (and I thought they were bugs??? What is that about). And you did not tell me that the coach would keep his profession a secret and try to flirt with me. Had I known that, I would have killed the creep for stealing my deluxe garden view room and leaving me with what appeared to be an upgraded Motel 6 room! What did he do on the sheets that were supposed to be mine??? Ooooh, on second thought, I don't think I want to go visual!
And what the hell is cricket other than a bug??? Okay, so I had fun anyway...however, I was deprived of a cabana boy!
And now let me know if what my travel agent is hinting at is true? A free trip to another island with three people of my choice???
My dear Ms. Beejay, I’m so glad that you had a good time. I knew you would. I also knew that if I told you about the “obstacles,” it might ruin your trip. Of course, dancing and acting like a teenager is what vacations are all about, no? It’s only natural that men flirt with a babe like you. Too bad about the cabana boy. I’ll try to make it up to you next time with a hot, Latin lover.
As for cricket, I believe that you know a little more about that than you’re letting on, dear. You certainly know when something is not cricket, like an offer that sounds too good to be true. Or any offer that says “free.” I would check it out very carefully. And make sure they throw in a cabana boy this time. ;)
The next missive arrives from the esteemed Mr. SER, who writes:
Dear Madame Zoltar,
Belly button fuzz, rotten egg that make your “petie” hard, a mayor trying to hide out, global warming, people bust’in their ass when they fall and I don’t even wanna talk about those damn illegal aliens.
Now they don’t want me to cuss, well kiss my ass. A new president who cannot keep his promises, when will it all end.
Madame Zoltar, please send me the winning numbers for the lottery and I will treat all JTI bloggers to a party that will blow their socks off!
I know I have asked before, but the numbers just haven’t worked out...yet!
.........SER
I feel your pain, Mr. SER, literally. I channeled it. You are one of my favorite irregulars, you know. I am willing to oblige your request. Like last time, I must transmit the winning numbers to you telepathically in order to avoid possible interception by treacherous individuals. As of this blog’s post time, 4 AM, I will be transmitting the numbers to you throughout the course of the day. I have a sort of auto-dialer for brain wavelengths. All you need do is relax, clear you mind, and let the numbers seep in.
I’ll also expect the customary 10% donation of your winnings to Madame Zoltar’s School for the Psychically Challenged.
And here’s a prediction for everybody: the race for mayor in Racine is going to be more fun than the 4th of July. Just about as crowded, too. And definitely noisier.
Don’t forget, if you have a hot tip, an uneasy conscience, or a burning question, contact me at: madamezoltar@jtirregulars.com.
Soon those little buds will peek out of the ground and on a few shrubs. Then the cold will come along and nip some. Don’t get nipped – stay warm, kiddies. Thank you for reading my blog.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
That Near Miss Meteor
What would this type of object do if it were to hit Earth? Well, we have a pretty good idea since it is roughly the same size as what hit over Tunguska in 1908. Fortunately Tunguska is not very populated as the energy output is easily into the many megaton range (~10 megatons is a commonly cited figure). Not enough to wipe out life on Earth, but you sure don't want it to hit near a major city. It could easily kill a few million people if it were to hit a major metropolitan area.
These asteroids are small and dim. They are difficult to find as we don't have the telescopes to search the whole sky on a regular basis for the. That is changing. Pan Starrs, a series of four 1.8 meter telescopes in Hawaii, each with a 1.4 gigapixel camera, will be able to scan the entire sky about every four nights. Around 2014 or so, the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope, an 8.4 meter telescope to be build in Chile, will be able to image even fainter asteroids and scan the sky ever three nights.
Fortunately, we are looking for them and getting a lot better at finding them. I expect news of these near misses to become increasingly common (because we find more, not because they hapen more frequently!)
There is a group called the B612 Foundation working on the problem. Their ambitious goal is to alter the orbit of an asteroid by 2015. Contrary to the movies, blowing up a nuclear bomb isn't a good option. We want to be able to make sure the asteroid misses Earth and that it will continue to miss Earth in the future!
We are smart enough to find the rock with our name on it...and just about smart enough to do something about it when we find it.
Reprinted with permission from the Half-Astrophyscist Blog.
Saturn, the Rings, and the 61st Moon
The Cassinin spacecraft at Saturn continues to do remarkable work. Today they announced the discovery of a small "moonlet" inside Saturn's G ring. The G ring is one of the outer rings, very thin and dusty. The G ring was also an oddball since it was the only one of the dusty rings not to be affiliated with a moon...until now. Here are the discovery images (click to embiggen).
- A new moon in Saturn's G Ring. Image Credit NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute
The Moon is shedding material which makes a nice bright arc near the moon. That arc is about 150,000km (90,ooo miles) long or about one sixth the circumference of the circle. The moon is too small to see directly, only about 500 meters (1/3 of a mile) across. These images are 46 second exposures, so you can see the moon as a small streak (the other streaks are stars. You can see how much the moon and stars moved in 46 seconds. The camera tracked the rings so the rings would appear to stay still in the photos). For the record, Cassini took this image from a distance of about 1.2 million km.
Although it is very small, so small they sometimes call it a moonlet, it is a source of material for the G ring. But it might not be the only one. There is evidence other objects up to 100 meters across may reside in the G ring. Cassini will be making a close pass in 2010 so stay tuned for more.
Reprinted with permission from the Half-Astrophysicist Blog.
Happy Squre Root Day
Rumor is Gary Becker now Resides at Lincoln Lutheran's Atrium
The rumor also is that other residents of the facility are aghast at this turn of events. I wonder what sort of provision allows someone to just move in to a unit leased to someone else?
Monday, March 2, 2009
German twenty-somethings prefer Internet to partner
"In a survey by German broadband association Bitkom around 84 percent of respondents aged 19-29 said they would rather do without their current partner or an automobile than forego their connection to the Web.
"Living without a mobile phone was also unthinkable for 97 percent of those questioned in that age range."
http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSTRE5213OS20090302
If I had to choose between TV and the internet, the net would win. I don't think I'd give up my wheels for the net, but we don't have much of a mass transportation system here. I don't care about a cell phone - don't have one. I don't have a current "partner," but I'd hate to think that I'd throw her over for the web. However, I already "do without" in some areas so that I can do the internet at high speed. And I'd probably cut back even more in other areas before I'd cut back on the net.
How about you?
This was me this morning...(last friday )- UPDATE
This is now I started the morning...I got to work around 3:30am, took a step out of my car,
and proceeded to do a very crooked rendition of the splits
at record speed.
I stayed on the ground bewildered and in pain,
deciding whether to attempt getting up or waiting for
somebody else to get to work and help...
I made it up and in but it took a LONG time,
I have a very very very unhappy back leg muscle,
very unforgiving, being old sucks!
Hope your day has been a better one!!!!
***UPDATE***
I went to the DR today, thanks again Abby,
my dear, ailing chauffeur!!! You're wonderful!!!
I tore a not-so-nice part of my back leg muscle,
bring on the good drugs, I have 4-6 weeks to be in pain :(
Happy Monday to me.....
Pres. Barack Obama & Democrats Amnesty Bill 2009
This is America? What happened to helping Americans?
No Frakkin' Cussing Week
And I must show you the No Cussing hip hop song. Warning...I made it through less than 30 seconds before I was vehemently cussing at it!
The Best Liar Wins
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iIg34ct-JZVW_v1Nx7Yg9GhIScqwD96LQ9FO0
He wasn't going to use Washington insiders. Time for change. Yes we can.
Yes, we can do the same old thing.
Meanwhile, they've given AIG, the original party guys who went out and celebrated after their first bailout, another $30 billion of our dollars.
Have a nice day.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Another Freaky Fish with Weird Eyes...
This time is is the barreleye fish (which I heard about listening to the most recent episode of the Geologic Podcast). The barreleye fish live deep in the Pacicif and, until recently, were only known through dead, mangled fish caught in nets. Finally, researchers at the Monteray Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) got a live one to study . Let's take a look at the fish in question.
This strange fish has a transparent skull! Those two things in the front that you think would be eyes are used to detect smells. Those two green spherelike objects under the transparent skull are the eyes. The eyes can rotate to look upward, forward or any direction where the skull is transparent.
I am just loving the unique adaptations that fish use to survive and see at depths where little to no light exists!Reprinted with permission from the Half-Astrophysicist Blog.
Off to the Bone Yard
A Touching Video
.......SER
Born Again American
Journal Times Makes Excuses for Gary Becker Molesting Children
In a major insult to the people of Racine and their children, the Journal Times has published a fluff piece on sex addiction and Gary Becker. They are making excuses for the poor man and are desirous of our understanding at this difficult juncture in his life.
Nowhere, absolutely nowhere, does the Journal Times mention the child victims of Gary Becker's crimes. They don't even hint at them, as if they do not exist. (And believe me, as far as the powers-that-be are concerned, the children do NOT exist. They will be silenced. I know this from personal experience.)
It is difficult for me to find the words to express my rage, disgust, and sorrow at this stomach-wrenching turn of events. Mostly sorrow. I have been stunned and depressed into silence for days following the decision to allow Becker to vacation in Pennsylvania while his victims are ignored, abandoned, forgot.... I have been mourning them, and my own losses years ago.
The efforts of the Journal Times and the good old pigs to rehabilitate Gary Becker's image at the expense of the children he has destroyed represents everything that is wrong with Racine, everything that I abhor. They are vermin, and they deserve extermination.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Pavement Picasso
"My art is for anybody, it's for people who wouldn't go into an art gallery. It's art for the people."
"Art shouldn't be locked away in galleries and libraries and books. Art should be for everybody and not just art buffs, historians and so-called experts."
Porn in the U.S.A.
I will give a little creidt where it is due...they study also found that less online porn was consumed on Sundays, but people made up for it the rest of the week.
As for Wisconsin, they only listed the top 10 and bottom 10 and the Badger State made neither.
Guess it's true that The Internet is for Porn.
Just Another Beautiful Evening
Just a nice evening here...it was too cloudy to see Venus during the day, but was clearing around sunset.Friday, February 27, 2009
An Old One Returns
Another of the great time wasters........
“Red Square Game”
Another Good Chance to See Venus During the Day
I blogged this last month and the Moon is back serving as a useful pointer to find Venus during the day. You will need to wait until the Sun is high in the sky (Venus doens't rise until well after the Sun). The Moon is a thin three day old crescent which can be challenging to find in the day, but be patient. The Moon will be west of the Sun. Once you find the crescent Moon look slightly above and to the left of the Moon (for northern hemisphere observers) to find Venus. The chart below (click to embiggen) was made for Tucson, Arizon at 1:00pm local time.
Venus will be slightly to the west of the Moon at 1:00pm, but the Moon moves about one Moon diameter per hour, so their relaive position may change depending on your time zone and what time you look (you can use Stellarium to make your own chart for your specific time and location).
Now a few tips. It is helpful if you can stand in a place where a building blocks the Sun from your view. Venus is best viewed when it hits the fovea, the most sensitive part in the center of your retina where we have the sharpest vision. Slowly scan around the Moon and have patience. Once you find it, you will be surprised you have never noticed it before.
With a little persistence, you can even photograph Venus during the day as Obrs showed us last month. I am at a meeting in Phoenix tomorrow, but am taking my camera and hope to give it a shot over lunch!
Reprinted with permission from the Half-Astrophysicst Blog.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Rock and Roll Revival
Comet Lulin Observing Report and Update
Well, it was finally nice and clear here in Tucson. I drove out to Saguaro National Park east (at the end of Speedway for those of you who know Tucson). Comet Lulin was visible naked eye as a small splotch. And here is a photo with Lulin outlined (click to ebmiggen).
That is a reasonable approximation of how easy it is to see from a reasonable dark site. You can see it, but it doesn't jump out at you. I caught a plane as you can see (the streak toward the bottom of the picture).
Through my 20x80 binoculars on the other hand, WOW! The tail was very prominent and covered just under half the field of view (probably about 1.6 degrees roughly or a little over three times the size of the full Moon). Very nice view from a dark site.
There are still a few good chances to see it. You can find a finder chart at Sky and Telescope. Lulin is heading toward a close conjunction with Regulus on Friday night (the bright star almost directly above it in my picture). By Sunday night, the Moon starts to brighten the sky and will make observing difficult, so take advantage of the next few days.
Binoculars are enough to pick out the comet, but be sure to get as far away from bright lights as you can for the best view. It was definitely worth it tonight!
And one other thing I should point out is that Lulin is on a hyperbolic orbit. If you remember your high school math, hyperbolas never return to the same point twice...Lulin is making its one and only trip through the inner solar system. I am happy I was able to spend a little quality time with Lulin tonight.Reprinted with permission from the Half-Astrophysicist Blog.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
The Galileoscope is Coming!
The Galileoscope is coming! This is a cornerstone project for the International Year of Astronomy (and, in the interest of disclosure, one I work on). The Galileoscope is a small, low cost, high optical quality telescope that anyone can build and recreate many of Galileo's famous observations. You can see craters on the Moon, the phases of Venus, the Galilean Moons of Jupiter and the rings of Saturn.The telescope has a 50mm achromat lens with a 20mm eyepiece yielding a magnification of 25x and a nice big 1.5 degree field of view. A supplied 2x barlow lens can bump the magnification fo 50x. As an added bonus, you can use the Barlow lens as an eyepiece to construct a true Galilean telescope and see what Galileo had to work with (Galileo used a diverging lens for his eyepiece which is not the ideal configuration...and you can see why!) Or you can insert your own eyepiece as the holder accepts any standard 1.25" eyepeice. The included nut allows you to mount the telescope on any standard camera tripod. I posted a previous blog entry on my attempts at imaging with a Galileoscope.
The assembly is simple and requires no tools. The telescope can be put together and taken apart easily multiple times.
There are free educational materials available on the web site covering how telescopes work as well as how to osberve with the Galileoscope.
The Galileoscopes cost $15 plus shipping ($12.50 each if you order 100 or more, say for a school, astronomy club, or just get everyone on the block together to order them). I have been talking to a lot of people at meetings and there are some college professors who are making this a madatory item for their students in the fall.
When you order a Galileoscope, you have the option to donate one or more to underserved students around the world.
And there are a couple of Racine connections. Professor Doug Arion of Carthage College has been heavily involved in the design and the manufacturing partner is Merit Models of Racine.
Sorry if this sounds like a commercial. A lot of people have worked hard and put a lot of time into its development and I want to see a LOT of Galieoscopes out there!
Now back to your regularly scheduled programming.From the "Just When You Thought Things Couldn't Get Any Weirder" Dept...
"The Southern California mother of octuplets is being offered $1 million to star in hardcore porn.
"Vivid Entertainment spokeswoman Jackie Martin says the offer also promises a year of health insurance for Nadya Suleman and her 14 children."
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/02/25/state/n103410S81.DTL&tsp=1
Sometimes I'm ashamed of just being a member of the human race....
Dear Madame Zoltar
Hello, my cherry blossoms! How are you? Less than a week and March is already here. Can spring be far behind? Like many of you, I like to dig in the soil, too. It’s just that I prefer to do it at night.Another candidate has thrown her hat into the ring for Racine’s mayor. And quite a circus ring it has become. In light of this information, and the barrage of misinformation that the other candidates will unleash on the unsuspecting public, I have decided to devote more of my blogging to my campaign for mayor.
First, to answer the obvious question, no, I do not believe that voting rights should be denied to those receiving public assistance. I am a strong believer in one man or woman, one vote. I also believe in one animal, one vote. They have to live here, too. And maybe one child, one half vote, but I’m not sure yet. I could work on that during my first term in office.
Second, I’d like to address the question of development in Racine, and whether I am for or against more development locally, and what kind of development I am for or against. To which my resounding response is: of course!
Third: crime. Fourth: against it.
Fifth, taxes, taxes, taxes. Whenever anyone raises the topic of taxes, I say, “No thanks, I’ve had enough.” I strongly believe that the city should use whatever resources it has at its disposal to generate revenue. Why haven’t we been selling bottled Racine Purified Water® all these years? ("Straight from the 'bubbler!'") Why doesn’t the city have its own lottery? Why don’t we have a floating casino in the harbor? That would get the marina and downtown hopping. Why aren’t there video poker machines in City Hall? Why doesn’t the city open its own payday loan stores, muscling the undesirables out of business? Why? Why? Why?
Sixth, education. No thanks, I’ve had enough.
Seventh, jobs, jobs, jobs. Please see my answer to Fifth, taxes, taxes, taxes.
Eighth, moral fortitude. I am Madame Zoltar, the blood that runs in my veins is semi-royal, and thus my character is almost above reproach.
Ninth, vision. Yes, daily, many.
Finally, tenth, where do I see myself 5 years from now? Ha, wouldn’t you like to know? I’ll tell you for 5 bucks.
Don’t forget to email your thoughts on the issues of the day as well as your personal quagmires to: madamezoltar@jtirregulars.com.
It is so wonderful to blog with you all again. I do love being a member of this site. Thank you for making me feel at home. I have made my personal blessing an extra added benefit of membership in the JT Irregulars. This is a limited time offer. Void where prohibited.
See you later, alligators.
Feel pretty bad about this
What kind of asshat puts us a trillion deeper in debt (and no matter which one had won, this would have happened) goes on and says he's going to halve our dependence on others? I think I'm going t0o drop out of reading what's happening. Nothing I say or do or think is going to change a speck of where we are headed.
Well, time for my own little head juke box.
and I always though it segued well into this song...
Well stop holding that thing and either light up or leave me alone....
And I was looking for Marshall Tucker Band's "Silver Dollar" but settled on just this without that one as an intro.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
"World Record" . . . Yeah, World Record for Insanity
I Googled "George Novak," but it's an extremely common name.
16 Year-Old "Madames" in Phoenix High School
http://www.azfamily.com/video/newsat9-index.html?nvid=335252
Maybe it was a project for Junior Achievement.
Becker Going to Diz Nee Land
http://news.racinepost.com/2009/02/becker-off-to-pennsylvania-treatment.html
Celebrity rehab for the perv. Thus, the public reconstruction of Gary Becker begins. If he takes the fast track, he could be re-elected in May.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Yoohooooo
Joe is there now.. come on in if you are on!
been tagged?
How to Make Popcorn with Your Computer
I still want a toaster oven in my computer's tower for late night snacking.
Comet Lulin Tonight
Tonight is the best time to see Comet Lulin. It is bright enough to see naked eye from dark sites, but probably not from most suburban backyards. However, even a small pair of binoculars should make it visible from most sites. I have a pair of 8x42 binoculars and have picked it up with them.
Comet Lulin is farther from the Sun than the Earth right now...in fact, its almost opposite in the sky from the Sun. It rises shortly after sunset and is visible most of the night until sunrise. The best time to look is around midnight to 1am local time when it is highest in the sky. As an added bonus, Comet Lulin is near Saturn tonight and visible in the same binocular field! That makes it nice and easy to find...find Saturn (which is bright and you don't need a telsescope to see) and you find Comet Lulin. A finding chart is below.
Start by finding the backwards question mark of Leo. You should then be able to pick out the bright Saturn. Center your binoculars on Saturn, scan slowly southeast if needed, and you should run across the comet!
You can see the comet for the next few days pretty well, but by early next week the Moon will be getting brighter and interfering. The comet is moving rapidly across the sky, so look for upated charts at sites such as Spaceweather. Comet Lulin rapidly moves away from Earth and will dim quickly in early March.
Happy hunting!Reprinted with permission from the Half-Astrophysicist Blog.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Greetings from Spacefest...
High Five Escalator
I love the smiles on peoples' faces.
When I lived in Chicago, I never worked in the Loop but had a few occasions to be present during rush hours. Wow.
"$50,000 claim filed over girl's time-out in school"
http://www.jsonline.com/news/education/40036922.html
You can buy a lot of Pepto-Bismol for $50K.
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