Lightning Storm Generated by Chilean Volcano (Images)
It could be the scene from a movie: huge plumes of ash and
gas rising during a ferocious volcanic eruption, sparking off a dazzling
lightning storm; lightning bolts thundering to life inside and out of the hot
cloud. However, this is the reality down on the ground for the people living
near the Chaiten Volcano, southern Chile, who have been evacuated since the
volcano erupted on Friday. Activity continues to increase, producing these
terrifying, yet mesmerizing scenes…
(...)
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Storm Generated by Chilean Volcano (Images)
Where In The Universe? #4
Here's this week's "Where In The Universe?" mystery image.
Your mission, should you choose to accept, is to guess what location in the
universe is depicted here. No peeking below before you make a guess. Give
yourself an extra point if you can name the feature shown here, and another
point or two if you can name the spacecraft that took this image. I have to
admit, I was drawn to this image strictly by the color: blue is my favorite, and
especially this shade of blue. Kind of electric, don't you think? Let's see,
could this be a moon, or a planet, or even a portion of a planetary nebula, or
perhaps a photo from somewhere on our home planet? Make your guesses now, or
maybe you knew what this was the moment you saw it….
Read the rest of Where In The Universe? #4
Spock's Astronomy Quiz
Have you ever wanted to test your astronomy knowledge against the
best? Then take the warp speed jump to Spock's Astro Quiz. It's more than just
astronomy trivia, it's a great way to test your astronomy knowledge, learn more
about astronomy related topics and interact via live chat with others interested
in astronomy…
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JAXA Releases Boomerang Experiment Video
During the STS-123 mission to the International Space Station
in March 2008 Japanese astronaut Takeo Doi tested a special boomerang in space
to see how it worked in the microgravity environment of the ISS. The boomerang
used in the experiment was a “Roomerang,” a small, tri-blade boomerang intended
for use indoors in a small area or outdoors in light winds. IT was designed by
boomerang expert Gary Broadbent, and it travels 5 to 8 feet before returning to
the thrower.
The Japanese Space Agency has now released the video of the event:
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More Recent Articles
Photos of the Earth and Moon - From Other Worlds
We're familiar with the close-up images of Earth captured by
orbital satellites and astronauts on the International Space Station. But here
are a few pictures of the Earth and Moon captured at a distance, while passing
around the Moon, or orbiting distant Saturn. In the words of Carl Sagan, "Look
again at that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. On it everyone you love,
everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was,
lived out their lives."
Since Sagan commented on Voyager 1's image of Earth, several more pics of the Earth and Moon have been captured that really put our tiny spot in the Universe into perspective.
Read the rest of Photos of the Earth and Moon - From Other Worlds
Volunteers Sweat for NASA
For three weeks, 23 volunteers spent time helping NASA test a
new life support system for the spacecraft that will replace the shuttle. Five
volunteers at a time would squeeze into a special room the size of a walk-in
closet for eight hours. Sweating and heavy breathing was encouraged, as
scientists at Johnson Space Center wanted to measure the amount of moisture and
carbon dioxide absorbed by a new system designed to control carbon dioxide and
humidity inside a crew capsule in order to make air breathable and living space
more comfortable. The tests took place from April 14 to May 1 of this year and
are some of the first to use human subjects in support of NASA's Orion crew
capsule, Altair lunar lander and lunar rovers.
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The Space Traveler's Guide to Surviving Without a Spacesuit (Part 1)
In a few decades from now, when we've got interplanetary
space travel perfected and all of us Average Joes can hop in our own personal
spacecraft or grab the local express line of the Milky Way Transport Service,
visiting other planets and moons is going to be a blast. Just imagine it:
kicking back for a relaxing weekend on Mars, or heading out for a diving
expedition on Europa, or possibly week of mountain climbing on Titan. But there
are a few safety rules we'll need to know, especially in the event of a
spacesuit failure. Unfortunately, unless someone is able to figure out how to do
some serious terraforming, we'll all be stuck wearing spacesuits in order to
survive on the other worlds in our solar system. And just how bad would it be if
your spacesuit malfunctioned? Well, let's just say it wouldn't be pretty. Here's
a look at some problems you might encounter without an operational spacesuit on
other worlds.
Read the rest of The Space Traveler's Guide to Surviving Without a Spacesuit (Part 1)
from Universe Today.com (5/08/08)1 comment on Lightening Storm Generated by Chilean Volcano (Images) & more
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Hey! I was close! No, I didn't know WHERE in the universe or EXACTLY what took the picture/image, but I did know that it was an aurora (well, that's what I really THOUGHT it was and it turned out to be right) AND I GUESSED that it was probably something seen through a telescope. So, hey, this is the closest I've gotten to getting an answer right so far!
Isn't that volcano something? I've been doing some reading on it and I have seen some pictures (AP photes) on the web.
I like those boomerangs...I could see me playing with those here or out in space somewhere.