The Chinese New Year - year of the Tiger - falls on February 14 - Valentine's Day.
The tiger symbolises courage and power.
Monday, 8 February 2010
Thursday, 7 January 2010
White Dwarf
A massive white dwarf star in the Milky Way — long overdue for its next periodic eruption — is closer to our solar system than previously thought and could threaten the Earth.
The latest observations of the white dwarf are giving scientists a better understanding of this potential supernova, as reported at the 215th meeting of the American Astronomical Society.
The star is in a binary system called T Pyxidis, located in the Southern Hemisphere constellation Pyxis ("The Compass Box"). Researchers found that this is only 3,260 light-years from our solar system – much closer than previously thought. (A light-year is the distance that light travels in a year, or about 6 trillion miles.)
The new findings suggest the white dwarf, considered close to us by cosmic standards, might eventually go supernova. Gamma radiation emissions could threaten the Earth with an energy equivalent to 1,000 simultaneous solar flares.
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/100104-aas-close-supernova.html
The latest observations of the white dwarf are giving scientists a better understanding of this potential supernova, as reported at the 215th meeting of the American Astronomical Society.
The star is in a binary system called T Pyxidis, located in the Southern Hemisphere constellation Pyxis ("The Compass Box"). Researchers found that this is only 3,260 light-years from our solar system – much closer than previously thought. (A light-year is the distance that light travels in a year, or about 6 trillion miles.)
The new findings suggest the white dwarf, considered close to us by cosmic standards, might eventually go supernova. Gamma radiation emissions could threaten the Earth with an energy equivalent to 1,000 simultaneous solar flares.
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/100104-aas-close-supernova.html
Thursday, 31 December 2009
Scientists attracted to interstellar magnetism
The solar system is passing through an interstellar cloud with a strong magnetic field, according to a report in the Dec 24 issue of Nature. A team of scientists explain how NASA’s Voyager spacecraft was involved in the discovery.
“Using data from Voyager, we have discovered a strong magnetic field just outside the solar system,” says Merav Opher, a NASA Heliophysics expert from George Mason University. “This magnetic field holds the interstellar cloud together and solves the long-standing puzzle of how it can exist at all.”
“Using data from Voyager, we have discovered a strong magnetic field just outside the solar system,” says Merav Opher, a NASA Heliophysics expert from George Mason University. “This magnetic field holds the interstellar cloud together and solves the long-standing puzzle of how it can exist at all.”
Wednesday, 23 December 2009
Monday, 7 December 2009
Year ends with a Blue Moon
The second full moon to occur in a single calendar month is known as a Blue Moon - an event which takes place approximately once every two and half years.
This month has two full moons, on 2nd December and 31st December.
The Native Americans call this the Long Nights Moon, or Snow Moon.
This month has two full moons, on 2nd December and 31st December.
The Native Americans call this the Long Nights Moon, or Snow Moon.
Wednesday, 25 November 2009
Darwin's diaries
Darwin's notebooks go online to mark the 150th anniversary of 'Origin of the Species'
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/ondeadline/post/2009/11/darwins-notebooks-go-online-on-150th-anniversary-of--origin-of-the-species/1
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/ondeadline/post/2009/11/darwins-notebooks-go-online-on-150th-anniversary-of--origin-of-the-species/1
Tuesday, 20 October 2009
England: the centre of time and space
How did England become the centre of time?
In 1884, delegates from 25 nations gathered in Washington, USA for the International Meridian Conference to pinpoint a location for the global measurement of time and space.
By the end of the summit, after much debate, the meeting agreed Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) would be used as the standard for the world, with the day beginning at midnight at Greenwich and counted on a 24-hour clock.
This week marks the 12th anniversary of Greenwich Mean Time.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/8266883.stm
In 1884, delegates from 25 nations gathered in Washington, USA for the International Meridian Conference to pinpoint a location for the global measurement of time and space.
By the end of the summit, after much debate, the meeting agreed Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) would be used as the standard for the world, with the day beginning at midnight at Greenwich and counted on a 24-hour clock.
This week marks the 12th anniversary of Greenwich Mean Time.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/8266883.stm
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