China engages NASA in the next space race

by Patrick Temple-West
Feb 14, 2008
WASHINGTON – The U.S. is gearing up for a 21st century space race with China at a time when public disinterest and weak funding have left NASA ill prepared for the challenge.
NASA Administrator Michael D. Griffin told the House Science and Technology Committee recently that China will launch its first manned space mission by 2020—the same year President Bush called for a U.S. return to the moon.

Want to read more?
http://www.dailyastronomy.com/story.asp?ID=262927&Title=China%20engages%20NASA%20in%20the%20next%20space%20race

God is Angry or just another eclipse

So much like Berny has been talking about using out knowledge of the up coming lunar eclipse to gain control over people, it would definitely would not be the first time some one has done it. Columbus actually did it, and it was probably alot easier to sway peoples minds that god was angry and going to turn the moon a blood red color.
So the story goes that on Columbus's fourth and final voyage to the new world in 1502, he left Spain with his fleet of ships that all happened to me infested with worms, where by 2 of the ships had to be abandoned half way through the voyage. He was then able to make it to the northern coast of Jamaica where his other two boats finally fell apart. At firsts the natives of the island were welcoming to Columbus and his crew but after a while the tensions grew between the two groups. With everything insight of completely breaking down and complete chaos arising, Columbus devised a plan. He had happened to carry a copy of an astrological almanac that covered everythign between the dates 1475-1506 that was published by a man named Regiomontanus and it just happened to say that there was going to be a complete lunar eclipse on the Thursdays February 29, 1504. With this knowledge Columbus met with the native chiefs and explained that his christian god was not please with the way that the natives had been treating them and that he was going to turn the moon "inflamed with wrath" that would signify what he was going to do to the people in a few days time.
On the day of the eclipse sure enough as the moon rose is slowly disappeared by which it then turned a blood red color and the natives were terrified and agreed to cooperate if Columbus had his god bring back the moon. Columbus said he would go privately infer with his god. In knowing how long the eclipse would last Columbus came out right before the moon started to reappear and said that he was able to convince his god to save the natives, and sure enough the moon started to reappear. from then on the natives kept columbus well supplied until a ship arrived from hispanola in on june 29, 1504, by which him and his men returned to Spain.
This all was told by Columbus's sun Ferdinand i guess. But too bad we wont have the ability to get a whole tribe to do whatever we want by saying god is angry at them and then having an eclipse happen

Zodiac in the Sky

Up until this point I did not quite understand how exactly the zodiac signs were defined by the stars. The zodiac is the section of the sky in which we find the Sun, Moon and the planets, except the planet Pluto (which technically doesn't count now either) because the planet was not discovered until afterwards.

The zodiac span is sixteen degrees wide, and extends about eight degrees north and south of what's called the ecliptic. These signs are defined by seasons and when the Sun is right over the Earth's equator (the March equinox) this is the first sign of Aries. About three months later the Sun on the June solstice reaches its northernmost declination for the year making it the tropic of Cancer.
Six months after March equinox (called the September equinox) the sun's position makes it the first point of Libra. Toward the end of the year, the Sun reaches its southernmost declination at the tropic of Capricorn (the best sign in MY personal opinion) during the December solstice.

The March equinox Sun has shifted about thirty degrees westward through the constellations of the zodiac. During this present time, the Sun will be at the first point of Aries on the March equinox, but the stars of the constellation Pisces backdrop the March equinox Sun. At the June solstice, the Sun stands at the tropic of Cancer but in front of the constellation Taurus. On the September equinox, the sun resides at the first point of Libra but in front of the constellation Virgo; on the December solstice, the Sun stands at the tropic of Capricorn but in front of the constellation Sagittarius.

Interesting eh?

What is a Solar Flare?

The definition of a solar flare is the explosion that takes place in the Sun's atmosphere. Its impact has been compared to the energy equivalent to tens of millions of hydrogen bombs. This solar flares take place in the corona and chromosphere. The corona is defined as the "luminous plasma "atmosphere" of the Sun or other celestial body, extending millions of kilometres into spaced". These flares heat plasma up to tens of millions of kelvins and moving so rapidly that the end result is having electrons, protons and heavier ions move almost at the speed of light.

This build up of energy is associated with solar flares and may take long periods of time (several hours or days) to build up, but in contrast most flares can release energy in a matter of minutes!

How to view a solar eclipse safely

http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/SEhelp/safety2.html
--link for more information

A total solar eclipse is probably the most spectacular astronomical event that most people will experience in their lives. There is a great deal of interest in watching eclipses, and thousands of astronomers (both amateur and professional) travel around the world to observe and photograph them.

A solar eclipse offers students a unique opportunity to see a natural phenomenon that illustrates the basic principles of mathematics and science that are taught through elementary and secondary school. Indeed, many scientists (including astronomers!) have been inspired to study science as a result of seeing a total solar eclipse. Teachers can use eclipses to show how the laws of motion and the mathematics of orbital motion can predict the occurrence of eclipses. The use of pinhole cameras and telescopes or binoculars to observe an eclipse leads to an understanding of the optics of these devices. The rise and fall of environmental light levels during an eclipse illustrate the principles of radiometry and photometry, while biology classes can observe the associated behavior of plants and animals. It is also an opportunity for children of school age to contribute actively to scientific research - observations of contact timings at different locations along the eclipse path are useful in refining our knowledge of the orbital motions of the Moon and earth, and sketches and photographs of the solar corona can be used to build a three-dimensional picture of the Sun's extended atmosphere during the eclipse.

However, observing the Sun can be dangerous if you do not take the proper precautions. The solar radiation that reaches the surface of Earth ranges from ultraviolet (UV) radiation at wavelengths longer than 290 nm to radio waves in the meter range. The tissues in the eye transmit a substantial part of the radiation between 380 and 1400 nm to the light-sensitive retina at the back of the eye. While environmental exposure to UV radiation is known to contribute to the accelerated aging of the outer layers of the eye and the development of cataracts, the concern over improper viewing of the Sun during an eclipse is for the development of "eclipse blindness" or retinal burns.

Exposure of the retina to intense visible light causes damage to its light-sensitive rod and cone cells. The light triggers a series of complex chemical reactions within the cells which damages their ability to respond to a visual stimulus, and in extreme cases, can destroy them. The result is a loss of visual function which may be either temporary or permanent, depending on the severity of the damage. When a person looks repeatedly or for a long time at the Sun without proper protection for the eyes, this photochemical retinal damage may be accompanied by a thermal injury - the high level of visible and near-infrared radiation causes heating that literally cooks the exposed tissue. This thermal injury or photocoagulation destroys the rods and cones, creating a small blind area. The danger to vision is significant because photic retinal injuries occur without any feeling of pain (there are no pain receptors in the retina), and the visual effects do not occur for at least several hours after the damage is done [Pitts, 1993].

The only time that the Sun can be viewed safely with the naked eye is during a total eclipse, when the Moon completely covers the disk of the Sun. It is never safe to look at a partial or annular eclipse, or the partial phases of a total solar eclipse, without the proper equipment and techniques. Even when 99% of the Sun's surface (the photosphere) is obscured during the partial phases of a solar eclipse, the remaining crescent Sun is still intense enough to cause a retinal burn, even though illumination levels are comparable to twilight [Chou, 1981, 1996; Marsh, 1982]. Failure to use proper observing methods may result in permanent eye damage or severe visual loss. This can have important adverse effects on career choices and earning potential, since it has been shown that most individuals who sustain eclipse-related eye injuries are children and young adults [Penner and McNair, 1966; Chou and Krailo, 1981].

Photo's of eclipses

Since we have been talking about Eclipses a lot, I found a cool site that had some photos of some awesome eclipses. Thought you guys might like this...there are some pretty cool links attached.

Precise Astronomical dating of the Great Pyramid: Breakthrough or Old News?

Dozens of newspapers and websites announced yesterday (16 November 2000) a major 'breakthrough discovery' by Kate Spence, a PhD researcher at Cambridge University that was published in the journal Nature. The main 'breakthrough' hailed by the media concerns the accurate dating of the Great Pyramid by modeling the precession of the transit of two stars, Kochab (in Ursa Minor) and Mizar (in Ursa Major), at the north meridian of the sky. According to Kate Spence:
"The Ancient Egyptian Pyramids of Giza have never been accurately dated... Modeling the precession of these stars yields a date to the start of construction of the Great Pyramid that is accurate to ±5yr, thereby providing an anchor for the Old Kingdom chronologies" (Nature, Vol. 408 p.320, 16th November 2000).

http://www.robertbauval.co.uk/articles/articles/gpdating.html