Hubble Detects first Direct Measurements of Atmosphere on World Around another Star

Hubble has discovered more information about a planet outside our solar system.

Students will
(E.O.A.S1) Compare and contrast the star in this system to that of our sun
(E.O.A.S2) CCompare and contrast the planet Earth with this planet
(E.O.A.S.3) How much % of the Sun's light is reflected back into space? Why is this important?

Saturn's Moon Titan amazing seas

Long hypothesizes to have a soupy primordial atmosphere possibly like our Earth once had, scientists are learning more about Titan.In 2005 the Huygens probe landed on Titan and returned the first surface images. Now there seems to be a Liquid Sea on Saturn's Titan. Astrobiologists are interested in the possibility of some sort of life on the moon

Apod 5/30/2007
if not this day go to archives
Students will
(E.O.A.S.1) Compare and contrast the seas of Titan to that of the Earth
(E.O.A.S.2) Imagine and create what a life form on Titan might look like and compare it to early life forms

Wayward humpback and young head back to sea

Normally whales go where the seawater is but this duo has been swimming in fresh water which exposes them to skin damage and making them susceptible to germs.The mother took a wrong turn and has been going up the Sacremento River.

Monster tornado 'flat out leveled the town'

Google comes out with some before and after satellite pictures (need Google Earth - free download- )

In USAtoday 5/7/2007 on page 5A
"Monster tornado 'flat out leveled the town'
www.usatoday.com/weather/storms/tornadoes/2007-05-05-kansas_N.htm
by Emily Bazar
(you might be able to see it on line and the damage pics)

there is a map of the counties which affected NM, OK, KS, NE, SD, CO nad TX Sat and Sunday.

also a life long resident echoes probably what a lot of people think in tornado alley

Wittig said she never expected a tornado to hit her home , even though she lives in a twister hotspot.

"The sirens have gone off before many a time, but the tornado would go over or around the town" she says. " That's why so many people got hurt . That's why so many people stayed home. Nobody thought it was going to hit."

Saaturn next to moon photo

An occulation occurs when planets are covered by the Moon. Recently outside of the US Saturn was about to cover the moon. Look at this great shot for May 26,2007. (if you get to spaceweather, and you are not on 5/26 goto archives)

Students will
(1) Learn about occulations and how they can help scientists and astronomers
(2) Determine what is the real size comparison of Saturn and our Moon

Mars' wet past possible best evidence

Mars' wet past possible best evidence
A patch of Martian soil analyzed by NASA's rover Spirit is so rich in silica that it may provide some of the strongest evidence yet that ancient Mars was much wetter than it is now. The processes that could have produced such a concentrated deposit of silica require the presence of water ...
http://www.astronomy.com/asy/default.aspx?c=a&id=5571
Students will:
(1) Compare the climates and atmosphere compared to Earth
(2) Will compare this deposit to cave deposites, events and cave structures
(3) will look at crytals and how they form

Video: How Tornadoes are Rated and Tracked

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/05/070508-tornadoes-video.html

Ocean Loaded With Carbon Dioxide

Cold water can hold much more CO2

Southern Ocean Loaded With Carbon Dioxide
WASHINGTON (May 19) - The Southern Ocean around Antarctica is so loaded with carbon dioxide that it can barely absorb any more, so more of the gas will stay in the atmosphere to warm up the planet, scientists reported on Thursday.

New deep sea world found

Deep-Sea Alien Abode Discovered

Carnivorous sponges, blind creepy-crawlies adorned with hairy antennae and ribbed worms are just some of the new characters recently found to inhabit the dark abysses of the Southern Ocean, an alien abode once thought devoid of such life.

http://www.livescience.com/animals/070516_alien_abode.html

Aerial shots of the Greensburg, KS tornado

Aerial shots of the Greensburg, KS f5 tornado

Object not a meteorite

What looks like a meteorite, smells like a meteorite ..... Scientists found this object was not a meteorite. But the mystery is where did it come from?

http://news.aol.com/topnews/articles/_a/mysterious-object-turns-out-to-be-space/20070511203309990001?ncid=NWS00010000000001

Meteorite recovered after Kansas tornado

An EF 5 tornado pulverized the town of Greensburg, KS on May 5,2007.
Up until that time the town was known for housing the very special meteorite found there. The meteorite was found in the wreakage recently .

Meteorite recovered after Kansas tornado

United Press International - USAWhile some feared the Pallasite Meteorite had simply blown away during last Friday's devastating tornado strike, the half-iron half-stone space artifact was ...See all stories on this topic

'Tornado Alley' hit by worst twister in 10 years

I was not stormchasing Friday when the tornado hit. Here is more news. My other stormchaser friends were "on it" however and some took photos and video and helped out after the tornado hit. Here is more information. (I did chaser Saturday and Sunday in KS and OK and will have more information links later etc)

'Tornado Alley' hit by worst twister in 10 years
12:51 08 May 2007
NewScientist.com news service
Celeste Biever and Reuters
http://environment.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn11800&feedId=earth_rss20

eclipse sighting black hole style

eclipse sighting black hole style
Space telescope Chandra observes remarkable Eclipse Of a Black Hole

Science Daily
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/04/070412115254.htm
— Chandra observations of the galaxy NGC 1365 have captured a remarkable eclipse of the supermassive black hole at its center. A dense cloud of gas passed in front of the black hole, which blocked high-energy X-rays from material close to the black hole. This serendipitous alignment allowed astronomers to measure the size of the disk of material around the black hole, a relatively tiny structure on galactic scales