Ocean possibly exists beneath the crust of moon Titan

The pictures of Titan below its smog clouds, organic dunes, lakes, channels and mountains were stunning. Considering all the things that had to go right to accomplish the feat. Now more data that there might be oceans of water and ammonia under the crust of Titan.
The findings were discovered using radar measurements of Titan's rotation.


http://www.saturndaily.com/reports/Ocean_May_Exist_Beneath_Titan_Crust_999.html

Its not beer but an organic brew erupting into the skies above Saturn's tiny moon

The Cassini spacecraft orbiting the planet Saturn has now found evidence of organic brew erupting in a geyser-like manner from Saturn's moon Enceladus. On 12 March, scientists are happy about this tiny moon is its apparent inclination for such great and mysterious active.

Full story:
http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Cassini-Huygens/SEMHFYQ03EF_0.html

Gorgeous photos of two galaxies in Ursa Major

This is a magnificent photo of two galaxies M81 and M82, each how to millions and billions of start. While I have taken photos of both, the detail and color in this photo is better showing more detail.

picture at 3/25/08 (if not this date use archives)

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html

Googling to find new meteor craters

Using Google Eearth, a new crater has been found.
Satellite image reveals new crater
Tuesday, 18 March 2008
ScienceNetwork WA By Michelle Ridley
The Hickman Crater as seen on Google Earth

Next time you’re virtually roaming Google Earth, make sure you take a
close look at any unusual landforms
http://www.sciencealert.com.au/news/20081803-17058-2.html

Found:organic molecule in the atmosphere of a planet orbiting another star

The Hubble Space Telescope has made the first discovery of an organic molecule in the atmosphere of a planet orbiting another star. This will help identify signs of life on a planet outside our Solar System.

More at:
http://www.esa.int/esaSC/SEMTZ1N5NDF_index_0.html

Workers Uncovering rare Mummified Dinosaur

Mummufied dinosaurs happen when the animals are covered soon after their demise. Possibly one of the best was uncovered and workers are now trying to uncover its secrets.

By BLAKE NICHOLSON,

Filed Under: Science News

BISMARCK, N.D. (March 18) - Using tiny brushes and chisels, workers picking at a big greenish-black rock in the basement of North Dakota's state museum

http://news.aol.com/story/_a/workers-uncovering-mummified-dinosaur/20080318125409990001?ncid=NWS00010000000001

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Stunning photo of Space Shuttle going into space

This is a stunning photo of Space Shuttle going into space
3/14/08 ( if not this day go to archives on the bottom of this webpage
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html

Latest meteorite news Peru and Ontario, Canada

Astronomers searching for meteorite that crashed in Ontario
When there is a big fireball, many people think that meteorites landed. Not always true but it happens. We will shall see if something turns up.
http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2008/03/11/science-meteor.html
How The Peruvian Meteorite Made It To Earth

By RSS on March 11th, 2008
The strange Peruvian meteorite has yielded some interesting conclusions that could change the what we know about the size and type of meteorites that can strike Earth. The Carancas fireball was a stony meteorite and kept on going at a great speed ( 15,000 miles per hour). The impact however was different because of this. More information about conclusions.
http://www.physorg.com/news124466115.html

There is a curious ozone haze which has enveloped the upper atmosphere of Venus

There is a curious ozone haze which has enveloped the upper atmosphere of Venus. Here is also more information about this newly found strange phenomenon on Venus.


http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap080226.html

Weather on all the planets (depends if you still consider Pluto a planet -its here too)

Here is more about bad weather and other weather phenomenon on other planets

http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/solarsystem/solar_system_weather_010306-1.html

www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/www.windows.ucar.eplanets/95-31.html

school.discoveryeducation.com/school.discoveryeducaplanetaryweather/


Why Do Planets Have Weather?
http://lithops.as.arizona.edu/~jill/EPO/Solarsystem/weather.htm

see an eclipse -"To Spark teens curiousity, do not disturb"

((c) photo by E.Flescher)

There was an interesting article in Sundays Kansas City Star (P.B9, 2/24/2008) under the Opinion page entitled "To Spark teens curiousity, do not disturb" by Rhonda Lokeman.

In the article, there is a photo of the eclipse in the sky over Macedonia from the Associated Press. But it is the content of the article that really said much more.

The lunar eclipse had caught the eye of this reporter's teenager.The eclipse captured her attention and pointed the eclipse to her mother. The reporter actually observed it because of the daughter's observation. "What matters to teenagers, as parents will attest, is the source of the suggestion. Parental suggestions are just not cool. "

This was also a night in which the military was to shoot down a rouge spy satellite (and succedded). The eclipse for this child was "cooler" then the interception and destruction of a satellite, which was the preoccupation of the reporter.

What is even better, is the daughter took extra time and creativity to take a picture with her camera on her phone! This she displayed to the reporter/ mother. The moment of observation was "captured" through images which many of us like to do with our digital cameras and videocamcorders to "relive" the moments of the eclipse, celestial object or other sights.

The daugher then sent it on to her friend with the camera phone. Her friend's response, predicatbly , came as a text message : "Kul"

We had a little more time to tell people about this eclipse. We weren't so fortunate with the Comet McNaught, (the brightest comet in 40 years), which only several of us, in the Northern Hemisphere, only saw for 4 days beforethe brilliant comet slipped into the skies of the Southern Hemisphere

I had sent information through my emails to relatives, blog, email listserves etc. My mother in Providence, RI saw it through her kitchen window. My brother in law saw it and telephoned me. I had told some of my students to watch for it and while they tried, the weather here in Overland Park was not good. While I lamented staying at Powell Observatory (near Louisbourg, KS and Kansas City area) as the clouds rolled in, I hoped others would see the eclipse. I should have tried to escape the clouds to see this lunar eclipse, as we did in Hungary 1999, to see the total solar eclipses of that year. Others had better luck North or in Missouri.

But like that teenager, I saw some of it and saw the orange-red hues on the moons surface like the eclipse in August 2007. I have my pictures and videos of that great 1999 eclipse and that past lunar eclipse. There are many words to express a beautiful sight. For older and young "Kul" says a lot.

Dr. Eric Flescher (kcstarguy@aol.com), Olathe, KS: Lat 38.834, Lon -94.778: Nature's Greatest Spectacle- 2008 & 2009 Total Eclipse- Winco Eclipse Tours, Inc.:www.eclipsetrips.com: Comet Observers Award Coordinator- Astronomical League / Astronomical Society of Kansas, KC, MO-Louisburg,KS: http://www.astroleague.org/al/obsclubs/comet/comet.htm: Comet Observers Blog: http://cometobservers.blogspot.com/:Subscribe to Comet Observers newsletter (send your email to):CometObserversAwardAL-subscribe@yahoogroups.com : : Eclipse sightings > http://eclipse-sightings.blogspot.com/: E.O.A.S. (Earth, Oceans, Atmosphere and Space) Blog -:sign up for free monthly astronomical newsletter (send message to:
blacksuneclipse-subscribe@egroups.com: Blog : State of Kansas-JPL NASA Solar System Ambassador

Comet finding telescope discovers periodic comet

SOHO's find new periodic com: P/2007 R5
In 2005, German PhD student Sebastian Hoenig realised that the two comets were so similar in orbit that they might actually be the same object.
http://www.esa.int/esaSC/SEMAU2C1S6F_index_0.html

Astronomers find solar system with Jupiter-Saturn configuration

For the first time, astronomers have found extrasolar planets in a far away system that has a Jupiter / Saturn like configuration like our own solar system . Microlensing is the relatively new process used by astronomers to spy these new worlds. Implications tell us that there are more planetary solar system like our own - out there. More articles and info below.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080214144532.htm


Jupiter-Size Planet Found Orbiting Star In Big Dipper
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2003/12/031201064153.htm

Planetary Scientists To Find Out Composition, Structure Of Asteroids
http://www.sciencedaily.com/videos/2007/0608-visit_to_an_asteroid.htm

(E.O.A.S.blog ) http://eoas-dreric1kansas.blogspot.com/
Students will gain a better understanding of how scientific instruments, devices, probes, spacecraft can assist with a better understanding of our universe.

Auroras seen by Astronauts 200 miles above Earth

I've seen aurora before in the skies above Michigan, Maine and looking out through a window on a jet over Buffalo, NY looking toward Canada. The astronauts aboard the International Space Station took some recent pictures from their loft 200 miles above the Earth!

2/10/2008 (not this date go to archives)
http://www.spaceweather.com/

also to see more photos and to learn more see
http://www.exploratorium.edu/auroras/

(E.O.A.S.blog) http://eoas-dreric1kansas.blogspot.com/
Earth Atmosphere 2/10/08 Students will learn about about Earth- Space phenomenon and gain an understanding of what the causes are

That was close! asteroid flies by Earth

That was close. Yesterday, newly discovered asteroid 2008 CT1 flew past Earth only 72,000 miles (0.3 lunar distances) away on 2/5/08. If it struck the 13-meter wide space rock ( size to a school bus) probably would have exploded in the atmosphere and showering an ocean with meteorites.

http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi?sstr=2008%20CT1;orb=1

more coming close near us in the near future

http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi?sstr=2008%20CT1;orb=1

Tornadoes in February do occur: Latest outbreak

Colder months still breed tornadic weather . At least six tornadoes touched down between Oxford, Miss., and Jackson, Tenn., said a National Weather Service spokesman.

http://www.wsbtv.com/weather/15227643/detail.html

TN TWISTER SHORT VIDEO- in right pane (shows funnel)

nice pop window How tornadoes form (video slide show- which I have seen before but well done) and more
Tornado touchdown near Arlington, 25 miles northeast of downtown Memphis. It knocked out a radio tower for the Tennessee Highway Patrol.
nice picture of tornado

http://www.newschannel5.com/Global/story.asp?S=7827503

http://weather.blogs.foxnews.com/2008/02/06/tragic-february-tornado-outbreak/

Monday 2/4/08 dawn celestial spectacle

On 2/1/08, Venus and Jupiter were very close together. I could not see it here in Kansas due to the clouds but others saw it.

I did photograph the pair with the Moon on 2/2/08. Taken with my canon digital rebel XT around 6:00 pm CT.
At this day, the planets were farther apart (then 2/1) but the Moon was more in view.

The planets and moon will look like this on Monday morning at dawn. Have a look at dawn.
(spaceweather 2/4/08 illustration)

A radar image shows TU24, an 250 meters across asteroid

A radar image shows TU24, an 250 meters across asteroid, found 3 months ago, as it flew by Earth on January 29. It passed beyond the moon but if it would havehit us would have produced a magnitude 7 earthquake or a sizable tidal wave. These NEOs (Near Earth Object) asteroids are difficult to detect as they travel fast and they are small. Scientist now think they are potentially dangerous and are on the look out.

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html
1/30/2008 (if not this date use archives)
1/30/2008
(E.O.A.S.blog) 1 -Students will gain a better understanding of how scientific instruments, devices, probes, spacecraft can assist with a better understanding of our universe.

Robotic eyes on Mars and in Martian skies look for signs of water

Robotic eyes on Mars (the two Mars rovers) and in Martian skies (current spaceprobes around Mars taking high resolution photos are trying to unlocking further secrets about Mars past and whether is has or still has signs of water. The High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) on board ESA’s Mars Express has returned superb views of the Terby crater on Mars. This area is of great scientific interest for finding out whether water was in the pst or is now on the planet.

More at:
http://www.esa.int/esaSC/SEMSEWEMKBF_index_0.html

technology mars (E.O.A.S.blog)1 http://eoas-dreric1kansas.blogspot.com/
1/25/08 Students will gain a better understanding of how scientific instruments, devices, probes, spacecraft can assist with a better understanding of our universe.

Shelf Cloud Over Saskatchewan APOD

Shelf Cloud Over Saskatchewan, Canada APOD 1/22/2008*
Beautiful photo of Shelf Cloud Over Saskatchewan by Jeff Kerr shows a beautifully orange lit shelf cloud on August, 2001.
Nice explanation of the weather activity and how this formation differs from wall clouds.
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html

(*if not 1/22/2008 look in archives for the date)
Also thunderstorm development over Kansas time lapse on Youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZXW2IIziMM&NR=1
more
a nice photo of a lenticular cloud over Hawaii
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap050821.html
http://sa1.star.uclan.ac.uk/~prn/lenticular/clouds.html
also nice webpage about different type of clouds
http://ww2010.atmos.uiuc.edu/(Gh)/guides/mtr/cld/cldtyp/home.rxml

Hurrican Ivan from the Space Station

Spectacular pictures of the hurricane taken from the ISS (International Space Station). Shows the swirling vortex type clouds around the center of the hurricane called the "eye".

If not 1/13/2008, use the archives.

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html

(E.O.A.S.blog1) http://eoas-dreric1kansas.blogspot.com/
1/13/2008
Students will learn more about meteorlogical phenomenon and events by observing from above the Earth (International Space Station / Space Shuttle / Spacecraft

Asteroid flying by Earth 1/10/08, another may hit Mars 1/30/08

Asteroid 2005 WJ56 will fly past Earth on January 10, only 2.6 million miles
away. This kilometer-wide space rock will be close enough for experienced amateur astronomers to photograph as it flies by. It the constellation Taurus looking like an 11th magnitude star.

The asteroid 2005 WJ56 ephermis / coordinates are here

Date TT R. A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. Phase V
2008 01 05 07 27.69 +62 27.3 0.0465 1.019 140.0 38.3 12.9
2008 01 10 05 10.08 +21 52.3 0.0281 1.008 149.4 29.8 11.6
2008 01 15 03 54.39 -28 53.9 0.0418 0.995 105.3 72.4 13.6

Also

Astronomers say asteroid 2007 WD5. , 160 feet (50 meters) across, has
a chance of striking Mars on January 30. The power and energy would be similar to the
1908 Tunguska blast in Siberia, where a mysterious object now thought to be a
stony asteroid or old comet core exploded about 7 miles above the landscape and destroyed trees over the 810
square miles (2,100 square km) landscape. A chance is , 1 in 350 or better of a hit .
While it might strike near the equator, the Mars Rovers are not in danger as they are outside of the impact area.
If it punches Mars, the hole would be the size of the Meteor Crater in Arizona.

When my wife and I visited the crater a few years ago, I took a video and photographed aseries of pictures of the inside of the crater. I created a Quicktime VR panorma movie with it
Click on my website page Meteor crater and Mt. St. Helens panorama

http://members.aol.com/kcstormguy/stormsatori/panoramas.htm

Then click on the the Meteor Crater two-pane pictures and you will then see a little circle. Click and drag your mouse clockwise and you will see the whole inside of the crater.
I also did one for time when I helicoptered into the crater of Mt. St. Helens in 1988 and made a panorama. That way you can see the insides of two different craters, one volcanic and one a meteor crater and compare the two.

Astronmers have never seen an asteroid hit Mars but we did have a spectacular view of parts of a comet hit Jupiter in 1994. If a hit is immenent, this should be interesting to watch as when I watched the Comet Shoemaker- Levy
plough into Jupiter in 1994 when I was working on an astronomy project at Harvard U. Here is a a Hubble picture of one piece of the comet hitting Jupiter and the fireball seen (infra-red taken with a NASA KECK space telescope- bottom left on Jupiter photo).

http://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/sl9/top20.html

Tiny frogs and turtles have dropped from the sky but now igaunas were dropping.

Tiny frogs and turtles have dropped from the sky ( in recent weather events) but now igaunas were dropping. No these lizards had not had too much beer or too much to eat. Iquanas like turtles are cold blooded and like to warm themselves in the Sun to keep their temperature up. Then there was a cold snap in Miami and literally these creatures started dropping to the ground when the temperature became to lower. They seemed dead but once put in the Sun and warmed up, they were "alive" again.

http://www.miamiherald.com/416/story/365463.html

1/7/2008 (E.O.A.S.blog1) http://eoas-dreric1kansas.blogspot.com/
Students will learn about cold and warm blooded organisms, their differences and how they live.

Black Smokers, Giant Tube worms and Hydrothermal vents Oh My!

In 1977 I learned about a special community of organisms within a very strange ecosystem. Found in the waters near the Galapagos Islands, There was no light, the water had a scalding temperatures profile due to nearby hydrothermal sea vents/ volcanic vents. And there were strange creatures that have never been seen before in this once thought inhospitable environment.

http://science.uniserve.edu.au/school/quests/hydroventwq.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_smoker

http://www.amnh.org/nationalcenter/expeditions/blacksmokers/

http://www.extremescience.com/deepcreat5.htm

Then scientists took an even closer look. These Black Smokers (seen in this picture from a Wikipedia ) are created when superheated water breaks through the Earth's crust and works its way into the water. The superheated water is full of minerals including sulfides which produce these mountainous hills. But that is not all.

There were giant creatures called Tube Worms much larger (up to 8ft long ) then ever seen. What is even stranger is that these huge worms don't have a mouth or a stomach. When small, the bacteria enters their mouth. Over time the mouth and gut disappear. The bacteria then live inside the worms. The red part of the worms are red because of hemoglobin passing through. The whitish part below is like an armor that protects the worm. It can go inside the white armor like substance when in danger.

The bacteria convert the chemicals in the hot water and the worms use it to live and grow. This process is called "chemosynthesis" and is also a symbiotic relationship which means the worms and bacteria help each other for their common good. It works like this:

(1) The insides of the worms are lined with bacteria that oxidize (break down) the H₂S (hydrogen sulfide) turning it into usable nutrients for the worms;

(2) The bacteria are helped in this relationship because the worms deliver blood containing hemoglobin ( the chemical that gives our blood the red color).

(3) This helps the bacteria to break down the sulfides which are they absorbed and used by the worms. (Another symbiotic relationship is ants and aphids . The ants care for the aphids and the aphids give off a liquid which the ants collect and eat).

Other creatures like shrimps and crabs live in this dark, deep pressure environment with hot water.

What I did not understand is if the water is scalding and so hot, how could the worms and other creatures survive?
I discovered that deep pressure allows the water to become superhot beyond boiling of water while under the ground. When the water escapes, the less pressurization and extreme cold of the water makes the environment close by more hospitable for the creatures. The farther away from the vent, the cooler the water.

But scientist also began to understand how certain creatures like these tube worms, shrimp, crabs and others actually thrived in the high pressure, the high temperatures. These extremophiles may give us clues how life began on Earth, how might life evolve and still be on Mars, under the ice of Jupiter's moon Europa or other places.

This is only one facet of where extremophiles live. They are in the colored chemical pools in Yellowstone National Park (I will post pictures soon) , in the Antarctic and other places on Earth. Stay tuned.

1/7/08
(E.O.A.S.blog1) http://eoas-dreric1kansas.blogspot.com/
Students will learn about lifeforms that thrive in inhospitable environments and have a different ecosystems compared to the ones we normally know and underststand.

I saw the beautiful planet Saturn and its ring system a few nights ago

from http://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/rings/#faq

I saw the beautiful planet Saturn and its ring system a few nights ago at Powell Obervatory in Louisbourg, KS (south of Kansas City) through the 30 inch telescope. Galileo discovered it with his small telescope hundreds of years ago and each time I see it is still wonderful.
While I watched, I knew Saturn isn't the only planet with rings. But these other celestial rings are more difficult to see.
Here is a picture of Jupiter's ring first discovered in 1979
There is also now new evidence that these rings are created by meteoroids crashing into the small Jupiter's nearby moons.(if not 1/6/2007 go to archives). http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html
"The same year, most of the important observations of Jupiter's rings were provided by Voyager 2 after it went into the shadow of the giant planet and looked back toward the sun and saw a system of three rings. In this image from NASA, the spacecraft captured a faint outer ring, apparently made up of fine, microscopic particles. This was named the gossamer ring.

Do you know which other planets have rings? More later

1/6/2008
(E.O.A.S.blog 1) http://eoas-dreric1kansas.blogspot.com/
Students will discover information about other planets and compare/ contrast the conditions/ characteristics to that of Earth

Top 10 Strangest Natural disasters- have you heard of these?

Amy
Thanks very much for sending me the information so that I could view Top 10 strangest natural disasters in human history.
I thought I would share it with others on this blog
http://www.hurricaneinsurance.com/blog/2008/top-10-strangest-natural-disasters-in-human-history/

I remember the incident with #1 in the newspaper.

I have known about the #2 Tunguska for years.
It seems that most likely yes a low density asteroid or comet. An artist drew what he thought happened via the accounts.
Find it at
http://www.psi.edu/projects/siberia/siberia.html

I had heard about #3. The Volcano has much press and there were even nice shows about what they think happened (History channel?). Did not hear about #5 but know about #6.
About #7 I have heard about the eruption in 1902 and was there in 1998 before we saw the total eclipse in that Caribbean that year.
The volcano was omnipresent up from the bay and we could go through some of the ruins still near the harbor.

As a stormchaser, I have known about that great Tri-state tornado. Never heard of #9 but I think I had heard about #10.
thanks Happy new Year to all!!

***
Hi Eric,

We just posted an article " Top 10 Strangest Natural Disasters in Human History " ( http://www.hurricaneinsurance.com/blog/2008/top-10-strangest-natural-disasters-in-human-history/). I thought I'd bring it to your attention just in case you think your readers would find it interesting.

Either way, thanks for your time! Happy New Year!

Amy S Quin