Watch UFOs vs The Government in Educational | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Friday, November 27, 2009
Evidence of life on Mars lurks beneath surface of meteorite,
NASA experts claim
NASA experts claim
Source
It showed that microscopic worm-like structures found in a Martian meteorite that hit the Earth 13,000 years ago are almost certainly fossilised bacteria. The so-called bio-morphs are embedded beneath the surface layers of the rock, suggesting that they were already present when the meteorite arrived, rather than being the result of subsequent contamination by Earthly bacteria.
“This is very strong evidence of life on Mars,” said David Mackay, a senior scientist at the Nasa Johnson Space Centre , who was part of the team of scientists that originally investigated the meteorite when it was discovered in 1984.
In a 1996 study of the sample, Dr Mackay and others argued that the microfossils were evidence of life, but sceptics dismissed the claims, saying that similar-shaped structures might not be biological. The new analyses, the product of high resolution electron microscopy, make a strong case for the Allan Hills 84001 Meteorite having carried Martian life to Earth. The microscopes were focused on tiny magnetite crystals present in the surface layers of the meteorite, which have the form of simple bacteria. Some argued that these could be the result of a carbonate breaking down in the heat of the impact.
The new analyses show that this is very unlikely to have resulted in the kinds of structures seen in the rock. Close examination suggested that about 25 per cent of the crystal structures were chemically consistent with being formed from bacteria.
“We feel vindicated. We’ve shown the alternate explanation is absolutely incorrect, leading us back to our original position that these structures are formed by bacteria on Mars,” Dr Mackay said.
Dennis Bazylinski, an astrobiologist from the University of Nevada who peer-reviewed the findings, said: “Until now I was on the fence but this paper has really thrown out the non-biological explanation.” However, he added that the study was not a “smoking gun” for life on Mars. “One meteorite is never going to answer such a complex question,” he said.
According to scientists, the meteorite was broken off the surface of Mars by the impact of an asteroid, and reached Earth after floating through space for about 16 million years. It landed in Allan Hills in Antarctica. Scientists were able to trace the meteorite back to Mars, as its chemical composition matched the relative proportions of various gases measured in observations of the atmosphere of Mars made by the Viking spacecraft in the 1970s.
The meteorite also preserves evidence of liquid water on Mars, suggesting that the planet may have had more suitable conditions for life to develop in the past. The investigation was published in the November issue of Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, the journal of the Geochemical and Meteoritic Society. Nasa is expected to announce the findings formally on Monday.
The team has also been studying two other Martian meteorites — Nakhla, which landed in Egypt in 1911, and Yamato 593, which was found by a Japanese expedition to Antarctica. In research due to be published shortly, the scientists claim that both of these fossils also show evidence of microbial life.
Bill Clinton, then the US President, said of the research in 1997: “It speaks of the possibility of life. If this discovery is confirmed, it will surely be one of the most stunning insights into our Universe that science has ever uncovered. Its implications are as far-reaching and awe-inspiring as can be imagined.”
(NASA/PA)
NASA scientists have produced the most compelling evidence yet that bacterial life exists on Mars.It showed that microscopic worm-like structures found in a Martian meteorite that hit the Earth 13,000 years ago are almost certainly fossilised bacteria. The so-called bio-morphs are embedded beneath the surface layers of the rock, suggesting that they were already present when the meteorite arrived, rather than being the result of subsequent contamination by Earthly bacteria.
“This is very strong evidence of life on Mars,” said David Mackay, a senior scientist at the Nasa Johnson Space Centre , who was part of the team of scientists that originally investigated the meteorite when it was discovered in 1984.
In a 1996 study of the sample, Dr Mackay and others argued that the microfossils were evidence of life, but sceptics dismissed the claims, saying that similar-shaped structures might not be biological. The new analyses, the product of high resolution electron microscopy, make a strong case for the Allan Hills 84001 Meteorite having carried Martian life to Earth. The microscopes were focused on tiny magnetite crystals present in the surface layers of the meteorite, which have the form of simple bacteria. Some argued that these could be the result of a carbonate breaking down in the heat of the impact.
The new analyses show that this is very unlikely to have resulted in the kinds of structures seen in the rock. Close examination suggested that about 25 per cent of the crystal structures were chemically consistent with being formed from bacteria.
“We feel vindicated. We’ve shown the alternate explanation is absolutely incorrect, leading us back to our original position that these structures are formed by bacteria on Mars,” Dr Mackay said.
Dennis Bazylinski, an astrobiologist from the University of Nevada who peer-reviewed the findings, said: “Until now I was on the fence but this paper has really thrown out the non-biological explanation.” However, he added that the study was not a “smoking gun” for life on Mars. “One meteorite is never going to answer such a complex question,” he said.
According to scientists, the meteorite was broken off the surface of Mars by the impact of an asteroid, and reached Earth after floating through space for about 16 million years. It landed in Allan Hills in Antarctica. Scientists were able to trace the meteorite back to Mars, as its chemical composition matched the relative proportions of various gases measured in observations of the atmosphere of Mars made by the Viking spacecraft in the 1970s.
The meteorite also preserves evidence of liquid water on Mars, suggesting that the planet may have had more suitable conditions for life to develop in the past. The investigation was published in the November issue of Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, the journal of the Geochemical and Meteoritic Society. Nasa is expected to announce the findings formally on Monday.
The team has also been studying two other Martian meteorites — Nakhla, which landed in Egypt in 1911, and Yamato 593, which was found by a Japanese expedition to Antarctica. In research due to be published shortly, the scientists claim that both of these fossils also show evidence of microbial life.
Bill Clinton, then the US President, said of the research in 1997: “It speaks of the possibility of life. If this discovery is confirmed, it will surely be one of the most stunning insights into our Universe that science has ever uncovered. Its implications are as far-reaching and awe-inspiring as can be imagined.”
NASA/ESA HUBBLE FINDS FIRST ORGANIC MOLECULE ON
"EXTRASOLAR" PLANET (HD 189733b)
"EXTRASOLAR" PLANET (HD 189733b)
Source
Just 0.3° due east of the familiar Dumbbell Nebula, M27 in Vulpecula, shines the 7.7-magnitude star HD 189733 with a very hot Jupiter in close orbit around it. Binoculars are all you need to see the star, a pale orange K dwarf 63 light-years away. The star is at right ascension 20h 00.7m, declination +22° 43' (2000.0 coordinates). This view is 0.9° wide; click on the image for a view 1.3° wide. North is up, east is left.
Photo by Akira Fujii.
The European planet-hunting team founded by Michel Mayor (Geneva Observatory, Switzerland) has just announced a new extrasolar planet that crosses the face of its host star — the ninth transiting exoplanet found to date. But this planet is special. The planet, which orbits the 7.7-magnitude type-K star HD 189733 in Vulpecula, offers professional astronomers their best prospects for studying an exoplanet's atmosphere and temperature. It also gives amateurs their easiest opportunity to detect a world orbiting another star. Moreover, the host star is located just 0.3° from the Dumbbell Nebula (M27), ideally positioned for Northern Hemisphere observers during early evening this season.
Using the 1.9-meter telescope at the Haute-Provence Observatory in France, Mayor's group used the radial-velocity method to discover the planet's gravitational tug on its host star. These observations not only revealed the planet, they also indicated that the planet periodically blocks some of the star's light. Follow-up observations with Haute-Provence's 1.2-meter telescope confirmed the transits (which last 2 hours) and the fact that the star's brightness drops by a whopping 3 percent (0.03 magnitude) every time the planet crosses the star's disk. These are the deepest exoplanet transits yet seen.
An artist depicts the newly discovered planet transiting its host star, HD 189733. The planet's diameter is about 17 percent of the star's, meaning it blocks about 3 percent of the star's light during transits.
S&T illustration by Gregg Dinderman.
The combined radial-velocity and transit observations have yielded the planet's mass (1.15 Jupiters), diameter (1.26 Jupiters), orbital period (2.219 days), distance from its host star (0.0313 Earth's distance from the Sun), and density (0.75 gram per cubic centimeter, confirming that it is a bloated gas giant). Lead author François Bouchy (Marseille Astrophysics Laboratory, France) and his colleagues report these findings in a paper submitted to Astronomy & Astrophysics.
Based on the host star's temperature and the 0.0313-astronomical-unit separation, the planet's temperature must be several hundred degrees Celsius. This places it in the class of "very hot Jupiters" — Jupiter-mass planets that orbit their host stars in less than 3 days. With its high temperature, it's almost inconceivable that any life exists on this planet or any moons it might have.
"This planet is absolutely phenomenal for follow-up observations," says David Charbonneau (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics), who has used the Hubble and Spitzer space telescopes to detect the atmospheres and measure the temperatures of several other transiting exoplanets. Charbonneau's Harvard colleague Scott Gaudi adds, "This planet is going to be a gold mine for learning about planets through follow-up observations."
Researchers are ecstatic about the HD 189733 planet (HD 189733b) for several reasons. First, its incredibly tight orbit means transits occur frequently. Second, the 3 percent brightness decrease (due to the planet's relatively large size with respect to the star) makes transits easy to detect. Third, the star is bright, being only 63 light-years from Earth, which means astronomers can achieve a high signal-to-noise ratio in their observations. Fourth, the planet's high temperature guarantees that Spitzer can detect its heat emission, as the telescope has previously done for the transiting exoplanets HD 209458b and TrES-1.
Thanks to these favorable conditions, research won't be limited to professional astronomers. The star itself is so bright that it can be seen with just a pair of binoculars. Amateur astronomers and students using small telescopes equipped with CCDs will easily be able to measure the 3 percent drop in brightness caused by the transits. "Heck, this transit is so deep some of our most experienced visual observers could do it!" claims Aaron Price of the American Association of Variable Star Observers.
Gregory P. Laughlin (University of California, Santa Cruz), a cofounder of Transitsearch.org, has added HD 189733 to his observing list. Transitsearch.org organizes worldwide amateur observing campaigns to catch transiting exoplanets. The next transit occurs at 1:53 UT, October 8th, which is best suited for eastern North America observers. By tracking any slight irregularities in the timing of future transits, professionals and amateurs could detect the gravitational presence of additional planets in the system, including planets with masses as low as Earth's.
"It will be very interesting to get high-quality amateur photometry for additional radius estimates, since like HD 209458b, the HD 189733 planet is clearly larger than predicted by standard models," says Laughlin. "Since high-end amateur setups are reliably observing the HD 149026b transit, whose depth is close to 10 times shallower than the HD 189733 transit, I think we can expect to see some awesome light curves of the transit." Laughlin also notes that amateur observations will reveal whether the star is marred by starspots.
More information about the planet and the discovery team can be found in the Haute-Provence press release.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Monday, November 23, 2009
Chakra Meditation Complete Balancing & Healing Session
Source
Chakra Meditation Complete Balancing & Healing Session - kewego
http://www.chakra-balance.com/chakra-meditation/ presents a complete chakra balancing & healing session. Working from the base chakra up to the crown chakra using unique sounds and colors. You are left feeling totally refreshed and energized! This featured meditation is one of the 29 free chakra balancing and healing mp3 audios available from this site.
http://www.chakra-balance.com/chakra-meditation/ presents a complete chakra balancing & healing session. Working from the base chakra up to the crown chakra using unique sounds and colors. You are left feeling totally refreshed and energized! This featured meditation is one of the 29 free chakra balancing and healing mp3 audios available from this site.
Keywords: reiki chakra meditation chakra balancing chakra healing chakra balance chakra therapy chakra energy chakra colors system chakra-balancecom
Video from chakrameditation
Life After Life
Life After Life - The most amazing bloopers are here
Source
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Nostradamus: 2012(History Channel)
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Communism - The History of an Illusion (History Channel)
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Monday, November 09, 2009
Sunday, November 08, 2009
Galactic Suite Space Hotel To Open in 2012
It may sound a little Dr. Evil, or just plain far-fetched, but as of now, the Galactic Suite space hotel is a go for 2012. Barcelona-based architect Xavier Claramunt is promising a three-night stay 300 miles in orbit to anyone with 3 million euros ($4.15 million). The package includes shuttle trips to and fro plus an 18-week training program on a Caribbean island. Details surrounding certain creature comforts and necessities are still being ironed out.
Galactic Suite
Galactic Suite
Press Release
EQUIP Xavier Claramunt
GALACTIC SUITE
(Spain)
GALACTIC SUITE PROJECT TO PROVIDE JOURNEYS INTO SPACE FOR €3 MILLION
The price will include 18 weeks’ preparation on a Caribbean island, the journey into space and three nights’ accommodation in the orbital hotelDuring their stay, the space tourists will participate in international space experiments
Galactic Suite Project has presented the first space tourism package to include preparation, transport and accommodation in an orbital hotel. The Barcelona-based space tourism company was formed by various professionals in the aerospace industry.
The journey is likely to last 18 weeks, and the first tickets should go on sale in 2008 for around €3 million.
According to Xavier Claramunt and Marsal Gifra, the directors of Galactic Suite Project, “this is the first package deal, as it includes transport from the tourist’s home to the Caribbean island, the training required for journeys into orbit, the flight to the hotel and three nights’ accommodation in the Galactic Suite”.
Furthermore, the space tourists will also take part in scientific experiments. The company has already contacted various scientific organisations interested in making use of the space tourists in zero gravity to obtain samples.
Another attraction of this journey is the possibility to orbit the Earth 15 times every day, and to see 15 sunrises. The hotel will be located at a certain angle from the equator.
Orbital hotel chain
The Barcelona-based company is aiming to develop an “orbital hotel chain” with modular space accommodation based on the natural growth of a grapevine. The chain will orbit the Earth at an altitude of 450 km (300 miles) and will welcome its first guests in 2012.
In addition to the space hotel, Galactic Suite Project is also planning a hotel complex on a Caribbean island to accommodate the tourists, as well as on the space shuttles that will transport the “space suites”.
Galactic Suite Project was set up in Barcelona in January 2007 by various architects, aerospace engineers and industrial engineers from Spain and the US. The founders have already made initial contact with Japanese and UAE private investors interested in investing in the project.
The 2012 configuration will be a three-bedroom "boutique hotel" with pods launched from individual rocket missions, then joined up in space. Claramunt says that the system is designed for modularity and expansion "based on the natural growth of a grapevine."
Though it is not clear exactly what intergalactic shuttle service Claramunt will be using, his concept artwork depicts a shuttle that may be related to SpaceShipOne, so the likely candidate is Virgin Galactic. You spacecraft fans may want to confirm that, or contribute your own analysis.
Claramunt told Reuters that while he believes there are 40,000 people on earth capable of enjoying his luxury offering, his team is still busy solving some problems.
During [their stay] guests would see the sun rise 15 times a day and use Velcro suits to crawl around their pod rooms by sticking themselves to the walls likeReuters also explains that for showering, "guests will enter a spa room in which bubbles of water will float around." The final frontier is the toilet.Spiderman .
"It's the bathrooms in zero gravity that are the biggest challenge," says Claramunt. "How to accommodate the more intimate activities of the guests is not easy."He did not elaborate, but one wonders if he is going to be asking the well-heeled guests how they feel about suction and drinking their own urine. The Galactic Suite press release says the space tourists will also take part in scientific experiments, but again, there is no elaboration. I'm thinking Barry White, Hennessy and the right chapters from Robert Heinlein's naughtier sci-fi, and experimentation will just happen, yo.
To make a reservation, send an e-mail to reservations@galacticsuite.com. (Seriously.)
[Reuters]
[Galactic Suite]
[Interview with Claramunt in Spanish]
Source
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
Posts
