The HST Story

Hubble Space Telescope Story Chapter 1
by ESA (European Space Agency)

Interesting movie that you must watch!!

Stop Global Warming NOW!!!

Click, for a clearer view

Global warming is the increase in the average temperature of the Earth's near-surface air and the oceans since the mid-twentieth century and its projected continuation. Global surface temperature increased 0.74 ± 0.18 °C (1.33 ± 0.32 °F) during the 100 years ending in 2005. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concludes that anthropogenic greenhouse gases are responsible for most of the observed temperature increase since the middle of the twentieth century,and natural phenomena such as solar variation and volcanoes probably had a small warming effect from pre-industrial times to 1950 and a small cooling effect from 1950 onward. These basic conclusions have been endorsed by more than 40 scientific societies and academies of science, including all of the national academies of science of the major industrialized countries. Global warming is also known as "The Green House Effect" (The Green House Effect causes the global warming).

THE EFFECTS!

Ocean warming, sea-level rise and coastal flooding

Warmer temperatures increase melting of mountain glaciers, increase ocean heat content, and cause ocean water to expand. Largely as a result of these effects, global sea level has risen 4 to 10 inches (10-25 cm) over the past 100 years. With additional warming, sea level is projected to rise from half a foot to 3 feet (15-92 cm) more during the next 100 years. On average, 50 to 100 feet (15-30 meters) of beach are lost for every foot (0.3 meters) of sea-level rise. Local land subsidence (sinking) and/or uplift due to geologic forces and coastal development will also affect the rate of coastal land loss.

Glaciers melting

Over the past 150 years, the majority of mountain glaciers monitored have been shrinking. Many glaciers at lower latitudes are now disappearing, and scientists predict that, under some plausible warming scenarios, the majority of glaciers will be gone by the year 2100. As glaciers continue to shrink, summer water flows will drop sharply, disrupting an important source of water for irrigation and power in many areas that rely on mountain watersheds.

Arctic and Antarctic warming

Parts of Canada, Alaska, Siberia, and the Antarctic have been experiencing warming well above the global average for the past few decades. This trend fits climate model predictions for a world with increasing levels of greenhouse gases. Melting permafrost is forcing the reconstruction of roads, airports, and buildings and is increasing erosion and the frequency of landslides. Reduced sea ice and ice shelves, changes in snowfall, and pest infestations have affected native plants and animals that provide food and resources to many people.

WHAT TO DO?

PLEASE, STOP DESTROYING FUTURE!

Bat Hung onto Shuttle During Liftoff

A bat that was clinging to space shuttle Discovery’s external fuel tank during the countdown to launch the STS-119 mission remained with the spacecraft as it cleared the tower, analysts at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center concluded.

Based on images and video, a wildlife expert who provides support to the center said the small creature was a free tail bat that likely had a broken left wing and some problem with its right shoulder or wrist. The animal likely perished quickly during Discovery’s climb into orbit.

Because the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge coexists inside Kennedy Space Center, the launch pads have a number of measures available, including warning sirens, to deter birds and other creatures from getting too close. The launch team also uses radar to watch for birds before a shuttle liftoff.

Nevertheless, the bat stayed in place and it was seen changing positions from time to time.

Launch controllers spotted the bat after it had clawed onto the foam of the external tank as Discovery stood at Launch Pad 39A. The temperature never dropped below 60 degrees at that part of the tank, and infrared cameras showed that the bat was 70 degrees through launch.

The final inspection team that surveys the outside of the shuttle and tank for signs of ice buildup observed the small bat, hoping it would wake up and fly away before the shuttle engines ignited.

It was not the first bat to land on a shuttle during a countdown. Previously, one of the winged creatures landed on the tank during the countdown to launch shuttle Columbia on its STS-90 mission in 1998. That animal flew away as the engines ignited.

Creadit : NASA

Sun-Earth-Day 2009

It has been a long time since I haven't up-date my post. As for today, I like to share with you all about one of the program that held by NASA for this special year "The International Year Of Astronomy(IYA 2009) " that is The Sun-Earth Day 2009!

[The Story]

Sun-Earth Day is comprised of a series of programs and events that occur throughout the year culminating with a celebration on or near the Spring Equinox (Mark on your diary!). For Sun-Earth Day 2009, NASA will engage a worldwide audience in the celebration of the International Year of Astronomy, with an emphasis on daytime astronomy. Tremendous strides have been made as satellites and ground-based observatories attentively monitor the sun to understand the processes that govern the sun's influence on the solar system. NASA will offer a series of coordinated events to promote and highlight the sun and its connection to Earth and other planets. The events will support the spirit of international collaboration.

Over the past eight years, the NASA Sun-Earth Connection Education Forum has sponsored and coordinated education and public outreach events to highlight NASA Sun-Earth Connection research and discoveries. The Forum's strategy involves using celestial events, such as total solar eclipses and the Transit of Venus, as well as Sun-Earth Day during the March equinox, to engage K-12 schools and the public in space science activities, demonstrations, and interactions with space scientists.

On March 20, 2009, at 1:00 p.m. EST, join a panel of scientists for a live Sun-Earth Day Webcast. During the webcast, scientists Eric Christian, Nicky Fox, Terry Kucera and Sten Odenwald will share discoveries about the sun, while students monitor the sun and prepare their own space weather forecast. New and exciting images and visualizations will be shared during the program.

creadit : Nasa

The International Year Of Astronomy

"The Universe, Your To Discover"

This year is "The International Year Of Astronomy"!. I'm so excited because I like ASTRONOMY! There many things to discover, see and learn! I like it! Looking at the starry light in the night sky makes me feel calm and wonder with Allah's creation! Based on this special year, my beloved country, MALAYSIA also will be participating celebrating this year with many programmes such as observe the night sky with telescope at Planeterium Negara ( National Planeterium) and more. I want to share with my readers, something useful I found in "Majalah Kosmik" (Cosmic Magazine-february). It shows some elebration about "The International Year Of Astronomy", how it will give us the chance especially the teens of MALAYSIA about this ASTRONOMY field. Past few years, people or today's youth never thinks to participate in this field. This field is just like a fairy tales? Maybe? As for me, I think we didn't have enough explanation or a clear view about this field. My friend once said to me when he saw me reading this book, "What a booring, book that you buy?" See? They didn't see the benefits, that we can get! People are not interested in this field because too lack of explanation or clearer view like I wrote earilier. As for me, I will help to "generate" or to tell my friends about this field, so that they will have the interest. To me, Astronomy is something big, mysterious and magical to discover.

More About IYA? :

Branding and Identity Guidelines

The official name of this global celebration is the International Year of Astronomy, abbreviated IYA2009.

The official slogan of the IYA2009 is "The Universe, Yours to Discover".

The official logo of the IYA2009, which also incorporates the slogan, appears on this page in several formats. We can provide versions of the logo with the text translated into other languages; e-mail your translations to iya2009@eso.org.

We encourage widespread use of the IYA2009 logo by individuals and groups who organize or support IYA2009 activities. An IYA2009 "activity" is here understood to be an event, exhibit, performance, commercial or promotional product, print or electronic publication, or other creation intended to advance the aims of the IYA2009 as described elsewhere on this website.

In order to use the IYA2009 logo you need to provide contact information and a brief description of your IYA2009 activity/product to your National Node Chair, including the URL of your IYA-related website, if applicable, as well as time and place. If the country in which you are organizing an IYA activity/product does not have an IYA2009 National Node Chair, or if the activity/product is of an international nature, you will provide the required information to the IAU's IYA2009 Secretary instead.

If you use the IYA2009 logo on a website or in any other electronic publication that supports hyperlinks, you should link to www.astronomy2009.org as well as to your National Node's IYA2009 website, if applicable.

As a rule of thumb, the IYA2009 logos must not be modified. Please contact the IYA2009 Secretariat in case of doubt (please submit your graphics).

The IAU Officers and the IAU Executive Committee Working Group for the IYA2009 reserve the right to revoke the use of the logo by any individual or group at any time for any reason, and you agree to promptly comply with any such revocation.

All IYA2009 National Nodes are required to show the IYA2009 logo on their Web pages and on any printed or electronic materials produced to support the IYA2009. All other organizers and supporters of IYA2009 activities are encouraged to do the same.

Note: All use of the IAU logo shall only occur with the explicit permission of the IYA2009 Secretariat in writing, and shall only be used for the event or events covered by that permission and that any use which in accordance with such permission shall be reported immediately to the National Node and the IYA2009 Secretariat for corrective action, failing which the IAU reserves the right to withdraw permission to use the IAU logo.

Dark Side of the Sun

Soon we may get the first ever glimpse of the dark side of the sun.

Well, no, there's no actual dark side of a luminous ball of burning gas, but there is an effective dark side, as in, the side of the sun we can't see at any given time.

Scientists aren't content to get just half of the picture, so they've launched the STEREO (Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatories) mission, a pair of NASA spacecraft that will orbit the sun simultaneously to provide a complete view of all sides of the star at once.

"Then there will be no place to hide and we can see the entire sun for the first time," STEREO project scientist Michael Kaiser of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center told Wired.com.

The perfect spherical view will come on Feb. 6, 2011. Right now the satellites, which were launched in October 2006, are about 90 degrees apart, which allows a picture of about 270 degrees of the sun — the fullest view yet.

"The who goal of all of this is to try to get a better handle to try to predict solar storms, which cause cell phone disturbances, and disruptions to communications and power." Kaiser said. "We'd like to be able to predict these things as far in advance as possible to give us a longer warning time."

Solar storms are magnetic disruptions on the sun that release violent sprays of charged particles into space. These storms can produce magnificent displays of the Northern Lights. But some past storms have also cost airlines and satellite communications industries millions of dollars, and have led to large scale power blackouts (including one across the entire province of Quebec, Canada). Being able to reliably forecast these tempests in advance could make a huge difference in preventing disturbances on Earth.

Predicting solar weather is also important for the future of manned spaceflight. If astronauts are exposed to the intense radiation from solar storms while traveling beyond the protective magnetic field of the Earth, they could suffer serious harm. Even astronauts close to home who venture out for a spacewalk during a storm are put in danger.

"For future missions going to the moon and Mars, that's very important," Kaiser said. "Some of these solar storms can be very intense. If the astronauts were completely exposed to one of these storms the radiation could be high."

The STEREO mission also aims to improve our basic scientific understanding of the dynamics within the sun, which could shed light on the workings of stars in general.

SOLAR ECLIPSE

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 26 (Bernama) -- About 2,000 people thronged the National Planetarium here at about 3pm to view the country's first partial solar eclipse for this year that lasted for two-and-a-half hours.

The planetarium's research officer, Lau Chen Chen, said visitors got to see the moon obscuring the sun up to 82.6 per cent.

"The solar eclipse would happen during a new moon and when the moon passes between the sun and the earth and this causes the sunlight to be partially or wholly shut out," she said when met by Bernama here today.

The solar eclipse was seen beginning at 4.34pm when the moon passed the fringe of the sun and this was the 'first contact' to begin the partial solar eclipse.

"Observers cannot detect the contact at this time because of the strong sunlight. They were given special spectacles to view the phenomenon. The eclipse can only be seen safely after the moon blocks the sunlight gradually to create a crescent until the maximum blockage was attained at 5.50pm," Lau said.

-- MORE

ECLIPSE-SOLAR 2 (LAST) KUALA LUMPUR

The partial solar eclipse ended at 6.55pm when the sight of the moon disappeared gradually and sunlight returned. The last time such an eclipse happened in Malaysia was in 2002.

Beside that various activities were planned at the planetarium including the film 'SOS Planet' at the Space Theatre at 5pm and a laser show called 'The Legend of the Night Sky'.

Meanwhile, the Head Imam of the National Mosque, Tan Sri Syaikh Ismail Muhammad, called on Muslims to use the occasion to reflect on the greatness of God. Earlier he had delivered a sermon on strengthening faith through the solar eclipse at the Federal Territory Mosque where about 3,000 Muslims gathered.

--BERNAMA

Amazing: Separation Of STS-124 SRB Camera!