Many people are planning to watch the transit of Venus on Tuesday, but it's extremely important that prospective viewers be warned to take special precautions (as with a solar eclipse) to view the silhouette of Venus against the brilliant disk of the sun.

For the United States and Canada the transit will begin when the dark disk of Venus first touches the outer edge of the sun, an event that astronomers call Contact I. From the Eastern U.S. and Eastern Canada, Contact I should occur around 6:03 p.m. EDT. From the Western U.S. and Western Canada, Contact I should occur around 3:06 p.m. PDT.

It will take about 18 minutes for the black disk of Venus to move completely onto the sun's face; ultimately bringing its black disk just inside the sun's upper left edge. If you imagine the sun's disk as the face of a clock, Contact I will occur between the 11:30 and 12 o'clock position. Venus will then progress along a track that will run diagonally from the upper left to the lower right.

If you wish to generate predictions for the transit times from where you live, the Astronomical Applications Department of the US Naval Observatory has produced an online Transit Computer at: http://www.usno.navy.mil/USNO/astronomical-applications/data-services/transit-us

Unlike transits of the sun involving the planet Mercury, those of Venus are readily visible with the unaided eye; the planet appears as a distinct albeit tiny black spot with a diameter just 1/32 that of the sun. This size is large enough to readily perceive with the naked eye. [Venus Transit of 2004: 51 Amazing Photos]

But again . . . be careful! Eye safety is always a prime concern when dealing with the sun. Observing a transit is a lot like studying sunspots because, after all, you are looking at a dark spot on the sun.

But trying to see a transit is also like trying to view a solar eclipse. You have to be ready at a particular time, and you may have to travel far from home. For the transit of Venus, however, your exact location is much less critical than it is for a total solar eclipse.

In particular, observers in Eastern North America, where the transit will happen in the early evening, your observing site should have a low horizon to the east-northeast. It is a good precaution to check the sun's setting point, to verify that trees or buildings do not block your view. As Venus moves across the face of the sun, it will appear absolutely jet black in contrast to the lighter gray of any sunspots that may also be present on the solar disk.

By far, the safest way to view the transit is to construct a so-called pinhole camera. A pinhole, or small opening, is used to form an image of the sun on a screen that is placed about three feet behind the opening. [Video: How to Make a Solar Eclipse Viewer]

Binoculars or a small telescope mounted on a tripod can also be used to project a magnified image of the sun onto a white card. Just be sure not to look through the binoculars or telescope when they are pointed directly at the sun! Venus should appear as a distinct, albeit tiny, dot on the projected image.

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How to safely watch the transit of Venus

The transit of Venus across the solar disk won't make it okay to stare into the sun. Here's how to watch this rare astronomical event safely.

Many people are planning to watch the transit of Venus on Tuesday (June 5), but it's extremely important that prospective viewers be warned to take special precautions (as with a solar eclipse) to view the silhouette of Venus against the brilliant disk of the sun.

For the United States and Canada the transit will begin when the dark disk of Venus first touches the outer edge of the sun, an event that astronomers call Contact I.From the Eastern U.S. and Eastern Canada, Contact I should occur around 6:03 p.m. EDT (2203 GMT).From the Western U.S. and Western Canada, Contact I should occur around 3:06 p.m. PDT.

It will take about 18 minutes for the black disk of Venus tomove completely onto the sun's face; ultimately bringing its black disk just inside the sun's upper left edge. If you imagine the sun's disk as the face of a clock, Contact I will occur between the 11:30 and 12 o'clock position. Venus will then progress along a track that will run diagonally from the upper left to the lower right.

If you wish to generate predictions for the transit times from where you live, the Astronomical Applications Department of the US Naval Observatory has produced an online Transit Computer at:http://www.usno.navy.mil/USNO/astronomical-applications/data-services/transit-us

Unlike transits of the sun involving the planet Mercury, those of Venus are readily visible with the unaided eye; the planet appears as a distinct albeit tiny black spot with a diameter just 1/32 that of the sun.This size is large enough to readily perceive with the naked eye. [Venus Transit of 2004: 51 Amazing Photos]

Eye safety is always a prime concern when dealing with the sun. Observing a transit is a lot likestudying sunspotsbecause, after all, you are looking at a dark spot on the sun.

But trying to see a transit is also like trying to view a solar eclipse.You have to be ready at a particular time, and you may have totravel far from home.For the transit of Venus, however, your exact location is much less critical than it is for a total solar eclipse.

In particular, observers in Eastern North America, where the transit will happen in the early evening, your observing site should have a low horizon to the east-northeast.It is a good precaution to check the sun's setting point, to verify that trees or buildings do not block your view. AsVenus moves across the face of the sun, it will appear absolutely jet black in contrast to the lighter gray of any sunspots that may also be present on the solar disk.

Read this article:

How to watch the transit of Venus without blinding yourself (+video)

Newswise The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) has been honored with two 2012 Hermes Creative Awards from the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals (AMCP) for its work on the fall 2011 edition of ASTROnews and the Radiation Therapy for Cancer brochure. This is the sixth year in a row that ASTRO has received Hermes Awards.

The Hermes Creative Awards is an international competition for creative professionals involved in the concept, writing and design of traditional and emerging media. Entries come from corporate marketing and communication departments, advertising agencies, PR firms, design shops and freelancers.

There were over 4,700 entries from throughout the United States and several other countries in the 2012 competition. After two months of judging, the AMCP judges honored ASTROnews with the Gold Award in the Magazine category. The award is given for excellence in quality, creativity and resourcefulness. The Radiation Therapy for Cancer brochure received an Honorable Mention in the Brochure category for exceeding the high standards of the industry norm.

Once again, our Communications Department has raised the bar on our publications, Laura Thevenot, ASTRO CEO, said. These publications are essential for our membership and help to keep the Society and patients informed. It is such a privilege to receive these distinguished honors from the AMCP six years in a row.

ASTRO is the largest radiation oncology society in the world, with more than 10,000 members who specialize in treating patients with radiation therapies. As the leading organization in radiation oncology, biology and physics, the Society is dedicated to improving patient care through education, clinical practice, advancement of science and advocacy. For more information on radiation therapy, visit http://www.rtanswers.org. To learn more about ASTRO, visit http://www.astro.org. ###

See the rest here:

ASTRO Honored with Two Hermes Awards

Many people are planning to watch the transit of Venus on Tuesday (June 5), but it's extremely important that prospective viewers be warned to take special precautions (as with a solar eclipse) to view the silhouette of Venus against the brilliant disk of the sun.

For the United States and Canada the transit will begin when the dark disk of Venus first touches the outer edge of the sun, an event that astronomers call Contact I.From the Eastern U.S. and Eastern Canada, Contact I should occur around 6:03 p.m. EDT (2203 GMT).From the Western U.S. and Western Canada, Contact I should occur around 3:06 p.m. PDT.

It will take about 18 minutes for the black disk of Venus to move completely onto the sun's face; ultimately bringing its black disk just inside the sun's upper left edge. If you imagine the sun's disk as the face of a clock, Contact I will occur between the 11:30 and 12 o'clock position. Venus will then progress along a track that will run diagonally from the upper left to the lower right.

If you wish to generate predictions for the transit times from where you live, the Astronomical Applications Department of the US Naval Observatory has produced an online Transit Computer at: http://www.usno.navy.mil/USNO/astronomical-applications/data-services/transit-us

Unlike transits of the sun involving the planet Mercury, those of Venus are readily visible with the unaided eye; the planet appears as a distinct albeit tiny black spot with a diameter just 1/32 that of the sun.This size is large enough to readily perceive with the naked eye. [Venus Transit of 2004: 51 Amazing Photos]

But Again . . . Be Careful!

Eye safety is always a prime concern when dealing with the sun. Observing a transit is a lot like studying sunspots because, after all, you are looking at a dark spot on the sun.

But trying to see a transit is also like trying to view a solar eclipse.You have to be ready at a particular time, and you may have to travel far from home.For the transit of Venus, however, your exact location is much less critical than it is for a total solar eclipse.

In particular, observers in Eastern North America, where the transit will happen in the early evening, your observing site should have a low horizon to the east-northeast.It is a good precaution to check the sun's setting point, to verify that trees or buildings do not block your view. As Venus moves across the face of the sun, it will appear absolutely jet black in contrast to the lighter gray of any sunspots that may also be present on the solar disk.

By far, the safest way to view the transit is to construct a so-called pinhole camera.A pinhole, or small opening, is used to form an image of the sun on a screen that is placed about three feet behind the opening.[Video: How to Make a Solar Eclipse Viewer]

See more here:

How to Safely Watch the Transit of Venus on Tuesday

Public release date: 4-Jun-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Nicole Napoli nicolen@astro.org 703-839-7336 American Society for Radiation Oncology

The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) has been honored with two 2012 Hermes Creative Awards from the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals (AMCP) for its work on the fall 2011 edition of ASTROnews and the Radiation Therapy for Cancer brochure. This is the sixth year in a row that ASTRO has received Hermes Awards.

The Hermes Creative Awards is an international competition for creative professionals involved in the concept, writing and design of traditional and emerging media. Entries come from corporate marketing and communication departments, advertising agencies, PR firms, design shops and freelancers.

There were over 4,700 entries from throughout the United States and several other countries in the 2012 competition. After two months of judging, the AMCP judges honored ASTROnews with the Gold Award in the Magazine category. The award is given for excellence in quality, creativity and resourcefulness. The Radiation Therapy for Cancer brochure received an Honorable Mention in the Brochure category for exceeding the high standards of the industry norm.

"Once again, our Communications Department has raised the bar on our publications," Laura Thevenot, ASTRO CEO, said. "These publications are essential for our membership and help to keep the Society and patients informed. It is such a privilege to receive these distinguished honors from the AMCP six years in a row."

###

ASTRO is the largest radiation oncology society in the world, with more than 10,000 members who specialize in treating patients with radiation therapies. As the leading organization in radiation oncology, biology and physics, the Society is dedicated to improving patient care through education, clinical practice, advancement of science and advocacy. For more information on radiation therapy, visit http://www.rtanswers.org. To learn more about ASTRO, visit http://www.astro.org.

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

More here:

ASTRO honored with 2 Hermes Awards

Editor's note: Every Sunday, Fortune publishes a story fromour magazine archives. This week, Elon Musk's company SpaceX celebrated the landing of the Dragon capsule, the world's first commercial spacecraft, marking a new era in space exploration in which private companies will step in to help NASA push the final frontier. This week's classic turns to 1959, ten years before the Apollo 11 mission landed on the moon. Companies were starting to build the crafts that would enable U.S. astronauts to fly. Then as now, scientists and government officials debated the costs and benefits of space travel and the possibility of discovering life.

"...Suppose when we get to the moon we find sitting in the middle of a crater a strange little marker bearing a carefully chiseled but totally incomprehensible inscription," one scientist told Fortune writer Bello; "Then space would really get exciting."

The space business, not counting missiles, already amounts to a billion dollars a year. U.S. industry is at work on rocket engines of awesome power, and on a vehicle to carry a man to the moonand back.

By Francis Bello

FORTUNE -- Anyone who has wondered what it was like to live in the era that followed Columbus' voyage to America now has his chance to find out. Then, as now, thoughtful men disputed the merits of pressing into the unknown, argued that the possible fruits could not justify the cost, warned that the hazards to life and limb were immense. And then as now, the young, the venturesome, and the insatiably curious plunged ahead. "What we are witnessing," says one prominent member of the President's Science Advisory Committee, "is another irresistible urge of the human race. The justifications given for going into space have no more relevance than the desire for spices had for the discovery of America."

Privately, and sometimes openly, many scientists deplore the fact that enormous funds are going into space when there are so many unfinished problems, both scientific and human, lying much closer at hand. One persuasive answer to this viewpoint is offered by Herbert F. York, the young physicist who is Director of Defense Research and Engineering. "Everyone would agree," he says, "that we should be trying to raise the standard of living in India, and building dams in the Middle East. But no one is asking us to choose between dams and space--we could easily afford both. The space effort isn't a plot; it's something that appeals to a great many people for a great many reasons."

No one has responded to space more spontaneously and enthusiastically than U.S. industry. And the vigor of the response is out of all proportion to the money to be made in the space business, at least. in the foreseeable future. Companies have been setting up "space" and "astro" divisions (see box, page 88) with much the same exuberance with which they created atomic and nuclear divisions five or six years ago. (This article is not concerned with military missiles except as they can be used as power stages for space propulsion.) Space, however, is much less hedged about with secrecy than the atom was in 1953 and 1954, and it offers a far wider range of technical challenges. Moreover, the investment needed to make a useful contribution to space technology, especially its electronic aspects, is far smaller than that needed to contribute to nuclear technology. For example, the instruments that James Van Allen used to detect the great belts of radiation that now bear his name were built in a basement of the physics department at the State University of Iowa.

The Space Age has already created sharp geographical rivalries. Southern California, particularly Los Angeles, sees an opportunity to be to space what Pittsburgh is to steel and Detroit to the automobile. California's claim to be the heartland of the space industry is only slightly diluted by the presence of Patrick Air Force Base at Cape Canaveral in Florida, of Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama, and of Martin's Titan ICBM plant near Denver. Canaveral can be explained away as an accident of geography that provided a matchless pattern of islands for down-range tracking stations. (And, of course, California's Vandenberg Air Force Base and the Pacific Missile Range will eventually rival Canaveral in size and importance.) The selection of Redstone Arsenal as the home of the Army Ballistic Missile Agency can be explained largely by its proximity to Canaveral and to the Pentagon. And as for Martin in Denver--at least this old Baltimore outfit had to come two-thirds of the way to the Coast.

The cosmic testing range

Progress in space technology will dramatize a nation's total technological capabilities in a way that nothing else ever could. In the momentous years ahead, the world may compare U.S. and Soviet industrial and scientific resources less and less in terms of steel, oil, and electric-power production, and more and more in terms of the number, weight, and complexity of vehicles the two countries have been able to thrust into outer space.

The rest is here:

The Early Space Age

Editor's note: Every Sunday, Fortune publishes a story fromour magazine archives. This week, Elon Musk's company SpaceX celebrated the landing of the Dragon capsule, the world's first commercial spacecraft, marking a new era in space exploration in which private companies will step in to help NASA push the final frontier. This week's classic turns to 1959, ten years before the Apollo 11 mission landed on the moon. Companies were starting to build the crafts that would enable U.S. astronauts to fly. Then as now, scientists and government officials debated the costs and benefits of space travel and the possibility of discovering life.

"...Suppose when we get to the moon we find sitting in the middle of a crater a strange little marker bearing a carefully chiseled but totally incomprehensible inscription," one scientist told Fortune writer Bello; "Then space would really get exciting."

The space business, not counting missiles, already amounts to a billion dollars a year. U.S. industry is at work on rocket engines of awesome power, and on a vehicle to carry a man to the moonand back.

By Francis Bello

FORTUNE -- Anyone who has wondered what it was like to live in the era that followed Columbus' voyage to America now has his chance to find out. Then, as now, thoughtful men disputed the merits of pressing into the unknown, argued that the possible fruits could not justify the cost, warned that the hazards to life and limb were immense. And then as now, the young, the venturesome, and the insatiably curious plunged ahead. "What we are witnessing," says one prominent member of the President's Science Advisory Committee, "is another irresistible urge of the human race. The justifications given for going into space have no more relevance than the desire for spices had for the discovery of America."

Privately, and sometimes openly, many scientists deplore the fact that enormous funds are going into space when there are so many unfinished problems, both scientific and human, lying much closer at hand. One persuasive answer to this viewpoint is offered by Herbert F. York, the young physicist who is Director of Defense Research and Engineering. "Everyone would agree," he says, "that we should be trying to raise the standard of living in India, and building dams in the Middle East. But no one is asking us to choose between dams and space--we could easily afford both. The space effort isn't a plot; it's something that appeals to a great many people for a great many reasons."

No one has responded to space more spontaneously and enthusiastically than U.S. industry. And the vigor of the response is out of all proportion to the money to be made in the space business, at least. in the foreseeable future. Companies have been setting up "space" and "astro" divisions (see box, page 88) with much the same exuberance with which they created atomic and nuclear divisions five or six years ago. (This article is not concerned with military missiles except as they can be used as power stages for space propulsion.) Space, however, is much less hedged about with secrecy than the atom was in 1953 and 1954, and it offers a far wider range of technical challenges. Moreover, the investment needed to make a useful contribution to space technology, especially its electronic aspects, is far smaller than that needed to contribute to nuclear technology. For example, the instruments that James Van Allen used to detect the great belts of radiation that now bear his name were built in a basement of the physics department at the State University of Iowa.

The Space Age has already created sharp geographical rivalries. Southern California, particularly Los Angeles, sees an opportunity to be to space what Pittsburgh is to steel and Detroit to the automobile. California's claim to be the heartland of the space industry is only slightly diluted by the presence of Patrick Air Force Base at Cape Canaveral in Florida, of Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama, and of Martin's Titan ICBM plant near Denver. Canaveral can be explained away as an accident of geography that provided a matchless pattern of islands for down-range tracking stations. (And, of course, California's Vandenberg Air Force Base and the Pacific Missile Range will eventually rival Canaveral in size and importance.) The selection of Redstone Arsenal as the home of the Army Ballistic Missile Agency can be explained largely by its proximity to Canaveral and to the Pentagon. And as for Martin in Denver--at least this old Baltimore outfit had to come two-thirds of the way to the Coast.

The cosmic testing range

Progress in space technology will dramatize a nation's total technological capabilities in a way that nothing else ever could. In the momentous years ahead, the world may compare U.S. and Soviet industrial and scientific resources less and less in terms of steel, oil, and electric-power production, and more and more in terms of the number, weight, and complexity of vehicles the two countries have been able to thrust into outer space.

Original post:

The Early Space Age (Fortune, 1959)

Venus Transit in Hydrogen-Alpha

There is an art to photographing major solar events like the 2012 transit of Venus across the sun on June 5-6, 2012. Here's a look at how to snap effective sun photos with telescopes, cameras and even smartphones.

Here, Paul Hyndman captured a stunning view of Venus crossing the face of the sun in hydrogen-alpha light on the morning of June 8, 2004 from Roxbury, Connecticut. He used an Astro-Physics 105-millimeter Traveler telescope fitted with a Coronado Solarmax90/T-Max and 30-mm blocking filter, a TeleVue 2X Powermate lens, and an SBIG STL-11000M CCD camera.

This still from a NASA video shows the position of Venus on the sun's disk in Pacific Daylight Time on June 5, 2012 during the last transit of Venus for 105 years.

Veteran space photographers Imelda Joson and Edwin Aguirre led two tour groups to Italy for the 2004 transit Edwins group was stationed at the Astronomical Observatory of Rome near Monte Porzio while Imeldas group was at the Vatican Observatory in Castel Gandolfo. For the photo above, Edwin used a Takahashi FC-60 apochromatic refractor and his trusty Nikon Coolpix 990 digital camera to document Venuss passage across the suns disk in white light.

WARNING: Never look at the sun directly with your naked eyes or through telescopes, binoculars, telephoto lenses, or cameras. Doing so can result in serious eye injury called solar retinopathy. Always use a filter (shown above) that is specifically designed for viewing or photographing the sun, and make sure its mounted securely on the front of your camera lens or telescope.

World visibility of the transit of Venus on 5-6 June 2012. Spitsbergen is an Artic island part of the Svalbard archipelago in Norway and one of the few places in Europe from which the entire transit is visible. For most of Europe, only the end of the transit event will be visible during sunrise on 6 June.

To mount your digital SLR camera securely to your telescope, use a standard T-adapter and a T-ring that mates to your particular camera brand (check your local camera store for availability). In this setup, the authors use the DSLRs mirror-lockup feature and a cable release to trip the shutter, thereby minimizing camera shake. They also use a right-angle 2.5X magnifier to help achieve sharp focus.

Your automatic point-and-shoot camera is great not only for taking photos of birthday parties and family vacations but also pictures of Venus in transit through a solar-filtered telescope. Simply insert an eyepiece with a wide field and long eye relief into the telescope focuser and hold your camera lens close to the eyepiece as steady as you can. Use the cameras built-in LCD screen to center the sun and compose your shot. Zoom in as needed.

You can even use your cell-phone camera to take decent shots of the transit through a solar-filtered telescope and share them immediately with other people. This view of the sun speckled with small sunspots was captured by the authors on May 13 using their Samsung Droid Charge smartphones built-in 8-megapixel camera in auto-focus/auto-exposure mode. The phone was held by hand over the eyepiece of a 3-inch refractor fitted with a metal-coated glass solar filter.

Read the original post:

Transit of Venus 2012: How to Safely Photograph a Rare Sky Sight (Photo Guide)

Newswise Despite past safety concerns, the antioxidant supplement beta-carotene, is safe to use during radiation therapy treatments for prostate cancer and does not increase the risk of prostate cancer death or metastases, according to a study in the May issue of the International Journal of Radiation OncologyBiologyPhysics, the official scientific journal of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO).

The use of vitamin supplements and antioxidants is common, but the safety of using antioxidant supplements during radiation treatments for prostate cancer is controversial. Radiation therapy relies on the pro-oxidant effects of DNA, which involves damaging tumor cells while leaving normal cells unharmed. However, some scientists have suggested that supplemental antioxidants may weaken the oxidizing effects of radiation and potentially lead to cancer recurrence.

In the largest study to date of its kind, researchers followed 383 prostate cancer patients who were randomized to receive beta-carotene or placebo to determine if antioxidants could potentially counteract the pro-oxidant effects of radiation therapy and increase a patients risk of death or metastases. The primary endpoint was prostate cancer death or bone metastases.

Researchers found no significant differences in lethal outcomes among the patients who took the antioxidant beta-carotene versus those who did not.

This study shows that antioxidant supplementation with beta-carotene during radiation therapy does not appear to detract from the benefit of radiation therapy. Danielle Margalit, MD, MPH, lead author of the study and a radiation oncologist at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, said. It also suggests that patients may continue to eat a well-balanced diet that contains foods with natural sources of antioxidants at the recommended daily amount.

ASTRO is the largest radiation oncology society in the world, with more than 10,000 members who specialize in treating patients with radiation therapies. As the leading organization in radiation oncology, biology and physics, the Society is dedicated to improving patient care through education, clinical practice, advancement of science and advocacy. For more information on radiation therapy, visit http://www.rtanswers.org. To learn more about ASTRO, visit http://www.astro.org. ###

Read more here:

Antioxidant Beta-Carotene Use Safe During Radiation Treatment for Prostate Cancer

The first privately owned spacecraft to reach the International Space Station was launched from a Florida facility last Tuesday. Assistant Professor of Physics Benjamin Mazin spoke with the Daily Nexus about the event.

Read more from the original source:

The University of California, Santa Barbara's independent, student-run newspaper.

ISS On-Orbit Status 05/26/12

All ISS systems continue to function nominally, except those noted previously or below. Saturday - Crew half-day off.

Upon wakeup, FE-3 Acaba, FE-5 Kuipers & FE-6 Pettit completed their weekly post-sleep session of the Reaction Self-Test (Psychomotor Vigilance Self-Test on the ISS) protocol, the 43rd for Don & Andr, the 3rd for Joe. [RST is done twice daily (after wakeup & before bedtime) for 3 days prior to the sleep shift, the day(s) of the sleep shift and 5 days following a sleep shift. The experiment consists of a 5-minute reaction time task that allows crewmembers to monitor the daily effects of fatigue on performance while on ISS. The experiment provides objective feedback on neurobehavioral changes in attention, psychomotor speed, state stability, and impulsivity while on ISS missions, particularly as they relate to changes in circadian rhythms, sleep restrictions, and extended work shifts.]

After wakeup, Gennady Padalka performed the routine inspection of the SM (Service Module) PSS Caution & Warning panel as part of regular Daily Morning Inspection.

CDR Kononenko, FE-1 Padalka & FE-2 Revin joined in conducting the regular weekly three-hour task of thorough cleaning of their home, including COL (Columbus Orbital Laboratory) and Kibo JPM (JEM Pressurized Module). ["Uborka", usually done on Saturdays, includes removal of food waste products, cleaning of compartments with vacuum cleaner, damp cleaning of the SM dining table, other frequently touched surfaces and surfaces where trash is collected, as well as the sleep stations with a standard cleaning solution; also, fan screens and grilles are cleaned to avoid temperature rises. Special cleaning is also done every 90 days on the HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) bacteria filters in the Lab.]

As part of Uborka house cleaning, Oleg, Sergei & Gennady also completed regular weekly maintenance inspection & cleaning of fan screens in the FGB (TsV2) plus Group E fan grilles in the SM (VPkhO, FS5, FS6, VP) and the BMP Harmful Contaminants Removal System grille in the SM.

Don Pettit started another sampling run with the AQM (Air Quality Monitor), deactivating the system ~5 hrs later. [Consisting of the EHS GC/DMS (Environmental Health Systems Gas Chromatograph / Differential Mobility Spectrometer), the system is controlled with "Sionex" expert software from the SSC (Station Support Computer)-12 laptop. The AQM demonstrates COTS (Commercial Off-the-Shelf) technology for identifying volatile organic compounds, similar to the VOA (Volatile Organics Analyzer). This evaluation will continue over the course of several months as it helps to eventually certify the GC/DMS as nominal CHeCS (Crew Health Care Systems) hardware],

Next, Pettit & Kuipers set up the Node-2 camcorder with MPC (Multi-Protocol Converter) and Firewire cable for Dragon hatch opening and powered down all CQ (Crew Quarters) laptops prior to removing power from the CQs for the Dragon ingress.

Afterwards, Andr & Don removed the CBM CPAs (Common Berthing Mechanism Controller Panel Assemblies) from the Node-2 nadir port and equalized the pressures between Dragon and ISS.

At ~5:53am EDT, Dragon's internal hatch was opened, and Don Pettit & Oleg Kononenko entered Dragon wearing protective masks and goggles to set up for IMV (Intermodule Ventilation) for 20 min before final ingress.

Read this article:

NASA ISS On-Orbit Status 26 May 2012

by Jason Major on May 29, 2012

Measuring distance doesnt sound like a very challenging thing to do just pick your standard unit of choice and corresponding tool calibrated to it, and see how the numbers add up. Use a meter stick, a tape measure, or perhaps take a drive, and you can get a fairly accurate answer. But in astronomy, where the distances are vast and theres no way to take measurements in person, how do scientists know how far this is from that and whats going where?

Luckily there are ways to figure such things out, and the methods that astronomers use are surprisingly familiar to things we experience every day.

The Royal Observatory Greenwich is giving free presentations of "Measuring the Universe: from the Transit of Venus to the Edge of the Cosmos" from now until September 1.

Just in time for the upcoming transit of Venus, an event which also allows for some important measurements to be made of distances in our solar system, the video is part of a series of free presentations the Observatory is currently giving regarding our place in the Universe and how astronomers over the centuries have measured how oh-so-far it really is from here to there.

Video credits: Design and direction: Richard Hogg Animation: Robert Milne, Ross Philips, Kwok Fung Lam Music and sound effects: George Demure Narration and Astro-smarts: Dr. Olivia Johnson Producer: Henry Holland

Tagged as: blueshift, distance, Measuring the Universe, parallax, redshift, Royal Observatory, scale, Solar System, Venus

Original post:

How To Measure the Universe

President Jacob Zuma congratulated Science and Technology Minister Naledi Pandor and her team on Friday for winning the right to co-host the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) telescope with Australia.

"We are especially proud of winning this bid... on Africa Day," Zuma said in a statement.

"Africa is indeed rising. South Africa is confident that the country will deliver on the expectations of the continent and world."

Zuma said the this achievement was possible because of the African Union's endorsement and support from partner countries including Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Namibia and Zambia.

Earlier, it was announced that the SKA board had decided on a "dual site approach".

"We will be installing equipment in both Australia and South Africa and together they will form part of a global observatory," the French news agency AFP quoted SKA board chairperson John Womersley as saying at a press conference at the Schiphol Airport, in Amsterdam.

"This is a momentous day for South Africa and the continent and will give all of us the possibility to answer fundamental questions in physics, astronomy and cosmology," the African National Congress said.

"It will advance our scientific research capacity as a country and a continent and will also see a lot of foreign direct investment injected into this project, which will go a long way in creating much-needed jobs..."

The ANC said it would also put South Africa in good stead to advance to an inclusive information society.

Democratic Alliance MP Junita Kloppers-Lourens said the party was disheartened, but not dismayed at the decision.

Go here to see the original:

Africa is indeed rising - Zuma

Our brains seem obsessed with the laws of gravity everyones had terrifying dreams where theyre plummeting from great heights, or uplifting dreams of taking flight while on foot. Gravity Rush, from Sonys Japan Studio, combines these two sensations with such a wonderful, vivid approach that its worth playing for its physics-warping mechanics alone. But as luck would have it, the gravity powers are only one piece of the pleasing puzzle GR also brings a lively setting, charming characters, and wonderful music and graphics to the palm of your hands. As of this moment, its the best reason to own - or consider buying - a Vita.

You play as Kat, an endearing super-heroine-in-the-making who cant remember how she arrived in the quaint, open-world city of Hekseville. Things go from quiet to chaotic when the Nevi start to appear; these are giant monsters that look like Salvador Dali creatures sculpted from strawbelly jelly. Right in the nick of time, ethereal astro-cat Dusty grants Kat domain over the forces of gravity, bestowing her with the powers to better the city and help its gentle folk by squashing the Nevi menace.

Youll be eager to save the townsfolk, too the cel-shaded cast of characters is full of lovable anime archetypes who exchange pleasant banter or grimace menacingly as needed. Kat herself steals the show as the nave but well-meaning peoples champ, but youll also encounter memorable secondary characters, like a God-like figure named Gade or the inept young detective Syd.

When playing as Kat, jumping to your would-be death isnt a problem. With a tap of a button, shell suspend herself in midair, floating aimlessly for as long as your depleting gravity gauge will allow. Tapping the button again will direct gravity in the chosen direction, letting you plummet skyward or walk on walls with ease. GR makes great use of the Vitas gyro sensor: tilting the Vita around will intuitively guide Kats gravity-aiming reticule (though you can use the right analog stick if you prefer). Youll also use touchscreen swipes and taps to evade attacks, cover ground with gravity slides, and unleash flashy, rainbow-charged finishing moves.

It initially takes some time to come to grips with the bizarre z-axis movement that Kat employs, but it wont be long before youre soaring through the air or gliding across ceilings at a whim. Things never get exasperating during this learning period, either Kats completely immune to fall damage (though youll feel guilty when she crashes to the pavement), and failing a mission sends you right back to a checkpoint in a jiffy.

The combat also emphasizes bending gravity to your advantage: though you can string together some decent kick combos on the ground, your main source of damage comes from rushing skyward, taking aim at a Nevi, then plunging foot-first into their heads at Mach 3 speed. The targeting can be a little spotty from time to time, but the guttural satisfaction of nailing a gravity-driven flying kick will make you forget all the times you sailed past your intended mark. Youll also get to bust out some great special moves, like a spinning drill attack or a miniature black hole.

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Gravity Rush review

Reuters/Kanarraville, Utah

The sun and moon aligned over the Earth in a rare astronomical event yesterday - an annular eclipse that dimmed the skies over parts of Asia and North America, briefly turning the sun into a blazing ring of fire. As the eclipse reached its peak, a crowd of several thousand viewers gathered in a Utah field took a collective gasp and erupted into applause, cheers and even some howling. The wonder of it, the sheer coincidence that this can happen, that totally amazes me, said Brent Sorensen, a physics professor at Southern Utah University, who brought a half-dozen telescopes to the rural town of Kanarraville for the public to peek through. It never ceases to amaze me. Eclipses of some type occur almost every year, but stargazers have not seen an annular - shaped like a ring -eclipse on US soil since 1994, and the next one is not to occur until 2023. That is because the phenomenon requires a particular set of orbital dynamics, Nasa Space Scientist Jeffrey Newmark said. An annular eclipse occurs when the moons orbit is at its furthest point from the Earth and closer to the much larger sun. That juxtaposition allows the moon to block more than 90% of the suns rays when the two orbs slide into alignment. Its like moving your fist in front of your eyes, Newmark said. You can block out the view of a whole mountain. Its the same kind of effect. The eclipse was first visible over southern Asia and then moved across the Pacific. Traveling on a diagonal path, it later crossed parts of Oregon, Nevada, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico before disappearing in Texas with the sunset. Day did not turn into night. But light faded as the moon slid in front of the sun, much like turning down a dimmer switch, and then slowly returned as the moon moved away. A view of the so-called ring of fire spectacle at the eclipses peak, however, lasted about four minutes, and even then was only visible to viewers positioned along the centerline of the eclipses path. In Utah, the sweet spot for viewing the full eclipse was Kanarraville, a community of just 355 residents about 375km south of Salt Lake City. Accessed by an old two-lane highway, the town has just two businesses - a campground and a nursery - plus a church, town hall and tiny post office. Patrick Wiggins, who is part of the Nasa ambassador outreach programme, was overcome with emotion once the moon slipped into place. Wiggins had previously seen five total solar eclipses, but had never before witnessed an annular eclipse. He wasnt disappointed. Ive been planning this since the 1980s, he said, his voice breaking. Youre seeing the solar system in motion. Robin Kopaunik, 38, of Sandy, Utah, brought four of her children, ages 6 to 16, to see the eclipse in Kanarraville. Its so amazing. I think for them its a chance of a lifetime, said Kopaunik, who home-schools her kids. The best way to learn is to come out and see it. A T-shirt salesman said his customers hailed from as far away as Brazil and Japan. Domestically, Edward and Jean Eadurka drove out from Virginia for the eclipse, after Eds last attempt to see an annular eclipse, in 1994, was thwarted by cloud cover. Jean said her 66-year-old husband was so enamored with the skies that he built himself a personal observatory - a backyard shed with a retractable roof - and often spends the whole night looking through his telescope. Im an astronomy geek, I guess, said the retired court administrator, who once took an Atlantic Ocean cruise to see a solar eclipse. Ive been doing this so long its compulsive. Area officials said thousands more astro-tourists had been expected to attend so-called star parties at other locations across the region, including Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park and Cedar Breaks National Monument. Despite the infrequent nature of an annular eclipse, it was part of the normal astronomical cycle, said Inese Ivans, an assistant professor of astronomy and astrophysics at the University of Utah. Still, she said it was bound to pique curiosities and inspire awe. It reminds us that the Earth is spinning. That everything is constantly in motion, Ivans said. This sort of gives you a chance to step out and remember Oh yeah there (is) a lot of stuff out there that we dont know anything about.

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Rare ‘ring of fire’ solar eclipse dims skies over North America

Cameron shares his creative process

A driven perfectionist with vision and a short fuse for mediocrity, James Cameron continues to set the standard in using technology creatively to tell his stories in film.

It was on the BIO Channel that I discovered Visionaries Inside the Creative Mind the other day, which featured the multiple Oscar-winning director responsible for a handful of the worlds highest grossing films.

As Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, Every artist was first an amateur and no great man ever complains of want of opportunities, the Canadian-born Cameron initially had humble beginnings.

When he relocated to California in the 1970s, he studied physics at Fullerton Junior College while working as a machinist and a truck driver. Watching Star Wars in 1977 left an indelible impact and made him want to become a filmmaker.

He later raised money from local dentists to produce a 35mm short film, which got him a job with the famed low budget B-movie filmmaker Roger Corman, where he started off as a production designer, matte artist and visual effects DP.

The year he got his big break was 1984, with The Terminator, which also launched the career of Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The well-received sci-fi action film about a killer cyborg was where Cameron utilised his guerrilla filmmaking techniques and creative special effects, making use of whatever was around and keeping to a shoestring budget.

He then moved on to produce bigger budget films like Aliens in 1986.

A technical genius, Cameron also founded the famous visual effects production and technology company, Digital Domain, and continues to push the envelope for technology in filmmaking.

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Aerial talk: Cameron dreams his ideas

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By Susan Andrew on 05/22/2012 05:38 AM

But thats about to change. Last month, UNCA announced a plan to partner with the Astronomy Club of Asheville to build a small observatory on the south-facing hillside at the north end of campus, at the end of Nut Hill Road.

Were so excited about working together, says Judy Beck, a faculty member in UNCAs Department of Physics and the science-licensure coordinator for the universitys Department of Education. Its really going to be a wonderful university-community partnership.

The observatory will be a step up for local astro-enthusiasts, who until now have been operating in backyards and parking lots across town, their pursuit of cosmic happenings hampered by light pollution from a variety of commercial and domestic sources.

The 1,300-square-foot facility will provide a shared home for equipment and programs belonging to both the university and the Astronomy Club, and frequent public events are anticipated.

Our first step is to sit down with curriculum specialists and science teachers to collaborate and design programs that will be most effective for teachers and their students, she says, adding that some programs will be geared to the North Carolina Standard Course of Study for elementary through high school. Their input is critical.

An observatory was originally planned by the Astronomy Club as part of a proposed science center at a new Health Adventure, once slated for a vacant property along Broadway near the university. But when the Health Adventure plans fell through in 2011, the group took its proposal to the university, says club president Bernie Arghiere (pictured here).

This observatory will bring the solar system and the universe a whole lot closer to Asheville and Buncombe residents, Arghiere tells Xpress. There are many wonderful astronomical images on the Internet, but nothing takes the place of observing a planet or other celestial object directly in a telescope eyepiece. Thats the power of an observatory.

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Universal joint: UNCA teams with Astronomy Club to build new observatory

THE sun and moon aligned over the Earth in a rare astronomical event on Sunday - an annular eclipse that dimmed the skies over parts of Asia and North America, briefly turning the sun into a blazing ring of fire.

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Annular eclipse: Skies light up in ring of fire over Asia and US

You want a vision for the future of health care?  Don?t look to policymakers and regulators.  Look to innovators and innovations.   Look to San Diego?s wireless mesas and San Francisco?s silicon valleys.  Look at Scanadu?s protean medical Tricorder.  They get it, and it?s awesome.  Watch their one-and-a-half-minute video before reading on.

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Tricorder Update -- Social Medicine is the Next Big Thing After Social Media

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ACCENT: Searching for the universe's secrets