NewsFusion for August 2022
Science...
- Artemis gets green light | CNN
- China building largest array of telescopes to study sun | Space.com
- Robots could help reduce chemicals in farming | ABC 10 News San Diego
Showing posts with label Astronomy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Astronomy. Show all posts
NewsFusion | 072
DESI Creates Largest 3D Map of Universe
Here at Future-ish, we love astronomy and we love cocktails. So to prep our fans (and ourselves) for those stellar weekend cocktail conversations, we are pleased to offer our Cocktail Astronomy post each Friday.
This week we bring you the largest and most detailed 3D map of the universe to date, compliments of DESI, the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument managed by the US Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley Lab. The full news release includes an animated view of the three dimensional scan. DESI measures the effect of dark energy on the expansion of the universe by collecting optical spectra for millions upon millions of galaxies and quasars stretching across 11 billion light years. And the project is only seven months old! By understanding dark energy better, scientists can better continue to research the past and future of the universe. DESI will be busy for quite some time though. The project is only about 10% complete as of January 2022 of the project's five year timeline. DESI is mounted on the Mayall Telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory near Tucson, Arizona.
As impressive as DESI itself, the project set out from the start to acknowledge the traditional lands of the Tohono O’odham Nation. From the DESI website:
"The Kitt Peak National Observatory is located approximately fifty miles west of Tucson, Arizona and has resided on the Tohono O’odham Nation for over six decades.The O’odham name for Kitt Peak is I’ilogam Du’ag which means manzanita bush mountain. I’oligam Du’ag is the second highest point on the land of the Tohono O’odham. It sits below the sacred Baboquivari Peak, which can be easily seen from the Mayall telescope. In the traditional beliefs of the O’odham, their creator I’itoi lives in the Baboquivari Mountains also referred to as Waw Giwulk. The DESI collaboration is honored to be studying the physical mysteries of the universe on the O’odham jewed (People’s land)."
Cocktail Paring: we're going with a Gin Fizz to celebrate this special occasion adn the ever-expanding universe. Cheers DESI!
Cocktail Astronomy | Brahe's Marvelous Moustache
Here at Future-ish, we love astronomy and we love cocktails. So to prep our fans (and ourselves) for those stellar weekend cocktail conversations, we are pleased to offer our Cocktail Astronomy post each Friday.
This week we join our fans around the world in celebrating Movember, the annual moustache growing (well, we've seen a few ladies and gentlemen glue them on too...in an "Mo" emergency of course) charity event held during November each year that raises funds and awareness for men's health issues, particularly prostate, testicular, and other forms of men's cancer.
We couldn't think of a better way to celebrate the event than to raise a cocktail in honor of the very famous and very moustachioed 16th Century Danish astronomer, Tycho Brahe. Brahe made many discoveries in the fields of astronomy and alchemy, but he is most noted for his his incredibly accurate observations of our solar system and many stars, noting a supernova in 1572, and providing evidence that comets are heavenly bodies rather than weather related. Brahe's celestial mechanics and detailed star maps were later used by Johannes Kepler in his theories of planetary motion.
Cocktail Astronomy | Bird Names on Bennu
Here at Future-ish, we love astronomy and we love cocktails. So to prep our fans (and ourselves) for those stellar weekend cocktail conversations, we are pleased to offer our Cocktail Astronomy post each Friday.
This week we focus our magnifying lense of choice (monocle, binoculars, telescope, etc.) on the fiesty little astroid Bennu. In October 2020, NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission’s Touch-And-Go (TAG) sample collection event succeeded in gathering a sample of the asteroid surface. When the samples do return to Earth, we will learn a tremendous amount about asteroids, our galaxy, and our universe.
But here's a bit of trivia that is sure to win you big points at the weekend cocktail party. Why all the bird names for the features and potential landing sites on Bennu? It all starts with Bennu. In 2012, The University of Arizona, The Planetary Society and the LINEAR Project sponsored a 'name the asteroid' contest and Michael Puzio, a third-grader from North Carolina, had the winning entry. Bennu is reference to the ancient Egyptian diety, Bennu, a heron-like bird that the student felt the OSIRIS-REx craft resembled.
To honor and supplement the bird reference, the key features of Bennu, including the potential landing sights of OSIRIS-Rex, have been named for birds.
Cocktail pairing: The Blue Heron may be listed as a summer cocktail but it is sure to be tasty all year around, whether you are in Egypt or Estonia.
And you can't have post on Bennu's birds without a bit of 1978 "Birdland":
Cocktail Astronomy | Enterprise Nebulae on Star Trek Day
Here at Future-ish, we love astronomy and we love cocktails. So to prep our fans (and ourselves) for those stellar weekend cocktail conversations, we are pleased to offer our Cocktail Astronomy post each Friday.
This week we join many of our fellow Trekkies in celebrating Star Trek Day and NASA's 2016 Spitzer Space Telescope images of nebulae that resemble two of the series' most famous star ships, Captain Kirk's USS Enterprise NCC-1701 and Captain Picard's Enterprise-D NCC-1701-D.
The nebulae (catalog numbers IRAS 19340+2016 and IRAS19343+2026) are located on the Milky Way's outer disk and are visible using Spitzer's infared technology that allows it to view objects deeper in space often obscured by dust.
Cocktail pairing: since Aldebaran whiskey made cameos in several Star Trek series, we suggest pouring a shot of your favorite whiskey from right here on Earth. And don't forget to raise that glass to 50 years of Star Trek ;-)
Cocktail Astronomy | Zombie Nebula Discovered
Here at Future-ish, we love astronomy and we love cocktails. So to prep our fans (and ourselves) for those stellar weekend cocktail conversations, we are pleased to offer our Cocktail Astronomy post each Friday.
OK, we admit it, we love zombies too. So with Halloween just around the corner, we wanted to bring a bit of our zombie crush into Cocktail Astronomy. Check out the nebula above...talk about a zombie transformation!? Discovered by Karl Ludwig prior to 1824, NGC 7293, the Helix Nebula (often referred to as the 'Eye of God)', is actually one of the most well known nebulas in astronomy and pop culture. It is a large planetary nebula located in the Aquarius constellation located about 650 light-years from Earth.
The first image from 2003 - pre-zombie - is a visible light image produced by combining data from the Hubble Telescope and NSF's .9 meter telescope at Kitt Peak. The second image - post-zombie - is an infrared image of NGC 7293 taken by the Spitzer telescope in 2007. Our newly named 'Zombie Nebula' It is a great example of how different telescopes with different spectral analysis reveal unique information about the objects being observed.
So have the bartender whip up one of those spooky Halloween cocktails (we suggest a 'brain tumor' or 'pina ghoulada') and let your friends know that zombies have invaded the cosmos. We're just happy that all the zombie dancers around the globe participating in the annual Thrill the World event that celebrates Michael Jackson's Thriller can look up into the sky and know that the big zombie eye in the sky is staring (hungrily) right back at them.
Cocktail Astronomy | Cheers Proxima b!
This week we would like to toast one of our nearest exoplanet neighbors, Proxima b. That's right, in 2016 scientists confirmed the discovery of Proxima b, an Earth-like planet in the Alpha Centauri system. Alpha Centauri, long thought to be one star but actually a trio of stars including the binary stars Alpha Centauri A and Alpha Centauri B, as well as a third red dwarf star, Proxima Centauri. Though many Earth-like exoplanets have been identified, the proximity of Proxima b and the fact that it is in the habitable or 'Goldilocks' zone is what makes this discovery so exciting.
The latest word (August 2017) is that Proxima b may not be able to sustain an Earth-like atmosphere but we still have hope that we do have neighbors on Prixima b and that they are fabulous. The best news is that is Proxima b resides in the habitable zone of it's start which means liquid water could exist. If you have liquid water, then you can have, yes...ice cubes for cocktails!
Cocktail pairing: nothing but the best champagne for our new neighbors, cheers! We'll bring a welcome to the galaxy gift right over ;-)
Cocktail Astronomy | Stellar Snow Angel
Here at Future-ish, we love astronomy and we love cocktails. So to prep our fans (and ourselves) for those stellar weekend cocktail conversations, we are pleased to offer our Cocktail Astronomy post each Friday.
For this week's Cocktail Astronomy, we're all about the Holidays. With Justin Bieber holiday songs playing in the background, we'll be raising a our eggnog, hot spiced wine, and other favorite holiday cocktails to Sharpless 2-106, or S106 for short, that just so happens to look like a cosmic snow angel. Located in the constellation Cygnus, S106 is over 2,000 light years from Earth and is the 106th object to be catalogued by astronomer Stewart Sharpless in the 1950. The image above was taken by Hubble in February 2011 and shows the birth of a massive star, IRS 4 (Infrared Source 4) to be exact. Hot gasses create the wings of the angel and a ring of and gas orbiting the star serve as a belt.
NewsFusion | 025
NewsFusion for May 2016
Science...
- Better than a red carpet step and repeat, the 2016 Mercury transit has the media's full attention | Space.com
- NASA releases rocket technology into public domain, big boost for private space travel | The Independent
- Starfish babies make comeback along US Pacific north coast | The Press Democrat
Design...
- The next black in Paris? Sharing. Fashion and the sharing economy | Business of Fashion
- Architects Hawaii wins global award for design of new Walgreens store
- Siri's sibling, Viv, to become next generation of smart phone AI
Culture...
- Muslim American young women in a modern world | Teen Vogue
- Native American photographers respond to Edward Curtis photos in new exhibit at Portland Art Museum | The Guardian
- Wisdoms of Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism being used to guide Happy Enterprise Partnership movement in China | Huffington Post
NewsFusion | 023
NewsFusion for April 2016
Science...
- Green sea turtles beginning to recover in Florida and Mexico | HNGN
- April is Global Astronomy Month | Astronomers Without Borders
Design...
- Eco Fashion Week just ahead, April 9-14, Vancouver
- Wallpaper's 2016 Salone del Mobile preview | Wallpaper
- New Airbus interior solves jet lag with LED lighting | Inhabitat
Culture...
- Beyond South Africa: exploring Mozambique, Namibia, and Zanzibar | Essense
- Joseph Medicine Crow crosses over at 102 - author, historian, activist, Medal of Freedom recipient, last Crow War Chief, last link to Battle of Little Big Horn | Washington Post
- How to visit sacred places in a modern world...with grace and respect | The Cutlureist
Cocktail Astronomy | Pluto's Sexy New Profile Pictures
Here at Future-ish, we love astronomy and we love cocktails. So to prep our fans (and ourselves) for those stellar weekend cocktail conversations, we are pleased to offer our Cocktail Astronomy post each Friday.
It's official...Pluto is back on the planetary dating scene with humanity and according to NASA, the dwarf planet's new profile pics are 'Over the top'. In fact, close up images of Pluto from NASA's New Horizons spacecraft released in September 2015 indicate incredibly diverse surface features suggesting a very interesting past. Given Pluto's new multi-faceted personality, what do these new images mean for our long term relationship with Pluto? As the NASA announcement states: "it's complicated". One thing is for sure...we expect a full-on love fest for Pluto.
>> Read the full announcement for more juicy details.
Cocktail Pairing: given our up and down relationship with Pluto, a Bitter Crush
Cocktail Astronomy | Andromeda on the Rocks
Here at Future-ish, we love astronomy and we love cocktails. So to prep our fans (and ourselves) for those stellar weekend cocktail conversations, we are pleased to offer our Cocktail Astronomy post each Friday.
This week's Cocktail Astronomy comes from NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day and is titled Andromeda on the Rocks. Normally when cocktailing, one's sight tends to get a little on the short side...if not full on blurry. But in this photo, you can actually see at least 2.5 million LIGHT YEARS away. That's because the Andromeda galaxy appears in this photo as a small blurry oval in the top center area and it happens to be 2.5 million light years away. Andromeda is probably not an object you'll be able to see on the average night but it the little factoid on its distance from Earth, that can be offered up on any occasion.
Cocktail pairing: the Blue Lagoon
Cocktail Astronomy | Quasar Quartet
Here at Future-ish, we love astronomy and we love cocktails. So to prep our fans (and ourselves) for those stellar weekend cocktail conversations, we are pleased to offer our Cocktail Astronomy post each Friday.
Some of our readers may be off to the symphony tonight or this weekend to listen to their favorite classical pieces. Among them there will certainly be some exceptional quartets. For this week's Cocktail Astronomy we are sharing a story from Astronomy Now about a cosmic quartet of four quasars recently discovered by a a group of astronomers led by Joseph Hennawi of the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy using the W.M. Keck Observatory on Mauna Kea in Hawaii.
Quasars are produced by matter falling into black holes. The existence of this quartet is sending scientists back to the drawing board regarding the formation and evolution of quasars because generally quasars are so rare and so far apart. Not these four fine fellows. Scientists are also now referring to the nebula surrounding the quasars the "Jackpot Nebula" given the rarity of the nebula itself and that of the quasars within it. Rare event on top of rare event...perhaps a stop at the local casino after the symphony is in order.
>> More information about the discovery is available in the May 15, 2015 issue of Science.
Cocktail Astronomy | The Northern Lights
Image credit: Daniel J Cox/Corbis via The Guardian
Here at Future-ish, we love astronomy and we love cocktails. So to prep our fans (and ourselves) for those stellar weekend cocktail conversations, we are pleased to offer our Cocktail Astronomy post each Friday.
This week, the forecast is for an amazing show of the Northern Lights after a solar storm on the sun. If you're lucky enough to be in an area to see them and the weather is clear, set out some Aurora Borealis hors d'oeuvres and make sure to try out the cocktail pairing below.
Aurora are actually collisions between electrically charged particles from the sun that enter the earth's atmosphere. If there's been a The lights are seen above the magnetic poles of the northern and southern hemispheres and are known as 'Aurora borealis' up north and 'Aurora australis' down south (as in Australia).
For this week's cocktail pairing, we suggest you try out one of the cosmic concoctions by Candace Bacon showcased in her Hubpages post, How to Make Drinks that Glow in the Dark.
Cocktail Astronomy | Sweet on Saturn
Here at Future-ish, we love astronomy and we love cocktails. So to prep our fans (and ourselves) for those stellar weekend cocktail conversations, we are pleased to offer our Cocktail Astronomy post each Friday.
We all have crushes. Luckily, a cocktail can help us get past our inhibitions to perhaps even approach the object of our crush. Phil Plait, the blogger behind Bad Astronomy has no problem admitting his crush on Saturn. So it comes as no surprise that he was gushing after an image of Saturn was recently released from NASA's Cassini mission.
Don't worry Phil, we totally get it. Saturn is truly stunning in the photo (make sure to view the large, high res version) and we must admit, we have a little crush on Saturn too. The ethereal gaseous sphere, those beautiful rings, the dozens of intriguing moons, and that mysterious hexagon vortex above Saturn's north pole all make us more than a little sweet on Saturn.
Cocktail pairing: What else? The 1967 IBA Cocktail Championship winner, the Saturn
Cocktail Astronomy | Curiosity's Extraterrestrial Selfie
Here at Future-ish, we love astronomy and we love cocktails. So to prep our fans (and ourselves) for those stellar weekend cocktail conversations, we are pleased to offer our Cocktail Astronomy post each Friday.
Ok, we've all done it. Had a little too many cocktails at a party and then the shameless selfies start snapping. Well, Curiosity, NASA's Mars rover, couldn't help itself either and in Feb 2013 produced what may well be the first extraterrestrial selfie. Curiosity's selfie is actually made up of 66 individual selfies taken by Curiosity's Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) which was cleverly positioned out of frame during the selfie fest. The selfie does actually serve a purpose though, it was used to document the first rock drilling site, a flat outcrop referred to as "John Klein". It's OK Curiosity, we've all been there.
Sceleb | Feryal Özel
Feryal Özel is a Turkish astrophysicist. Özel completed her BS in Physics and Applied Mathematics at Columbia in 1996 and her MS in Physics in 1997 at the Niels Bohr Institute in Copenhagen. She received her Phd in Astrophysics from Harvard University in 2002. Özel is currently an Associate Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of Arizona. She is the recipient of many awards and fellowships and published numerous articles on a variety of topics. Özel is also very interested in sustainable energy and participates in the Arizona Research Institute for Solar Energy (ARISE).
In addition to her academic work, Özel has written articles for mainstream press and appeared on CNN International and several TV shows including the Universe series on History Channel and Big Ideas on PBS. Özel also worked with Louis Vuitton as a spokesperson to support women's literacy in the Middle East. In 2010, Özel also served as a spokesperson for a Louis Vuitton women's literacy campaign.
Özel has been on our Stylish Scientist List since 2012. She was also added to our PISA List and Citizens of the Next Century List in 2013.
In addition to her academic work, Özel has written articles for mainstream press and appeared on CNN International and several TV shows including the Universe series on History Channel and Big Ideas on PBS. Özel also worked with Louis Vuitton as a spokesperson to support women's literacy in the Middle East. In 2010, Özel also served as a spokesperson for a Louis Vuitton women's literacy campaign.
Özel has been on our Stylish Scientist List since 2012. She was also added to our PISA List and Citizens of the Next Century List in 2013.
Planet Gazing
Ever wondered what the planets in our solar system might look like if they were as close as the moon?
Scale from Brad Goodspeed on Vimeo.
Cocktail Astronomy | Scale of the Universe
This interactive graphic, Scale of the Universe, has made the rounds in the social media megaworld but we still can't get enough of it. In any serious cocktail astronomy conversation, understanding the cosmos always comes down to scale and what we learn from Scale of the Universe is that size truly does matter. The infographic by Cary and Michael Huang of HTwins is candy for the eyes while the soundtrack by Kevin Macleod offers a similar sweet treat for the ears.
Cocktail Astronomy | Eta Carinae
Here at Future-ish, we love astronomy and we love cocktails. So to prep our fans (and ourselves) for those stellar weekend cocktail conversations, we are pleased to offer our Cocktail Astronomy post each Friday.
In this week's Cocktail Astronomy we bring culture into our cosmic equation...the culture and traditions of the Boorong aboriginal people of northwestern Victoria, Australia to be exact. In a post on Indian Country Today Media Network, New Echoes of Eta Carinae Explosion Seen by Aborigines 150 Years Ago, we learn that the star that became a very well known present day nebula, Eta (η) Carinae (also known as the Homunculus Nebula), was known and documented by 19th century astronomer William Edward Stanbridge and in the dreamtime and oral traditions of the Boorong people.
According to Stanbridges 1858 paper in which he refers to the star using La Caille's 1763 star catalog, the Boorong knew Eta Carinae as Collowgullouric War, a female crow, the wife of War (Canopus). Details on the connection can be found in an article from the November 2010 issue of Journal for Astronomical History & Heritage, An Aboriginal Australian Record of the Great Eruption of Eta Carinae by Duane W. Hamacher and David J. Frew.
Eta Carinae is getting a lot of attention these days as it could go supernova any day now according to an article in Nature in which researchers are using light echoes to learn more about the 19th cenetury "great explosion" of Eta Carinae. The pending supernova was also covered in Time.
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