Clipmarks | tabsey's 'space' clips

Computer viruses make it to orbit

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 13:59:24 GMT

clipped by: tabsey
clipper's remarks: What better place than in the games, smuggled on laptops for those sleepless nights, for a virus to lurk.

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

A computer virus is alive and well on the International Space Station (ISS).

Nasa has confirmed that laptops carried to the ISS in July were infected with a virus known as Gammima.AG.

The worm was first detected on earth in August 2007 and lurks on infected machines waiting to steal login names for popular online games.

Nasa said it was not the first time computer viruses had travelled into space and it was investigating how the machines were infected.

Orbital outbreak

Space news website SpaceRef broke the story about the virus on the laptops that astronauts took to the ISS.

Nasa told SpaceRef that no command or control systems of the ISS were at risk from the malicious program.

The laptops infected with the virus were used to run nutritional programs and let the astronauts periodically send e-mail back to Earth.

The laptops carried by astronauts reportedly do not have any anti-virus software on them to prevent infection.

Spitzer Space Telescope Celebrates 5th Birthday With Portrait of Stellar Nursery

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 16:16:44 GMT

clipped by: tabsey
clipper's remarks: Good pic.

Clip Source: cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com

The team behind NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope is celebrating the orbiting observatory's fifth birthday with a glittering, multigenerational picture of a star-forming region.

Stars young and old glitter in the Spitzer Space Telescope's latest infrared view of the W5 star-forming region. Click on the image for a larger version.

The new infrared view of the W5 region in the constellation Cassiopeia was unveiled today at Los Angeles' Griffith Observatory as part of a celebration marking five years since Spitzer's launch in 2003. The view takes in an area of the sky equivalent to four full moons, 6,500 light-years from Earth, in one of our Milky Way's most picturesque stellar nurseries.

Tags: astronomy

Future 'Top 10' Hot Careers in 2012: Space Tourism to Genetic Counseling

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 12:53:19 GMT

clipped by: tabsey
clipper's remarks: Time to advise to the grandkids. Bloody parents these days.........blah, blah, blah..

Clip Source: www.dailygalaxy.com

1) Organic food Industry

Qualifications: Organic food expertise in farming, business or science.

Salary range: $50,000 to $80,000

2) Computational Biology

Qualifications: A bachelor’s degree or higher in bioinformatics, computer science, mathematics, biology or related area; strong software engineering skills.

Salary: $106,000 to $118,000

3) Parallel Programming

Qualifications: A bachelor's degree or higher in computer science or relevant field, non-linear thinking and creativity.

Salary: $79,000 to $88,000

4) Data Technology

Qualifications: Experience in virtual environments, imaging and visualization, technical skills, willingness to learn new tools and imagination.

Salary: $90,000 to $102,000

5) Simulation Engineering

Qualifications: A bachelor’s degree in computer science, engineering, math, physics or relevant field; analytical skills; and interpersonal skills.

Salary: $91,000 to $114,000

6) Boomer Caregiving

7) Genetic Counseling

8) Brain Analysts

9) Space Tourism

10) Roboticists

Tags: competition, will, abound

Out-of-This-World Hypothesis: Cosmic Forces Control Life on Earth

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 10:43:54 GMT

clipped by: tabsey
clipper's remarks: Worth a read, if you enjoy info about what is happening in the Space around us.

Clip Source: www.livescience.com

The rise and fall of species on Earth might be driven in part by the undulating motions of our solar system as it travels through the disk of the Milky Way, scientists say.

Two years ago, scientists at the University of California, Berkeley found the marine fossil record shows that biodiversity-the number of different species alive on the planet-increases and decreases on a 62-million-year cycle. At least two of the Earth's great mass extinctions-the Permian extinction 250 million years ago and the Ordovician extinction about 450 million years ago-correspond with peaks of this cycle, which can't be explained by evolutionary theory.

Now, a team of researchers at the University of Kansas (KU) have come up with an out-of-this-world explanation. Their idea hinges upon the fact that, appearances aside, stars are not fixed in space. They move around, sometimes rushing headlong through galaxies, or approaching close enough to one another for brief cosmic trysts.

Tags: great, theory

Scotty's ashes fail to reach final frontier

Tue, 05 Aug 2008 15:02:54 GMT

clipped by: tabsey
clipper's remarks: He doesn't look too worried.

Clip Source: blogs.guardian.co.uk

Star Trek star's ashes lost in failed space mission

The ashes of actor James Doohan, who played Montgomery "Scotty" Scott in Star Trek, were lost on the way to space on Sunday morning, when the rocket carrying them malfunctioned minutes after take-off.

The actor's ashes were among those of 208 people, including Mercury astronaut Gordon Cooper, who had paid to have their remains fired into space aboard Falcon 1, a rocket developed by the private space company SpaceX.

The launch, from the US Army's Reagan Test Site on Omelek Island in the Pacific, appeared to be perfect, but within a few minutes live footage from an on-board camera went dead. Engineers later said that the two stages of the rocket had failed to separate.

The rocket was also carrying three small satellites, including the Nasa-built miniature laboratory PRESat, a solar sail demonstrator called NanoSail-D, plus a Pentagon satellite called Trailblazer.

Tags: thanks

Queen's Guitarist Publishes Astrophysics Thesis

Sun, 03 Aug 2008 16:55:44 GMT

clipped by: tabsey
clipper's remarks: More at the site for fans

Clip Source: www.livescience.com

The founder of the legendary rock band Queen has completed his doctoral thesis in astrophysics after taking a 30-year break to play some guitar.

Brian May's thesis examines the mysterious phenomenon known as Zodiacal light, a misty diffuse cone of light that appears in the western sky after sunset and in the eastern sky before sunrise. Casual observers, if they live under very dark rural skies, can best see the light two to three hours before sunrise as they look east, and many people have been fooled into seeing it as the first sign of morning twilight. A Persian astronomer who lived around the 12th century referred to it as "false dawn" in a poem.

Astronomers now know that Zodiacal light represents reflected sunlight shining on scattered space debris clustered most densely near the sun. The millions of particles range in size from tiny asteroids to microscopic dust grains, and extend outward beyond the orbit of Mars.

Tags: almost, cross, dimensional

Scientists discover liquid on Saturn moon

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 10:17:42 GMT

clipped by: tabsey
clipper's remarks: Ethane occurs naturally on Earth and is also a bi-product of petrol refining.

Clip Source: www.abc.net.au

US space scientists say liquid has been discovered on the surface of Titan, the largest moon of the planet Saturn.

Instruments on the Cassini space probe established the presence of liquefied ethane gas and a large lake on Titan.

Earth is the only other body in the solar system to have fluid on its surface.

NASA to post millions of photos online

Sun, 27 Jul 2008 08:54:02 GMT

clipped by: tabsey
clipper's remarks: There goes the computer's memory and the next ten nights.

Clip Source: www.abc.net.au

In focus: NASA is making millions of photos available online (Reuters: NASA)

The US space agency NASA has launched a free online gallery featuring photographs and video of missions throughout its 40-year history.

The www.nasaimages.org website will eventually contain millions of photographs.

The gallery will cover all of NASA's activities from the moon landings to images from the Hubble space telescope and photographs of experimental aircraft.

Tags: artronomers, get, high

Elderly woman stuck in crossing avoids oncoming train by lying between tracks

Sat, 26 Jul 2008 15:01:13 GMT

clipped by: tabsey
clipper's remarks: Gob smacker

Clip Source: mdn.mainichi.jp

KAWANISHI, Nara -- An elderly woman had a narrow escape after she fell over on a train crossing and managed to avoid an oncoming train by lying between the tracks.

"I fell down while I was trying to cross, and the gate closed after I entered the crossing," the woman was quoted as saying.

The accident happened at around 4:50 p.m. on Friday, when the 85-year-old woman fell over while crossing the Kinki Nippon Railway's Kashihara Line in Kawanishi, according to railway officials.

The driver of a local train bound for Kashihara-Jingumae from Yamato-Saidaiji spotted the woman and applied the emergency brakes, but a 10-meter section of the front carriage passed over the woman before it came to a halt.

Fortunately, the woman managed to avoid injury by lying in the space between the tracks. The gauge of the track is about 1.4 meters, and there is a 30-centimeter space between the rails and the bottom of the train.

Tags: and, then, along, came, jones

NASA 'wants to buy Japan's cargo spacecraft'

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 05:31:38 GMT

clipped by: tabsey
clipper's remarks: NASA had only just started helping US companies with such a ship. Too late. A reflection of the uncertainty of funding due to the Iraq/Afghanistan invasions. Seeing all that money going to greed and corruption must really hurt scientists.

Clip Source: www.abc.net.au

The US space agency, NASA, is reportedly negotiating the purchase of unmanned Japanese transfer spacecraft to replace its own ageing shuttles.

The Yomiuri newspaper says NASA has began unofficial negotiations with Japan's space agency, with such a deal being the biggest in Japan's 50-year space development history.

The H-2 Transfer Vehicle (HTV), which costs about 14 billion yen ($134.67 million) each, is being developed by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and domestic companies including Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd and Mitsubishi Electric Corp, the Yomiuri said.

Behind the move is NASA's concern that the retirement of its space shuttles in 2010 will make it difficult for the US to fulfil its responsibilities to deliver water, food and materials for scientific experiments to the International Space Station, the paper said.

Tags: science, makes, the, world, go, round, not, money

Humans to live on Mars 'within 25 years'

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 07:44:06 GMT

clipped by: tabsey
clipper's remarks: What would it be like working for a mining company on Mars?

Clip Source: www.abc.net.au

A professor of planetary science says humans could be living on Mars within 25 years.

Professor Jeff Taylor from Hawaii's Institute of Geophysics and Planetology is addressing a conference in Perth today.

He says humans could be living on the moon within 15 years, and if basic life supports like oxygen and water can be secured, humans could colonise Mars within 25 years.

Professor Taylor says it is human nature to want to explore and colonise new areas and humans may go to Mars for economic reasons, or to secure additional energy supplies.

He says once people start living on the moon, new businesses will be established.

"Whether that's going to be servicing and building telescopes or servicing satellites in orbit around the Earth, including communication satellites deep in synchronous orbits, or any other commercial ventures including space tourism," he said.

Professor Taylor says the first step would be to secure basic life supports on the planet.

Tags: i, still, call, australia, home

Victor Emerges in Stormy Battle on Jupiter

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 17:06:16 GMT

clipped by: tabsey
clipper's remarks: The old bull showed the young'un.

Clip Source: www.space.com

Jupiter's Great Red Spot has roughed up a younger rival storm and may consume it altogether.

The baby red spot appears to have gotten the worst of its whirlwind encounter with the ravenous super-storm that has dominated Jupiter for at least two centuries. Their tussle was captured in a recent series of images by the Hubble Space Telescope.

Scientists may be watching historical shifts in action as they learn how the giant planet's storms grow and change over decades and centuries.

The smaller storm first appeared earlier this year, but had the misfortune to get caught up in the reverse cyclone spin of the Great Red Spot. That left the baby red spot deformed and sapped of color as it spun off to the east of the greater storm. Astronomers predict that the Great Red Spot will eventually pull in and absorb the baby red spot — a possible reason why the super-storm has sustained its power for so long.

Tags: the, war, is, won; by, jove

Cern lab goes 'colder than space'

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 14:51:18 GMT

clipped by: tabsey
clipper's remarks: A lot more at the source about this great experiment. Amazing stuff.

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Superconducting magnets are cooled down using liquid helium

A vast physics experiment built in a tunnel below the French-Swiss border is fast becoming one of the coolest places in the Universe.

The Large Hadron Collider is entering the final stages of being lowered to a temperature of 1.9 Kelvin (-271C; -456F) - colder than deep space.

The LHC has thousands of magnets which will be maintained in this frigid condition using liquid helium.

The magnets are arranged in a ring that runs for 27km through the giant tunnel.

Once the LHC is operational, two particle beams - usually consisting of protons accelerated to high energies - will be fired down pipes running through the magnets.

These beams will then travel in opposite directions around the main ring at close to the speed of light.

The most powerful physics experiment ever built, the LHC will re-create the conditions just after the Big Bang.

By comparison, the temperature in remote regions of outer space is about 2.7 Kelvin (-270C; -454F).

Tags: one, big, experiment

Found: Milky Way's Second-Brightest Star

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 17:15:16 GMT

clipped by: tabsey
clipper's remarks: Superb

Clip Source: dsc.discovery.com

The Peony Nebula Star

July 16, 2008 -- If you can't be the brightest star out of 100 billion, second brightest ain't bad. That's just what astronomers have found, hidden in a flowery dust cloud near the center of the Milky Way: the second-brightest star (and one of the most dangerous) in our home galaxy.

What's being called the Peony Nebula star is calculated to be as bright as 3.2 million suns. That's approaching the supremacy of the brightest known star in the galaxy, Eta Carina, which blazes at 4.7 million times our sun's light output.

The newfound super-bright star also takes on the mantle of perhaps being the second-most massive star in the galaxy, starting its life at more than 1,000 times the mass of our sun. That's because stellar mass and brightness rise in tandem.

"This is a fascinating object, it really is," said Eta Carina researcher Ted Gull of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.

Tags: astronomy

Found: Milky Way's Second-Brightest Star (2)

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 17:22:10 GMT

clipped by: tabsey
clipper's remarks: This is a better pic of the star

Clip Source: dsc.discovery.com

The Peony Nebula Star
The title for the brightest known star in the Milky Way would go to a massive star called Eta Carina. But a new runner-up -- now the second-brightest star in our galaxy -- has been discovered in the galaxy's dusty and frenzied interior. This image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope shows the new second place-holder, circled in the inset above, in the central region of the Milky Way.