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Spectacular formation remains a puzzle

Fri, 14 Sep 2007 04:07:09 GMT

clipped by: amgumen

The Richat Structure, Oudane, Mauritania, is not really a structure but a huge circular formation (50 km in diameter - 30 miles), that resembles an eye when looked upon from space. Originally thought to be a crater, this volcanic dome is most likely a product of erosion, an ancient geological artifact in the middle of featureless Maur Adrar desert, in Africa's Western Sahara. The earliest space missions used it as a landmark, the adventurous 4x4 enthusiasts consider it to be their playground, and scientists are still debating its origin.

Clip Source: maps.google.com

Clip Source: www.darkroastedblend.com

The meteorite impact theory could not explain the flatness of the "crater"'s floor, so the most accepted explanation is the erosion of the initial volcanic dome, which gradually peeled away the layers of rock, creating the present onion-like form.

Johnnie Shannon image-enhanced the satellite image, clearly showing an eroded circular anticline (structural dome) of layered sedimentary rocks:

there is also a hotel smack in the middle of the Richat Structure

Tags: geology, interesting, science

Stephen Hawking Writing a SciFi Trilogy

Sat, 15 Sep 2007 06:07:52 GMT

clipped by: skwirlinator
clipper's remarks: I will buy this set for sure - I love hard scifi

Clip Source: afp.google.com

Science should be 'as exciting as science fiction' says Hawking

CAMBRIDGE, England (AFP) — British astrophysicist Stephen Hawking revealed his desire on Monday to make "real science as exciting as science fiction" as he publicised a new book for children about the cosmos.

"George's Secret Key to the Universe", the first book in a planned trilogy, explains the workings of the solar system, asteroids, black holes -- one of Hawking's favourite topics -- and other celestial bodies with the help of a set of young heroes.

It will be released in French on Thursday, and in English a week later, and is set to be sold in 29 countries. The second book in the trilogy will be published next year.

"Our aim is to make real science as exciting as science fiction," Hawking said.

Asked about the choice facing the heroes in his book -- saving the world from global warming or finding another planet that is habitable for humans -- he said that, like George, he would opt to focus on both.

Tags: science, scifi, stephen hawking, cambridge, trilogy, literature

10 Things you might be better off not knowing!

Sat, 15 Sep 2007 03:57:35 GMT

clipped by: aculton
clipper's remarks: The average male foot exudes half a pint of sweat each day.
A person will pass about 11,000 gallons of urine in a lifetime.
A man weighing 200lb would provide enough meat to feed 100 cannibals in one sitting.

Clip Source: www.neatorama.com

10 Things You Might’ve Been Better Off Not Knowing About Your Body

1. The average human body comprises enough fat to make seven bars of soap, enough iron to make a medium sized nail, enough potassium to explode a toy cannon, enough lime to whitewash a small chicken coop, enough sugar to fill a jam jar, and enough sulfur to rid a dog of fleas.

2. A complete skeleton is worth between $5,000 and $7,500 to a medical student; your skull alone would fetch only about $450.

3. Your mouth produces about one quart of saliva per day.

4. Demodex folliculorum has eight stumpy legs and a tail, is about a third of a millimeter long, and loves nothing more than to recline in the warm, oily pits of your hair follicles. Most adults have this mite, usually on the head, but especially in eyelashes. And often, they’re in nipples.

5. You have

4,000 wax glands in each ear

adult stool weighs about 4 ounces. And half of the bulk of your feces comprises the dead bodies of bacteria that live inside your intestines.

Tags: body

Dark matter clues in oldest stars

Fri, 14 Sep 2007 18:22:03 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

A computer model of the early Universe indicates the first stars could have formed in spectacular, long filaments.

These structures, which may have been thousands of light-years across, would have been shaped by "dark matter".

Scientists know very little about this type of matter, even though it accounts for most of the mass in the cosmos.

The researchers told the British Association (BA) Festival of Science that their work could reveal the true nature of dark matter.

Astronomers believe that more than three-quarters of the matter in our Universe may be "dark". It does not reflect or emit detectable light, and so cannot be seen directly - but it does gravitationally pull on normal matter (the gas, stars, and planets we see in space).

Tags: science, astronomy, stars, dark-matter, galaxy

Beautiful Pictures of Tibet

Fri, 14 Sep 2007 23:37:15 GMT

clipped by: eurion

Clip Source: www.linkinn.com

www

Tags: beautiful, pictures, photos, landscapes, tibet, cool, photography

Iraq humour

Sat, 15 Sep 2007 01:56:48 GMT

clipped by: righthand

Clip Source: www.gocomics.com

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Clip Source: www.gocomics.com

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Tags: comic, iraq, usa

Google backs private Moon landing

Thu, 13 Sep 2007 20:11:59 GMT

clipped by: JohnWaterman

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Search giant Google is offering a $30m prize pot to private firms that land a robot rover on the Moon

To claim the cash, any craft reaching the lunar surface must perform a series of tasks such as shoot video and roam for specific distances.

Firms interested in trying for the prize have until the end of 2012 to mount their Moonshot.

In a statement announcing the competition, Google and the X-Prize Foundation said it had been created in a bid to stimulate research into low-cost robotic exploration of space.

The top prize of $20m will be given to the private firm that soft lands a rover on the Moon which then completes a series of objectives.

These include roaming the lunar surface for at least 500m and gathering a specific set of images, video and data.

Google said it would give bonuses of $5m if the rovers complete other objectives such as travelling further on the Moon, taking pictures of Apollo hardware, finding water-ice and surviving the freezing lunar night.

Tags: astronomy, moon, space, google

GOP Myth: Nixon lost JFK debate because of looks

Sat, 15 Sep 2007 14:13:13 GMT

clipped by: jklugman

Clip Source: www.samefacts.com

an old Republican canard: that Richard Nixon actually outperformed JFK substantively in the 1960 debates, but lost because Kennedy looked better on TV.

the source for the claim

is polling data showing that those who listened to the debate on radio thought Nixon had won, while those who watched on TV thought that Kennedy had won. But of course the two populations weren't the same: non-TV households in 1960 were disproportionately older and more rural, two demographics Nixon won handily. That difference explains the response gap; there's no actual evidence that the TV audience would have preferred Nixon had that same audience listened instead.

Tags: statistics, samples, sampling, john f kennedy, richard nixon, teaching

The Great Software List

Fri, 14 Sep 2007 07:08:40 GMT

clipped by: pokkets
clipper's remarks: Open source software, providing a wide range of programs

Clip Source: www.anova.org

WORD PROCESSING

TEXT EDITING

OUTLINING, PIM, CALENDAR

OFFICE TOOLS

SPREADSHEET, MATH, DB

SYSTEM TOOLS

PRINTING, FONTS, PDF

IMAGE VIEWERS/EDITORS

GRAPHICS, IMAGE TOOLS

MULTIMEDIA, VIDEO

HOTKEYS, SCRIPTING

ONLINE-ONLY APPS

WEB-DEV: CSS, RSS, FTP

USENET, P2P/FILE SHARING TOOLS

FILE MANAGERS

FILE UTILITIES; RENAMERS; DUPLICATE FINDERS

ARCHIVE, SYNCHING, DOWNLOAD TOOLS

SECURITY, PRIVACY TOOLS

The Great Software List is an advocate of great software along with notable Open Source software. It is composed of high quality programs that share most or all of the following features:

          (1) Ease of use based on a well-designed user interface;
          (2) A generous array of keyboard shortcuts (preferably customizable);
          (3) Customizability where applicable; and
          (4) Affordability.

This page is provided so that you don't have to spend weeks finding the perfect program. The Great Software List stands in praise of small software, and why it has become important.

Tags: software, open, source, list