Clipmarks | Solar system Clips

Signature of antimatter detected in lightning

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 13:13:51 GMT

clipped by: tabsey

WASHINGTON — Designed to scan the heavens thousands to billions of light-years beyond the solar system for gamma rays, the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope has also picked up a shocking vibe from Earth. During its first 14 months of operation, the flying observatory has detected 17 gamma-ray flashes associated with terrestrial storms — and some of those flashes have contained a surprising signature of antimatter.

During two recent lightning storms, the Fermi telescope found evidence that positrons, not just electrons, are in storms on Earth.

During two recent lightning storms, Fermi recorded gamma-ray emissions of a particular energy that could have been produced only by the decay of energetic positrons, the antimatter equivalent of electrons. The observations are the first of their kind for lightning storms. Michael Briggs of the University of Alabama in Huntsville announced the puzzling findings November 5 at the 2009 Fermi Symposium.

Tags: antimatter

Residential Solar Power Systems – An Easier and Cheaper Way to Solar Powered Homes | Top Solar Panel

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 14:39:41 GMT

clipped by: yoshikochoy
clipper's remarks: Residential solar power systems are getting more common nowadays. And an even cheaper way is to build your own solar panels for homes. Read on for more.

Clip Source: solarwindenergydiy.com

Top Solar Panels and Wind Renewable Energy Do-It-Yourself Guides

Residential Solar Power Systems – An Easier and Cheaper Way to Solar Powered Homes

Residential solar power systems do have substantial and sustaining benefits. It is time you start thinking of how to leverage it for long term financial income.

Tagged with build your own solar panels, home solar power system, Residential solar energy, Solar Panels For Homes

Important - Tips That Tip the Scale for the Best Build Your Own Solar Panels Package Step By Step Manual + Easy To Follow Video Instructions + Free Lifetime Updates + Free Members Online Forum + Prompt Efficient Online Admin Support + Originator's Direct Email Contact

Residential Solar Energy Fact Sheet - Build Your Own Solar Panels Must Knows

Homemade Solar Panels – Facts & Myths of DIY Solar Power For Homes

Homemade Solar Panels – Bare Facts On How Much KWH Solar Power You Need

Tags: home solar power system, residential solar energy, solar panels for homes, build your own solar panels

2009 Leonid Meteor Shower

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 03:43:57 GMT

clipped by: mcsmithblack
clipper's remarks: More from the article below:

""We're predicting 20 to 30 meteors per hour over the Americas, and as many as 200 to 300 per hour over Asia," says Bill Cooke of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office. "Our forecast is in good accord with independent theoretical work by other astronomers."

"A remarkable feature of this year's shower is that Leonids will appear to be shooting almost directly out of the planet Mars," notes Cooke.

It's just a coincidence. This year, Mars happens to be passing by the Leonid radiant at the time of the shower. The Red Planet is almost twice as bright as a first magnitude star, so it makes an eye-catching companion for the Leonids"

Clip Source: science.nasa.gov

The 2009 Leonid Meteor Shower

November 10, 2009: This year's Leonid meteor shower peaks on Tuesday, Nov. 17th. If forecasters are correct, the shower should produce a mild but pretty sprinkling of meteors over North America followed by a more intense outburst over Asia. The phase of the Moon will be new, setting the stage for what could be one of the best Leonid showers in years.

Leonids are bits of debris from Comet Tempel-Tuttle. Every 33 years the comet visits the inner solar system and leaves a stream of dusty debris in its wake. Many of these streams have drifted across the November portion of Earth's orbit. Whenever we hit one, meteors come flying out of the constellation Leo.

The first stream crossing on Nov. 17th comes around 0900 UT (4 a.m. EST, 1 a.m. PST). The debris is a diffuse mix of particles from several old streams that should produce a gentle display of two to three dozen meteors per hour over North America. Dark skies are recommended for full effect.

Dow Unveils Solar Roof Shingles

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 01:51:57 GMT

clipped by: willhelm

Clip Source: blog.cleantechies.com

Dow Chemical has developed a roof shingle that contains thin-film solar power cells and can be integrated into asphalt roofs, which are used in 90 percent of American homes.

Dow executives said the solar shingles can be handled like a regular asphalt shingle and can be nailed right onto a roof and walked on by roofers.

The company will begin test-marketing the shingles in mid-2010 and the company will initially target new home construction.

The thin-film solar cells, made by Global Solar of Tucson, are less efficient than traditional photovoltaic arrays, but a Dow researcher that with the solar shingles covering large portions of a roof they could meet 40 to 80 percent of a homeowner’s electricity demand.

Electricians are not needed to install the solar shingles but do have to connect the completed array to the home’s electrical system.

Solar households to get paid for all their power

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 06:42:59 GMT

clipped by: tabsey
clipper's remarks: About time schemes like this took off. Now all we have to do is get our solar experts back from countries where their expertise is appreciated, unlike here during the Howard "reign".

Clip Source: www.abc.net.au

The New South Wales Government has reversed its policy on solar power - meaning households with solar energy systems will soon be paid for all of the electricity they generate.

The state Government is adopting a gross feed-in tariff system for solar energy rather than the net model which is in place in other states.

The Environment Minister John Robertson says it means households will be paid for all of the electricity produced by solar panels, not just the surplus which is fed back into the grid.

"It will be the highest payment for families anywhere in the country at 60 cents per kilowatt-hour," he said.

"This will provide households the opportunity to reduce their carbon footprint and also ensure they're generating electricity using solar cells."

The scheme will only run for seven years.

But Greens MP, John Kaye, says that for it to make a real difference it needs to run for 20 years.

"We will be moving to amend the scheme to make it a scheme for the long term," he said.

Tags: good

Japan Plans Solar Station in Space

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 06:33:47 GMT

clipped by: thisnamecantbetaken
clipper's remarks: The next step, expected around 2020, would be to launch and test a large flexible photovoltaic structure with 10 megawatt power capacity, to be followed by a 250 megawatt prototype.

JAXA says the transmission technology would be safe but concedes it would have to convince the public, which may harbour images of laser beams shooting down from the sky, roasting birds or slicing up aircraft in mid-air.

Clip Source: www.news.com.au

IT MAY sound like sci-fi, but Japan is dead serious: by 2030 it wants to collect solar power in space and zap it down to Earth, using laser beams or microwaves.

The government has picked a group of companies and a research team to turn the ambitious, multi-billion-dollar dream of unlimited clean energy into reality.

Now Japan's bold plan is the Space Solar Power System (SSPS), in which arrays of photovoltaic dishes several square kilometres in size would hover in geostationary orbit outside the Earth's atmosphere.

Since solar power is a clean and inexhaustible energy source, we believe that this system will be able to help solve the problems of energy shortage and global warming," researchers said

Researchers are targeting a one gigawatt system, equivalent to a medium-sized atomic power plant

What's old is new

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 06:14:22 GMT

clipped by: mrobert
clipper's remarks: Re-purposed and reclaimed wood and metal mixed with solar and wind power capabilities plus the option of a rain water collection system design is winning awards.

Clip Source: www.statesman.com

"We try and create what we call a positive footprint with our homes," says Gardner's business partner, Kimber Reed, pointing to the energy-efficient features design to work with renewable energy sources, and materials that would otherwise end up in landfills. "We build beyond green by actually helping the Earth, instead of simply trying not to damage it any further," she says.

The resulting space is elegantly spare, an artful combination of shiplap wood and corrugated metal that would look natural on a ranch or in Clarksville or Travis Heights. "We call it modern rustic," Reed says. Even without any personal effects, the interior, a paradigm in spatial efficiency, is warm and inviting.

Depending on the size of the house and its location, the solar can be grid-tied, meaning it's hooked up to and supplemented by a city's utilities, or an off-grid, stand-alone system that charges batteries that then power the house.

Tags: design, homes, re-purposed, reclaimed, solar power

The Antimatter of Lightening

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 06:36:08 GMT

clipped by: celestialdancer
clipper's remarks: I personally find this quite amazing.

Clip Source: celestialdancer.amplify.com

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Designed to scan the heavens thousands to billions of light-years beyond the solar system, the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope has now recorded some more down-to-Earth signals. During its first 14 months of operation, the flying observatory has detected 17 gamma-ray flashes associated with terrestrial lightning storms.

The flashes occurred just before, during and immediately after lightning strikes, as tracked by the World Wide Lightning Location Network.

During two recent lightning storms, Fermi recorded gamma-ray emissions of a particular energy that could only have been produced by the decay of energetic positrons, the antimatter equivalent of electrons.

It’s a surprise to have found the signature of positrons during a lightning storm, Briggs said.

The unusual positron signature seen by Fermi suggests that the normal orientation for an electric field associated with a lightning storm somehow reversedRead more at www.wired.com

Home Energy New York

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 04:46:24 GMT

clipped by: humtum157
clipper's remarks: Wind Energy & Solar Energy can save you money and help the environment. With tax incentives and rebates, you can save up to 65% of the cost of the system.

Clip Source: www.homeenergynewyork.com

It's 2009, and it is more important than ever to Go Green to save money & reduce dependency on foreign oil.

With new electric wind turbines and high efficiency solar electricity systems, it is the perfect time to get started.

There are also local, state and federal laws that provide you with tax credits, rebates and other incentives to switch to solar energy (up to 65% rebates & tax credits) and wind energy (up to 90% rebates & tax credits).

You can go green and the goverment will help cover the cost to get you to make the switch!

It's 2009, and it is more important than ever to Go Green to save money & reduce dependency on foreign oil.

Tags: wind power, wind energy, wind turbine, energyball, energyball v100, energyball v200

Shifting Poles Theory

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 02:41:07 GMT

clipped by: risatalogo
clipper's remarks: The Pole shift hypothesis is not to be confused with geomagnetic reversal, the periodic reversal of the Earth's magnetic field (effectively switching the north and south magnetic poles). Geomagnetic reversal has more acceptance in the scientific community than pole shift hypotheses. The Pole shift hypothesis is almost always discussed in the context of Earth, but other bodies in the Solar System may have experienced axial reorientation during their existences. The theory says that the outer crust of the Earth has moved several times in the past and would move in the future, just as the loosely peeled skin of an orange (or avocado) could be slid around the stationary inner fruit.

Charles Hutchins Hapgood (1904 " December 1982) was an American academician, and one of the best known advocates of the Pole shift theory. Based primarily on accepted, technical data, Hapgood argued that each shift took approximately 5,000 years, followed by 20,000 to 30,000 year periods with no polar movem

Clip Source: www.flickr.com

The Theory of Crustal Displacement or... What is the Pole Shift Theory?

Tags: shifting poles

2012 Possibilities

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 06:35:44 GMT

clipped by: risatalogo

Clip Source: survive2012.com

Asteroid/Meteor/Comet

Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) from our Sun

Magnetic Pole Shift

Explosion from the black hole at the center of our galaxy

Religious Apocalypse

Alien Invasion

Gamma Ray Burst (GRB)

Crustal Displacement

Cosmic Rays

10.

Flu Pandemic

11.

Nuclear War / WW3 / Biological War

12.

Supervolcano

13.

Rise of the Machines

14.

Global Warming

15.

Time Travel Error

16.

Nanotechnology

17.

Nearby Supernova

18.

Genetic Modification

19.

Nuclear Accident

20.

Ice Age

21.

Solar System Falls Apart (butterfly effect)

22.

Large Hadron Collider

Tags: 2012

Water Softener Systems

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 15:35:17 GMT

clipped by: larrysprice
clipper's remarks: Water softening using Pure Aqua water softener system expands the life span of each household machine, such as laundry machines, and the life span of pipelines. It also contributes to the improved working, and longer lifespan of solar heating systems, air conditioning units and many other water-based applications.

Clip Source: rowatertreatment.wordpress.com

Water Softener Systems

A water softener system is a unit that is used to soften water, by removing the minerals that cause the water to be hard.

Water softening is an important process, because the hardness of water in different applications is reduced during this process.

When water is hard, it can clog pipes, damage boilers, heat exchangers, and many other devices. Water softening can prevent these negative effects.

Hard water causes a higher risk of lime scale deposits in industrial, commercial and household water systems. Due to this lime scale build-up, pipes are blocked and the efficiency of hot boilers and tanks is reduced. This increases the cost of domestic water heating by about fifteen to twenty percent.

Tags: brackish reverse osmosis, brackish ro, reverse osmosis, reverse osmosis filters, waste water treatment, water purification

Channels associated with impact craters discovered on Mars

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 06:03:00 GMT

clipped by: amgumen
clipper's remarks: If a significant amount of water was released or mobilized by the formation of the Hale Crater impact, larger impacts that formed during the early days of the Solar System may have been able to bring even more water to the surface of Mars. If this is true, a long-term, stable, warm and wet climate may not be required to explain the presence of such channels in the ancient Martian landscapes.

Clip Source: hirise.lpl.arizona.edu

Channels associated with impact craters were once thought to be quite rare. Scientists proposed a variety of unusual circumstances to explain them, such as impacts by comets or precipitation caused by the impact event. As more of Mars is photographed with high-resolution imagery, more craters surrounded by channel systems are being discovered.

The channels in this HiRISE image are from Hale Crater, an exceptionally well-preserved 125 x 150 kilometer (approximately 78 x 93 mile) impact crater located on the northern rim of the Argyre Basin. Hale Crater is roughly 170 kilometers (100 miles) to the southeast.

The channels in this subimage are up to about 250 meters (820 feet) across, though most are much smaller. The channels appear to emanate directly from Hale’s ejecta, and were likely formed by the impact event. The heat of the impact could have melted large amounts of subsurface ice, and generated surface runoff capable of carving the channels.

Clip Source: hirise.lpl.arizona.edu

E.T. and God

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:58:05 GMT

clipped by: JULIE PENKOVA

Clip Source: www.bibliotecapleyades.net

Their project is known as SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence). Because our solar system is relatively young compared with the universe overall, any alien civilization the SETI researchers might discover is likely to be much older, and presumably wiser, than ours. Indeed, it might have achieved our level of science and technology millions or even billions of years ago. Just contemplating the possibility of such advanced extraterrestrials appears to raise additional uncomfortable questions for religion.

The world’s main faiths were all founded in the pre-scientific era, when Earth was widely believed to be at the center of the universe and humankind at the pinnacle of creation.

One rung at a time

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 17:36:16 GMT

clipped by: Solar Child

Clip Source: spaceflightnow.com

Astronomers find organic molecules around gas planet

"It's the second planet outside our solar system in which water, methane and carbon dioxide have been found, which are potentially important for biological processes in habitable planets," said researcher Mark Swain of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. "Detecting organic compounds in two exoplanets now raises the possibility that it will become commonplace to find planets with molecules that may be tied to life."

"These objects are too far away to send probes to, so the only way we're ever going to learn anything about them is to point telescopes at them. Spectroscopy provides a powerful tool to determine their chemistry and dynamics."

Rocky worlds are expected to be found by NASA's Kepler mission, which launched earlier this year, but astronomers believe we are a decade or so away from being able to detect any chemical signs of life on such a body.

Tags: life, exoplanet, methane, water vapor, carbon dioxide, kepler, hubble