Friday, April 23, 2010
Sunglasses
Don't Let the Sun Blind You on a Hike in Montana
Photo Courtesy of NASA
Sunglasses are indispensible for any sort of outdoor activity. Whether you are hiking, fishing, backpacking, biking or floating, a quality set of sunglasses does many things. First, sunglasses protect the eye from the sun's harmful rays (described below). Secondly, a good pair of sunglasses will also provide suberb protection from dirt, sand, snow and other "impacts" that have a tendency to find their way into your eyes during active outdoor activities.
The Sun's Harmful Rays
As most people know, the Sun throws out many harmful rays that, over time, can lead to some serious eye problems. Since few people know about the exact type of rays, this section describes the types of rays that is produced by the Sun that are also harmful to the naked eye - especially over extended periods of time.
The Sun's Ultraviolet (UV) Rays : What They Are
UV Rays are ultraviolet rays emitted from the sun. While some wavelenghts of UV Rays are visible (such as "black light"), the harmful UV rays that are emitted from the sun - and which you need to worry about - are invisible. As such, UV Rays are sort of a silent, stealthy light ray that can cause serious damage to the eye over time.
There are three spectrums to UV Rays, the lower spectrum, the middle spectrum and the upper spectrum.
The lower spectrum consists of UVA Rays, which are probably the most "well known" of the Sun's ultraviolet radiation.
The middle spectrum consists of UVB Rays, which are more powerful - and harmful - than UVA Rays.
The upper spectrum, which consists of UVC Rays, are the most powerful of the Sun's UV light.
Blue Light
If the three UV spectrums from the sun are not enough of a problem, a person also needs to worry about Blue Light. Blue Light, which few people are familar with, are called High Energy Visible (HEV) Wavelenghs. Unlike UV Rays, HEV Rays are visible - on the upper end of the visible spectrum. Indeed, HEV Rays are responsible for allowing you to perceive the blue and purple colors.
Unfortunatley, too much exposure to Blue Light can, over time, lead to macular degeneration of the eye. While Blue Light is not as powerful as the Sun's UV Rays, it is still strong enough to cause damage over time.
NASA's probe sends back first pictures of Sun
First pictures of the Sun. Photo: EPA
The Solar Dynamics Observatory, NASA’s probe launched in early February, has beamed home its first pictures of the Sun. The high-resolution images shed light on the mystery of the Sun’s inner processes, particularly as regards solar matter ejected into space. The SDO filmed the solar flares that took place on March 30. During its five-year mission, the probe will be studying the magnetic field of the Sun and how it influences the Earth’s atmosphere.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Fake Astronaut Gets Hit by Artificial Solar Flare
June 3, 2009: In 1972, Apollo astronauts narrowly escaped a potential
catastrophe. On August 2nd of that year, a large and angry sunspot app
eared and began to erupt, over and over again for more than a week,
producing a record-setting fusillade of solar proton radiation. Only pure
luck saved the day. The eruptions took place during the gap between
Apollo 16 and 17 missions, so astronauts missed the storm.
Researchers still wonder, what would have
happened if the timing had been just a little
different, what if astronauts had been caught
unprotected on the surface of the Moon?
Right: One of the August 1972 solar flares.
Click on the image to launch a movie recorded
at the Big Bear Solar Observatory.
NASA needs to know. The agency is in high
gear preparing to send people to the Moon
to set up a manned outpost, a step toward eventually sending humans
to Mars or elsewhere in the solar system. These missions will take
astronauts outside the protection of Earth's magnetic field for months
or even years at a time, and NASA must know how to keep its explorers
safe from extreme solar storms.
So scientists are creating an artificial solar radiation storm right here on
Earth. And they're testing its effects on an artificial human: Matroshka,
the Phantom Torso.
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Fred have already flown in experiments aboard the Space Shuttle and
the International Space Station that have shown how other kinds of
space radiation such as cosmic rays penetrate the human body. Now,
scientists at Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, New York, are
subjecting an artificial torso to a beam of protons to learn how
astronauts would be affected by the 1972 event.
"We want to know how close it comes to a dangerously acute
exposure," says Francis Cucinotta, the Chief Scientist for NASA's
Radiation Program at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.
In the parlance of radiation experts, "acute exposure" is brief but
intense. Radiation strikes the body over a relatively short period
of time ranging from minutes to hours—just like a solar flare. This
is different from the "chronic exposure" astronauts normally
experience as they travel through space. Cosmic rays hit their
bodies in a slow drizzle spread out over weeks or months. With chronic
exposure, the body has time to repair or replace damaged cells as it
goes along, but an acute exposure gives the body little time to cope
with the damage.
Above: The radiation beamline at NASA's Space radiation Lab in Brookhaven. [Larger image]
"The biological effects are very sensitive to the dose rate," Cucinotta explains.
"A dose of radiation delivered over a short amount of time is two to three
times more damaging than the same dose over a few days."
At first glance, the 1972 event would seem to fall into the acute category—
it was after all a solar flare. But there's a problem. It was actually a series
of flares producing a radiation storm that was longer and less impulsive
than normal. Radiation exposure would have been neither chronic nor
clearly acute, but somewhere in between. In this gray area, details about
how much of the radiation actually reaches a person’s vital organs —
versus how much is blocked by their spacesuit, skin and muscles —
can make all the difference.
Matroshka is helping scientists understand these details. He's a life-
size plastic replica of a human torso, sans arms and legs. The plastic
closely matches the density of organs and tissues in the human body,
and this Phantom Torso is embedded with hundreds of radiation sensors
throughout his body. He even has real human blood cells.
Right: Matroshka in and out of his white traveling poncho. [Larger image]
"We put blood cells in small tubes in the stomach and in some places in the
bone marrow," some of which are deep within the torso while others are
close to the surface where there's less "tissue" to block radiation. "One
of the questions we have is whether the less shielded parts of the bone
marrow will be [much harder hit]," raising the risks of leukemia and other
cancers.
Using real blood cells lets scientists see how much the radiation damages
the cells' DNA. High-speed particles of proton radiation can smash into
DNA, breaking the string-like molecules. Cells can usually repair these
breaks, but if several breaks occur within a short period of time, the
damage can be irreparable. At best, the cell will then self-destruct. At
worst, it will go haywire and grow out of control, becoming cancerous.
To subject Matroshka to a 1972-style radiation storm, scientists have
devised a way to simulate that event using a high-energy proton beam
at NASA's Space Radiation Lab in Brookhaven. The beam fans out so
that, at the point where Matroshka sits, it's 60 cm across — large
enough to engulf the entire torso. By stepping the energy of the
beam through a series of energy levels, scientists can mimic the
unique energy spectrum of the protons in the 1972 event.
In the upcoming experiment, led by Guenther Reitz of the German
Aerospace Center (DLR) in Cologne, Matroshka's radiation sensors
will reveal how much proton radiation reaches various parts of the
mannequin's body. "With protons, you might have an order of magnitude
(a factor of ten) difference from one part of the body to another," notes
Cucinotta.
The readings will help mission planners figure out how much shielding is
necessary to protect real astronauts from a 72-style storm. The results
will also point researchers in the right direction for medical treatments that
might help mitigate the effects of such an event.
Unlike a real astronaut, Matroshka can withstand multiple flares with no
lasting side effects. A quick transfusion of blood cells and voilĂ --Matroshka
is ready for another blast.
So let the flares begin—and stay tuned for results.
Source:NASA
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Return of the Mars Hoax
For the sixth year in a row, a message about the Red Planet is popping up
in email boxes around the world. It instructs readers to go outside after
dark on August 27th and behold the sky. "Mars will look as large as the full
moon," it says. "No one alive today will ever see this again."
Here's what will really happen if you go
outside after dark on August 27th. Nothing.
Mars won't be there. On that date, the red
planet will be nearly 250 million km away
from Earth and completely absent from
the evening sky.
Right: Only in Photoshop does Mars appear
as large as a full Moon.
The Mars Hoax got its start in 2003 when Earth and Mars really did have a
close encounter. On Aug. 27th of that year, Mars was only 56 million km
away, a 60,000-year record for martian close approaches to Earth. Someone
sent an email alerting friends to the event. The message contained some
misunderstandings and omissions—but what email doesn't? A piece of
advanced technology called the "forward button" did the rest.
it is not an intentional trick. The composer probably believed everything he
or she wrote in the message. If that's true, a better name might be the "Mars
Misunderstanding" or maybe the "Confusing-Email-About-Mars-You-Should-
Delete-and-Not-Forward-to-Anyone-Except-Your-In-Laws."
Another aspect of the Mars Hoax: It says Mars will look as large as the full
Moon if you magnify it 75x using a backyard telescope. The italicized text
is usually omitted from verbal and written summaries of the Hoax. (For
example, see the beginning of this story.) Does this fine print make the
Mars Hoax true? After all, if you magnify the tiny disk of Mars 75x, it does
subtend an angle about the same as the Moon.
No. Even with magnification, Mars does not look the same as a full Moon.
This has more to do with the mysterious inner workings of the human brain
than cold, hard physics. Looking at Mars magnified 75x through a slender
black tube (the eyepiece of a telescope) and looking at the full Moon shining
unfettered in the open sky are two very different experiences.
Above: Mars in August 2003 during a 60,000-year record close approach.
Even then, the planet resembled a bright star, not a full Moon. Photo credit:
John Nemy & Carol Legate of Whistler, B.C.
A good reference is the Moon Illusion. Moons on the horizon look huge; Moons
directly overhead look smaller. In both cases, it is the same Moon, but the human
mind perceives the size of the Moon differently depending on its surroundings.
Likewise, your perception of Mars is affected by the planet's surroundings. Locate
the planet at the end of a little dark tunnel, and it is going to look tiny regardless
of magnification.
Bummer!
To see Mars as big as a full Moon, you'll need a rocketship, and that may take
some time. Meanwhile, beware the Mars Hoax.
source:NASA
Monday, May 25, 2009
Active Mercury
| 04.30.2009 | ||
April 30, 2009: A NASA spacecraft gliding over the surface of Mercury has revealed that the planet's atmosphere, magnetosphere, and its geological past display greater levels of activity than scientists first suspected. The probe also discovered a large impact basin named "Rembrandt" measuring about 430 miles in diameter. These new findings and more are reported in four papers published in the May 1 issue of Science magazine. The data come from the Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry, and Ranging spacecraft--MESSENGER for short. On Oct. 6, 2008, MESSENGER flew by Mercury for the second time, capturing more than 1,200 high-resolution and color images of the planet. Right: The Rembrandt impact basin discovered by MESSENGER during its second flyby of Mercury in October 2008. Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Smithsonian Institution/Carnegie Institution of Washington. [more] "This second Mercury flyby provided a number of new findings," said Sean Solomon, the probe's principal investigator from the Carnegie Institution of Washington. "One of the biggest surprises was how strongly [Mercury's magnetosphere] had changed from what we saw during the first flyby in January 2008."
"During the first flyby, MESSENGER measured relatively calm dipole-like magnetic fields close to the planet. Scientists didn't detect any dynamic features other than some Kelvin-Helmholtz waves," said James Slavin of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. Slavin is a mission co-investigator and lead author of one of the papers. "But the second flyby was a totally different situation," he says. MESSENGER observed a highly dynamic magnetosphere with "magnetic reconnection" events taking place at a rate 10 times greater than what is observed at Earth during its most active intervals. "The high rate of solar wind energy input was evident in the great amplitude of the plasma waves and the large magnetic structures measured by the spacecraft's magnetometer throughout the encounter." Above: An artist's concept of Mercury's surprisingly active magnetosphere. Credits: Image produced by NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory//Carnegie Institution of Washington. Image reproduced courtesy of Science/AAAS. [more] Another exciting result is the discovery of a previously unknown large impact basin. The Rembrandt basin is more than 700 kilometers (430 miles) in diameter and if formed on the east coast of the United States would span the distance between Washington, D.C., and Boston. Rembrandt formed about 3.9 billion years ago, near the end of the period of heavy bombardment of the inner Solar System, suggests MESSENGER Participating Scientist Thomas Watters, lead author of another of the papers. Rembrandt is significant, not only because it is big, but also because it is giving researchers a peek beneath the surface of Mercury that other basins have not. "This is the first time we've seen terrain exposed on the floor of an impact basin on Mercury that is preserved from when it formed," explains Watters. "Landforms such as those revealed on the floor of Rembrandt are usually completely buried by volcanic flows." Half of Mercury was unknown until a little more than a year ago. Globes of the planet were blank on one side. Spacecraft images have since revealed 90 percent of the planet's surface at high resolution. This near-global coverage is showing, for the first time, how Mercury's crust was formed. Right: In this interpretive map of Mercury's surface, shades of yellow denote smooth plains of mainly volcanic origin. This type of terrain covers approximately 40% of the planet. The white (empty) slice is the portion of Mercury not yet photographed. Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Arizona State University/Carnegie Institution of Washington. [more] "After mapping the surface, we see that approximately 40 percent is covered by smooth plains," said Brett Denevi of Arizona State University in Tempe, a team member and lead author of a paper. "Many of these smooth plains are interpreted to be of volcanic origin, and they are globally distributed. Much of Mercury's crust may have formed through repeated volcanic eruptions in a manner more similar to the crust of Mars than to that of the moon." Another finding of the flyby is the first detection of magnesium in Mercury's exosphere. The exosphere is an ultrathin atmosphere where the molecules are so far apart they are more likely to collide with the surface than with each other. Material in the exosphere comes mainly from the surface of Mercury itself, knocked aloft by solar radiation, solar wind bombardment and meteoroid vaporization: The probe's Mercury Atmospheric and Surface Composition Spectrometer instrument detected the magnesium. Finding magnesium was not surprising to scientists, but the abundance was unexpected. The instrument also measured other exospheric constituents including calcium and sodium. Researchers believe that big day-to-day changes in Mercury's thin atmosphere may be caused by the variable shielding of Mercury's active magnetosphere. "This is an example of the kind of individual discoveries that the "The third Mercury flyby [coming up on Sept. 29th] is our final dress rehearsal for the main performance of our mission, the insertion of the probe into orbit around Mercury in March 2011," said Solomon. "The orbital phase will be like staging two flybys per day and will provide continuous collection of information about the planet and its environment for one year." "Mercury has been coy in revealing its secrets slowly so far, but in less than two years the innermost planet will become a close friend." Source:NASA |
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Space Shuttle Atlantis Launches on Final Mission to Hubble
May 11, 2009: Space shuttle Atlantis with its seven-member crew launched at 2:01 p.m. EDT on Monday, May 11, from NASA's Kennedy Space Center on the final Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission. Atlantis' 11-day mission will include five spacewalks to refurbish Hubble with state-of-the-art science instruments designed to improve the telescope's discovery capabilities by up to 70 times while extending its lifetime through at least 2014. Shortly before liftoff, Commander Scott Altman thanked the teams that helped make the launch possible. "At last our launch has come along," said Altman. "...Getting to this point has been challenging, but the whole team, everyone, has pulled together to take us into space." Above: Space shuttle Atlantis lifts off Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, beginning the STS-125 mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope. Photo credit: NASA Television Altman is joined on STS-125 by Pilot Gregory C. Johnson and Mission Specialists Megan McArthur, John Grunsfeld, Mike Massimino, Andrew Feustel and Michael Good. McArthur will serve as the flight engineer and lead for robotic arm operations while the remaining mission specialists pair up for the hands-on spacewalk work after Hubble is captured and secured in the payload bay. Altman, Grunsfeld and Massimino are space shuttle and Hubble mission veterans. Johnson, Feustel and Good are first-time space fliers.
"Hubble has a long history of providing outstanding science and beautiful pictures," said Ed Weiler, associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate. "If the servicing mission is successful, it will give us a telescope that will continue to astound both scientists and the public for many years to come." Among Hubble's greatest discoveries is the age of the universe (13.7 billion years); the finding that virtually all major galaxies have black holes at their center; the discovery that the process of planetary formation is relatively common; the first ever organic molecule in the atmosphere of a planet orbiting another star; and evidence that the expansion of the universe is accelerating -- caused by an unknown force that makes up approximately 72 percent of the matter-energy content of the universe. Source:NASA |