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92
Science, Astronomy, & Physics / Frost Quakes!
« on: February 20, 2015, 12:18:05 PM »
Residents Mistake 'Frost Quakes' for Airplane Crash, Explosions.
Police dispatchers have been getting calls from residents in Tennessee who believe they're hearing gunfire or exploding gas lines. It turns out they're hearing a winter phenomenon that's uncommon to the region.
"It sounded like an explosion underneath. It moved the floor," one resident told the 911 call center in Spring Hill.
"They say it sounded like a plane hit the building. But it was three different buildings," the caller said, according to WKRN in Nashville.
This cryoseismic activity or booms are sometimes referred to as frost quakes or ice quakes. Water expands when it freezes and stress builds up until it is released.
People often hear this noise more at night because noise during the day tends to drown it out.
"Whenever we get really cold weather, with temperatures around zero, ice or snow on the ground or previous rain event, you'll usually hear this at night," said Bobby Boyd, meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Nashville. "It's just a sudden cracking in the frozen soil or rock that's saturated with ice."
During his 49 years of experience, Boyd said he's been hearing more of this activity this winter, which he attributes it to the record-breaking cold. This winter has been the first time there have been sub-zero degrees Fahrenheit temperatures in Nashville since February 1996.
Boyd, 68, said he is surprised that callers have likened the sound to a loud boom or believed it was an airplane crash.
"It's like an explosion but a muffled boom sound. It's not really loud, at least the ones I heard," Boyd said.
But it was loud enough to wake Boyd up at 4:30 a.m. two nights ago, and clearly audible at 7 p.m. last night.
Boyd said he hasn't heard of a frost quake causing property damage, as it often happens in a relatively shallow part of the ground, but he doesn't rule it out.
"Any movement in the ground where you have frost and freeze, even without the explosion, can cause cracks in sidewalks or heaving in the soil. Winter time is hard on roads and paved areas," he said.
Police dispatchers have been getting calls from residents in Tennessee who believe they're hearing gunfire or exploding gas lines. It turns out they're hearing a winter phenomenon that's uncommon to the region.
"It sounded like an explosion underneath. It moved the floor," one resident told the 911 call center in Spring Hill.
"They say it sounded like a plane hit the building. But it was three different buildings," the caller said, according to WKRN in Nashville.
This cryoseismic activity or booms are sometimes referred to as frost quakes or ice quakes. Water expands when it freezes and stress builds up until it is released.
People often hear this noise more at night because noise during the day tends to drown it out.
"Whenever we get really cold weather, with temperatures around zero, ice or snow on the ground or previous rain event, you'll usually hear this at night," said Bobby Boyd, meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Nashville. "It's just a sudden cracking in the frozen soil or rock that's saturated with ice."
During his 49 years of experience, Boyd said he's been hearing more of this activity this winter, which he attributes it to the record-breaking cold. This winter has been the first time there have been sub-zero degrees Fahrenheit temperatures in Nashville since February 1996.
Boyd, 68, said he is surprised that callers have likened the sound to a loud boom or believed it was an airplane crash.
"It's like an explosion but a muffled boom sound. It's not really loud, at least the ones I heard," Boyd said.
But it was loud enough to wake Boyd up at 4:30 a.m. two nights ago, and clearly audible at 7 p.m. last night.
Boyd said he hasn't heard of a frost quake causing property damage, as it often happens in a relatively shallow part of the ground, but he doesn't rule it out.
"Any movement in the ground where you have frost and freeze, even without the explosion, can cause cracks in sidewalks or heaving in the soil. Winter time is hard on roads and paved areas," he said.
93
Science, Astronomy, & Physics / Closest look at Ceres
« on: February 18, 2015, 05:11:25 PM »
We just had our closest ever look at dwarf planet Ceres in the asteroid belt, & we're about to get a lot closer.
The pair of images, recently captured by NASA's Dawn spacecraft, are something pretty amazing, they're the best photos we've ever taken of the dwarf planet Ceres, in the asteroid belt.
Dawn was launched in 2007 in order to visit Vesta (a large asteroid), then Ceres. It orbited Vesta in 2011, and after a journey of more than three billion miles, in a few weeks, it's scheduled to reach Ceres.
Vesta and Ceres are the two most massive objects in the asteroid belt — the latter is about 38 percent of the surface area of the continental US. Dawn was designed to explore them for the first time.
Vesta is heavily cratered, and rocky, while Ceres is much smoother, and icy. Both of them, however, are rocky bodies that resemble the ones that coalesced to form Earth and the other terrestrial planets in the early days of the solar system — so by studying them, scientists hope, we can learn more about the formation of these planets billions of years ago.
In 2011, Dawn entered Vesta's orbit and stayed there for 14 months. During that time, it took unprecedentedly detailed photos of the asteroid, spotting surface features that could be evidence of liquid water.
The probe also collected geologic data that allowed scientists to map its surface. These observations led scientists to infer that Vesta is different than any other known asteroid: it has differentiated geologic layers, including an iron core. It's believed that in the early days of the Solar System, all other asteroids like this ended up crashing into each other and coalescing to form the inner planets, but somehow, Vesta did not.
Dawn left Vesta's orbit in 2012, and began heading towards Ceres. If the mission is successful, it will be the first to ever orbit two different extraterrestrial objects, which it achieved by using an ion thruster system — an advanced form of propulsion that uses charged particles, rather than conventional propellant, allowing it to change trajectory while consuming much less fuel.
Dawn is now approaching Ceres — it was about 52,000 miles away as of February 12 — and it's projected to begin permanently orbiting it on March 6.
Meanwhile, the New Horizons space probe — which is approaching the most Pluto — is now "encounter phase" of its mission, and it's scheduled to become the first spacecraft to flyby Pluto in July.
Below, Ceres, Vesta, & Comparison:
The pair of images, recently captured by NASA's Dawn spacecraft, are something pretty amazing, they're the best photos we've ever taken of the dwarf planet Ceres, in the asteroid belt.
Dawn was launched in 2007 in order to visit Vesta (a large asteroid), then Ceres. It orbited Vesta in 2011, and after a journey of more than three billion miles, in a few weeks, it's scheduled to reach Ceres.
Vesta and Ceres are the two most massive objects in the asteroid belt — the latter is about 38 percent of the surface area of the continental US. Dawn was designed to explore them for the first time.
Vesta is heavily cratered, and rocky, while Ceres is much smoother, and icy. Both of them, however, are rocky bodies that resemble the ones that coalesced to form Earth and the other terrestrial planets in the early days of the solar system — so by studying them, scientists hope, we can learn more about the formation of these planets billions of years ago.
In 2011, Dawn entered Vesta's orbit and stayed there for 14 months. During that time, it took unprecedentedly detailed photos of the asteroid, spotting surface features that could be evidence of liquid water.
The probe also collected geologic data that allowed scientists to map its surface. These observations led scientists to infer that Vesta is different than any other known asteroid: it has differentiated geologic layers, including an iron core. It's believed that in the early days of the Solar System, all other asteroids like this ended up crashing into each other and coalescing to form the inner planets, but somehow, Vesta did not.
Dawn left Vesta's orbit in 2012, and began heading towards Ceres. If the mission is successful, it will be the first to ever orbit two different extraterrestrial objects, which it achieved by using an ion thruster system — an advanced form of propulsion that uses charged particles, rather than conventional propellant, allowing it to change trajectory while consuming much less fuel.
Dawn is now approaching Ceres — it was about 52,000 miles away as of February 12 — and it's projected to begin permanently orbiting it on March 6.
Meanwhile, the New Horizons space probe — which is approaching the most Pluto — is now "encounter phase" of its mission, and it's scheduled to become the first spacecraft to flyby Pluto in July.
Below, Ceres, Vesta, & Comparison:
94
Science, Astronomy, & Physics / Rosetta's closest comet flyby (pictures)
« on: February 18, 2015, 06:27:04 AM »
On Saturday, the Rosetta did its first low fly-by, getting within 3.7 miles of the surface of the comet, known as Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko. The images taken show a variety of landscapes on the surface of the comet.
During the close encounter, Rosetta took pix as well as samples from the lower atmosphere of the comet.
These clear images were processed by me using my own software & techniques from the raw images. They had to be compressed to fit our system here though.
Enjoy!
During the close encounter, Rosetta took pix as well as samples from the lower atmosphere of the comet.
These clear images were processed by me using my own software & techniques from the raw images. They had to be compressed to fit our system here though.
Enjoy!
95
Science, Astronomy, & Physics / Mysterious plume on Mars
« on: February 18, 2015, 04:13:02 AM »
Amateur astronomers with their lenses turned toward Mars saw strange plumes bubble out from the normally round-appearing atmosphere of the Red Planet. The plumes lasted for around 10 days.
Scientists don't really know what caused it. But thanks to the work of citizen astronomers backed up with data from the Hubble telescope (which, researchers just found out, spotted a similar event in 1997) they now know the phenomenon exists and can put more time and energy into understanding it.
If this plume lasted 10 days surely our probes in orbit around Mars, & our space telescopes got a better look at it. So why don't Nasa & the ESA release the better images of it? Why do we have to rely on amateur astronomer's pictures of the phenomena?
Scientists don't really know what caused it. But thanks to the work of citizen astronomers backed up with data from the Hubble telescope (which, researchers just found out, spotted a similar event in 1997) they now know the phenomenon exists and can put more time and energy into understanding it.
If this plume lasted 10 days surely our probes in orbit around Mars, & our space telescopes got a better look at it. So why don't Nasa & the ESA release the better images of it? Why do we have to rely on amateur astronomer's pictures of the phenomena?
96
Pets, animals & nature / Mountain burns coal for 5,500 years.
« on: January 25, 2015, 02:57:58 AM »
A coal seam, 90' below Australia’s Burning Mountain's surface has been burning for 5,500 years, making it the longest continuous fire in the world. Ancient people used heat from rocky vents in the mountain to cook food and make tools. When settlers dicovered the mountain in 1828, they assumed it was a volcano.
Some parts of the surface are 350 degrees, & it smells like sulfur. The path of the fire has left a barren and rocky trail, with no traces of life.
There actually are many of these underground fires across the planet, They’re a type of low-temperature, flameless combustion called a smoldering fire. They can be ignited by natural events such as lightning, though humans can set them accidentally or intentionally, by burning down forests.
There's also a mountain burning coal in Germany, that has been burning since about 1680.
Some parts of the surface are 350 degrees, & it smells like sulfur. The path of the fire has left a barren and rocky trail, with no traces of life.
There actually are many of these underground fires across the planet, They’re a type of low-temperature, flameless combustion called a smoldering fire. They can be ignited by natural events such as lightning, though humans can set them accidentally or intentionally, by burning down forests.
There's also a mountain burning coal in Germany, that has been burning since about 1680.
97
Media, Music, TV, & Movies / Golden Globe Awards
« on: January 12, 2015, 01:57:44 AM »
The Golden Globe Awards is on, but why should I waste 2 hours watching it? The nominee list only shows 7 that I ever heard of, & 4 or 5 I ever saw. Ironically I saw almost 100 movies made in 2014 that I enjoyed, & they did well at the box office. The TV is on a lot too, so I do see TV. Odd that hardly anything I & most of us saw got nominated. Yeah they put out a lot of crap on the media these days, but there was also some good stuff. Besides, I see a lot of crap nominated too.
I'll skip the awards & read who won later. Right now, even without cable using an ordinary amplified TV antenna (anything on cable I can get on the internet), right now SG1, All in the Family, The Queen's Garden, & Man From Uncle are on. Any one of them would be more fun to me than the awards show. Nothing wrong with old re-runs if it's one you haven't seen in a while.
I'll skip the awards & read who won later. Right now, even without cable using an ordinary amplified TV antenna (anything on cable I can get on the internet), right now SG1, All in the Family, The Queen's Garden, & Man From Uncle are on. Any one of them would be more fun to me than the awards show. Nothing wrong with old re-runs if it's one you haven't seen in a while.
98
Science, Astronomy, & Physics / Backyard astronomy for January
« on: January 12, 2015, 01:43:31 AM »
In the west about a half hour after sunset, you’ll see Venus, but just below Venus you'll see much fainter Mercury. They'll be less than 2 degrees apart for the first half of the month.
Of course as usual, Orion will be visible all winter ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orion_%28constellation%29 )... a welcome sight because you can even see all of it in the bright light-polluted city at night. With binoculars you can see the nebula as a fuzzy star, but to make it out as a nebula you'll need something much more powerful. The bright orange star in the constellation is Betelgeuse ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betelgeuse ). It's red supergiant sun... one of the few supergiants observable with the naked eye. Burning away it's fuel at an alarming rate, it can blow up any second... or within the next million years. At 640 light years away, if it blew up today we wouldn't know about it for 640 years because that's how long it would take the light from it to get here. It's close enough that when it blows it will light up the whole sky, & you could easily see it in broad daylight.
There's a lot of controversy about any dangers from the x-rays & gamma ray it might cause. We're all doomed in less than 1/4 million years anyway as a star passes through our solar system's Ort cloud, causing all sort of asteroids & comets to rain down on us.
Mars is viewable as just as darkness falls throughout the month. It's really low in the southwestern twilight sky. Catch it right at nightfall because it sets real early in the evening throughout January.
Jupiter rises in the east around 8pm in early January and 6pm by the end of the month & remains in the night sky until dawn. It will be unmistakable, as it's brighter than any star in the sky. Only Venus will outshine it, but Venus will have set by the time Jupiter rises. As our orbit brings us close to Jupiter, it will be closest at February 6. A good time for best seeing it's largest moons even with simple binoculars, or the planet's details with a good telescope.
Saturn unfortunately rises just 3 hours before sunrise, so will only be visible for a few pre-dawn hours. The rings won't be visible with small binoculars unless you have good eyesight with a little eyestrain, you'll just barely make them out. The rings will just make it look oval rather than round. You'll need a good telescope to see them. It's largest moons may be just barely visible.
Below: Venus & Mercury, & Jupiter with it's largest moons through a large 10" diameter backyard telescope.
Of course as usual, Orion will be visible all winter ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orion_%28constellation%29 )... a welcome sight because you can even see all of it in the bright light-polluted city at night. With binoculars you can see the nebula as a fuzzy star, but to make it out as a nebula you'll need something much more powerful. The bright orange star in the constellation is Betelgeuse ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betelgeuse ). It's red supergiant sun... one of the few supergiants observable with the naked eye. Burning away it's fuel at an alarming rate, it can blow up any second... or within the next million years. At 640 light years away, if it blew up today we wouldn't know about it for 640 years because that's how long it would take the light from it to get here. It's close enough that when it blows it will light up the whole sky, & you could easily see it in broad daylight.
There's a lot of controversy about any dangers from the x-rays & gamma ray it might cause. We're all doomed in less than 1/4 million years anyway as a star passes through our solar system's Ort cloud, causing all sort of asteroids & comets to rain down on us.
Mars is viewable as just as darkness falls throughout the month. It's really low in the southwestern twilight sky. Catch it right at nightfall because it sets real early in the evening throughout January.
Jupiter rises in the east around 8pm in early January and 6pm by the end of the month & remains in the night sky until dawn. It will be unmistakable, as it's brighter than any star in the sky. Only Venus will outshine it, but Venus will have set by the time Jupiter rises. As our orbit brings us close to Jupiter, it will be closest at February 6. A good time for best seeing it's largest moons even with simple binoculars, or the planet's details with a good telescope.
Saturn unfortunately rises just 3 hours before sunrise, so will only be visible for a few pre-dawn hours. The rings won't be visible with small binoculars unless you have good eyesight with a little eyestrain, you'll just barely make them out. The rings will just make it look oval rather than round. You'll need a good telescope to see them. It's largest moons may be just barely visible.
Below: Venus & Mercury, & Jupiter with it's largest moons through a large 10" diameter backyard telescope.
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