Thursday, June 24, 2004
And the good luck continues
I open up my email and what do I see in my inbox.
Congratulations! You have been selected to receive two tickets to the upcoming Antiques Roadshow event in Memphis, Tennessee, at the Memphis Cook Convention Center on Saturday, July 31, 2004. If you have not already received them, your tickets should arrive in the mail very soon.
So it looks like a Memphis roadtrip is in order, and maybe some riverboat casino gambling down in Mississippi, the only state in the south I have yet to go visit.
Congratulations! You have been selected to receive two tickets to the upcoming Antiques Roadshow event in Memphis, Tennessee, at the Memphis Cook Convention Center on Saturday, July 31, 2004. If you have not already received them, your tickets should arrive in the mail very soon.
So it looks like a Memphis roadtrip is in order, and maybe some riverboat casino gambling down in Mississippi, the only state in the south I have yet to go visit.
Spaceprobe reveals mystery moon's secrets
Saturn's intriguing moon Phoebe, inspected at close range by the Cassini spacecraft on June 11, has proved to be unlike any object examined closely before.
After initial analysis of the data collected during the fl-by, researchers have concluded it is almost certainly a captured object from the Kuiper Belt, out beyond Pluto.
Such objects are thought to be primordial remnants from the formation of the Solar System - frozen time capsules that may preserve detailed information about the materials from which the planets were made 4.6 billion years ago.
It is amazing how little we still know about objects in our own solar system.
From New Scientist
After initial analysis of the data collected during the fl-by, researchers have concluded it is almost certainly a captured object from the Kuiper Belt, out beyond Pluto.
Such objects are thought to be primordial remnants from the formation of the Solar System - frozen time capsules that may preserve detailed information about the materials from which the planets were made 4.6 billion years ago.
It is amazing how little we still know about objects in our own solar system.
From New Scientist
Farming origins gain 10,000 years
Humans made their first tentative steps towards farming 23,000 years ago, much earlier than previously thought.
Stone Age people in Israel collected the seeds of wild grasses some 10,000 years earlier than previously recognised, experts say.
These grasses included wild emmer wheat and barley, which were forerunners of the varieties grown today.
This is an interesting article on data gathered from a site that had been submerged in a low oxygen environment and excavated recently.
From BBC Online.
Stone Age people in Israel collected the seeds of wild grasses some 10,000 years earlier than previously recognised, experts say.
These grasses included wild emmer wheat and barley, which were forerunners of the varieties grown today.
This is an interesting article on data gathered from a site that had been submerged in a low oxygen environment and excavated recently.
From BBC Online.
X-Prize runs 'may have to wait'
The team behind Monday's historic first private space flight is trying to work out what went wrong with the flight control system on SpaceShipOne.
The craft experienced a serious anomaly between the time its motor ignited and when the vehicle reached the pinnacle of the voyage 100km above the Earth.
Pilot Mike Melvill had to use a back-up system to control SpaceShipOne.
This is disappointing that they had problems with the flight control systems, but as the safety of the crew comes first, I applaud that they are going to fix every little flaw in the system before they try again. Hopefully SpaceShipOne will be able to fly again before the end of the year.
From BBC Online.
The craft experienced a serious anomaly between the time its motor ignited and when the vehicle reached the pinnacle of the voyage 100km above the Earth.
Pilot Mike Melvill had to use a back-up system to control SpaceShipOne.
This is disappointing that they had problems with the flight control systems, but as the safety of the crew comes first, I applaud that they are going to fix every little flaw in the system before they try again. Hopefully SpaceShipOne will be able to fly again before the end of the year.
From BBC Online.
Monday, June 21, 2004
Stone Age elephant remains found
Construction work on the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL) in Kent has unearthed the 400,000-year-old remains of an elephant.
The skeleton was found on the site of the new Ebbsfleet station, an area thought to be an early Stone Age site.
Bones from other large animals, including rhinoceros, buffalo and wild horses, have also been found nearby.
The fascinating thing about this find is that there were flint tools found around the elephant skeleton, likely meaning it was either killed by or scavanged by humans.
From BBC Online.
The skeleton was found on the site of the new Ebbsfleet station, an area thought to be an early Stone Age site.
Bones from other large animals, including rhinoceros, buffalo and wild horses, have also been found nearby.
The fascinating thing about this find is that there were flint tools found around the elephant skeleton, likely meaning it was either killed by or scavanged by humans.
From BBC Online.
SpaceShipOne Successfully Punches Into Space
SpaceShipOne successfully punched beyond the earth's atmosphere on Monday in the world's first manned commercial space flight.
The privately funded rocket plane was released from a larger plane called the White Knight and ignited its rocket engine to enter space 62 miles above the earth.
It landed safely back at a runway in the Mojave Desert in California, about 100 miles north of Los Angeles.
This launch is a very important step in the goal to making space travel a much more common event funded by private companies. Congratulations go to Michael Melvill for earing his austronaut wings today by flying the first private craft into space and for everyone who helped build/fund this endeavour.
Above story from Yahoo Science - Reuters.
And now some blurbs from Spaceflight Now during the launch.
1450 GMT (10:50 a.m. EDT)
DROP! SpaceShipOne has been released from the White Knight mothership.
1450 GMT (10:50 a.m. EDT)
IGNITION! The rocket engine on SpaceShipOne has fired to life, propelling the craft on its history-making trek to become the first private human spaceflight.
1450 GMT (10:50 a.m. EDT)
SpaceShipOne pilot Mike Melvill has put the craft in a nose-up orientation for the vertical climb to space.
1452 GMT (10:52 a.m. EDT)
The engine firing has been completed. SpaceShipOne is now coasting to altitude.
1453 GMT (10:53 a.m. EDT)
The pilot is not reporting any problems.
1455 GMT (10:55 a.m. EDT)
Melvill is now pulling 5 g's.
1455 GMT (10:55 a.m. EDT)
SpaceShipOne is now 316,000 feet in altitude.
1459 GMT (10:59 a.m. EDT)
The descent continues. Altitude is now roughly 30,000 feet. SpaceShipOne will glide to landing on the runway like an airplane.
1502 GMT (11:02 a.m. EDT)
The chase aircraft says the aft end of SpaceShipOne -- around the rocket engine -- looks good. Some thermal effects on the nose are also reported.
1506 GMT (11:06 a.m. EDT)
Officials say SpaceShipOne reached 62 miles above Earth today! That is considered the edge of space. The Guinness Book of World Records flew a representative to Mojave today to verify the data from Air Force tracking radar.
1514 GMT (11:14 a.m. EDT)
TOUCHDOWN! SpaceShipOne has returned to Earth safely!
1528 GMT (11:28 a.m. EDT)
Mike Melvill has climbed out of SpaceShipOne! He is hugging the VIPs and celebrations continue.
The privately funded rocket plane was released from a larger plane called the White Knight and ignited its rocket engine to enter space 62 miles above the earth.
It landed safely back at a runway in the Mojave Desert in California, about 100 miles north of Los Angeles.
This launch is a very important step in the goal to making space travel a much more common event funded by private companies. Congratulations go to Michael Melvill for earing his austronaut wings today by flying the first private craft into space and for everyone who helped build/fund this endeavour.
Above story from Yahoo Science - Reuters.
And now some blurbs from Spaceflight Now during the launch.
1450 GMT (10:50 a.m. EDT)
DROP! SpaceShipOne has been released from the White Knight mothership.
1450 GMT (10:50 a.m. EDT)
IGNITION! The rocket engine on SpaceShipOne has fired to life, propelling the craft on its history-making trek to become the first private human spaceflight.
1450 GMT (10:50 a.m. EDT)
SpaceShipOne pilot Mike Melvill has put the craft in a nose-up orientation for the vertical climb to space.
1452 GMT (10:52 a.m. EDT)
The engine firing has been completed. SpaceShipOne is now coasting to altitude.
1453 GMT (10:53 a.m. EDT)
The pilot is not reporting any problems.
1455 GMT (10:55 a.m. EDT)
Melvill is now pulling 5 g's.
1455 GMT (10:55 a.m. EDT)
SpaceShipOne is now 316,000 feet in altitude.
1459 GMT (10:59 a.m. EDT)
The descent continues. Altitude is now roughly 30,000 feet. SpaceShipOne will glide to landing on the runway like an airplane.
1502 GMT (11:02 a.m. EDT)
The chase aircraft says the aft end of SpaceShipOne -- around the rocket engine -- looks good. Some thermal effects on the nose are also reported.
1506 GMT (11:06 a.m. EDT)
Officials say SpaceShipOne reached 62 miles above Earth today! That is considered the edge of space. The Guinness Book of World Records flew a representative to Mojave today to verify the data from Air Force tracking radar.
1514 GMT (11:14 a.m. EDT)
TOUCHDOWN! SpaceShipOne has returned to Earth safely!
1528 GMT (11:28 a.m. EDT)
Mike Melvill has climbed out of SpaceShipOne! He is hugging the VIPs and celebrations continue.
Wednesday, June 16, 2004
Perfect pterosaur found in fossil egg
The preserved bones of ancient creatures allow fossil-hunters to glimpse lives lived millions of years ago. But researchers in China have uncovered the remains of a life that was snatched away before it had even begun.
The unfortunate creature was a pterosaur, report its discoverers Xiaolin Wang and Zhonghe Zhou of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing. This group of flying reptiles were contemporaries of the dinosaurs and abounded in the Early Cretaceous period when the fossil was created, around 121 million years ago.
The embryo is very well formed, which suggests that it was probably enjoying its last few days of solitude before emerging into the prehistoric world. But it never got the chance. Wang and Zhou believe that a natural disaster such as a volcanic eruption dealt it a swift death and caused the egg to be delicately preserved.
China has been such a hotbed for spectacular findings of dinosaurs recently, especially in embryos and eggs.
From Nature.
The unfortunate creature was a pterosaur, report its discoverers Xiaolin Wang and Zhonghe Zhou of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing. This group of flying reptiles were contemporaries of the dinosaurs and abounded in the Early Cretaceous period when the fossil was created, around 121 million years ago.
The embryo is very well formed, which suggests that it was probably enjoying its last few days of solitude before emerging into the prehistoric world. But it never got the chance. Wang and Zhou believe that a natural disaster such as a volcanic eruption dealt it a swift death and caused the egg to be delicately preserved.
China has been such a hotbed for spectacular findings of dinosaurs recently, especially in embryos and eggs.
From Nature.
An 'oddball' moon of Saturn captivates astronomers
Phoebe is an ugly duckling among Saturn's natural satellites. Its dark surface is heavily cratered. It orbits the planet backward. And it refuses to swing around the planet in the same orbital plane as other moons do.
But the international Cassini-Huygens spacecraft has quickly turned the 140-mile-wide chunk of rock and ice into the darling of planetary scientists.
Images and data taken at the weekend from 11 of the spacecraft's instruments could open an unprecedented window on the conditions that existed in the early solar system generally and on a young Saturn's environment in particular as it formed some 4.6 billion years ago.
This is mostly a followup to the post last week regarding the flyby
From The Christian Science Monitor.
But the international Cassini-Huygens spacecraft has quickly turned the 140-mile-wide chunk of rock and ice into the darling of planetary scientists.
Images and data taken at the weekend from 11 of the spacecraft's instruments could open an unprecedented window on the conditions that existed in the early solar system generally and on a young Saturn's environment in particular as it formed some 4.6 billion years ago.
This is mostly a followup to the post last week regarding the flyby
From The Christian Science Monitor.
Mars rover spies pot of gold
Tantalising new images are cascading back from NASA's Mars rovers now that they have reached their long-awaited geological sites.
Spirit is now at the edge of the Columbia Hills facing what appears to be an easily-accessible hilltop straight ahead. The hilltop should offer vistas of the surrounding plain that is believed to be an ancient lakebed.
The headland also appears to have an abundance of geologically interesting rocks and formations. Most startlingly, there are rounded pebbles reminiscent of the ubiquitous "blueberries" seen at the rover landing site, Meridiani Planum, halfway around the red planet, says geologist Larry Soderblom, of the US Geological Survey, and a member of the rover science team.
I am amazed that the rover Spirit has been able to travel over 2 miles from its initial landing spot in January after all of the problems that have arised with this craft.
From New Scientist.
Spirit is now at the edge of the Columbia Hills facing what appears to be an easily-accessible hilltop straight ahead. The hilltop should offer vistas of the surrounding plain that is believed to be an ancient lakebed.
The headland also appears to have an abundance of geologically interesting rocks and formations. Most startlingly, there are rounded pebbles reminiscent of the ubiquitous "blueberries" seen at the rover landing site, Meridiani Planum, halfway around the red planet, says geologist Larry Soderblom, of the US Geological Survey, and a member of the rover science team.
I am amazed that the rover Spirit has been able to travel over 2 miles from its initial landing spot in January after all of the problems that have arised with this craft.
From New Scientist.
Friday, June 11, 2004
NASA Craft to Fly by Phoebe, a Dark Moon of Saturn
Dark, rough and contrary, Phoebe has long been an object of fascination to astronomers, and on Friday, NASA's Cassini space probe will fly by this moon of Saturn for the closest look yet.
Cassini will capture data on Phoebe on its way to a four-year orbital mission around the ringed planet, scientists said in a statement. The craft's closest pass to Phoebe will take place at 4:56 p.m. EDT on Friday.
I can't wait until more data comes back from this mission. Phoebe is one of the least known about moons around Saturn.
From Yahoo Reuters - Science.
Cassini will capture data on Phoebe on its way to a four-year orbital mission around the ringed planet, scientists said in a statement. The craft's closest pass to Phoebe will take place at 4:56 p.m. EDT on Friday.
I can't wait until more data comes back from this mission. Phoebe is one of the least known about moons around Saturn.
From Yahoo Reuters - Science.
Tuesday, June 08, 2004
Mars rover to take the plunge
The managers of NASA's Mars rover Opportunity have decided to take the plunge - they will sent the rover deep down into Endurance crater.
They recognise that this may be a journey of no return, since the steep slopes and loose material of the impact crater may make it impossible for the golf-cart-sized craft to make it back out again.
But the scientific potential was too promising to pass up, so the team decided to take the chance. The descent will allow the rover to get close-up views of layers of rocks that lie deep below the strata the rover has studied so far.
I am all for this plunge, even though the rover may never get out of the crater. The scientific gain far outweighs the loss of the rover.
From New Scientist.
They recognise that this may be a journey of no return, since the steep slopes and loose material of the impact crater may make it impossible for the golf-cart-sized craft to make it back out again.
But the scientific potential was too promising to pass up, so the team decided to take the chance. The descent will allow the rover to get close-up views of layers of rocks that lie deep below the strata the rover has studied so far.
I am all for this plunge, even though the rover may never get out of the crater. The scientific gain far outweighs the loss of the rover.
From New Scientist.
Egypt to Catalog Artifacts in Neglected Basement
Egypt is about to begin the painstaking five-year task of cataloguing and restoring some 90,000 pharaonic and other artifacts which have lain almost forgotten for decades since they were dug from ancient ruins.
Zahi Hawass, secretary-general of Egypt's Supreme Council for Antiquities, said Sunday that work started about three weeks ago to move the artifacts, now in the basement of the country's main museum, into storage elsewhere.
This is amazing, 90,000 artifacts that have been forgotten for decades and most that have probably never been seen before by the public. I wonder what types of amazing finds will be discovered in this project.
From Yahoo Reuters - Science.
Zahi Hawass, secretary-general of Egypt's Supreme Council for Antiquities, said Sunday that work started about three weeks ago to move the artifacts, now in the basement of the country's main museum, into storage elsewhere.
This is amazing, 90,000 artifacts that have been forgotten for decades and most that have probably never been seen before by the public. I wonder what types of amazing finds will be discovered in this project.
From Yahoo Reuters - Science.
How sweep it is!
If there was any question who was at the head of the AHL class in 2003-04, the answer came with an exclamation point on Sunday afternoon, as Milwaukee rolled to a 7-2 victory over Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and captured the Calder Cup 2004 championship in a clean four-game sweep of the Penguins.
The Admirals scored 65 seconds into the game and never looked back, upping the lead to 2-0 by the 5:00 mark of the first period, 4-1 after 20 minutes, and 7-1 with less than six minutes gone in the second.
This is great news for the Nashville Predators, as their farm team has won the 2004 Calder Cup championship. Hopefully this will be able to translate into the NHL over the next few years.
From the AHL website
The Admirals scored 65 seconds into the game and never looked back, upping the lead to 2-0 by the 5:00 mark of the first period, 4-1 after 20 minutes, and 7-1 with less than six minutes gone in the second.
This is great news for the Nashville Predators, as their farm team has won the 2004 Calder Cup championship. Hopefully this will be able to translate into the NHL over the next few years.
From the AHL website
Wednesday, June 02, 2004
Engaged!
Yep, it is true, Katy and I are finally engaged. I suprised her with the ring on Sunday night in front of her family and my mom, sister, and grandmother right after dinner. The only person who knew that I was going to do this was her dad because I had asked his permission earlier that afternoon and to let him know of my intentions.
The ring was custom made for her, I got to pick out the gems and design the band/settings. The center stone is a 1.19 carat emerald cut African Emerald set in a yellow gold basket with 2 0.65 carat total weight diamonds set into a white gold band. By far this is one of the most beautiful pieces of jewelry I have seen. For more information about who made the ring or if you want something similar, you can contact the fine people at The Diamond Girl.
The ring was custom made for her, I got to pick out the gems and design the band/settings. The center stone is a 1.19 carat emerald cut African Emerald set in a yellow gold basket with 2 0.65 carat total weight diamonds set into a white gold band. By far this is one of the most beautiful pieces of jewelry I have seen. For more information about who made the ring or if you want something similar, you can contact the fine people at The Diamond Girl.
Tuesday, June 01, 2004
Thanks
To all of those who have served this country, whether by choice or by force (draft) and have given up their lives for this cause. I know this thanks is a day late, but I want to leave everyone with this image from Shiloh taken yesterday on Memorial Day.
