Science » Foxcrawl

Photos: Ring of Fire Solar Eclipse visible on 20-21 May 2012

Posted by foxcrawl at 11:53 pm No Responses »

May 172012

Annular solar eclipse is gonna be observed as of Sunday (May 20, 2012) from Asia to Western U.S. (scroll down for photos)

Next Sunday a stunning solar eclipse will convert the classic disk of the sun into an annular shape covering regions from Asia to the United States

This ring of fire represents a special moment for the U.S. which saw the last similar event 18 years ago, back in 1994. The next annular eclipse is predicted to occur in 2023.

It would be recommended not to watch straightly the sun with your bare eyes, but try to use special glasses, solar filters or other optical devices to spot the eclipse if you are on the Western Coast of the North American Continent.

During next weekend’s annular solar eclipse, the moon is going to overlap the sun and obstruct about 94% of its radiance. Regarding the fact that the moon almost reaches its aphelion – the position along the orbit where it is farthest from Earth – it will look somehow smaller, instead will cover a larger area of the sun, revealing just a sharp bright ring of light escaping the edges.

An annular solar eclipse is seen as a partial eclipse. The moon will align in between the Earth and the Sun but compared to a total solar eclipse, this time the natural satellite’s observable diameter is smaller than sun’s disk, thus leaving room for an annulus (ring) of light.

Moon to create annular solar eclipse (ring of fire) over China in 2010. Photo:ChinaFotoPress, Getty Images

An unique ring of fire partial solar eclipse to impress sky-watchers from U.S. to Asia on May 20-21, 2012. Picture:Getty Images

Stunning photo: Phytoplankton to create bioluminiscent blue waves on Vaadhoo Island of Maldives

Posted by foxcrawl at 7:43 pm No Responses »

May 172012

Countless tiny spots featuring fluorescence-like light along a shoreline appear to reflect the stars in the sky, in an undated photo shot on the Vaadhoo Island in the Maldives, writes news.nationalgeographic.com. (scroll down for marvelous picture)

The biological light or bioluminescence of the waves is generated by marine microbes named phytoplankton, and the researchers believe that these life forms are behind the creation of the magnificent bright blue light.

Diverse types of phytoplankton (dinoflagellates) induce bioluminescence and their light can be seen in all oceans on Earth, revealed marine biologist and bioluminescence scientist Woodland Hastings from Harvard University.

Marine microbes phytoplankton to create wave bioluminiscence Maldives Vaadhoo Island. Photo:news.nationalgeographic.com

Video: Native Americans Shipwrecked in Holland, Discovered Europe on 60 B.C

Posted by foxcrawl at 2:01 pm No Responses »

May 172012

Europe discovered America or vice versa? Puzzling information emerged from some books which bring into question what we knew from history lessons: apparently the first who landed in Europe were….2 American indians (scroll down for history report video).

According to the book “Still Casting Shadows: A Shared Mosaic of U.S. History, Volume 1: 1620-1913″ by B. Clay Shannon, the Europe was discovered by native americans when they shipwrecked around 60 B.C. to where is today the Netherlands. The book features a paragraph that says:
“Native Americans also crossed the Atlantic: Anthropologists conjecture that Native Americans voyaged east millenia ago from Canada to Scandinavia or Scotland. Two Indians shipwrecked in Holland around 60 B.C. became curiousities in Europe.”

The text fragment is citing in fact the 1996 book “Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong” written by James W. Loewen who managed to shed some light over America’s past.

It looks like more and more people are interested into this topic which has been trending the internet in the last period.

The new theory sparked from a History Channel report called “Who really discovered America, (or Europe)? The documentary brings into attention different aspects on how the New World was found. So far, all of us know that European sailors such as Amerigo Vespucci or Christopher Columbus played a fundamental role in the dicovery of the American continent, however had they really been the first?

Video: History Channel: Who were the first to discover America?

Earth's future in danger! Grim predictions for the Living Planet

Posted by foxcrawl at 1:18 am No Responses »

May 162012

Earth could experience resources outage by 2025. Credit: breakyouthrough.com

Extreme weather continue to hit all over the Earth and these anomolous meteo phenomena are consequences of our waste.

In a single year, we consume as much as the Earth produces in one and a half years. This is why in twenty years from now we could could suffer of water shortage. It’s not a movie scenario but the reality featured by the last Living Planet report.

From space, we see the cut forests, air pollution or erosion.

For Dutch astronaut Andre Kuipers, world’s problems are not small, even if he sees them from miles away.

“We behave as if we have more planets. We consume in one year the resources produced by our planet in one and a half years. We lost a lot of animals, many species, many resources,” he said.

These are the grim conclusions of the Living Planet report, which was made later this year by the organization World Wild Fund. In the last forty years the number of species that live in tropical areas has halved and globally, the planet has lost one third of the species. And the future does not sound too good. We face a real crisis of the freshwater. Experts’ calculations say that by 2025 two thirds of world population will live in areas where water will be difficult to procure.

Extreme meteo events could become commonplace, if the decision makers do not think about long term environmental issues. For example, the decision of the Canadian authorities to exploit the tar sands for finding oil. NASA’s climate scientists say that such an approach would increase greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere thus leading to the evaporation of the ice caps. The effect: coastal cities would be destroyed, and the temperatures would become unbearable.

Sugar's scarying effect. Stop consuming it before it is too late

Posted by foxcrawl at 10:52 pm No Responses »

May 152012

Sugar makes people become foolish, according a team of researchers from the University of California at Los Angeles. They conducted a study on mice, but are convinced that the results apply to humans as well.

Sugar consumption restrains IQ, believe the researchers at the University of California in Los Angeles, who used mice to carry out a study whose results might appliy to people.

Scientists discovered that diets rich in corn syrup based fructose make people more stupid. Fructose derived from corn syrup is a compound with a sweetness about two times higher than that of sugar which is commonly found in processed food and sodas, writes LiveScience.com.

Researchers have discovered during the same experiment that the negative effects of the fructose can be tackled using omega3-type fatty acids, which protect the synapses. Fatty acids omega-3 are usually found in cold water fish such as salmon.

SpaceX successful test for private space flight to ISS: Falcon 9 rocket scheduled for May 7

Posted by foxcrawl at 4:13 pm No Responses »

May 012012

SpaceX successfully tested Falcon 9 rocket sheduled for space trip to ISS on May 7, 2012. Credit:techprove.com

On Monday, the American company SpaceX successfully tested the Falcon 9 rocket, which will be launched on May 7, 2012 to inaugurate the first private flight to the International Space Station (ISS) by carrying the space capsule Dragon.

“During this test, rocket’s main nine engines were started and ran for only two seconds. Despite the short running time, the engineers were able to check all the technical parameters,” SpaceX representatives said in a statement posted on company’s website.

The general rehearsal took place at Cape Canaveral Air Base in Florida, where Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled for its space trip to the ISS.

Monday, May 7, at 13.38 GMT, the rocket will be sent into space and will carry the Dragon capsule but no human on board.

Dragon capsule – which weighs six tons, a length of 5.2 meters and 3.6 meters in diameter – will become, if everything runs as planned, the first private vehicle to connect to the ISS.

For this first connection, astronauts on the ISS will use space station’s robotic arm to catch the Dragon capsule.

Dragon will carry a small half a ton payload, consisting mainly of supplies for the crew of the ISS. Dragon has to make the same approaching maneuvers as the European automated cargo-type vehicle ATV and Japanese HTV and before connecting to the ISS will perform a flight around the station at a distance of 2.5 kilometers.

After three weeks of the connection, Dragon capsule will detach from the ISS and will return to Earth, to be recovered from the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of California.

Space experiment: Scottish Whisky produced by astronauts aboard the International Space Station

Posted by foxcrawl at 4:35 pm No Responses »

Apr 102012

A small amount of whiskey will be produced on board the International Space Station (ISS), based on ingredients from the distillery Ardberg on the Scottish island of Islay. The initiative is part of a scientific experiment studying the effects of the lack of gravity on the maturation process.

Compounds extracted from unripened malt and smoky oak particles were sent to ISS by an unmanned cargo spacecraft launched in October 2011.

Scientists want to understand how the ingredients behave on Earth orbit, where the force of gravity is almost zero. According to NanoRacks LLC, the American company that sponsors this project, understanding how gravity influences the maturation process will boost many industries, including the whiskey producers, encouraging them to develop new products in the future.

Scottish whisky to be produced onboard ISS during space experiment. photo:theregister.co.uk

This space experiment, introduced at Edinbugh International Science Centre, will be carried out over a two year period.

The molecules sent in space originate from two types of terpenes-class substances which often feature odor and aromatic taste. This would be the first time when people study terpenes’ interaction with other molecules under conditions of weightlessness.

Scientists will measure the interaction between the same types of molecules in normal gravity conditions on Earth, in order to compare the results.

Video: Flying saucer UFO filmed from airplane above Seoul, South Korea

Posted by foxcrawl at 11:58 pm No Responses »

Apr 092012

Plane vs. Flying saucer-shaped UFO encouter or just another hoax??? (scroll down for video)

A video recorded by the passenger of a plane cruising above Seoul, South Korea, revealed a weird object resembling a flying saucer.

The event captured on tape from airplane’s window shows the UFO somehere at a lower altitude and moving at a quite constant velocity.

After a few seconds the passenger tries to zoom in for better details, however the flying object takes high-speed and goes beyond camera’s view.

Subsequently the alleged UFO image is magnified. Ultimately, it looks more like an ivory colored bowler hat or a parachute than the famous advertised flying saucer. Now everyone wonders if there was an original piece of tech or just the masterpiece of a prankster who used some video-editing software.

Video: UFO filmed above Seoul, South Korea (April 7, 2012)

21,12,2012: end of the world or alien invasion? Read new hypotheses of experts

Posted by foxcrawl at 1:54 pm 1 Response »

Apr 052012

21/12/2012 …a very controversial day when according to oracles the end of the world has to come. During that unusual day – the winter solstice -, the Earth will align with the Sun, which will be in the equatorial plane of the Milky Way galaxy, forming what ancient Maya called a “holy tree”.

Many theories about that day have been released: from Earth being swallowed by a black hole to a solar flare or an asteroid that could bring the end of the planet. Others say that that day will represent the celebration of the end of a whole cycle.

However a new documentary that appeared on the Internet, comes with another theory: 2012 is actually the year when the extraterrestrial civilizations return to Earth. Experts quoted in the documentary made by Prometheus Entertainment for H2 Network state that this year could bring such a new beginning for the planet and human civilization.

Video: Extraterrestrial invasion – doomsday prophecy and theory 21-12-2012

Puma Punku temple complex, apparently dating 14,000 years ago, includes several structures of massive blocks of stone cut with incredible precision in different shapes. Laboratory experts analyzed these structures and concluded that they were modeled with an unknown technology, more efficient than conventional one or the laser. According to scientists and regarding how the huge stones were placed, dozens questions are raised, given that the facility does not reveal any trace of towing and assembling method.
So … in who shall we believe? Is this the way God described apocalypse?

Video: The mystery of Puma Puncu, Bolivia

Photo: Rare cosmic phenomenon: Moon-Mars-Regulus, a bright planetary triangle to be seen in the sky

Posted by foxcrawl at 2:06 pm No Responses »

Apr 032012

Tuesday evening, the sky will feature a spectacular planetary display, namely a bright triangle composed of the Moon, Mars and a star called Regulus and located at 77.5 light years from Earth.

Despite the nickname “Red Planet”, Mars emits an yellow-orange light instead. In addition, Regulus planet ranks 21 in list of the brightest in the sky and is about six times less bright than Mars, reports space.com.

Both planet (i.e. Moon, Mars) and star are separated by about 5 degrees, while the moon stands about 10 degrees beneath the pair. Your clenched fist held at arm’s length is approximately equal to 10 degrees in width. So we could say that the length of Tuesday’s eye-catching triangular shape is more or less equal to “one fist.”