Comets cut Diamonds down to size

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By James Broadhurst

Last updated at 11:54, Monday, 24 March 2014

Newcastle Diamonds 46 Workington Comets 44 (Agg: 73-77): Workington Comets clinched the Ian Thomas Shield with a 77-73 aggregate victory over Newcastle Diamonds.

Workington Comets with the Ian Thomas Shield

Comets took a six point lead into yesterdays second leg match following a 33-27 win at Derwent Park on Saturday.

The aggregate lead in the second leg at Newcastles Brough Park swung backwards and forwards between the two teams.

Diamonds won the meeting by 46 to 44 but lost out on the shield on the aggregate scoreline.

A 5-1 score in heat 13 courtesy of new captain Rene Bach and number one Josh Grajczonek proved the pivotal moment and Comets went on to secure the shield with a 77-73 win.

The first leg on Saturday ended prematurely after the race was abandoned halfway through following a heavy rain shower which made the track hazardous and visibility poor.

After consulting with the riders and managers of both teams, referee Graham Flint abandoned the meeting after heat 10 and the result stood heading into the second leg last night at Newcastles Brough Park.

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Comets cut Diamonds down to size

'Cosmos' recap: The meaning and math of comets

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Some of us are old enough to remember the much-ballyhooed appearance of Halleys comet in 1986 -- it swoops past Earth only once every 76 years, after all, and isnt due back until 2061. (So mark your calendars!) It also provides a handy framework on which to hang the scientific concepts featured in this weeks episode of "Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey."

It starts with a nod to the human gift for pattern recognition -- both a blessing and a curse, since sometimes we see patterns that arent really there, like the face of Jesus in a piece of toast. (The technical term is pareidolia.)

We also see patterns and messages in the stars. We were born into a mystery, Neil deGrasse Tyson intones over an image of a baby in a basket, gazing up at the night sky as the stars are reflected in the infants eyes. We see shapes in the form of constellations, for instance, and past civilizations read dire portents of doom in the periodic appearance of comets streaking across the sky. Chinese astronomers began keeping records of comets around 1400 BC, including one in 240 BC that we now know as Halleys comet, after the 17thcentury astronomer Edmund Halley.

VIDEO: 'Cosmos' Q&A with Neil deGrasse Tyson and Seth MacFarlane

Halley first observed a comet in 1664. It happened to coincide with the outbreak of the plague in England, as well as the Great Fire of London, but it inspired the young Halleys love of the night sky. He gained notoriety for his voyage to map the stars of the Southern Hemisphere and soon became part of the vibrant intellectual community that frequented the local coffeehouses, vividly brought to life in another of the series clever animated sequences.

During one conversation, Halley offered to pay 40 shillings to the first person to demonstrate a simple mathematical law explaining why the planets move in elliptical orbits rather than perfect circles. But nobody could do the math -- except for Isaac Newton, who was a bit of a recluse by this point thanks to his squabbles with Hooke and many other scientists of that era. Newton was a difficult man. But he was also brilliant. Halley learned that Newton had solved this calculation five years earlier, part of the manuscript hed been writing: thePrincipia. Spoiler alert: This is one of the greatest scientific treatises ever written, outlining the laws of motion and the universal law of gravitation, as well as the invention of calculus.

It was just the sort of thing that the Royal Society would publish -- except the society was strapped for cash that year, having blown its budget on a lavishly illustrated tome called "History of Fish" that proved to be a colossal failure in terms of sales. Apparently the society was paying Halleys salary in copies of books it couldnt sell, which does make for an amusing domestic scene in which Halleys wife is dismayed when he comes home with yet another copy of "History of Fish."

PHOTOS: TV shows and their spinoffs

Long story short: Halley decided to pony up the cash to publish thePrincipiahimself, and a scientific revolution ensued. Newtons laws explain how nature works, and it does so in the language of mathematics. When mankind sent the first rockets to the moon, it was Newton in the drivers seat.

Newton was such a towering figure that we tend not to remember his gifted contemporaries -- like Halley, who did not actually discover the comet that bears his name. But he was the first to notice an interesting pattern in comet sightings, after poring over first-hand accounts from several centuries. He realized that the comet recorded in 1682 was the same as the one that had been recorded in 1531 and 1607. It was orbiting the sun in a long elliptical path. Halley predicted the same comet would reappear at the end of 1758 -- and it did.

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'Cosmos' recap: The meaning and math of comets

Workington Comets cut Newcastle Diamonds down to size

Posted on by

By James Broadhurst

Last updated at 11:54, Monday, 24 March 2014

Newcastle Diamonds 46 Workington Comets 44 (Agg: 73-77): Workington Comets clinched the Ian Thomas Shield with a 77-73 aggregate victory over Newcastle Diamonds.

Workington Comets with the Ian Thomas Shield

Comets took a six point lead into yesterdays second leg match following a 33-27 win at Derwent Park on Saturday.

The aggregate lead in the second leg at Newcastles Brough Park swung backwards and forwards between the two teams.

Diamonds won the meeting by 46 to 44 but lost out on the shield on the aggregate scoreline.

A 5-1 score in heat 13 courtesy of new captain Rene Bach and number one Josh Grajczonek proved the pivotal moment and Comets went on to secure the shield with a 77-73 win.

The first leg on Saturday ended prematurely after the race was abandoned halfway through following a heavy rain shower which made the track hazardous and visibility poor.

After consulting with the riders and managers of both teams, referee Graham Flint abandoned the meeting after heat 10 and the result stood heading into the second leg last night at Newcastles Brough Park.

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Workington Comets cut Newcastle Diamonds down to size

Cosmos Quest for Students: Comets and Pattern Recognition

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COSMOS: A Spacetime Odyssey,Episode 3, When Knowledge Conquered Fear, depicts the friendship between EdmondHalley and Isaac Newton and its consequences for science. Episode 3 also exploreshumans ability for pattern recognition. The proposed activities and discussion topics seekto deepen students understanding of comets, the myths that once surrounded theirappearance, false pattern recognition, and scientific prophecy.

Grade Levels 6-12

Episode Summary There was a time, not so long ago, when natural events could only be explained as gestures of displeasure by the gods or a God. The appearance of a comet in the sky inspired dread.Our understanding of comets and so much else was the byproduct of a deep friendshipbetween the brilliant polymath Edmond Halley and that paragon of genius, Isaac Newton.Robert Hooke, another scientific luminary of the time, falsely accused Newton of stealinghis ideas, and the resulting public humiliation drove Newton to withdraw from the scientificarena when he was in his early twenties. More than a decade later, through Halleyspatience and selfless generosity, Newton conquered his fearful isolation and found thecourage to publish his masterwork, the Principia Mathematica. This single work launchedthe scientific revolution, and gave science the power to accurately foretell events in thedistant future.The Ship of the Imagination will venture halfway out to the nearest star, to find thebrooding, frigid realm of the Oort Cloud, where a trillion comets wait. Our Ship takes us ona hair-raising ride, chasing a single comet through its million-year plunge toward the Sun.

The chapter ends with a prophecy of the events of several billion years from now, the spectacular collision of the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies. Comets afford us an excellent opportunity to explore the double-edged sword of the human gift for pattern recognition, both false and true, and to relive that tipping point in history when our understanding of nature shifted from the one to the other. Discussion Topics Imagine you are a citizen of Earth 1,000 years ago. You and your friends are the first to witness the coming of a comet. How would you understand it? Where would you think it came from? Make up a story to explain it. What created the comets of our solar system? How many ways can comets die or depart from our solar system? On the topic of scientific prophecy: how is it possible to know decades before an astronomical event where the planets and stars will be? The photo below represents Barnard 33, a dark nebula approximately 1,500 light years from Earth but it is commonly referred to by another name because of the shape of its cloud of dark dust and gases as seen from the Earth. What do you think that name might be?

Proposed Activities Use examples referenced below and in the Online Resources to illustrate the concept of false pattern recognition for students. Present a sample of images to students that might include the image of a face in a grilled cheese sandwich, Halleys comet trajectories and the DNA barcodes of different creatures (pictured below), and clouds that look like something else. Challenge students to find patterns or pictures in the images. Which of these images have patterns because our eyes complete the picture and which have patterns that are really there? How can we tell the difference? At the beginning of this episode, we say, We came of age in a kind of cosmicquarantine without any notion of our true circumstances in the universe, like anabandoned baby without a note to explain anything about who we are, or how ourworld came to be, or any idea how to end the isolation.How would you compose acommunication to accompany the baby in the basket how would you explain whowe are, how we came to be, and how we could end our isolation?

Online Resources http://www.nbcnews.com/id/6511148/ns/us_news-weird_news/t/virgin-mary-grilledcheese-sells/ (Story on grilled cheese sandwich with face sold on ebay) http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthpicturegalleries/9287627/Clouds-That-Look- Like-Things-a-new-book-from-the-Cloud-Appreciation-Society.html?frame=2229063 (Clouds that look like other things photo gallery) http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/turn-me-on-dead-man/ (Supplemental article on false pattern recognition)

Relevant Scenes from COSMOS Act One: The Baby in the Basket Act Two: How Comets Were Perceived Throughout History & False Pattern Recognition Act Three: Edmund Halley and Isaac Newton Act Four: The Principia Mathematica Act Five: The Lasting Impact of Newtons Work Act Six: Halleys Comet For a deeper dive, more subjects touched on in Episode 3: Physics and astronomy of the Oort Cloud Origin and fate of comets Scientific reasoning that enabled Jan Oort to predict the Oort Clouds existence Distances from Earth to the center of the galaxy Gravitational interaction of comets with other bodies in the solar system Evolution of pattern recognition False pattern recognition and the interpretation of comets Comparative mythology (Aztec, Babylonian, Hindu, Masai, Zulu, Eghap, Djaga, Luba andBritish) The birth of Chinese astronomy

The lives, times and scientific achievements of Edmund, Halley, Robert Hooke and IsaacNewton and the revolutionary consequences of their personal lives and interactions

The mapping of the stars of the southern hemisphere The Royal Society and the significance of its credo The role of the 17th century English coffeehouse in the social political and scientific revolutions The Principia Mathematica and how it changed everything Marriage of physics and mathematics Gravitation on the local and galactic scale Science and prophecy

Written by Ann Druyan Produced by Cosmos Studios

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Cosmos Quest for Students: Comets and Pattern Recognition

Travel & Tourism contributes 9.5% to the global economy in 2013 – WTTC Reports

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Governments need to increase peoples freedom to travel, to capitalise on Travel & Tourisms growth potential

Travel & Tourism's contribution to the world economy has grown for the fourth consecutive year and is expected to show even stronger growth in 2014. But policies need to be implemented to increase tourism receipts and jobs. That is according to The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), which releases its 2014 annual economic impact data today.

WTTC is the global authority on the social and economic impact of Travel & Tourism. David Scowsill, President and CEO of WTTC, says it has been another really good year for the sector but many governments' lack of openness is restraining their country's Travel & Tourism potential; "The data underlines Travel & Tourism's undeniable status as a driver of growth. Some countries have taken huge positive strides with visa facilitation over the past few years. But many countries' economic contribution from Travel & Tourism is still being held back, particularly due to restrictive visa policies". Research from WTTC and the UN World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) in 2012 demonstrates that improving visa processes could generate an additional US$ 206 billion in tourism receipts and create as many as 5.1 million jobs by 2015 in the G20 economies . Mr Scowsill says there is real momentum in some countries with visa facilitation but there is still a lot to do; "To capitalise on, rather than thwart, Travel & Tourism's potential to boost visitors, spend and jobs, we would encourage countries to implement progressive approaches to visas, which make it easier for people to travel. Governments also need to ensure that they have intelligent rather than punitive taxation measures in place. Last but not least, it is also essential that the public and private sectors facilitate growth in a responsible and sustainable way, with people and the planet at the forefront of policies."

According to the WTTC Economic Impact Report, in 2013:

According to the WTTC Economic Impact Report, in 2014:

Mr Scowsill adds; "The WTTC data underlines that Travel & Tourism is a key engine for continued global growth, which governments can't afford to ignore. 2013 has been a really good year with strong demand from long-haul markets. 2014 looks like it will be even sunnier, due to rising incomes and falling unemployment in many countries and stronger consumer spending. International travel will grow slightly faster than domestic travel, with the expanding middle class, particularly in emerging markets, playing a big part in that".

Travel & Tourism's contribution to the world economy has grown for the fourth consecutive year and is expected to show even stronger growth in 2014. But policies need to be implemented to increase tourism receipts and jobs. That is according to The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), which releases its 2014 annual economic impact data today.

The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) is the global authority on the economic and social contribution of Travel & Tourism. It promotes sustainable growth for the industry, working with governments and international institutions to create jobs, to drive exports and to generate prosperity. Travel & Tourism accounts for 255 million jobs globally. At US$6 trillion (9% of GDP) the sector is a key driver for investment and economic growth. For more than 20 years, the World Travel & Tourism Council has been the voice of this industry globally. Members are the Chairs, Presidents and Chief Executives of the world's leading, private sector Travel & Tourism businesses. These Members bring specialist knowledge to guide government policy and decision-making, raising awareness of the importance of the industry as an economic generator of prosperity. WTTC's Sustainability Initiative has already concluded a number of projects aimed at driving sustainable economic recovery and growth, namely: the 'Leading the Challenge on Climate Change' report, and 'Climate Change A Joint Approach to Addressing the Challenge'.

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Travel & Tourism contributes 9.5% to the global economy in 2013 - WTTC Reports

UFO ET Abduction Extraterrestrial Greater Community Spirituality (Chapter Thirteen) Part Three – Video

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UFO ET Abduction Extraterrestrial Greater Community Spirituality (Chapter Thirteen) Part Three
https://www.newmessage.org/nmfg/Greater_Community_Spirituality.html Greater Community Spirituality presents a prophetic new understanding of God and human sp...

By: danielofdoriaa

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UFO ET Abduction Extraterrestrial Greater Community Spirituality (Chapter Thirteen) Part Three - Video

Entertainer Roslyn Kind inspired to lighten hearts by her spirituality and sister Barbra Streisand

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Yes, its the last line in her official bio, but seconds into a conversation with entertainer Roslyn Kind, its pretty easy to forget that she currently resides in Los Angeles and has done so since 1973.

She has a voice, she has a demeanour, she has an attitude that is pure, 100-proof, bustling streets of New York City. Proudly.

I still am, Kind says via telephone from a stop in North Carolina. I still have my Brooklyn accent, Im a fast talker and a fast walker.

Ill never lose who I am and who I grew up as.

Her upbringing tends to be the thing that many people focus on, perhaps, as a detriment and insult to everything else on that otherwise impressive resume of hers one thats filled with Broadway and off-Broadway productions, TV and film roles and album releases. That, of course, is that Brooklyn upbringing as the younger, half-sister of famous artist Barbra Streisand.

Its a shadow and relationship that Kind, or Rozzie, certainly doesnt shy away from, even sharing the stage with her sister during Streisands massive North American tour in 2012 which was called, appropriately enough, Back to Brooklyn and European dates in 2013, including the 02 Arena in London.

But, as she says, that elder sibling relationship is only a small part of who she is.

Shes an inspiration to everybody and as well as to me. Shes always been an inspiration, Kind says. And the rest of my inspirations come from what my roots are, what I was taught by my family, and from God above.

Tuesday night, the entertainer will do more work on His behalf, when she returns to Calgary for a fundraising performance for Jewish Family Service Calgary at the Beth Tzedec Synagogue.

It will be the first time in over two decades that shell be in the city, where she actually spent a good chunk of time, performing the lead role of Ellie Greenwich in a Stage West production of Leader of the Pack, from April to August in 1988.

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Entertainer Roslyn Kind inspired to lighten hearts by her spirituality and sister Barbra Streisand

WDRB speaks with upcoming International Space Station crew

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LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- On March 18, WDRB News got the opportunity to speak with three men who are preparing for an incredible voyage. On May 28 of this year, Reid Wiseman, Max Suraev and Alexander Gerst are expected to take off aboard Soyuz space capsule from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

Their destination: 370 kilometers up to the International Space Station, where they'll be staying for six months with three additional crew members.

Wiseman, an American, Suraev, a Russian, and Gerst, a German, spoke with WDRB News by phone about their upcoming mission, what it means to the people of Kentuckiana, and the possibility that a certain Snow Fox could someday join the astronaut corps.

Here is some of what they had to say:

WDRB: Thanks for speaking with us! Our meteorologists are really good about letting our viewers in Kentucky and Indiana know about space station sighting opportunities, when they can see it from their back yards. What do you want the people of Kentucky and Indiana to be thinking about when they see the station pass over, during the six months you guys are up there? What does it represent?

REID WISEMAN: So first and foremost, I want them to come outside, and I want them to bring their kids outside, and just look up and watch this thing fly overhead. That's primary. And then, when they see this little tiny star, I want them then to just think in their heads that there are six little humans floating around in there, and they're going 18,000 miles an hour. That, to me, just sparks the imagination of, 'Wow. That's amazing.' We've got Russians. We've got a German. We've got Americans. We'll have a female Russian on the second half of the mission. So if they start to think about that personal side of humans up there...and what are they going through? They're floating. Are they eating right now? Are they having coffee? Is it morning up there or is it night? I think that kind of touches the individual really well.

Then if they make it beyond that point, then start thinking about, 'Alright, in my daily life, if I took gravity and removed it, what would happen to me?' And if they have a scientific mind, they'll start thinking about all the crazy science experiments that they can start to do, when you remove gravity, and see what happens to those science experiments. If they have the capacity to go that far, that would be fantastic. But really just to think about how crazy it is to live 250 miles up traveling this fast and floating around that's a great start.

MAXIM SURAEV: For me personally, you know, I wanted people, you know, to see, when they can see the space station in the sky that this is really human laboratory for science experiment. And the people, you knowactuallythe people right now who are flying and doing these experiments, they really want to make our lives better. To make our lives healthier. To make humans' bodies living more time and longer and to be in good shape as long as we can. We build this to help our human generationto be stronger, better and happier than we are right now.

ALEXANDER GERST: Well I think what's most amazing to me when I look up there is...on that little dot of light that travels over our heads, somebody lives in there, right? It looks like a satellite or a star that's moving a shooting star. The difference is that this object was built by us us humans. More than 100,000 people on 16 different nations built this place, and then there's six guys of us that live there. We sent them out there because we think it's important to have people in space as a first step: explorers who venture out there as a first step to reach our surroundings and the solar system...it's just amazing to think that this is possible, that we've done this, that we've achieved this."

WDRB: Will there be opportunities for you guys to be taking pictures of Kentucky, Indiana that area? Is that something that you'll be doing?

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WDRB speaks with upcoming International Space Station crew

SpaceX International Space Station Resupply Mission Set For March 30, NASA Confirms CRS-3 Launch

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The SpaceX International Space Station resupply mission is set for March 30. SpaceX

The SpaceX Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-3) Mission was originally scheduled for March 16 and would deliver 4,959 pounds of supplies to the ISS. NASAsaysthe Dragon spacecraft will arrive at the ISS on April 2 at around 7 a.m. EDT. The spacecraft will stay attached to the space station for four weeks as crew members unload cargo and later refill the capsule with 3,578 pounds of supplies and scientific instruments.

According to SpaceX, the scientific instruments that will be delivered to the ISS include a prototype laser communication system, the Optical Payload for Lasercomm Science (OPALS); the Vegetable Production System (VEGGIE), which will produce salad-type vegetables in space; four cameras that will be secured to the exterior of the ISS to produce live streams of the planet as part of the High Definition Earth Viewing (HDEV) project; and the T-Cell Activation in Aging investigation to learn more about the depression in the immune system in microgravity. The Falcon 9 will also send five CubeSats, smaller satellites, into orbit, during the CRS-3 mission.

The cargo will also include crew supplies, ISS hardware, a spare spacesuit and a pair of legs for Robonaut 2.

Another interesting feature of the CRS-3 launch will be the recently attached set of landing legs on the Falcon 9. The legs are in the testing phase and the rocket will perform a splashdown in the ocean on Sunday, but its the first step toward SpaceXs goal of a reusable rocket that can land vertically.

The SpaceX CRS-3 launch is scheduled for Sunday at 10:50 p.m. EDT and marks the end of a busy week for the Expedition 39 crew. On Tuesday, three new Expedition 39 crew members, NASA Astronaut Steve Swanson and cosmonauts Alexander Skvortsov and Oleg Artemyev, will arrive at the ISS.

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SpaceX International Space Station Resupply Mission Set For March 30, NASA Confirms CRS-3 Launch