Astronomy Forecast – Asteroids, Fireballs, NEOWISE, Comet Lovejoy, Mercury, ALgol – Video

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Astronomy Forecast - Asteroids, Fireballs, NEOWISE, Comet Lovejoy, Mercury, ALgol
December 29, 2013 2013 YP2 0.1435 AU 55.8 LD Size 63-140m Close Approach 4:28 p.m. UT 2010 XZ67 0.0639 AU 24.9 LD Size 310-680m Close Approach 11:49 p.m. UT ...

By: Sarah Hockensmith

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Astronomy Forecast - Asteroids, Fireballs, NEOWISE, Comet Lovejoy, Mercury, ALgol - Video

New studies give strong boost to binary-star formation theory

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PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

31-Dec-2013

Contact: Dave Finley dfinley@nrao.edu 575-835-7302 National Radio Astronomy Observatory

Using the new capabilities of the upgraded Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA), scientists have discovered previously-unseen binary companions to a pair of very young protostars. The discovery gives strong support for one of the competing explanations for how double-star systems form.

Astronomers know that about half of all Sun-like stars are members of double or multiple-star systems, but have debated over how such systems are formed.

"The only way to resolve the debate is to observe very young stellar systems and catch them in the act of formation," said John Tobin, of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO). "That's what we've done with the stars we observed, and we got valuable new clues from them," he added.

Their new clues support the idea that double-star systems form when a disk of gas and dust whirling around one young star fragments, forming another new star in orbit with the first. Young stars that still are gathering matter from their surroundings form such disks, along with jet-like outflows rapidly propelling material in narrow beams perpendicular to the disk.

When Tobin and an international team of astronomers studied gas-enshrouded young stars roughly 1,000 light-years from Earth, they found that two had previously-unseen companions in the plane where their disks would be expected, perpendicular to the direction of the outflows from the systems. One of the systems also clearly had a disk surrounding both young stars.

"This fits the theoretical model of companions forming from fragmentation in the disk," Tobin said. "This configuration would not be required by alternative explanations," he added.

The new observations add to a growing body of evidence supporting the disk-fragmentation idea. In 2006, a different VLA observing team found an orbiting pair of young stars, each of which was surrounded by a disk of material. The two disks, they found, were aligned with each other in the same plane. Last year, Tobin and his colleagues found a large circumstellar disk forming around a protostar in the initial phases of star formation. This showed that disks are present early in the star formation process, a necessity for binary pairs to form through disk fragmentation.

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New studies give strong boost to binary-star formation theory

Looking Up: The Throne of God: A very appropriate nebula for the holidays

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Ted Wolfe captured this image using the telescope installed in his Naples backyard.

Astrophotographer Ted Wolfe looks up at the night sky through telescopes from his home in Southwest Florida and photographs it through specialized cameras. His pictures of colliding galaxies, dying stars, supernovas, glowing nebulas, etc., are published in the leading national magazines in the field of astronomy. Exhibits of his pictures have appeared in numerous science museums, universities and institutions, including a 20-month show featuring a large number of his images at the Kennedy Space Center. A full collection of his pictures are on permanent display at the Center for Space Studies at the University of Florida.

Nebulas in space can form intriguing shapes that can bring our imagination into play. This object is a good example. A man named Robert Burnham wrote a classic astronomy book called the Celestial Handbook. Burnham saw a throne or pedestal shape in this picture and he titled the object The Throne of God.

While its more common name is the Cone Nebula, I have always preferred the more dramatic Throne of God. In this heavenly setting the role of God is being played by a brilliant blue-white seventh-magnitude star named (undramatically) HD 47887. It seems to be hovering right over the throne.

Making the whole thing even more pertinent to the holidays is the fact that HD47887 is also part of another, much larger object, not shown here, which is called the Christmas Tree Cluster. It is an open cluster of bright young stars which form the shape of a Christmas tree with HD47887 being the top star on the tree.

So this wonderful blue star fires our imagination different ways depending on what we see around it governed by the size of the field covered by the telescope.

It gets better or more Christmassy. The man who discovered the throne was Sir William Herschel, the great English astronomer. When did he discover it? Well, the day after Christmas, Dec. 26, 1785. Unfortunately, Herschel was a mathematician, not a literary figure. He named it simply H V.27. So much for putting a little pizzazz on it.

The throne lies about 2,600 light years away from us over in the constellation Monoceros. This is in the relatively nearby Orion arm of the galaxy not to be confused with the Orion constellation, although many of the objects in the constellation reside in that spiral arm.

The thrones size is about seven light years in length. This makes it a pretty large object. Remember that one light year is equal to 6 trillion miles.

What is the throne made out of? It is a pillar of gas and dust that has been carved out of the surrounding red field of gaseous nebulosity. The bright blue star above it, HD47887, is a spectral type B3 giant. It would appear that the ultraviolet radiation from this star is the cause of the trunk-like shape of the throne.

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Looking Up: The Throne of God: A very appropriate nebula for the holidays

Artificial intelligence mobile devices for talk to flora and fauna (Unedited) – Video

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Artificial intelligence mobile devices for talk to flora and fauna (Unedited)
Dilan wijerathne is studying at department of electrical and computer engineering of Open university of Sri Lanka. he conducting a project "JEEVA" exploratio...

By: Dilan Buddhika

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Artificial intelligence mobile devices for talk to flora and fauna (Unedited) - Video

Aerospace Engineers : Occupational Outlook Handbook : U.S …

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Summary

Aerospace engineers make dreams of flying come true.

Aerospace engineers design aircraft, spacecraft, satellites, and missiles. In addition, they test prototypes to make sure that they function according to design.

Aerospace engineers are employed in industries whose workers design or build aircraft, missiles, systems for national defense, or spacecraft. Aerospace engineers are employed primarily in analysis and design, manufacturing, industries that perform research and development, and the federal government.

Aerospace engineers must have a bachelors degree in aerospace engineering or another field of engineering or science related to aerospace systems. Some aerospace engineers work on projects that are related to national defense and thus require security clearances.

The median annual wage of aerospace engineers was $97,480 in May 2010.

Employment of aerospace engineers is expected to grow 5 percent from 2010 to 2020, slower than the average for all occupations. Some aerospace engineers work on projects that are related to national defense and thus require security clearances. These restrictions will help to keep jobs in the United States.

Compare the job duties, education, job growth, and pay of aerospace engineers with similar occupations.

O*NET provides comprehensive information on key characteristics of workers and occupations.

Learn more about aerospace engineers by contacting these additional resources.

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Stem cells, juicing, Piloxing, triathlon, workout apps–health and wellness on overdrive

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Back to basicsCaveman workout is the choice for functional training.

Swim, bike and runtriathlon became even more popular in 2013.

It was the year stem cell therapy became a household name.

Although the science has been around for half a century in Europe, it was not until the Asian Institute of Longevity Medicine (AILM) opened its doors to Filipinos in 2009 that stem cell therapy took off in the country.

Today, AILMs German-based partner, Tissue and Cell Banking (Ticeba), headed by its founder and managing director Dr. Christoph Ganss, is one of the countrys most sought-after stem cell therapy consultants.

If you think that, because of its exceedingly high price tag, stem cell therapy would catch on only among the well-heeled, think again. Entrepreneurial Pinoys saw the potential moneymaker in the name, and soon peddlers began brandishing everything from stem cell water to stem cell fertility kits.

Another top hit of 2013 is juicing/detox. Now a multibillion-dollar industry in the United States, juicingwhile it has been practiced by many vegans and vegetarians in the Philippines since the early 2000sbecame big this year when the Australian documentary filmmaker and juicing advocate Joe Cross visited the country.

Today, there are three major competing organic juice brands on the market.

Organic produce

Vegan food the five-star way

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Stem cells, juicing, Piloxing, triathlon, workout apps–health and wellness on overdrive

TIMEZ5 | Muslim Physiology personal experience with Ahmed Kamali – Video

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TIMEZ5 | Muslim Physiology personal experience with Ahmed Kamali
Mastering the art of the physio-spiritual experience: Learn how to overcome common physical challenges that get in the way of our spiritual wellbeing. Muslim Physiology is the science of Muslim...

By: Timez5Prayermat

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TIMEZ5 | Muslim Physiology personal experience with Ahmed Kamali - Video

Fetal alcohol syndrome heart defects may be caused by altered function, not structure

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PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

30-Dec-2013

Contact: Donna Krupa dkrupa@the-aps.org American Physiological Society

Bethesda, Md. (Dec. 30, 2013)Recent data shows that more than 500,000 women in the U.S. report drinking during pregnancy, with about 20 percent of this population admitting to binge drinking. Even one episode of heavy drinking can lead to the collection of birth defects known as fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). Along with growth retardation, head and face abnormalities, and neurological problems, FAS also causes heart problems in just over half of those with this condition. Though much research has focused on looking for the cause of these alcohol-induced heart defects, they remain largely a mystery.

To investigate this question, Ganga Karunamuni of Case Western University and her colleagues studied heart formation in quail embryos, whose heart development is very similar to that of humans. The researchers used an innovative imaging technique, optical coherence tomography, to compare embryos exposed to a single, large dose of alcohol to those who hadn't received alcohol. They looked both at how alcohol changed the function of the developing hearts as well as their structure. They found that significant changes in heart function appeared to come well before changes in structure that are hallmarks of the well-known FAS heart anomalies. These changes in function, the study authors suggest, might be the cause of the structural problems that arise later by exerting forces on the heart that change its development.

The article is entitled "Ethanol Exposure Alters Early Cardiac Function in the Looping Heart: A Mechanism for Congenital Heart Defects?" It appears in the Articles in Press section of the American Journal of Physiology Heart and Circulatory Physiology, published by the American Physiological Society. The article is available online at http://bit.ly/1hulmNN

Methodology

The researchers studied three sets of quail embryos. In one set of these embryos, the researchers injected a quantity of alcohol into their shells proportional to the amount that would be considered a single episode of binge drinking in a pregnant woman. They purposely chose a time during early development in which embryos are especially vulnerable to the effects of alcohol. In another set of embryos, the researchers injected their shells with saline, a placebo not known to have any harmful effects. The researchers left a third set of embryos to develop without any interventions.

Using an imaging modality called optical coherence tomography, which gives the ability to peer through layers of tissue, the researchers kept an eye on the developing hearts at a particular stage when the primitive heart switches from a tube shape to a loop-shaped circuit. The researchers compared both heart blood flow and anatomy at this stage between the three different sets of embryos. They also compared heart anatomy between the different sets both at this looping stage and at a stage closer to hatching.

Results

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Fetal alcohol syndrome heart defects may be caused by altered function, not structure