Eyes on the Solar System

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Eyes on the Solar System

While there is no riddle today, I do have something for you to do.  Check out Eyes on the Solar System.  I think you’re going to like this, I got on and right from the Featured Juno Mission to Jupiter I was like “this is cool”  I was looking at Jupiter and was thinking if I didn’t know better I’d think Jupiter was rotating.  When I marked a spot with the cursor, sure enough it was!

I will leave most of the description to what NASA has to say about it, but I will tell you there is a download which is pretty fast allowing a 3D view (with glasses) if you desire.  NASA includes video tutorials which are pretty interesting themselves.

So read all about Eyes on the Solar System below (or jump right in) and I’m off on Voyager 2′s mission.

PASADENA, Calif. — NASA is giving the public the power to journey through the solar system using a new interactive Web-based tool.

The “Eyes on the Solar System” interface combines video game technology and NASA data to create an environment for users to ride along with agency spacecraft and explore the cosmos. Screen graphics and information such as planet locations and spacecraft maneuvers use actual space mission data.

“This is the first time the public has been able to see the entire solar system and our missions moving together in real time,” said Jim Green, director of NASA’s Planetary Science Division at the agency’s Headquarters in Washington. “It demonstrates NASA’s continued commitment to share our science with everyone.”

The virtual environment uses the Unity game engine to display models of planets, moons, asteroids, comets and spacecraft as they move through our solar system. With keyboard and mouse controls, users cruise through space to explore anything that catches their interest. A free browser plug-in, available at the site, is required to run the Web application.

“You are now free to move about the solar system,” said Blaine Baggett, executive manager in the Office of Communication and Education at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif. “See what NASA’s spacecraft see — and where they are right now — all without leaving your computer.”

Users may experience missions in real time, and “Eyes on the Solar System” also allows them to travel through time. The tool is populated with NASA data dating back to 1950 and projected to 2050.
The playback rate can be sped up or slowed down. When NASA’s Juno spacecraft launched on Aug. 5, 2011, users could look ahead to see the mission’s five-year journey to Jupiter in a matter of seconds.

Point of view can be switched from faraway to close-up to right “on board” spacecraft. Location, motion and appearance are based on predicted and reconstructed mission data. Dozens of controls on a series of pop-up menus allow users to fully customize what they see, and video and audio tutorials explain how to use the tool’s many options. Users may choose from 2-D or 3-D modes, with the latter simply requiring a pair of red-cyan glasses to see.

“By basing our visualization primarily on mission data, this tool will help both NASA and the public better understand complex space science missions,” said Kevin Hussey, manager of Visualization Technology Applications and Development at JPL, whose team developed “Eyes on the Solar System.”

“Eyes on the Solar System” is in beta release. It has been demonstrated at science conferences, in classrooms and at the 2011 South by Southwest Interactive Conference in Austin, Texas.

Designers are updating “Eyes on the Solar System” to include NASA science missions launching during the coming months, including GRAIL to the moon and the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover.

“Eyes on the Solar System” and an introduction video are available at http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/eyes .

Updates on new features are available through the tool’s Twitter account: http://twitter.com/NASA_Eyes .

I’ve got your missing links right here (03 September 2011) | Not Exactly Rocket Science

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Less than Zero Jobs Report

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by Clifford F. Thies

Today's jobs report is thought to be dismal. Zero net new jobs. But, it is less than zero, because job creation in the two prior months was revised downward. Plus, there was a reduced average workweek. From 34.3 to 34.2 hours. Plus, hourly earnings fell. By 0.1 percent. That's without any adjustment for inflation. So, fewer people were working, for less hours per week, and for less pay per hour.

In terms of unemployment, it held steady at 9.1 percent. That's with another 400,000 working part-time workers (counted as "employed") when they would like to work full-time. And, over the course of the past year, an increase in 200,000 in the number of people who would like to find work, and who looked for work during the past year, but who didn't look during the past month.

Before the jobs report, "Predictions suggest that roughly 60,000 jobs might have been created in August," according to one source, WashingtonPost a number that was said to contribute to the President's slide in the polls. "The worse - or more deeply disappointing - the jobs report", that source continued, the more difficult it would be for the President.

What about how much worse it would be for those who remain unemployed, who struggle to make ends meet when on short hours, or who have given up even looking for work? What about them? NO, WHAT ABOUT US???

Our jobs, our homes, our businesses, our retirement savings, everything at risk, for us and for those we love. And all the pundits want to worry about is what this means for the President's re-election prospects

I am sick up to here with all this talk of shared pain. Let's get back on track with a growing economy, where we who are willing to work can look forward to gain instead of pain.

Kasich: Tax Amnesty for US Corps overseas to come home

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"Let them bring back their money here at a lower tax rate"

From Eric Dondero:

Straight out of a libertarian playbook, Republican Governor of Ohio and former House Budget Chairman John Kasich proposes a one-time tax amnesty for corporations willing to invest back in the American homeland.

there is expected to be about a trillion dollars that companies have in profits that are sitting outside of America. And a lot of these companies would like to bring this money home but the tax rates are so high that they instead are investing in places other than America. I think the notion of letting them bring that money back here at either a low tax rate or maybe a one-time pass on that would be a stimulus plan that would make some sense.

Note - This website was an early and enthuisastic supporter of Kasich and Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor in 2010, despite the whining and snickering among some libertarian purists. A check of top libertarian websites shows no reporting of Kasich's tax amnesty proposal at Daily Paul, LewRockwell.com, Cato.org, LP.org, or Reason.

Five NASCAR drivers "scheduling conflicts" on visit to the White House

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From Eric Dondero:

The leftwing SB Nation mentions matter of factly that five NASCAR drivers are snubbing Obama who invited them to a ceremony at the White House recently:

President Barack Obama will honor NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson and the 11 other Chase drivers from last year in a White House ceremony on Wednesday - but nearly half of the 2010 playoff contenders won't be there.

NASCAR said Thursday that five drivers - Greg Biffle, Kurt Busch, Carl Edwards, Kevin Harvick and Tony Stewart - will not be attending the White House visit due to "schedule conflicts."

Rick Moran writing at American Thinker pegs it (NASCAR drivers give thumbs down to presidential visit):

The sneering condenscension of the left for "NASCAR Dads" has not gone unnoticed among the ranks of drivers - most of whom have a pretty good PR sense when it comes to their fans. Like C&W singers, the bond between a driver and his fans is very close and it is not surprising that since most fans of NASCAR have strong feelings against the president, that drivers would forgo the opportunity to be a prop in his re-election campaign.

Photo - One of my personal NASCAR favorites Carl Edwards. Carl's page

Capitalism on Principle: Perry supports AT&T – T-Mobile merger

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With 0% Job Growth Obama administration says No to 5,000 new private sector jobs

From Eric Dondero:

AT&T pledged to re-locate over 5,000 jobs from India to the United States if the deal were to be approved. But the Obama DOJ said no to the merger.

The International Business Times reports that back in May, Perry expressed his strong support for the merger:

Perry, in his official capacity as the Texas Governor, even wrote a letter to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in support of it.

Below are some of the pro-merger arguments Perry made:

- AT&T's commitment of $8 billion in additional investments

- More wireless broadband access to rural America

- More U.S. network capacity and output

The Perry campaign has since re-iterrated the Governor's support.

In response, a Perry spokesperson told the publication that the governor believes the deal "will be good for consumers, good for technology innovation, and good for American job creation."