BBC News | Three Cliffs Bay among lifeguard patrol beaches BBC News Lifeguard patrols have begun at a beach where three people died in two years. RNLI staff were back at Three Cliffs Bay on Gower on Saturday. Over the Easter weekend there will be lifeguards at Tenby South Beach and Whitesands in Pembrokeshire, ... |
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When you think of beautiful surf, your mind don't necessarily envision Africa--but it should. The continent is home to paradisiacal stretches of sand and water, whether on the Atlantic or Indian Oceans, or even near freshwater lakes. These standouts span from the Ivory Coast to the Seychelles, and all the way down to South Africa.
When you think of beautiful surf, your mind don't necessarily envision Africa--but it should. The continent is home to paradisiacal stretches of sand and water, whether on the Atlantic or Indian Oceans, or even near freshwater lakes. These standouts span from the Ivory Coast to the Seychelles, and all the way down to South Africa.
A dune-filled island off the coast of Mozambique, Bazaruto sits within a marine park in the Indian Ocean. Known for its prime snorkeling, diving, luxury digs like &Beyond Benguerra, Bazaruto also offers easy fly-in access.
Otherwise known as "Sunset Beach," North Island in Seychelles is where giant tortoises graze in the grass, the sea turns pink as the sun sets, and the West Beach Bar buzzes with the low hum of famous voices--celebrities like George and Amal Clooney, and Prince William and Kate Middleton have honeymooned here, and if it's good enough for them, it's good enough for you.
Kenya's Diani Beach, about an hour south of Mombasa, is part resort, part zooyou'll probably spot colobus monkeys swinging around, and camels strolling, which you can hire for rides when you're not bathing in the clear sea, sunning, or perusing crafts from local vendors.
The original capital of Cte d'Ivoire, the colonial town of Grand Bassam suffered a decline from its heyday as a seaport until the 1930s, but that led to its revival as a resort town beginning in the 1960s, and now it's a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Palms line its biscuit-colored shore, and you'll be hard pressed to beat its Ivorian seafood.
Flat, dry and dotted hotels, cafes, and restaurants ranging from the low end to the high end, Santa Maria, on Sal Island in Cape Verde, is a windsurfers haven with pool-blue waters.
Hippy luxe rules at this Tanzanian freshwater lake. The sand at Tanganyika is utterly pure, and you can can kayak or swim, but be advised of the odd croc and hippothis isn't the Caribbean. If you're looking for remote, that's what you'll get, whether you're listening to the pant-hoots of chimpanzees from your safari lodge, or trundling along in a dhow boat for a sunset cruise.
An old fishing village 90 miles north of Cape Town, Paternoster is defined by its cottages with white-washed walls and thatched roofs, and these days, several serve as lovely B&Bs.
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Meredith Ennis
Floatopia 2009 grew and grew and grew out of control compared to earlier incarnations due to social media promotion. To avoid a repeat, the county closes Isla Vista beaches this year April 8-9, and UCSB holds multiple sanctioned festivities.
UCSB Diverts Students withEvents
Floatopia will be a whimper, not a bang in 2017 if the county has anything to do with it. Rain in the forecast aside, as well the preparations underway for Deltopia the weekend of April 8, Santa Barbara County will close Isla Vista beaches on Saturday and Sunday to prevent a repeat of the ad hoc party. All county law enforcement agencies have plans to support UCSB Police and Isla Vista Foot Patrol, and the CSO escort service, which provides safe walking for any student, has all hands ondeck.
The monster float fest in 2009 left beaches strewn with trash, human waste, and wasted humans, and it raised the problem of responsibility for the garbage and hospital bills since the event was largely social mediadriven. Since then the beaches have been closed when the float is announced, and UC Santa Barbara has increasingly stepped up alternative concerts andevents.
This year, The Warm Up is a concert for students only at the universitys Thunderdome, and features RL Grime and Destructo, with more entertainment ongoing all over campus. Roller skating takes place at the Rec Cen along with food and music. Public service announcements cover Isla Vista, advising students to hold private parties, avoid the crumbling cliffs, keep strangers out, stay off the rooftops, and keep the town as tame as it has been the last twoyears.
The City of Goleta has issued parking passes for the neighborhoods bordering Isla Vista, and campus will ticket and tow if cars are found in parking lots that have beenclosed.
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Isla Vista Beaches Closed for Floatopia - Santa Barbara Independent
by Tami Pokorny
Last April, during the Washington Coast Cleanup, over 1,400 volunteers removed at least 20 tons of trash from more than 50 beaches on the outer coast and into the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Registration is now open for the Washington Coast Cleanup to be held on Saturday, April 29.
We will be cleaning many of the same beaches as in the past, but new this year, will be the opportunity to recycle some of the plastics that are collected due to a partnership with TerraCycle. Stay tuned to learn more about this opportunity. If you want to help specifically with sorting recyclables at one of the beach stations, let us know and well see if theres a location where we can put you to work!
Post Cleanup BBQs
We appreciate all the time, energy and gas money that volunteers contribute to come to the coast and thats why we provide barbecues in a range of locations. The following are some great opportunities to rub elbows with fellow beach cleaners and get some good food too:
Hobuck Beach Resort (near Neah Bay): Surfrider Foundation (12-3 p.m.)
Chito Beach Resort (near Clallam Bay): Lions Club (12-3 p.m.)
Ozette Ranger Station: Friends of Olympic National Park (12-6 p.m.)
Lost Resort (near Ozette): Robs Famous Bean Soup (12-3 p.m.)
Three Rivers Fire Station (Near Forks): Surfrider Foundation (12-3 p.m.)
Kalaloch Campground: Kalaloch Lodge (12-3 p.m.)
Twin Harbors State Park (near Westport): Surfrider Foundation (12-3 p.m.)
Peninsula Senior Center (Klipsan Beach) Soup Feed: (12-1:30 p.m.)
Free Camping
Front country camping at the coastal campgrounds is on a first-come, first-served basis, and camping will be free for Cleanup participants on the nights of Friday, April 28, and Saturday, April 29. If you will be wilderness camping within Olympic National Park, youll need to check in at the Olympic National Park Wilderness Information Center in Port Angeles to get your permit, but camping and permit fees will be waived for Cleanup participants on the nights of April 28-29. The park will also waive all wilderness permit fees and entrance fees for coastal areas during the Cleanup for participants. The WIC in Port Angeles will be open from 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m. For directions, trail status and other info, call the WIC at 360-565-3100 or see the WIC website.
Film Festival
If you are in the Forks area for the Cleanup, you will have a unique opportunity to take in the River and Ocean Film Festival at the Rainforest Arts Center from 6-9 p.m. Saturday, April 29. This event is free and open to the public, no registration is required. The River and Ocean Film Festival is presented each year by the North Pacific Coast Marine Resources Committee, Washington Sea Grant and partners and offers film explorations of our regional rivers and oceans. The films highlight the beauty and opportunity of this region and the issues facing its marine and freshwater habitats.
Want to Help Clean Beaches Without
Leaving the House?
We understand that not everyone can spend a day on the coast participating in a beach cleanup. If you value clean and beautiful beaches but are unable to join us for whatever reason, you still can support our efforts by making a donation to support Washington CoastSavers. We are a program under Discover Your Northwest which is a 501(c)(3) so your donation will go directly to keeping the coast clean. To support our efforts go to http://www.discovernw.org/ select donate.
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Tens of Thousands of Pounds of Trash on Our Beaches! - Forks Forum
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With 500 beaches on more than 1,000 miles of coastline, the Golden State isn't lacking in variety.
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Montarra Beach in Half Moon Bay provides astonishing views of the Pacific Ocean from its dramatic, wind-swept cliffs.(Photo: Jay Graham)
With 500 beaches on more than 1,000 miles of coastline, the Golden State isn't lacking in space or variety. Explore your artistic side in one of the 70 galleries that line Laguna Beach, play the boardwalk games in Mission Beach, gawk at the weightlifters on "Muscle Beach" or catch a wave off of Santa Monica's shores. Whether you want to see and be seen while catching rays on Hollywood-perfect stretches of smooth white sand, or you prefer hiking among tide pools and windswept cliffs, California has got you covered.
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Photo tour: The best beaches in California - USA Today - USA TODAY
Following a number of coastal towns, South Bethany is considering a ban on beach smoking.(Photo: File photo by Amanda Rippen White)Buy Photo
South Bethany has passed an ordinance to ban smoking on the beachesand on all walkways leading to the beach.
At the third reading of the ordinance on Friday, April 7, the council specified that the definition of "smoking" will include any inhaled and exhaled substance. Specifically, the ordinance places a sweeping ban on cigarettes, cigars, e-cigarettes, vaporizers and anything else that is heated and inhaled. The ordinance will be enforced year-round on public beaches, with no designated smoking areas.
Council member Tim Shaw described the ordinance as a violation of personal rights.
"I know this is going to pass, but I'm not comfortable voting for an ordinance that infringes on personal rights that doesn't solve a clear problem we're having," Shaw said. "We shouldn't be passing laws that take away freedoms for no good reason."
Council of South Bethany at meeting on Friday, April 7.(Photo: Staff Photo by Gino Fanelli)
South Bethany falls into a long line of smoking bans enacted in the coastal Maryland and Delaware region. In 2014, Rehoboth Beach passed an ordinance that banned smoking on its boardwalk and beaches, withOcean City, Bethany Beach and Fenwick Island following in tow.
Council member Frank Weisgerber called the ban practical as it solves a clear problem on their beaches.
BACKGROUND: S. Bethany may become last town to ban beach smoking
"Have you ever been on the beach downwind of someone smoking a cigar?" Weisgerber asked Shaw. "It's not just a personal rights decision at that point; it's a violation of everyone in the area's right to clean air."
Weisgerber pointed to large community support for the bill, with 72 percent responding positively to a survey to the 1,400 property owners in the area. Despite this, Shaw remained ardent in his stance.
"I'm not saying I like smoking," Shaw said. "My wife smokes. I hate it. It will probably kill her, but it is still not my decision to take her rights away."
The ordinance ultimately passed at the vote of 5 to 1, with Shaw as the sole dissenter.
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South Bethany Beach bans smoking on the beach - Delmarva Daily Times
Long Beach Island offers some of the United States' best beaches for family vacations, according to a travel website.
In compiling its top ten list, Family Vacation Critic says the selected beaches deliver "a chance for everyone to relax, with the convenience of calm, lifeguard-protected waters; restrooms/showers; and nearby attractions."
LBI joins Ponce Inlet, Florida; Jones Beach State Park, New York; Rehoboth Beach, Delaware; Coronado Beach, California; Balboa Beach, California; North Beach Park, Wisconsin; Coast Guard Beach, Massachusetts; Weirs Beach, New Hampshire; and Seaside Beach, Oregon.
In describing the southern Ocean County barrier island comprised of numerous municipalities, the travel website says "nobody does a classic beach vacation like Long Beach Island." Family Vacation Critic cites the 18 miles of shoreline, various accommodations, and numerous offerings off the beach, including Fantasy Island, the main amusement attraction on the island.
The latest honor is just another in a string of recent accolades for the Jersey Shore.
In February, Expedia named LBI's Beach Haven as among 21 of the East Coast's most scenic towns.
The community, known as the Queen City because of its Victorian and Edwardian charm, was first established as a summer resort to accommodate wealthy Philadelphia residents.
According to the borough's website, the Queen Anne style mansions built at the end of the 1800s "are among the most beautiful historic buildings in the state."
It was also the location of the first of numerous Jersey Shore shark attacks that spurred panic during the summer of 1916. In the Beach Haven incident, a 25-year-old man bled to death after a shark bit his legs while playing with his dog off the Engleside Avenue beach.
Further south, in JanuaryCoastal Living magazine named Cape May as one of country's happiest seaside towns, and Ocean City was named the country's beach town last year in a reader survey conducted by the same magazine.
Self-billed as "America's Greatest Family Resort," Ocean City was named the state's most popular beach in 2009, 2014, and 2015.
In 2015, Travel + Leisure magazine ranked Monmouth County's Asbury Park as number 10 in a list of 50 destinations to travel, ranging from the tropical Andaman Islands off India to Douro Valley in Portugal and everything in between.
The magazine in 2016 again bestowed honors on the Jersey Shore when its residents voted Cape May and Atlantic City as among 15 of the country's favorite beach towns in the publication's "America's Favorite Places" survey.
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Long Beach Island's beaches named among best for families in US - Newsworks.org
The great whites have satellite tags and are tracked by OCEARCH, giving a new perspective on the movements of the sharks known as "the lions of the deep."
WILMINGTON --Cisco and George, two male great white sharks tagged by shark research nonprofit OCEARCH are currently swimming off New Hanover County beaches.
Satellite tags attached to the sharks allow researchers and the public to follow their movements along the East Coast, either on the OCEARCH website or with the OCEARCH Global Shark Tracker app. Acoustic tags attached to the sharks or surgically implanted send signals to stationary receivers as the sharks swim along the coast.
"We are in the early stages of being able to track these large white sharks in history," said OCEARCH Founding Chairman Chris Fischer. "We're all watching them show us what is normal right now."
Cisco an immature shark coming in at 8 feet, 7 inches long and weighing 362 pounds. In 2016 he was tagged by OCEARCH in Nantucket, Mass. As of Tuesday, his satellite tag showed he was off the coast of Wrightsville Beach.
George, a mature shark is 9 feet, 10 inches long and weighs 702 pounds. He and Cisco were tagged by OCEARCH on the same day and location. As of Wednesday, he pinged off the coast of Kure Beach. Fischer said George is the first mature male white shark SPOT tagged in North Atlantic history.
Further down off the coast, off of McClellanville, S.C., is Hilton, a mature male great white weighing 1,326 pounds and 12 feet, 5 inches long.
"We have only three large males tagged and a total of 23 sharks in the North Atlantic, and all three of them right now are in your region," Fischer said Friday.
It is not a coincidence that the males are in the area.
"We do know that over the course of the year the male white sharks and the female white sharks live separate lives," Fischer said. "They only come together to where they mate. We believe that's farther north."
Cisco, George and Hilton are likely in the area feeding before they head north as the water warms during the summer.
"They clearly like it there. There must be a lot of food, which means you have a really healthy abundant system," Fischer said. "It's a great tribute to the management that is going on in that region that you've got three male white sharks nearby."
Cisco, George and Hilton also have their own Twitter handles and are followed by thousands on the social media platform.
Reporter Elizabeth Montgomery can be reached at 910-343-2066 or Elizabeth.Montgomery@StarNewsOnline.com.
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2 male great white sharks ping off New Hanover beaches - News ... - StarNewsOnline.com
MICHIGAN CITY Overcast skies, temperatures in the mid-30s and a strong, biting wind that sent grains of sand hurtling through the air like tiny needles doesn't sound like ideal beach weather. Despite the conditions, there was a steady flow of traffic into Michigan City's Washington Park Beach on Thursday.
Sustained winds around 20 mph with gusts to near 40 churned up 14- to 18-foot waves on Lake Michigan. The conditions prompted the U.S. Coast Guard to warn people to stay away from beaches, and stay off rocks, jetties and piers.
"The Coast Guard is advising people to stay away. It's just not safe," Petty Officer 3rd Class Luis Morales, of the Coast Guard's Station Michigan City. "The Coast Guard is advising recreational boaters not to go out at all and is urging caution for commercial operations."
Through late morning Thursday, Morales said Coast Guard crews in Michigan City hadn't been called out for any rescues.
"Thankfully, I think people are heeding caution and are staying away from the water," he said.
At Washington Park Beach, curious onlookers came in a steady stream and ventured to the walkway next to the beach for a view of the surf pounding the shoreline.
"We decided it would be a great time to bring my granddaughter to see what it's like when it's not so sunny and warm," Susan Salzer, of LaPorte said.
Salzer and her granddaughter, Shyanne Fulton, 12, of Elkhart, bundled up in heavy coats and hoods posed for photographs for spring break.
"I think this is pretty cool," Fulton said.
The unseasonably cool weather, that included a few snow showers early Thursday across the South Bend region, is expected to move out as the weekend approaches.
Christopher Roller, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service northern Indiana office, said beginning Friday temperatures will begin a steady warming trend with highs in the mid-40s on Friday, around 60 degrees on Saturday and near 70 for Sunday and Monday.
"High pressure will be building in across the region which will cause the wind to shift around and come out of the south allowing for the warming trend the area will see this weekend," Roller said.
The weather is continuing to be atypical following a mild and largely snow-free winter. Since October 1, South Bend has only recorded 41.6 inches of snow a full two feet below normal.
While the snow hasn't fallen to a large degree in South Bend, raindrops have been plentiful.
Roller said South Bend has seen 11.82 inches of rain since January 1, more than 4.5 inches above normal.
"We were running near normal for precipitation through February," Roller said. "As soon as we hit March we've had quite a barrage of low pressure systems hit the area. It's been quite active."
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Strong winds, heavy surf batter Michigan City's beaches - South Bend Tribune
On April 7, 2017, Jupiter will reach peak brightness in the sky at opposition, lining up directly opposite the Sun when viewed from Earth. This ideal vantage point also brings Jupiter and Earth closer together than at any other time: 416 million miles (670 million kilometers). On April 3, the Hubble Space Telescope took advantage of these circumstances by imaging the giant planet with the Wide Field Camera 3, which is capable of utilizing infrared, optical, and ultraviolet light to create a more comprehensive image of the planets atmosphere. The result is a colorful portrait of Jupiter, to be added to a library of observations of the planet as part of the Outer Planet Atmospheres Legacy (OPAL) program.
Jupiters atmosphere is rife with swirling clouds, incredible winds, and storms that last for hours, days, months, years, and even centuries. Its iconic Great Red Spot, which has recently been joined by Red Spot Junior at lower latitudes, has been shrinking for at least the past 100 years, with planetary scientists still trying to determine why. The OPAL program, which began in 2014, aims to increase understanding of the outer planets atmospheres in the hopes of better characterizing the atmospheres of similarly sized exoplanets circling other stars. Closer to home, the same atmospheric research can be applied to the behavior of Earths weather systems.
If youre an observer or planetary enthusiast, consider stepping outside tonight to view Jupiter at its best. You can spot the planet easily with the naked eye in the east following sunset, and even a small telescope will reveal its most prominent cloud features and largest moons.
You can view and download larger versions of this image at http://www.spacetelescope.org.
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Jupiter sits for a stunning Hubble portrait - Astronomy Magazine
Discovering new planets takes time and manpower or, at least, a lot of the latter. Since July 2007, Zooniverse has provided a platform for citizen scientists (thats any person with an interest in science and discovery, no degree needed) to make valuable and exciting contributions to the scientific world. And now, theyve done it again just 48 hours into a new planet search project, the Exoplanet Explorers program has found a never-before-identified four-planet system in the constellation Aquarius.
The planetary system, which sits at a distance of 597 light-years, contains four super Earth-sized planets: EE-1b, c, d, and e. Super Earths are planets with a mass greater than Earth, but less then Uranus and Neptune (which are about 14 and 17 times the mass of Earth, respectively). The four super Earths in the newly discovered system are 1.98 (EE-1b), 2.03 (EE-1c), 2.74 (EE-1d), and 2.22 (EE-1e) Earth radii. Even though theyre larger than our planet, theyre also much closer to their star, orbiting once every 3 to 13 days. All of them sit closer to their own sun (which is about 0.9 solar masses, and likely a late G or early K star; our Sun is a G star) than Mercury sits to ours, so theyre extremely hot worlds. The closest planet is just 0.04 Astronomical Units (AU) from its star, while the farthest is 0.10 AU. One AU is the average distance between Earth and the Sun (about 93 million miles [150 million kilometers]); Mercury sits at nearly 0.4 AU.
The discovery is currently being written up as a scientific paper, soon to be submitted for publication. Furthermore, these planets may not be alone in their solar system, and more planets may be found at greater distances from the star in the future.
Zooniverse is a citizen science platform run by the U.K.s University of Oxford, Chicagos Adler Planetarium, and the Citizen Science Alliance. The Exoplanet Explorers program and a related Zooniverse project, Planet Hunters, allows volunteers to comb through data from the Kepler spacecrafts extended mission, K2. There is a huge catalog of stars observed by the telescope, any of which could host one or more planets. Volunteers are tasked with looking for changes in the stars light due to transits, which occur when a planet crosses in front of its star as it orbits, as seen from Earth.
These tiny dips in light can be difficult to spot, and are often best left to humans, not computers, to discern. Such citizen science projects rely on sheer numbers to find real objects the more people who identify a planet, the more likely the planet is to be real.
You can find out more about the Exoplanet Explorers project, or try your own hand at exoplanet discovery, on the projects website. You can also get more details about the newly discovered planetary system, including the volunteers involved in the find, here; NASA scientists will work to confirm the discovery in the near future.
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A new Zooniverse project just found four super Earths around a Sun-like star - Astronomy Magazine
Kepler-62f
The super-Earth Kepler-62f was discovered in 2013. Its host star is about three billion years older than our Sun and the planet takes 267 days to make one complete orbit.
Its another planet thats 40% bigger than Earth, and likely rocky and it gets about 40% the amount of energy that we do, Coughlin says.
Kepler- 62f orbits around a K-dwarf star, which on average are much more massive than M-dwarfs. Its orbit is at a comparable distance from its star as Venus is to our Sun. Since the K-type star is cooler, the habitable zone is much closer. K-Dwarfs also have an extremely long lifespan, living somewhere around 30 billion years. Scientists think that -62f may be covered in water, but because its the farthest planet out in its system, it would require a pretty thick atmosphere to keep that water from freezing.
TRAPPIST-1 system
A family of three planets orbiting around TRAPPIST-1 were initially discovered in 2015. However upon studying the star more closely, they discovered that the star actually had seven different planets. The seven planets, TRAPPIST b, c, d, e, f, and g orbit around an ultra cool M-dwarf star and all fit within the orbit of Mercury and our sun. The TRAPPIST star is also only about the size of Jupiter, making it relatively small to host seven planets.
The neat thing about this one is that there are three planets that are in the habitable zone, so if you had one planet that had a catastrophic event and another planet had something wrong the odds of finding at least one of those three to be more Earth like is pretty good, says Coughlin.
One handy thing about having rocky planets close to one another like this is that if one is habitable then the accidental transport of life by comets or other impacts could pretty easily spread that life to the other bodies.
I was excited when they found this system with seven planets, and three in the habitable zone. This discovery changed my view that M-dwarfs are good places to look for potentially habitable planets mostly because you dont tend to have Jupiter-sized planets around M-dwarfs but you do tend to have rocky planets, Coughlin says.
M-dwarfs like TRAPPIST-1, Kepler-186 and Kepler-62 are extremely common in the galaxy and because of their long lifespans it makes it a bit easier to find them.
Whats next for the exoplanets?
Planets like -452b and -62f are the closest analogs to Earth, orbiting more Sun-like stars at a distance were more familiar with. The hunt for more Earth-like planets is ongoing, but the super earths are actually pretty hard to find because they orbit their star at a similar length of time that we do. Waiting a few years to to see if there's a dip in the light in front of the star is pretty challenging.
The Kepler mission had to stare at the same patch of sky for over four years to find planets like Earth, Coughlin says. The big planets close to their star around small stars are the easiest to find.
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Your guide to the most habitable exoplanets - Astronomy Magazine
Radio telescopes like this one atop Mauna Kea, Hawaii, are being used worldwide to try and capture the first ever image of a supermassive black hole located at the center of our galaxy. (WTOP/Greg Redfern)
GULF OF MEXICO Greetings from at sea aboard the ms Oosterdam in the Gulf of Mexico.
A cosmic first got underway this week: humanitys attempt to image a black hole using the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT). Using radio telescopes located around the globe to combine their separate signals into the equivalent of an Earth sized radio telescope antenna, the EHT will be making several observations.
EHT will try and image the supermassive black hole (SBH) located at the center of our Milky Way Galaxy known as Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*) and the SBH located in nearby galaxy M87. EHT will also be observing several other galaxies.
SBHs are thought to be at the center of most galaxies. Sgr A* is over four million times as massive as our sun and is 26,000 light years distant. Due to intervening gas and dust, we cannot see the center of the Milky Way Galaxy using optical telescopes, but we can do so using radio telescopes. EHT has been a decade-long project that has now come to fruition with this history making observing run.
EHT will be collecting a huge amount of data during its 10-day observing run.
The first several days have been going well and according to schedule. After the observing run is concluded, EHT astronomers will then begin the arduous task of correlating and analyzing all of the data to try and achieve the first ever image of Sgr A*.
It will take months of work before they know if they have been successful and publication of their results is expected in 2018.
April is Global Astronomy Month (GAM), organized the same month each year by Astronomers Without Borders (AWB).
It is the worlds largest annual global celebration of astronomy and brings new ideas and new opportunities. GAM 2017 is currently underway and is bringing enthusiasts together worldwide to celebrate Astronomers Without Borders motto One People, One Sky. You can find more information one events on their website.
Be sure to look at bright Jupiter in the southeast at sunset as it will be in the sky for several months. Venus has moved to the morning sky and is visible before dawn.
Follow Gregs daily blog at http://www.whatsupthespaceplace.com to keep up with the latest news in astronomy and space exploration. You can email him at skyguyinva@gmail.com.
Like WTOP on Facebook and follow @WTOP on Twitter to engage in conversation about this article and others.
2017 WTOP. All Rights Reserved.
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A cosmic 1st: Images of a black hole, and Astronomy Month 2017 - WTOP
Astronomers have just brought a telescope online thats (virtually) the size of Earth. Dubbed the Event Horizon Telescope, its aiming to achieve something thats never been done before: imaging the space around a black hole all the way down to its event horizon.
One of its targets is Sagittarius A*, or Sgr A* for short. Sgr A* is the supermassive black hole in the center of the Milky Way, with a mass of approximately 4 million Suns. Because its so massive and so (relatively) close at a distance of 25,600 light-years, its the largest black hole visible in our sky. But large is a relative term as well current estimates place the size of the black hole at 100 Astronomical Units (AU) or less. One AU is the average distance between Earth and the Sun, 93 million miles (150 million kilometers). Some estimates even indicate that the black hole could be as small as the distance between Mercury and the Sun, just 28 million miles (46 million km).
When astronomers see black holes, they are actually seeing light from a disk of material around the black hole, which is sitting beyond the event horizon. Anything within the event horizon itself is truly invisible, as that marks the point at which even light cannot travel fast enough to break free of the black holes gravity and escape. But currently, astronomical instruments dont have the resolution to really see the disk closely or image its structure.
This is why every image ever shown of a black hole in a news article or textbook is an artists rendering, rather than an actual picture. But thats all about to change.
The Event Horizon Telescope makes use of a technique called Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) that requires several telescopes observing the same object from different locations to create highly detailed images of very, very small sections of the sky. The farther apart the telescopes are located, the greater the detail they can achieve. The Event Horizon Telescope will link eight radio telescopes around the world, including the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array in Chile, the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory in Hawaii, the Large Millimeter Telescope Alfonso Serrano in Mexico, the South Pole Telescope in Antarctica, and other facilities in France and Spain to utilize the longest baselines possible. By creating a truly Earth-sized telescope, the project should be capable of imaging the space around a black hole in exquisite detail.
This will allow astronomers to study not only the structure of the disk around the black hole, but also to test general relativity, get a better look at how the black hole actually feeds on material, and maybe even determine how the outflows and jets that are so common among black holes are actually created.
The giant telescope came online April 5 and will observe for about a week and a half, gathering data until April 14. In addition to imaging our relatively quiescent Sgr A*, it will also look at the more active supermassive black hole residing in Messier 87, a huge elliptical galaxy in the nearby Virgo Cluster. The amount of information obtained will be so immense that its too large to transfer digitally it will be stored physically and taken to the Max Planck Institute in Germany, and the Haystack Observatory in Massachusetts for processing.
That will take time. But in a few months, we may finally have our first picture of the region immediately around a supermassive black hole.
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Get ready for our first image of a black hole - Astronomy Magazine
Even on a clear night, stargazing can be a challenge in southeast Michigan. The glow from city lights tends to dim all but the brightest celestial objects. Only a few places in the world offer skies dark enough to see the universe in all its grandeur. One such place is the Headlands International Dark Sky Park near Mackinaw City, Michigan. Director Mary Stewart Adams says theres something magical about seeing the cosmoswithout the distraction of light-emitting buildings andgadgets.
Something starts to happen in our own thinking and imagination when we expose ourselves to dark or darkening environments that I think can kind of be an antidote to having to be plugged in all the time, Adamssays.
The Headlands is in the process of building a new observatory that will feature a telescope for viewing objects in deep space. The park also hosts astronomy events throughout the year. On Friday, April 7, amateur astronomers will gather at the Headlands for Statewide Astronomy Night in Michigan. Adams says its an opportunity for anyone interested in the heavens to learn about the science of the stars. She says it does not have to be an expensive hobby. Instead of buying a fancy telescope, she recommends starting with a good pair of binoculars, or contacting a local astronomyclub.
Ive never met a more enthusiastic group of people than amateur astronomers, because they love to share information about their technology, Adamssays.
A number of astronomy clubs in southeast Michigan offer Statewide Astronomy Night viewing events. Click the links below for moreinformation.
Ford Astronomy Club at Henry FordCollege
Warren Astronomical Society at Wolcott MillMetropark
University of Michigans Detroit Observatory in AnnArbor
University of Michigan Museum of Natural HistoryPlanetarium
Wayne State University Public PlanetariumShow
Headlands International Dark Sky Park, Emmet County
The observatory at Headlands International DarkSkyPark
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On the list of exoplanets that could hold life, GJ 1132b wouldnt come near making the cut. Its a super-Earth whose upper atmosphere reaches 500 degrees Fahrenheit (260 degrees Celcius), meaning it only gets hotter as you move down. Its barely a hair away from its star, completing a year in 1.6 Earth days.
Life is incredibly unlikely to survive there. Yet it may be one of the most important planets to come along in the search for life. So whys that?
Well, its because it has an atmosphere at all.
GJ 1132b orbits an M-dwarf star. M-dwarfs are the most numerous stars known in the universe, but also some of the most turbulent. While they can last trillions of years, the first few billion years of their lives are spent expelling violent flare events.
Most of these M-dwarfs likely have planets, and a handful of known planets around these stars are in the habitable zone. These early flare events may sweep away those atmospheres, leaving what could have held liquid pools of water and an Earth-like atmosphere instead barren rocks.
And yet GJ 1132b has an atmosphere, according to research from the European Southern Observatory and the Max Planck Institute. The atmosphere appears to have abundant water vapor and methane with a similar thickness to that of Venus.
The research, published in The Astronomical Journal, suggests that planets around M-dwarf stars can retain atmospheres even after their turbulent early years. GJ 1132b, which is about 39 light years away, is considered an older planet. Thus, other M-dwarf planets might be able to retain their atmospheres, and planets in the habitable zone could have a way to actually host life rather than showing false promise.
Instruments like the James Webb Space Telescope may be able to glance at other M-dwarf planets to see if atmospheric retention is common or if 1132b is an outlier.
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The solar eclipse shot was taken by David Buchla off the coast of Tahiti from a cruise ship on July 11, 2010. Details are: Canon EOS 5D Mk 2 camera with a Canon 300 mm f2.8 lens with 1.4 multiplier for an equivalent focal length of 420 mm.
NEVADA CITY, Calif. April 6, 2017 The Nevada County Astronomy Club and the Madelyn Helling Library host Astronomy Day on Saturday, April 29, 2017 from 11 am to 3 pm. Astronomy Day features numerous educational exhibits about our place in the universe. This years theme, Eclipses includes an introduction to this summers solar eclipse. It will be the first in the continental US since February 26, 1979.
This years eclipse promises to be widely visible as it crosses the United States. Astronomy Day attendees will learn more about this spectacular event during the Solar Eclipse lecture that will take place in the new Marian E. Gallaher Amphitheater at the Madelyn Helling Library, 980 Helling Way in Nevada City, California.
Astronomy Day is an annual event established to highlight the science as a fun and educational hobby and to bring awareness to our amazing universe. It isnt necessary to have a telescope to appreciate the night sky and to learn more about it.
Nevada County Astronomers hold regular meeting on topics of general interest and schedule events to share their knowledge with schools and the public.
Astronomy Day features fun activities for the whole family. The highlight of the day is a Star Lab planetarium show, The Color of Stars. The presentations are hosted by long time astronomer Larry Harrison, an expert in conducting these shows for schools and community groups.
The planetarium is a large inflatable dome that offers visitors a chance to see the night sky in a dark environment. Regular shows will be given from noon to 3 pm; no tickets or reservation required.
Solar telescopes will be set up for safe viewing the sun (weather permitting) in both white light and hydrogen-alpha light. Visitors will be able to make their own star wheels to help navigate the night sky. Star wheels show constellations that are in the sky at any time and date. Another popular activity for kids is the Hands-on Science exhibit and the Demonstration Science tables. Displays include a wide variety of astronomy related topics from auroras, moon exploration, the New Horizon mission to Pluto, eclipses and much more. Several talks will be given in the afternoon including one on the upcoming eclipse.
Outside activities include a planet walk with a full-scale model of the solar system out to Mars. The model helps persons taking the walk understand how enormous our solar system really is. Everyone is welcome and there is no charge. For more information and a schedule, go to http://www.ncastronomers.org.
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Solar Eclipse Featured at Astronomy Day on April 29 - YubaNet
Astrophysicists at the University of Birmingham have made progress in understanding a key mystery of gravitational-wave astrophysics: how two black holes can come together and merge. Senior author Ilya Mandel added: "This work makes it possible to pursue a kind of 'palaeontology' for gravitational waves. A palaeontologist, who has never seen a living dinosaur, can figure out how the dinosaur looked and lived from its skeletal remains. In a similar way, we can analyse the mergers of black holes, and use these observations to figure out how those stars interacted during their brief but intense lives."
The first confirmed detection of gravitational waves occurred on September 14 2015 at 5.51am Eastern Daylight Time by both of the twin LIGO detectors, located in Livingston, Louisiana, and Hanford, Washington, USA. It confirmed a major prediction of Albert Einstein's 1915 general theory of relativity and opened an unprecedented new window onto the cosmos. However, we still do not know how such pairs of merging black holes form.
A new paper, published in Nature Communications, describes the results of an investigation into the formation of gravitational-wave sources with a newly developed toolkit named COMPAS (Compact Object Mergers: Population Astrophysics and Statistics).
In order for the black holes to merge within the age of the Universe by emitting gravitational waves, they must start out very close together by astronomical standards, no more than about a fifth of the distance between the Earth and the Sun. However, massive stars, which are the progenitors of the black holes that LIGO has observed, expand to be much larger than this in the course of their evolution.
The key challenge, then, is how to fit such large stars within a very small orbit. Several possible scenarios have been proposed to address this.
The Birmingham astrophysicists, joined by collaborator Professor Selma de Mink from the University of Amsterdam, have shown that all three observed events can be formed via the same formation channel: isolated binary evolution via a common-envelope phase.
In this channel, two massive progenitor stars start out at quite wide separations. The stars interact as they expand, engaging in several episodes of mass transfer. The latest of these is typically a common envelope - a very rapid, dynamically unstable mass transfer that envelops both stellar cores in a dense cloud of hydrogen gas. Ejecting this gas from the system takes energy away from the orbit. This brings the two stars sufficiently close together for gravitational-wave emission to be efficient, right at the time when they are small enough that such closeness will no longer put them into contact.
The whole process takes a few million years to form two black holes, with a possible subsequent delay of billions of years before the black holes merge and form a single black hole.
The simulations have also helped the team to understand the typical properties of the stars that can go on to form such pairs of merging black holes and the environments where this can happen. For example, the team concluded that a merger of two black holes with significantly unequal masses would be a strong indication that the stars formed almost entirely from hydrogen and helium, with other elements contributing fewer than 0.1% of stellar matter (for comparison, this fraction is about 2% in the Sun).
First author Simon Stevenson, a PhD student at the University of Birmingham, explained: "The beauty of COMPAS is that it allows us to combine all of our observations and start piecing together the puzzle of how these black holes merge, sending these ripples in spacetime that we were able to observe at LIGO."
The Daily Galaxy via University of Birmingham
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As the Masters Tournament kicks off on Thursday, nearly 100 golfers are vying to win the coveted green jacket. Collectively, they'll perform more than 20,000 drives, chips, and putts over the course of the weekend. So which ones will you, the viewer sitting at home or at work or watching on your phone, get to see?
That's what IBM's Watson is here to determine. Beginning this year, the artificial intelligence system will help the Masters quickly decide which highlights to push out to fans. Watson will use a variety of factors to assign every single shot an "excitement level" score to determine which replays to roll out to viewers.
According to Golf.com, the A.I. system measures how exciting a particular shot is based on the sound of the crowd's roar, the commentator's analysis, and the players' reactions. A chip that announcer Jim Nantz calls "nice" will get less of a bump than one he refers to as "outstanding," for example, and a golfer's polite wave to the crowd will be measured differently than an ecstatic fist pump.
Those factors then feed into an algorithm, which produces an "Overall Excitement Level" rating. The editorial team at Augusta National then uses those ratings to post the best highlights soon after they happen, so a viewer can catch up on the biggest moments he or she has missed that day or throughout the tournament.
The system is currently being used on Masters.com and the tournament's iPhone app. The plan is to eventually give fans more control, letting them filter the videos to show only highlights of their favorite golfers.
It's the latest application for Watson, the system that first gained fame for handily beating Ken Jennings at Jeopardy in 2011. Watson is used to recommend treatments for patients at some medical facilities, including the Cleveland Clinic and New York's Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. And starting this year, H&R Block is using Watson's A.I. to help with client tax preparation.
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Why Artificial Intelligence Will Play a Big Role at This Year's Masters - Inc.com
BBC News | Artificial intelligence and drones 'future of policing' - BBC News BBC News Gwent Police's chief constable says technology will help fight crime amid cutbacks. |
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Artificial intelligence and drones 'future of policing' - BBC News - BBC News