Red carpet romance: Remember these couples of Oscars past?

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On the biggest night in Hollywood, the stars walking the red carpet have some big decisions to make: what to wear, what to say, and maybe the most crucial decisionwho to bring.

Over the years, weve seen the nominees bring some interesting dates to the Oscars, ranging from longtime loves to short-term flings to supportive family members. Take a look at these amazing photos of couples from red carpets past.

Hollywood glam

Oscar night is all about the glamour, and these gorgeous couples took their style and grace from the silver screen to the red carpet.

Warren Beatty and Natalie Wood at the Oscars in 1962: The two starred in the 1961 film "Splendor in the Grass."

Hulton Archive / Getty Images

Jack Nicholson and Anjelica Huston at the Oscars in 1976:

Ron Galella/WireImage

Remember they dated?

Celebrity relationships can come and go in the blink of an eye. Some of Hollywood's biggest stars have been on the awards circuit for so long, we've seen them red-carpet test a number of their relationships. Did you remember that these stars were an item?

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Red carpet romance: Remember these couples of Oscars past?

Strange 'double blob' atop Martian atmosphere puzzles scientists

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Long fingerlike tendrils poked out from the part of the Red Planet known as the "Martian limb" and astronomers are scratching their heads over the cause.

These images of the plume were taken in part by amateur astronomer Wayne Jaeschke, a patent attorney based in West Chester, Penn. W. Jaeschke and D. Parker

In March and April of 2012, amateur astronomers with their lenses turned toward Mars saw strange plumes bubble out from the normally round-appearing atmosphere of the Red Planet. The plumes lasted for around 10 days. "Remarkably, the aspect of the features changed rapidly, their shapes going from double-blob protrusions to pillars or finger-plumelike morphologies," says a paper just published in the journal Nature by a team of professional researchers who back up the amateurs' findings. The paper also pretty much says that the researchers have no idea what caused the plumes.

They do have two theories, however.

The first is that the plumes were caused by phenomena similar to our aurora borealis, or Northern Lights, the process by which electrically charged particles from the sun are funneled to the poles of our planet, where they collide with gas molecules and produce eerie glowing lights.

"Mars aurorae have been observed near where the plume occurs, a region with a large anomaly in the crustal magnetic field that can drive the precipitation of solar wind particles into the atmosphere," says the research paper.

However, the document goes on to argue against this theory as it would have "required exceptional influx of energetic particles over days," from the sun, and stating that the solar activity in 2012 just wasn't strong enough to release such a stream of aurora-producing particles.

The second idea is that the plumes were actually high-flying clouds.

"One idea we've discussed is that the features are caused by a reflective cloud of water-ice, carbon dioxide-ice or dust particles, but this would require exceptional deviations from standard atmospheric circulation models to explain cloud formations at such high altitudes," says Agustin Snchez-Lavega in a European Space Agency release about the phenomena. Snchez-Lavega is from the Universidad del Pas Vasco in Spain, and is lead author of the Nature paper.

But there are problems with this theory as well. Although clouds have certainly been seen on Mars, they typically don't go higher than 60 miles, or about 100km, above the planet's surface, according to National Geographic. These clouds were seen twice that high, however, bumping out from the "Martian limb," or the observed edge of the planet. For water to have condensed at such an altitude, the researchers said in the paper, would have required "anomalously cold thermospheric temperatures" with a temperature drop of more than 50 Kelvin (about 370 degrees Fahrenheit) below the normal temperature at that level of the atmosphere. For carbon dioxide to have done the same, the temperature drop would have to have been more than double that.

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Strange 'double blob' atop Martian atmosphere puzzles scientists

Astronomy – Ch. 7: The Solar Sys – Comparative Planetology (21 of 33) Planet Escape Velocity – Video

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Astronomy - Ch. 7: The Solar Sys - Comparative Planetology (21 of 33) Planet Escape Velocity
Visit http://ilectureonline.com for more math and science lectures! In this video I will discuss the various escape velocities of the planets in our Solar Sy...

By: Michel van Biezen

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Astronomy - Ch. 7: The Solar Sys - Comparative Planetology (21 of 33) Planet Escape Velocity - Video

Astronomy – Ch. 7: The Solar Sys – Comparative Planetology (4 of 33) Basic Orbital Parameters – Video

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Astronomy - Ch. 7: The Solar Sys - Comparative Planetology (4 of 33) Basic Orbital Parameters
Visit http://ilectureonline.com for more math and science lectures! In this video I will discuss the basic orbital parameters of inclination, tilt, and eccen...

By: Michel van Biezen

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Astronomy - Ch. 7: The Solar Sys - Comparative Planetology (4 of 33) Basic Orbital Parameters - Video

Astronomy – Ch. 7: The Solar Sys – Comparative Planetology (6 of 33) Planet Mass – Video

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Astronomy - Ch. 7: The Solar Sys - Comparative Planetology (6 of 33) Planet Mass
Visit http://ilectureonline.com for more math and science lectures! In this video I will discuss the various masses of the planets in our Solar System.. Next...

By: Michel van Biezen

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Astronomy - Ch. 7: The Solar Sys - Comparative Planetology (6 of 33) Planet Mass - Video

Astronomy – Ch. 7: The Solar Sys – Comparative Planetology (8 of 33) Planet Composition – Video

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Astronomy - Ch. 7: The Solar Sys - Comparative Planetology (8 of 33) Planet Composition
Visit http://ilectureonline.com for more math and science lectures! In this video I will discuss the various compositions of the planets in our Solar System....

By: Michel van Biezen

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Astronomy - Ch. 7: The Solar Sys - Comparative Planetology (8 of 33) Planet Composition - Video

Orbital ATK Manufactures World’s Largest Solid Rocket Boosters For NASA’s SLS – Video

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Orbital ATK Manufactures World #39;s Largest Solid Rocket Boosters For NASA #39;s SLS
Orbital ATK, recently formed from the merger or aerospace giants Orbital Sciences Corporation and Alliant Techsystems, Inc., is in the process of designing, testing and manufacturing the boosters...

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Orbital ATK Manufactures World's Largest Solid Rocket Boosters For NASA's SLS - Video

NASA's New Horizon's captures first views of Pluto's moons

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February 18, 2015

The moons Nix and Hydra are visible in a series of images taken by the New Horizons spacecraft. (Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Southwest Research) Institute

Provided by NASA

Exactly 85 years after Clyde Tombaughs historic discovery of Pluto, the NASA spacecraft set to encounter the icy dwarf planet this summer is providing its first views of the small moons orbiting Pluto.

The moons Nix and Hydra are visible in a series of images taken by the New Horizons spacecraft from Jan. 27-Feb. 8, at distances ranging from about 125 million to 115 million miles (201 million to 186 million kilometers). The long-exposure images offer New Horizons best view yet of these two small moons circling Pluto which Tombaugh discovered at Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, on Feb. 18, 1930.

Professor Tombaughs discovery of Pluto was far ahead its time, heralding the discovery of the Kuiper Belt and a new class of planet, says Alan Stern, New Horizons principal investigator from Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, Colorado. The New Horizons team salutes his historic accomplishment.

Assembled into a seven-frame movie, the new images provide the spacecrafts first extended look at Hydra (identified by a yellow diamond ) and its first-ever view of Nix (orange diamond). The right-hand image set has been specially processed to make the small moons easier to see. Its thrilling to watch the details of the Pluto system emerge as we close the distance to the spacecrafts July 14 encounter, says New Horizons science team member John Spencer, also from Southwest Research Institute. This first good view of Nix and Hydra marks another major milestone, and a perfect way to celebrate the anniversary of Plutos discovery.

These are the first of a series of long-exposure images that will continue through early March, with the purpose of refining the teams knowledge of the moons orbits. Each frame is a combination of five 10-second images, taken with New Horizons Long-Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) using a special mode that combines pixels to increase sensitivity at the expense of resolution. At left, Nix and Hydra are just visible against the glare of Pluto and its large moon Charon, and the dense field of background stars. The bright and dark streak extending to the right of Pluto is an artifact of the camera electronics, resulting from the overexposure of Pluto and Charon. As can be seen in the movie, the spacecraft and camera were rotated in some of the images to change the direction of this streak, in order to prevent it from obscuring the two moons.

The right-hand images have been processed to remove most of Pluto and Charons glare, and most of the background stars. The processing leaves blotchy and streaky artifacts in the images, and also leaves a few other residual bright spots that are not real features, but makes Nix and Hydra much easier to see. Celestial north is inclined 28 degrees clockwise from the up direction in these images.

Nix and Hydra were discovered by New Horizons team members in Hubble Space Telescope images taken in 2005. Hydra, Plutos outermost known moon, orbits Pluto every 38 days at a distance of approximately 40,200 miles (64,700 km), while Nix orbits every 25 days at a distance of 30,260 miles (48,700 km). Each moon is probably between 25-95 miles (approximately 40- 150 kilometers) in diameter, but scientists wont know their sizes more precisely until New Horizons obtains close-up pictures of both of them in July. Plutos two other small moons, Styx and Kerberos, are still smaller and too faint to be seen by New Horizons at its current range to Pluto; they will become visible in the months to come.

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NASA's New Horizon's captures first views of Pluto's moons

NASA captures giant fireball over Pittsburgh

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Provided by The Verge

A 500-pound space rock about two-feet in diameter entered the Earth's atmosphere outside of Pittsburgh last night, according to NASA. The object detected by three NASA meteor cameras was moving at a speed of 45,000 miles per hour. Visibility was lost at an altitude of 13 miles, but the space agency speculates that fragments, or meteorites, might be found on the ground east of Kittanning, PA. NASA posted this animation from the meteor's perspective showing its trajectory as it raced towards western Pennsylvania.

NASA maintains a network of more than a dozen specialized black-and-white cameras in its All Sky Fireball Network. The growing network of cameras was set up by the NASA Meteoroid Environment Office (MEO) with the aim of observing fireballs, or meteors brighter than the planet Venus. 15 cameras are currently spread across the US offering overlapping fields of view, located at schools, observatories, and other public spaces designed for the worship of science.

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NASA captures giant fireball over Pittsburgh

NASA Science Leads New York City Climate Change 2015 Report

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The New York City Panel on Climate Change (NPCC) 2015, co-chaired by a NASA researcher, published its latest report which details significant future increases in temperature, precipitation and sea level in the New York metropolitan area.

The report aims to increase current and future resiliency of the communities, citywide systems and infrastructure in the New York metropolitan region to a range of climate risks. Cynthia Rosenzweig of NASAs Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS), New York, co-chairs the New York City panel.

The NPCC was founded in 2008 to study the effects of climate change on New York Citys five boroughs and surrounding region. As some of the leading Earth scientists in the metropolitan New York area, GISS researchers have been involved in the panels work since its beginning. The GISS climate model was used in climate projections, and scientists at GISS led the technical team, which analyzed the scientific data and developed the projections.

The NPCC is a prototype for how federal government scientists and municipal policymakers can work together, said Rosenzweig, who also is affiliated with the Center for Climate Systems Research at Columbia Universitys Earth Institute, New York. "This collaboration will help ensure that climate science developed for the New York metropolitan region informs and draws from the best available information, positioning residents and planners to confront expected future changes in the most effective way possible."

Increasing temperature and heavier precipitation events, along with sea level rise, are projected by the report to accelerate in the coming decades, increasing risks for the people, economy and infrastructure of New York City.

Specific report findings about local New York observations and projections include:

- Mean annual temperature has increased a total of 3.4 degrees Fahrenheit (F) from 1900 to 2013. Future mean annual temperatures are projected to increase 4.1 to 5.7 degrees F by the 2050s and 5.3 to 8.8 degrees F by the 2080s, relative to the 1980s base period. The frequency of heat waves is projected to increase from 2 per year in the 1980s to roughly 6 per year by the 2080s.

- Mean annual precipitation has increased by a total of 8 inches from 1900 to 2013. Future mean annual precipitation is projected to increase 4 to 11 percent by the 2050s and 5 to 13 percent by the 2080s, relative to the 1980s base period.

- Sea levels have risen in New York City 1.1 feet since 1900. That is almost twice the observed global rate of 0.5 to 0.7 inches per decade over a similar time period. Projections for sea level rise in New York City increase from 11 inches to 21 inches by the 2050s, 18 inches to 39 inches by the 2080s, and, 22 inches to 50 inches, with the worst case of up to six feet, by 2100. Sea level rise projections are relative to the 2000 to 2004 base period.

Climate change research isnt just something for the future, said Rosenzweig. Its affecting how key policy decisions are being made now. NASA is proud to work with New York City and other intergovernmental entities to provide world-class science.

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NASA Science Leads New York City Climate Change 2015 Report

NASA Centennial Challenges Program Space Race Challenge Request for Information

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Synopsis - Feb 17, 2015

General Information

Contracting Office Address

NASA/George C. Marshall Space Flight Center, Procurement Office, Marshall Space Flight Center, AL 35812

Description

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI)

I. SUMMARY

The Centennial Challenges Program is NASAs flagship program for technology prize competitions (www.nasa.gov/challenges). The Centennial Challenges Program directly engages the public, academia, and industry in open prize competitions to stimulate innovation in technologies that have benefit to NASA and the nation. The program is an integral part of NASAs Space Technology Mission Directorate, which is innovating, developing, testing, and flying hardware for use in NASAs future missions. For more information about NASAs Space Technology Mission Directorate, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/spacetech .

The Centennial Challenges program is seeking input on a Space RACE challenge being considered for start in 2015. The challenge would require competitors to build vehicles capable of autonomous rendezvous, capture, and manipulation of small objects at high speeds with applications for the Mars Sample Return campaign, lunar sample return missions, and many other commercial venues.

The purposes of this RFI are: 1) to gather feedback on the competition being considered, 2) to determine the level of interest in potentially competing in this challenge, and 3) to understand the applicability of the technology developed by the competition for other non-government applications.

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NASA Centennial Challenges Program Space Race Challenge Request for Information

NASA study predicts devastating droughts during the last half of the century

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A new NASA study is predicting the occurrence of severe "megadroughts" across the United States in the second half of this century, that are set to be more extreme and prolonged than any droughts that have taken place in the region for the past 1,000 years. According to the study, one of the key driving forces behind the devastating droughts will be the prolific creation of human-produced greenhouse gasses.

The study made use of several climate models including one spearheaded by NASA, and is the first of its kind to use historical data stretching back as far as 1,000 years. Most modern drought indicators only use data from around 100 years in the past, however NASA's most recent study was able to draw on environmental conditions prevailing in the distant past by making use of a well established tree-ring database.

Using this wealth of natural information, the team were able to pinpoint drought events by observing the spaces between rings in tree trunks, a process known as dendrochronology. Some trees grow significantly more during years with prevalent rainfall, producing wider spacing between the rings, and have stunted growth during periods of drought, creating closer rings. By observing ring patterns in the same species of tree during modern droughts, the study was able to produce accurate drought maps for the last 1,000 years. This allowed climate scientists to examine the big picture, taking into account drought cycles in a much longer context.

30-cm (11.8-in)-deep moisture projection based on NASA's moderate carbon emission scenario in the year 2095 (Image: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center)

"Natural droughts like the 1930s Dust Bowl and the current drought in the Southwest have historically lasted maybe a decade or a little less," states Ben Cook, lead author of the study and climate scientist at NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies and the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University, New York. "What these results are saying is we're going to get a drought similar to those events, but it is probably going to last at least 30 to 35 years."

According to the study, the severity of future droughts will be determined by humanity's approach to carbon emissions in the coming years. Cook and his team state that with the current levels of greenhouse gasses in Earth's atmosphere, the possibility of a drought lasting around 30 years sits at around 12 percent. If carbon emissions level off around 2050, this figure rises to 60 percent. In the event of man-made carbon emissions continuing to rise at the current pace, there is a harrowing 80 percent chance of a megadrought engulfing the Southwest and Central Plains from 2050 to 2099.

Droughts of this magnitude and severity would place the agricultural capabilities of the US under greater stress at a time when there is already set to be significant food shortages on a global scale, in part thanks to the effects of global warming.

The video below courtesy of NASA highlights the key points made by the study.

Source: NASA

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NASA study predicts devastating droughts during the last half of the century

Nanotechnology: Better measurements of single molecule circuits

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It's nearly 50 years since Gordon Moore predicted that the density of transistors on an integrated circuit would double every two years. "Moore's Law" has turned out to be a self-fulfilling prophecy that technologists pushed to meet, but to continue into the future, engineers will have to make radical changes to the structure or composition of circuits. One potential way to achieve this is to develop devices based on single-molecule connections.

New work by Josh Hihath's group at the UC Davis Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, published Feb. 16 in the journal Nature Materials, could help technologists make that jump. Hihath's laboratory has developed a method to measure the conformation of single molecule "wiring," resolving a clash between theoretical predictions and experiments.

"We're trying to make transistors and diodes out of single molecules, and unfortunately you can't currently control exactly how the molecule contacts the electrode or what the exact configuration is," Hihath said. "This new technique gives us a better measurement of the configuration, which will provide important information for theoretical modeling."

Until now, there has been a wide gap between the predicted electrical behavior of single molecules and experimental measurements, with results being off by as much as ten-fold, Hihath said.

Hihath's experiment uses a layer of alkanes (short chains of carbon atoms, such as hexane, octane or decane) with either sulfur or nitrogen atoms on each end that allow them to bind to a gold substrate that acts as one electrode. The researchers then bring the gold tip of a Scanning Tunneling Microscope towards the surface to form a connection with the molecules. As the tip is then pulled away, the connection will eventually consist of a single-molecule junction that contains six to ten carbon atoms (depending on the molecule studied at the time).

By vibrating the tip of the STM while measuring electrical current across the junction, Hihath and colleagues were able to extract information about the configuration of the molecules.

"This technique gives us information about both the electrical and mechanical properties of the system and tells us what the most probable configuration is, something that was not possible before," Hihath said.

The researchers hope the technique can be used to make better predictions of how molecule-scale circuits behave and design better experiments.

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The above story is based on materials provided by University of California - Davis. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

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Nanotechnology: Better measurements of single molecule circuits