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Image of the Day… First Ever Look at Pluto’s Night Side…

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First-ever look at Pluto’s night side

New image just released! A stunning snapshot of Pluto’s night side. The halo is from sunlight shining through the dwarf planet’s hazy atmosphere.

View larger. |

As New Horizons sped away from Pluto, it looked back toward Pluto and the sun and captured this image of the dwarf planet and its hazy atmosphere. Image taken by NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft around midnight EDT on July 15, when the craft was about 1.25 million miles (2 million kilometers) past Pluto. Via NASA / JHU-APL / SWRI. New Horizons spacecraft.

Here’s something no one on Earth has ever seen before. NASA released this new image today (July 24, 2015). It’s the night side of Pluto with the hazy atmosphere scattering light from a distant sun.

This is the first view of Pluto, a Kuiper Belt Object and a dwarf planet seen from the night side.

The diagram inset below shows what was revealed. A layer of hydrocarbon haze stretches up to 80 miles ( into the atmosphere and is believed to be responsible for the planet’s reddish color.

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Image via NASA / JHU-APL / SWRI. New Horizons spacecraft

Bottom line: New image just released! A stunning snapshot of Pluto’s night side. The halo is from sunlight shining through the dwarf planet’s hazy atmosphere.

Source…..www.earthsky.org

Natarajan

This Epic Image of Earth will Floor You….

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NASA’s Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera captures stunning view of the entire sun-lit side of Earth.

This colour image of Earth, taken by NASA's Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC), a four megapixel CCD camera and telescope on July 6, 2015, shows Earth as seen on July 6, 2015 from a distance of one million miles.

This colour image of Earth, taken by NASA’s Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC), a four megapixel CCD camera and telescope on July 6, 2015, shows Earth as seen on July 6, 2015 from a distance of one million miles.

Clicked from 1.6 million km away in space, a NASA camera on the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) satellite has returned its first stunning view of the entire sun-lit side of Earth.

DSCOVR is equipped with the Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC) that took the new photo on July 6.

EPIC captures a series of 10 different images in a variety of wavelengths, from near infrared to ultraviolet light, which can be analyzed in a number of different ways.

“Just got this new blue marble photo from @NASA. A beautiful reminder that we need to protect the only planet we have,” US President Barack Obama tweeted on his official @POTUS handle.

The images clearly show desert sand structures, river systems and complex cloud patterns on planet Earth.

“This first DSCOVR image of our planet demonstrates the unique and important benefits of Earth observation from space,” said NASA administrator Charlie Bolden in a statement.

“I want everyone to be able to see and appreciate our planet as an integrated, interacting system,” he added.

The primary objective of DSCOVR is to maintain the nation’s real-time solar wind monitoring capabilities, which are critical to the accuracy and lead time of space weather alerts and forecasts.

“DSCOVR’s observations of Earth, as well as its measurements and early warnings of space weather events caused by the sun, will help every person to monitor the ever-changing Earth, and to understand how our planet fits into its neighbourhood in the solar system, Bolden noted.

NASA will use the camera’s observations to measure ozone levels in Earth’s atmosphere and plant growth on the ground.

It will also help build maps showing the distribution of dust and volcanic ash around the globe, among other things.

“The high quality of the EPIC images exceeded all of our expectations in resolution,” said DSCOVR project scientist Adam Szabo.

“There will be a huge wealth of new data for scientists to explore,” he concluded.

Source…www.the hindu.com

Natarajan

This Date in Science….20 July 1969… First Footsteps of Human on Moon…

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This date in science: Apollo 11 and first footsteps on moon

Today is the 46h anniversary of humanity’s historic first steps on the moon. The story in pictures, here.

July 20, 1969. On this date, Apollo 11 astronauts Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong landed their moon module on a broad dark lunar lava flow, called the Sea of Tranquility. Six hours later, Neil Armstrong became the first human being to walk on the surface of a world beyond Earth. Today – July 20, 2015 – is the 46th anniversary of this great achievement. Armstrong and Aldrin spent 21.5 hours on the moon’s surface. They collected 47.5 pounds (21.5 kg) of moon rocks for return to Earth. Then they blasted off in their module from the lunar surface to meet up with Michael Collins in the command module orbiting overhead. They returned safely to Earth and landed in the Pacific Ocean on July 24.

Apollo 11 launch on July 16, 1969.

Apollo 11 launch at 13:32:00 UTC (9:32:00 a.m. EDT local time) on July 16, 1969. Astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, Michael Collins and Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr. were aboard.

The Apollo 11 mission blasted off on July 16, 1969 via this Saturn V space vehicle. Astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, Michael Collins and Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr. were aboard.

Apollo 11 left Earth via a type of rocket now no longer used, called a Saturn V. The giant Saturn V rocket was 111 meters (363 feet) tall, about the height of a 36-story-tall building. Read more about the Saturn V rocket.

A view of Earth from Apollo 11, shortly after leaving Earth orbit and being placed on a path that would take it to the moon.

Apollo 11 orbited Earth one-and-a-half times. Twelve minutes after launch, it separated from the Saturn V, as a propulsion maneuver sent it on a path toward the moon. Here is a view of Earth from Apollo 11, shortly after it left Earth orbit.

Happy Apollo 11 mission officials in the Launch Control Center following the successful Apollo 11 liftoff on July 16, 1969. Second from left (with binoculars) stands Dr. Wernher von Braun, Director of the Marshall Space Flight Center.

Happy Apollo 11 mission officials in the Launch Control Center following the successful Apollo 11 liftoff on July 16, 1969. The famous German rocket engineer Wernher von Braun is second from left (with binoculars). Read more about Wernher von Braun.

Buzz Aldrin looks into the TV camera during the third broadcast from space on the way to the moon.

Buzz Aldrin looks into a TV camera during the third broadcast from space on the way to the moon.

Earth seen by Apollo 11 astronauts on their way to the moon.

Earth seen by Apollo 11 astronauts on their way to the moon

The Eagle in lunar orbit after separating from Columbia. The Apollo 11 Lunar Module Eagle, in a landing configuration was photographed in lunar orbit from the Command and Service Module Columbia. Inside the module were Commander Neil A. Armstrong and Lunar Module Pilot Buzz Aldrin. The long rod-like protrusions under the landing pods are lunar surface sensing probes. Upon contact with the lunar surface, the probes sent a signal to the crew to shut down the descent engine.

Here is the Apollo 11 lunar module – the vehicle that would carry Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin to the moon’s surface. It was called “Eagle.” This photo shows the module in a landing configuration, photographed in lunar orbit from the command module, which was called “Columbia.” Astronauts Michael Collins, alone aboard Columbia, inspected Eagle as it pirouetted before him to ensure the craft was not damaged.

The Eagle lunar module captured this image of the Columbia command module in lunar orbit.

The Eagle lunar module captured this image of the Columbia command module in lunar orbit. Columbia stayed in lunar orbit with Michael Collins aboard during Eagle’s descent and landing.

An early concern of space engineers had been that the lunar regolith, the fine soil covering the moon, would be soft like quicksand. There was some fear that the Eagle lunar module would sink after landing. Hence Armstrong’s comment about the depth of the footpads in the lunar soil as he descended the ladder before stepping onto the moon.

Neil Armstrong descending to the moon's surface on July 20, 1969.

The world watched on television as Neil Armstrong took the first steps on the moon’s surface on July 20, 1969. It was the first time humans walked another world. As he stepped onto the lunar surface, Armstrong said, “That is one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind.”

Buzz Aldrin descends the steps of the lunar module ladder as he becomes the second human being to walk on the moon.

Buzz Aldrin descends the steps of the lunar module ladder as he becomes the second human being to walk on the moon.

Armstrong and Aldrin at work on the moon. They deployed an U.S. flag and several science experiments, and collected moon rocks.

Armstrong and Aldrin at work on the moon. They deployed an U.S. flag and several science experiments, and collected moon rocks.

Here is Buzz Aldrin, who piloted the lunar module to the moon's surface, with the LR-3, a reflecting array designed to bounce laser beams fired from Earth back to Earth. This experiment, which helped refine our knowledge of the moon's distance and the shape of its orbit around Earth, is still returning data from the moon.

Here is Buzz Aldrin, who piloted the lunar module Eagle to the moon’s surface, with the LR-3, a reflecting array designed to bounce laser beams fired from Earth back to Earth. This experiment, which helped refine our knowledge of the moon’s distance and the shape of its orbit around Earth, is still returning data from the moon.

The lunar module Eagle on the surface of the moon.

The lunar module Eagle on the surface of the moon.

Neil Armstrong in the lunar module Eagle shortly after his historic first moonwalk, when he became the first human to set foot on a world besides Earth.

Neil Armstrong in the lunar module Eagle shortly after his historic first moonwalk, when he became the first human to set foot on a world besides Earth.

Michael Collins caught this photo of the lunar module with Armstrong and Aldrin inside as it ascended from the moon's surface to join the command module. Soon after, the lunar module docked with the orbiting command module, and the astronauts began their journey back to Earth.

Michael Collins caught this photo of the lunar module with Armstrong and Aldrin inside – and with Earth in the distance – as the module ascended from the moon’s surface to rejoin the command module. The lunar module docked with the orbiting command module, and, shortly afterwards, the astronauts began their journey back to Earth.

There were no runway landings in those days. Splashdown for the three astronauts was in the Pacific Ocean. Here, they await pickup by a helicopter from the USS Hornet.

There were no runway landings in those days. Splashdown for the three astronauts was in the Pacific Ocean. Here, they await pickup by a helicopter from the USS Hornet.

Celebration at Mission Control as Apollo 11 draws to a successful end.

Celebration at Mission Control as Apollo 11 draws to a successful end.

Ticker-tape parade for the Apollo 11 astronauts in New York City on August 13, 1969. This section of Broadway is known as the Canyon of Heroes.

Ticker-tape parade for the Apollo 11 astronauts in New York City on August 13, 1969. This section of Broadway is known as the Canyon of Heroes.

Human footprint on the moon.

Human footprint on the moon.

Bottom line: July 20, 1969 is the anniversary of Apollo 11 and the first human footsteps on the moon.

Source…www.earthsky.org

Natarajan

Spain’s Ciudad Real airport sold at auction for €10,000…

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Ciudad Real airport

A group of international investors has won a bankruptcy auction for an abandoned airport in central Spain with a €10,000 (£7,000) offer – 100,000 times less than it cost to build.

The investors were the only bidders for Ciudad Real airport, south of Madrid, completed during Spain’s boom years.

But it is not clear if the sale will go ahead as another buyer could still step forward outside of the auction process.

The winning bid was made by a Chinese-led consortium of investors.

The group, Tzaneen International, says it wants to make the airport an entry point into Europe for Chinese companies.

Minimum price

Ciudad Real airport, located 235km (146 miles) south of Madrid, was meant to be an alternative to Madrid’s Barajas airport.

It cost more than €1bn to built. It opened in 2008 but went bankrupt and closed in 2012.

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There is still a possibility that another buyer could meet the minimum price of €28m set by the receiver for the sale to go through before the end of September.

The central Spanish airport has a capacity for 2.5 million passengers per year.

It is one of a number of “ghost airports” constructed during Spain’s building boom that did not attract enough passengers.

A similar fate has befallen Castellon airport in the east. It opened in 2011 but has not received a single flight.

Source….www.bbc.com

Natarajan

A Seagull Steals Tourist’s Camera …Then ? ….

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Seagull Steals Tourist's Camera. Ends Up Capturing Stunning Footage

Image Courtesy: Screengrab taken from YouTube video uploaded by Martin Lozano

A tourist holidaying in Spain’s Cies islands got more than he bargained for when a seagull seagull made off with his camera and captured, literally, a bird’s eye view of the coastline.

Now whether the bird wanted to hop onto the selfie bandwagon or just wanted to help the tourists with some incredible footage, its actions have created quite a stir online.

The tourist, YouTube user Martin Lozano, shared a video to tell the world what really transpired between the bird and the GoPro. The video shows the camera lying unattended on a parapet, recording the seagull a few paces away. Seconds later, the bird, sensing its opportunity, steals the camera and flies off with it.

It’s during this flight that it captures some scenic beauty with the still-recording camera.
The bird does its job and eventually returns the camera to its rightful owner and flies off. “You’re welcome, human,” it must have been thinking.

The human, in turn, does his job. He uploaded the video on YouTube for the rest of the world to enjoy. So enjoy you must:

Source….www.ndtv.com and http://www.you tube.com

Natarajan

NASA’s Three-Billion-Mile Journey to Pluto Reaches Historic Encounter…

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Pluto nearly fills the frame in this image from the Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) aboard NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft, taken on July 13, 2015 when the spacecraft was 476,000 miles (768,000 kilometers) from the surface. This is the last and most detailed image sent to Earth before the spacecraft’s closest approach to Pluto on July 14. The color image has been combined with lower-resolution color information from the Ralph instrument that was acquired earlier on July 13. This view is dominated by the large, bright feature informally named the “heart,” which measures approximately 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) across. The heart borders darker equatorial terrains, and the mottled terrain to its east (right) are complex. However, even at this resolution, much of the heart’s interior appears remarkably featureless—possibly a sign of ongoing geologic processes.
Credits: NASA/APL/SwRI

NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft is at Pluto.

After a decade-long journey through our solar system, New Horizons made its closest approach to Pluto Tuesday, about 7,750 miles above the surface — roughly the same distance from New York to Mumbai, India – making it the first-ever space mission to explore a world so far from Earth.

“I’m delighted at this latest accomplishment by NASA, another first that demonstrates once again how the United States leads the world in space,” said John Holdren, assistant to the President for Science and Technology and director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. “New Horizons is the latest in a long line of scientific accomplishments at NASA, including multiple missions orbiting and exploring the surface of Mars in advance of human visits still to come; the remarkable Kepler mission to identify Earth-like planets around stars other than our own; and the DSCOVR satellite that soon will be beaming back images of the whole Earth in near real-time from a vantage point a million miles away. As New Horizons completes its flyby of Pluto and continues deeper into the Kuiper Belt, NASA’s multifaceted journey of discovery continues.”

The exploration of Pluto and its moons by New Horizons represents the capstone event to 50 years of planetary exploration by NASA and the United States,” said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden. “Once again we have achieved a historic first. The United States is the first nation to reach Pluto, and with this mission has completed the initial survey of our solar system, a remarkable accomplishment that no other nation can match.”

Per the plan, the spacecraft currently is in data-gathering mode and not in contact with flight controllers at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland. Scientists are waiting to find out whether New Horizons “phones home,” transmitting to Earth a series of status updates that indicate the spacecraft survived the flyby and is in good health. The “call” is expected shortly after 9 p.m. EDT tonight.

The Pluto story began only a generation ago when young Clyde Tombaugh was tasked to look for Planet X, theorized to exist beyond the orbit of Neptune. He discovered a faint point of light that we now see as a complex and fascinating world.

“Pluto was discovered just 85 years ago by a farmer’s son from Kansas, inspired by a visionary from Boston, using a telescope in Flagstaff, Arizona,” said John Grunsfeld, associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. “Today, science takes a great leap observing the Pluto system up close and flying into a new frontier that will help us better understand the origins of the solar system.”

New Horizons’ flyby of the dwarf planet and its five known moons is providing an up-close introduction to the solar system’s Kuiper Belt, an outer region populated by icy objects ranging in size from boulders to dwarf planets. Kuiper Belt objects, such as Pluto, preserve evidence about the early formation of the solar system.

New Horizons principal investigator Alan Stern of the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) in Boulder, Colorado, says the mission now is writing the textbook on Pluto.

The New Horizons team is proud to have accomplished the first exploration of the Pluto system,” Stern said. “This mission has inspired people across the world with the excitement of exploration and what humankind can achieve.”

New Horizons’ almost 10-year, three-billion-mile journey to closest approach at Pluto took about one minute less than predicted when the craft was launched in January 2006. The spacecraft threaded the needle through a 36-by-57 mile (60 by 90 kilometers) window in space — the equivalent of a commercial airliner arriving no more off target than the width of a tennis ball.

Because New Horizons is the fastest spacecraft ever launched – hurtling through the Pluto system at more than 30,000 mph, a collision with a particle as small as a grain of rice could incapacitate the spacecraft. Once it reestablishes contact Tuesday night, it will take 16 months for New Horizons to send its cache of data – 10 years’ worth — back to Earth.

New Horizons is the latest in a long line of scientific accomplishments at NASA, including multiple rovers exploring the surface of Mars, the Cassini spacecraft that has revolutionized our understanding of Saturn and the Hubble Space Telescope, which recently celebrated its 25th anniversary. All of this scientific research and discovery is helping to inform the agency’s plan to send American astronauts to Mars in the 2030’s.

“After nearly 15 years of planning, building, and flying the New Horizons spacecraft across the solar system, we’ve reached our goal,” said project manager Glen Fountain at APL. “The bounty of what we’ve collected is about to unfold.”

APL designed, built and operates the New Horizons spacecraft and manages the mission for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. SwRI leads the mission, science team, payload operations and encounter science planning. New Horizons is part of NASA’s New Frontiers Program, managed by the agency’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.

Follow the New Horizons mission on Twitter and use the hashtag #PlutoFlyby to join the conversation. Live updates also will be available on the missionFacebook page.

For more information on the New Horizons mission, including fact sheets, schedules, video and images, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/newhorizonsandhttp://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/plutotoolkit.cfm

Source….www.nasa.gov

Natarajan

Image of the Day…Rainbow over the Desert…

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Photo taken July 6, 2015 by John Solvie near Las Vegas, Nevada.

John Solvie of Las Vegas, Nevada submitted this photo to EarthSky this week. He wrote:

Earlier than normal desert ‘monsoon’ flow in the Las Vegas Valley revealed that the pot of gold isn’t on the Las Vegas Strip, but rather in the northern foothills. 🙂

Source….www.earthsky.org

Natarajan

Spaceman Gennady Padalka creates world record by spending 804 days on ISS….

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Spaceman Gennady Padalka creates world record by spending 804 days on ISS

ARussian cosmonaut has achieved an astonishing feat by spending most number of days on the International Space Station (ISS). Cosmonaut Gennady Padalka has officially set a new Guinness world record by spending 804 days on the ISS.

Padalka, who is also the commander of the crew on the ISS, surpassed cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev, former Russian Air Force officer who spent 803 days, nine hours and 41 minutes in the space, across six mission from 1998 to 2005. In addition, Padalka is scheduled to return to earth in September this year and by then he would have spend a total of 877 days in space.

Born on June 21, 1958, in Krasnodar, Russia; Padalka graduated from Eisk Military Aviation College in 1979; in 1994 he left UNESCO International Center of Instruction Systems, where he was an engineer–ecologist. After graduation from the Military College in 1979, Gennady Padalka served as a pilot and a senior pilot in the Air Force. In 1989, he was selected as a cosmonaut candidate to start training at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center. In 1991, Padalka was qualified as a test cosmonaut. Since then he never looked back and became the most experienced cosmonaut.

Coming to his personal life, Padalka is married to Irina Anatolievna Padalka (Ponomareva). They have three daughters, Yulia, Ekaterina and Sonya. Gennady enjoys the theater, parachute sport and diving.

Moreover, ISS is a space station that was launched in 1998.ISS is the largest artificial satellite body that orbits earth nearly 400 km above the surface and it can be seen with naked eye. Recently a man clicked a photo of ISS orbiting the earth. ISS moves at a very high speed and it completes 15.54 orbits per day.

Source….www.tecake.com

Natarajan

 

Jokes for the day…

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Three drunks hailed a taxi. The taxi driver seeing that they were so wasted when they got in, he just switched on the engine and switched it off, and said we are here. The 1st guy gave him money, 2nd guy said thanks, but the 3rd guy slapped him. The taxi driver was stunned because he was hoping that none of them would have realized the car didn’t move an inch. So what was that for, he asked. Control your speed next time, you almost killed us….

…………………….

It’s all in the punctuation:
An English professor wrote the words, “Woman without her man is nothing” on the blackboard and directed his students to punctuate it correctly.
The men wrote: “Woman, without her man, is nothing.”
The women wrote: “Woman: Without her, man is nothing.

………………………….

After every flight, pilots fill out a form called a gripe sheet, which
conveys to the mechanics problems encountered with the aircraft during
the flight that need repair or correction. The mechanics read and correct
the problem, and then respond in writing on the lower half of the form
what remedial action was taken, and the pilot reviews the gripe sheets
before the next flight.
Never let it be said that ground crews and engineers lack a sense of
humor!
Here are some actual logged maintenance complaints and problems as
submitted by Qantas pilots and the solution recorded by maintenance
engineers.
(P = the problem logged by the pilot.)
(S = the solution and action taken by the engineers.)

P: Left inside main tire almost needs replacement.
S: Almost replaced left inside main tire.

P: Test flight OK, except auto-land very rough.
S: Auto-land not installed on this aircraft.

P: Something loose in cockpit.
S: Something tightened in cockpit.

P: Dead bugs on windshield.
S: Live bugs on back-order.

P: Autopilot in altitude-hold mode produces a 200 feet per minute descent.
S: Cannot reproduce problem on ground.

P: Evidence of leak on right main landing gear.
S: Evidence removed.

P: DME volume unbelievably loud.
S: DME volume set to more believable level.

P: Friction locks cause throttle levers to stick.
S: That’s what they’re there for.

P: IFF inoperative.
S: IFF always inoperative in OFF mode.

P: Suspected crack in windshield.
S: Suspect you’re right.

P: Number 3 engine missing.
S: Engine found on right wing after brief search.

P: Aircraft handles funny.
S: Aircraft warned to straighten up, fly right, and be serious.

P: Target radar hums.
S: Reprogrammed target radar with lyrics.

P: Mouse in cockpit.
S: Cat installed.

Source….www.joke a day.com

Natarajan