NASA astronaut Scott Kelly (@StationCDRKelly) captured photographs and video of auroras from the International Space Station on June 22, 2015. Kelly wrote, “Yesterday’s aurora was an impressive show from 250 miles up. Good morning from the International Space Station! #YearInSpace”
Image Credit: NASA
Source….www.nasa.gov
Natarajan
Noise is an issue at many airports, including Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport. Source: Getty Images
TWO years ago, Dutch land artist Paul de Kort was given a tough brief.
Administrators at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS) had long been looking to address the levels of aircraft noise that affected those living near the airport.
So, taking inspiration from the ground, de Kort created a landscape that has had a significant effect on dampening the roar of planes for those living near one of the world’s busiest airports.
But long before de Kort broke ground, researchers from the Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research (TNO) had already been studying the noise level at AMS. They noticed that in the fall, after the fields surrounding the airport had been ploughed, noise levels decreased significantly.
It turns out that the furrows created by ploughing helped to absorb, deflect and mute aircraft noise.
The labyrinth design. Picture: Schiphol Group Source: Supplied
Working off these findings, de Kort collaborated with architectural firm H+N+S Lanscapearchitects and scientists from the TNO to create Buitenschot Land Art Park.
Located to the southwest of AMS, just off the edge of the runway, this huge green space is laid out in an interlocking system of ditches and trenches.
While its primary purpose is to dampen the ground noise created by passing aircraft, the park also features bike paths, sports fields and even sculpture to create a space that is both functional and aesthetically pleasing.
To create this mazelike park, de Kort also drew heavily on the past and was particularly inspired by the work of Ernst Chladni, a 17th century German physicist. The scientist’s Chladni patterns served as the inspiration for the furrows and ridges now seen at AMS.
Completed in October 2013, this collaborative project has since been viewed as a renowned success. The creation of Buitenschot had an immediate effect, cutting the decibel level of aircraft noise down by half, the Smithsonian reported. And it has continued being a success since then.
De Kort, however, has one regret. Speaking to Hansman, he explained that, “The ground sound spreads behind the plane that’s taking off, so in fact you fly away in the other directions. You won’t be able to actually see the area from the air.”
Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport is one of the world’s busiest. Source: Getty Images
For more travel updates go to FlyerTalk.com.
Source…www.news.com.au
Natarajan
A tardy couple ran onto the tarmac in hopes of stopping their flight from taking off without them.
The pair of travelers, Matteo Clementi (left) & Enrica Apollonio (right) — Times of Malta
This Italian couple learned the hard way that you can’t hail down a moving aircraft similar to a departing bus or taxi. The Times of Malta reports the pair was forced to pay over $2,600 in fines after chasing after their departing aircraft down the tarmac before being apprehended by airport authorities.
The situation reportedly began when Enrica Apollonio, 23, and Matteo Clementi, 26, got delayed on their way to Malta International Airport (MLA), where they were scheduled to catch a Ryanair flight back to Italy. By the time they arrived at the airport, it was too late: the doors to their flight had closed and the two were not allowed to board.
MLA official say that although the incident was out of their control, they are glad it ended without major incident. “MLA staff and partners responded to this situation immediately and effectively, ensuring that the passengers were apprehended and passed on to the police,” an airport representative told the Times of Malta. “MLA regrets that a holiday to Malta had to end in this way but reminds passengers that safety and security are of the utmost importance at any airport and such issues cannot be dealt with lightly.”That’s when the couple took matters into their own hands. Airport officials say the two ran to another gate, opened an emergency fire exit and ran onto the tarmac. The couple hoped they would be able to prevent their Ryanair flight from taxiing and somehow board the aircraft. Instead, the two were apprehended by security staff, and charged with violations of Matla’s Airports and Civil Aviation Security Act.
Both persons were ultimately convicted and will be forced to pay over $2,600 in fines. An attorney for the pair said they were looking forward to celebrating Apollonio’s birthday on the island, “but instead spent it in a cell.” Ryanair did not offer a comment on the incident.
[Photos: iStock; Times of Malta]
Source….www.flyertalk.com
Natarajan
Imagine a world some time in the semi-distant future where space travel is a banal indulgence not unlike a luxury cruise. What would you do upon stepping on Mars soil, an astronaut helmet over your head and Earth but a small speck in the distance.
Be real, would you take a selfie? It would get soooooo many likes.
French photographer Julien Mauve juxtaposes the looming potential of space exploration with the stereotypical actions of earthly tourists in his narrative series “Greetings From Mars.” The sci-fi photos combine alien landscapes with behavior that’s all too familiar — performing for the camera, inserting oneself into foreign landscapes, and striking a pose.
“I’ve been fascinated with Mars since I was a child,” Mauve explained to The Huffington Post. “I can picture myself back in college making presentations about it. We hear a lot about NASA, Elon Musk and SpaceX these days. Mars One also, the company that offers people a one way ticket to establish the first human colony on Mars (and intend to create a TV show out of it). Space exploration and colonization is the greatest adventure of the century and the fact that we may witness it in our life-time makes it even more exciting.”
Mauve couples the possibility of space tourism in the future with the reality of social media influence in the present. “We’ve literally developed a new language to communicate emotions through pictures and that really fascinates me,” the artist said, identifying smartphones as the technology that allows us to write our own stories in real time.
“In the mean time, Earth has become really small. We are only 12 hours and $800 away from the other side of the world. Those easy traveling conditions have made tourism a lucrative activity. People can visit and enjoy places we would have never imagined only 50 years ago… Once transportation issues will be solved and if we don’t encounter any massive disaster, space tourism for middle class people is something we can imagine happening in less than 100 years.”
Mauve’s series offers a wonderfully deadpan view of the red planet, with anonymous explorers eager to survey the grounds, and, possibly more importantly, document the process. “It’s an observation of our current behaviors and a projection of what we hope for the future,” he explained. “I’m not trying to stick to the scientific truth.”
Of his series, he explains the setting: “It’s a couple experiencing Mars as tourists for the first time and sharing their experience through photographs. They include themselves in front of those landscapes and affirm their presence but the funny thing is that we don’t see their faces. It could be anyone in those suits and, in fact, it goes against the original purpose of taking a selfie or souvenir pictures. It was also a way to illustrate this endless pursuit of self-definition we seek with pictures.”
Check back with us in 100 years to see if Mauve’s grim prediction has come to life. If so, please let us know what filters look best in space. Thanks.
Julian MauveJulian Mauve PhotographyPhotographySpace PhotographySelfiesTourismSelfie TourismMarsSpaceflightSpace Tourism
Source….http://www.huffingtonpost.com/priscilla-frank
Natarajan
It’s been over 3,000 days and nearly three billion miles since NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft set out for Pluto.
It’s a mission that faced countless roadblocks and setbacks before it ever got off the ground. Now the spacecraft is closing in on Pluto and its moon system that sit at the very edge of our solar system.
This will be the first time we’ve ever visited the distant dwarf planet.
The National Space Society put together an incredible video preview of the history-making moment. It has the vibe of a movie trailer, complete with epic narration and stunning visuals, and it perfectly captures why space enthusiasts are so psyched about the New Horizons mission.
The video sweeps you through a timeline of the last half century of space exploration using beautiful images of each planet we’ve explored, starting with Venus in 1962 and ending with Neptune in 1989.
New Horizons will reach Pluto and its moons on July 14, and they will be “the farthest worlds ever to be explored by humankind,” the video says.
So far that the sun appears as a faint dot:
And the moment we reach Pluto, we’ll get an up close look at a world no one has seen before. All we’ve glimpsed of Pluto are fuzzy, far-away images captured by the Hubble Space Telescope. New Horizons will send back images thousands of times closer.
“Who knows what wonders await us at these new horizons.”
We’ll have to wait and see.
NASA is already counting down the days, hours, minutes, and even seconds until the arrival.
You can watch the whole video below, which we definitely recommend:
Source….www.businessinsider .in and http://www.you tube.com
Natarajan
NASA astronaut Scott Kelly (@StationCDRKelly), currently on a one-year mission to the International Space Station, took this photograph of Tropical Storm Bill in the Gulf of Mexico as it approached the coast of Texas, on June 15, 2015. Kelly wrote, “Concerned for all in its path including family, friends & colleagues.”
Image Credit: NASA
Source….www.nasa.gov
THE annual Skytrax awards for the world’s best airline has been announced, with a shuffle of key players on this year’s list.
Qatar was voted the best airline for 2015, bumping last year’s winner Cathay Pacific to third place.
It’s not the first time Qatar has claimed the top spot. It won in 2011 and 2012 and has twice been voted runner up. It also took home best airline in the Middle East and best business class seat.
The presitigous Skytrax awards are judged by 18.9 million passengers in 110 countries around the world who vote on factors such as comfort, friendliness of cabin crew and in-flight food.
Qatar CEO Akbar Al Baker told CNN it was a reflection of their staff.
“It’s a very clear accolade on behalf of the staff — they are the real recipients, I’m just their leader”, he said.
AirAsia won the best low-cost airline category for 2015 despite the tragic and fatal crash of flight QZ8501 last year.Source: Getty Images
The top ten airlines included Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Turkish and Emirates. Qantas came in at number 10 on the list.
In the low-cost airline category AirAsia was voted the world’s best for the seventh year in a row, despite the tragic accident in the Java Sea last year that killed all 162 people on-board flight QZ8501.
Reported in CNN, co-founder and group CEO Tony Fernandes said the award “meant a lot, after all we’ve been through. I wouldn’t normally say the airline industry is sweet, but today it felt sweet.
“We’ve won it seven times, but this one means the most, because of what happened in the early part of this year.”
Other awards included Garuda Indonesia for best cabin crew, Air France for most improved airline, EVA Air for cleanest aircraft cabins and Cathay Pacific for best transpacific airline.
The list of the world’s top 100 airlines for 2015 can be viewed here.
The best airlines for 2015
1. Qatar Airways
2. Singapore Airlines
3. Cathay Pacific Airways
4. Turkish Airlines
5. Emirates
6. Etihad Airways
7. ANA All Nippon Airways
8. Garuda Indonesia
9. EVA Air
10. Qantas Airways
source….www.news.com.au
Natarajan
Twenty years ago, two astrophysicists – Jerry Bonnell and Robert Nemiroff – created Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD). The website is simple and harkens back to the days of the early web: Every post is just one image and a bit of text describing the photo, with links out to sources of information.
During its first year, in 1995, the site received about 12 visits a day. Today they’re way past a million daily visitors, according to The Verge.
The two are active researchers at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. How did they become guardians of the treasured website?
“So we were getting these emails that had these image attachments, sometimes about the Hubble Space Telescope, sometimes from something else, and the people sending these emails had no idea what that was. It would say, ‘Look at this, it’s colorful and something astronomical. Isn’t that cool?’ So we thought maybe something we could do was take these images and explain them one after the next,” Nemiroff told The Verge’s Sean O’Kane.
How do they chose what to feature on the site? Well, it’s a bit of personal preference:
Robert Nemiroff: I just like the stuff where you look at it and say “Wow, what’s that!” I’m somewhat jaded after 20 years. It has to work for me before I try to make it work for other people.
Jerry Bonnell: I seem to be a sucker for the big, beautiful spiral galaxy images.
Back in those days cameras with high-enough quality to take great space pictures weren’t as plentiful. They were genuinely worried that they’d run out of images to post.
As Nemiroff said:
Before we posted our first image we debated this, Jerry and I, as to whether we were going to run out of images in a few days and then say, “Well that was stupid.” But actually there were many images around even back then. And NASA’s Ranger series took tens of thousands of images of the lunar surface, so if we had to we could just start putting up other pictures of the lunar surface. “Here’s another crater that’s a little bit different than yesterday’s crater.” But we never ran out of images.
And Bonnell:
I used to have to be more proactive. I would explore what was online and available in the NASA archives online, and I would also make occasional trips to photo libraries that I could find at Goddard and NASA headquarters and look at the prints.
Now, the two-person team gets hundreds of submissions of images from their millions of fans. They still do all the work just the two of them, though:
I usually do the beginnings of the weeks and Jerry does the ends of the weeks, and Wednesday can go either way.
I will do several in a row. I’ll do most of my week maybe on Thursday or Friday, sometimes on Saturday or Sunday. Sometimes I’ll leave Wednesday to the night before in case there’s some kind of breaking news. Jerry will do the ends of the weeks, he usually waits until the night before, and works on it during the afternoon.
To celebrate the anniversary, the two re-created Johannes Vermeer’s paintings The Astronomer and The Geographer using more than 5,000 APOD images that have appeared during the last 20 years.
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
2015 June 16
If you like space you can follow the APOD stream in many ways: Twitter account; Google+ page; on Facebook; on Instagram, in apps, and asubreddit.
source….Jennifer Welsh in .www.businessinsider.in
Natarajan
IN A quest to see if people could survive living on Mars, NASA sent six scientists to Hawaii for eight months in an enclosure that simulates the conditions of life on the Red Planet.
This meant that fresh air, sunshine and fresh food were all off the table. The only food available was anything that could be freeze-dried. If they wanted to talk a short walk outside their 11-meter diameter dome, they even had to chuck on a space suit.
They were monitored by surveillance cameras, body movement trackers and electronic surveys.
Last week the crew were finally free to leave their Mars dome.
The scientist’s home for eight months. Source: AP
Crew member Jocelyn Dunn told AP it was awesome to feel the sensation of wind on her skin.
“When we first walked out the door, it was scary not to have a suit on,” said Dunn, 27, a doctoral candidate at Purdue University. “We’ve been pretending for so long.”
The dome’s volcanic location, silence and its simulated airlock seal provided an atmosphere similar to space. Looking out the dome’s porthole windows, all the scientists could see were lava fields and mountains, said University of Hawaii professor Kim Binsted, principal investigator for the study.
Tracking the crew members’ emotions and performance in the isolated environment could help ground crews during future missions to determine if a crew member is becoming depressed or if the team is having communication problems.
“Astronauts are very stoic people, very level-headed, and there’s a certain hesitancy to report problems,” Binsted said. “So this is a way for people on the ground to detect cohesion-related problems before they become a real issue.”
Spending eight months in a confined space with six people had its challenges, but crew members relieved stress doing team workouts and yoga. They were able to use a solar-powered treadmill and stationary bike, but only in the afternoons on sunny days.
“When you’re having a good day its fine, it’s fun. You have friends around to share in the enjoyment of a good day,” Dunn said. “But if you have a bad day, it’s really tough to be in a confined environment. You can’t get out and go for a walk … it’s constantly witnessed by everyone.”
Could we be living on the Red Planet soon? Source: AP
The hardest part was being far away from family and missing events like her sister’s wedding, for which she delivered a toast via video, Dunn said. “I’m glad I was able to be there in that way, but … I just always dreamt of being there to help,” she said.
The first thing crew members did when they emerged from the dome was to chow down on foods they’ve been craving — juicy watermelon, devilled eggs, peaches and croissants, which was a step up from the freeze dried chilli they’d been eating.
Next on Dunn’s list: going for a swim. Showers in the isolated environment were limited to six minutes per week, she said.
Next on Dunn’s list: going for a swim. Showers in the isolated environment were limited to six minutes per week, she said.
“To be able to just submerge myself in water for as long as I want, to feel the sun, will be amazing,” Dunn said. “I feel like a ghost.”
Source…news.com.au
Natarajan
Take off with Natarajan 