Interesting read

Image of the Day…Curiosity Rover Drilling Mars Mountain…

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Curiosity rover drill pulls first taste from Mars mountain

The mission’s emphasis has changed from drive, drive, drive to systematic layer-by-layer investigation. “Curiosity flew hundreds of millions of miles to do this.”

This image from the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) camera on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover shows the first sample-collection hole drilled in Mount Sharp, the layered mountain that is the science destination of the rover's extended mission. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover has collected its first taste of the layered mountain whose scientific allure drew the mission to choose this part of Mars as a landing site.

Late Wednesday, September 24, the rover’s hammering drill chewed about 2.6 inches (6.7 centimeters) deep into a basal-layer outcrop on Mount Sharp and collected a powdered-rock sample. Data and images received early Thursday at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, confirmed success of this operation. The powder collected by the drilling is temporarily held within the sample-handling mechanism on the rover’s arm.

This southeastward-looking vista from the Mast Camera (Mastcam) on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover shows the

After landing on Mars in August 2012 but before beginning the drive toward Mount Sharp, Curiosity spent much of the mission’s first year productively studying in the Yellowknife Bay area, an area much closer to the landing site, but in the opposite direction.

From Yellowknife Bay to the base of Mount Sharp, Curiosity drove more than 5 miles (8 kilometers) in about 15 months, with pauses at a few science waypoints. The emphasis in mission operations has now changed from drive, drive, drive to systematic layer-by-layer investigation.

Jennifer Trosper of JPL is Curiosity Deputy Project Manager. She saud:

We’re putting on the brakes to study this amazing mountain.Curiosity flew hundreds of millions of miles to do this.

By investigating the shapes and chemical ingredients in the rock features, the team hopes to gain information about the possible composition of fluids at this Martian location long ago. Ashwin Vasavada of JPL is Curiosity Deputy Project Scientist. Vasavada said:

This drilling target is at the lowest part of the base layer of the mountain, and from here we plan to examine the higher, younger layers exposed in the nearby hills. This first look at rocks we believe to underlie Mount Sharp is exciting because it will begin to form a picture of the environment at the time the mountain formed, and what led to its growth.

Read more from NASA

 

SOURCE::::Earth sky news

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” Why Aluminium Foil is Shinier on one side …” ?

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Why Aluminum Foil is Shinier on One Side Than the Other

aluminum-foilThe most abundant metal in the Earth’s crust, aluminum naturally occurs as a compound with other elements, such as aluminum oxide or potassium aluminum sulfate. As such, it was not isolated as a separate element until 1825 when a Danish chemist, Hans Christian Oersted, was able to produce a small amount.

By 1845, a German chemist, Friedrich Wöhler, had perfected a way of producing enough aluminum to be able to study it. In 1854, the French chemist, Henri Étienne Sainte-Claire Deville improved on Wöhler’s method and developed a process to commercially produce the element, although it still remained expensive, even more than gold.

Other improvements were made independently by chemists Charles Martin Hall (American) and Paul L.T. Héroult (French) in 1886, and by Karl Joseph Bayer (Austrian) in 1888. As a result, sufficiently large quantities of aluminum oxide were now able to be produced from bauxite, and then aluminum could easily be obtained from the aluminum oxide.

This greatly reduced the cost of aluminum, and in 1888, Charles Martin Hall formed the precursor to the Aluminum Company of America (Alcoa), the Pittsburgh Reduction Company. Production methods continued to improve and by 1909, the Pittsburgh company’s output was at 41,000 kg per day. By 1910, the first manufacturing plant for the production of aluminum foil opened in Emmishofen, Switzerland by Dr. Lauber, Neher & Cie.

So why is aluminum foil shiny on one side and not as much on the other? In what is called the Bayer Process, after pure molten aluminum is obtained from aluminum oxide, it is placed in furnaces with a small amount of other elements (typically the final product will be between 99.8% and 99.9% aluminum). This liquid is then poured into “chill casting devices where it cools into large slabs called ‘ingots.’” Next the ingot is treated with heat (annealed), and then rolled between heavy rollers.

This initial foil is sent through still more rollers, several times, until it reaches the desired thinness. For the type of foil that is bright on one side and matte on the other, it is so thin that during some of the last rollings, two sheets of the thin foil must be placed together lest they tear or crimp during the final rolling of the sheets.

One consequence of this is that while the sides that touch the highly polished rollers are burnished to a bright finish, the inner sides that touch the other aluminum foil remain matte.

Bonus Foil Facts:

  • More than just packaging, aluminum can be used to polish silver: after lining a deep pan with foil, cover it with cold water and add a couple of teaspoons of salt and your silverware. Chemistry (magic) will remove the tarnish. A similar process can be used to clean jewelry, except exchange the cold water for hot, and the salt for a tablespoon of laundry detergent. Likewise, a sheet of aluminum foil underneath freshly polished silverware will deter tarnishing.
  • Scissors can be sharpened by cutting through several layers of aluminum foil a few times.

SOURCE::::: Today i found out .com

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Joke of the Day… ” Key in the car … ” !!!

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Bill, Jim, and Scott were at a convention together and were sharing a large suite on the top of a 75-story skyscraper. After a long day of meetings they were shocked to hear that the elevators in their hotel were broken and they would have to climb 75 flights of stairs to get to their room. Bill said to Jim and Scott, let’s break the monotony of this unpleasant task by concentrating on something interesting. I’ll tell jokes for 25 flights, and Jim can sing songs for 25 flights, and Scott can tell sad stories the rest of the way. At the 26th floor Bill stopped telling jokes and Jim began to sing. At the 51st floor Jim stopped singing and Scott began to tell sad stories. “I will tell my saddest story first,” he said. “I left the room key in the car!”  

SOURCE::::joke a day.com

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The Most Entertaining Airports In The World …

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Here are seven international airports that go beyond free Wi-Fi and luggage carts to offer truly entertaining amenities.

Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, Haarlemmermeer, Netherlands

Amsterdam Airport SchipholFlickr/ajay_suresh

Amsterdam Schiphol Airport highlights: “Holland Boulevard,” a library, Dutch Kitchen restaurant, a museum, and Holland CASINO.

Changi International Airport, Changi, Singapore

changi slideFlickr/wongjunhao

Changi International Airport highlights: Nature trails, gardens, a four-story slide, a rooftop pool, and a movie theater (free admission).

Munich Airport, Munich, Germany

Munich AirportMunich Airport

Munich Airport highlights: Airbrau brewery and restaurant, free surfing lessons in the outdoor wave pool (summer only), volleyball tournaments, and a Christmas MARKET.

Incheon International Airport, Incheon, South Korea

incheon airportFlickr/zionorbi

Incheon International Airport highlights: “Spa on Air” sauna, Thai massage, the Ice Forest skating rink, a movie theater, gardens, and traditional musical performances.

Hong Kong International Airport, Chek Lap Kok, Hong Kong

Hong Kong International AirportHong Kong International Airport

Hong Kong International Airport highlights: A nine-hole golf course, the Aviation Discovery Center, the Dream Come True Education Park, and an IMAX theater.

Vancouver International Airport, Richmond, British Columbia

vancouver airportFlickr/alanchan

Vancouver International Airport highlights: A 114,000-liter aquarium and a jellyfish exhibit.

Zurich Airport, Zurich, Switzerland

zurich airportFlickr/patrick_nouhailler

Zurich Airport highlights: Observation decks and a miniature airport for children.

This article originally appeared at SmarterTravel.

SOURCE::: Business insider.com

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Read more: http://www.smartertravel.com/photo-galleries/editorial/the-worlds-seven-most-entertaining-airports.html#ixzz3ENucJlFf

Message For the Day…”Train Your Sense Organs Only to Perceive Sacred Things…”

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In the drama of life, some act on the basis that nothing belongs to them and that, whatever words one utters or whatever action one does, all belong to God and nothing is their own. They play their role in this spirit, ascribing nothing to oneself. The other category are those that are like the actors who are conscious of the role they are playing and do not forget their individuality in their actions. They do not consider themselves as merely acting a part but as the doer. The difference between the two is that while the former realises the temporary nature of the part being played and is not attached to the things connected with the role, the other develops attachment to the role and does not wish to part with things connected with the role. Presently, most people suffer from the possessive attitude. The reason is the failure to use the senses properly and enslavement to the desires prompted by them. Train your sense organs only to perceive sacred things and abstain from indiscriminate enjoyment.

Sathya Sai Baba

That is English ….!!!

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English is the easiest langauge to learn, mostly because it doesn’t make use of male/female for everything, like other lanugages do. But even being easy to learn, it doesn’t mean that it’s easy to master, or that it doesn’t have some pretty weird attibutes that have made their way into the language with time. Enjoy these 3 examples of why English is a crazy language!

 

 

Words  Make You  Dizzy !!!

1) The bandage was wound around the wound.
2) The farm was used to produce produce.
3) The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.
4) We must polish the Polish furniture.
5) He could lead if he would get the lead out.
6) The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.
7) Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present.
8) A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.
9) When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.
10) I did not object to the object.
11) The insurance was invalid for the invalid.
12) There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row.
13) They were too close to the door to close it.
14) The buck does funny things when the does are present.
15) A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.
16) To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.
17) The wind was too strong to wind the sail.
18) Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear..
19) I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.
20) How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?
SOURCE::: ba-ba mail site
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MARS MAVEN OF NASA….

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Mars MAVEN spacecraft’s first observations

MAVEN is the first spacecraft dedicated to exploring the tenuous upper atmosphere of Mars. It entered orbit around Mars on September 21, 2014.

MAVEN is the first spacecraft dedicated to exploring the tenuous upper atmosphere of Mars. It entered orbit around Mars on September 22, 2014. This composite image represents the first observations returned from the craft. Image via NASA

NASA said yesterday (September 24, 2014) that MAVEN – aka the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution spacecraft – has now obtained its first observations of the extended upper atmosphere surrounding our neighboring planet Mars.

MAVEN is the first spacecraft dedicated to exploring the tenuous upper atmosphere of Mars. Its Imaging Ultraviolet Spectrograph (IUVS) instrument obtained these false-color images eight hours after the successful completion of Mars orbit insertion by the spacecraft at 10:24 p.m. EDT Sunday, September 21, after a 10-month journey.

The image shows the planet from an altitude of 36,500 km in three ultraviolet wavelength bands. Blue shows the ultraviolet light from the sun scattered from atomic hydrogen gas in an extended cloud that goes to thousands of kilometers above the planet’s surface. Green shows a different wavelength of ultraviolet light that is primarily sunlight reflected off of atomic oxygen, showing the smaller oxygen cloud. Red shows ultraviolet sunlight reflected from the planet’s surface; the bright spot in the lower right is light reflected either from polar ice or clouds.

The oxygen gas is held close to the planet by Mars’ gravity, while lighter hydrogen gas is present to higher altitudes and extends past the edges of the image. These gases derive from the breakdown of water and carbon dioxide in Mars’ atmosphere. Over the course of its one-Earth-year primary science mission, MAVEN observations like these will be used to determine the loss rate of hydrogen and oxygen from the Martian atmosphere. These observations will allow us to determine the amount of water that has escaped from the planet over time.

Bottom line: First observations from the Mars MAVEN spacecraft, which is dedicated to exploring Mars’ tenuous upper atmosphere.

Via NASA

SOURCE:::: earth sky news

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மங்கள்யான் அனுப்பிய முதல் புகைப்படம்… !!!

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செவ்வாய் கிரகத்தை ஆராய அனுப்பப்பட்ட மங்கள்யான் விண்கலம் எடுத்த முதல் புகைப்படத்தை இஸ்ரோ வெளியிட்டுள்ளது.

இஸ்ரோவின் செவ்வாய் கிரக ஆராய்ச்சி மிஷனின் அதிகாரப்பூர்வ ஃபேஸ்புக் பக்கத்தில் ( ISRO’s Mars Orbiter Mission) முதல் புகைப்படம் வெளியிடப்பட்டுள்ளது.

மங்கள்யான் விண்கலம், அதில் பொருத்தப்பட்ட வண்ணப் புகைப்பட கேமராவை பயன்படுத்தி எடுக்கப்பட்ட 10 புகைப்படங்களை வியாழக்கிழமை காலை அனுப்பியுள்ளது. செவ்வாய்கிரகத்தின் மேற்பரப்பை படம் எடுத்துள்ளது.

இந்தப் புகைப்படங்கள் முதலில் பிரதமர் பார்வைக்கு அனுப்பிவைக்கப்பட்டன. அதனைத் தொடர்ந்து இஸ்ரோவின் மார்ஸ் மிஷன் ஃபேஸ்புக் பக்கத்தில் பகிர்ந்து கொள்ளப்பட்டுள்ளது.

புதன்கிழமை காலை மங்கள்யான் விண்கலம் செவ்வாய் சுற்றுவட்டப் பாதையில் வெற்றிகரமாக நிலைநிறுத்தப்பட்டது. விண்கலம், சுற்றுவட்டப் பாதையில் நிலைநிறுத்தப்பட்ட சில மணி நேரங்களில் விண்கலத்தில் இருந்தவற்றில் 5 உபகரணங்கள் இயக்கப்பட்டன.

அதில் ஒன்று வண்ணப் புகைப்பட கேமராவாகும். அந்த கேமரா செயல்படத் தொடங்கி, 10 புகைப்படங்களை அனுப்பியுள்ளது. மற்ற இயந்திரங்களும், ஒன்றன்பின் ஒன்றாக செயல்படத் துவங்கும் என இஸ்ரோ விஞ்ஞானிகள் தெரிவித்துள்ளனர்.

Source::::the hindu..tamil
Natarajan

5 Surprising Things That Cost More Than India’s Historic Mission To Mars !!!

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India just became Asia’s first interplanetary power. The country’s Mangalyaan satellite successfully made it into orbit around Mars on Wednesday after a roughly 10-month journey. The mission comes at an astonishingly low cost of $74 million, or nearly one-tenth of the price of NASA’s MAVEN spacecraft that entered the red planet’s orbit Sunday night.

Indian Space Research Organization chief K. Radhakrishnan even called the Mars Orbiter Mission “the cheapest interplanetary mission ever to be undertaken by the world.”

Just how cheap? This graph shows a handful of surprising things that cost more than India’s Mars mission.

India Mars

Business Insider

  • The most expensive apartment ever sold in London had a price tag of $237 million. You could get three of India’s satellites for that cost, and with a better view.
  • The new F-35 fighter jet costs a jaw-dropping $160 million a pop.
  • “Gravity” starring George Clooney and Sandra Bullock cost about $100 million. That’s about one-third more than the cost of the successful Mars mission.
  • The Airbus A380 would set you back more than $400 million. You could get more than five Mangalyaan satellites for that price.

 

SOURCE:::: Mike Bird  in Business Insider India.com

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Message For the Day…” Realise that Every Human Birth is a Manifestation of Divine Will …”

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Sathya Sai Baba  

The whole world is a stage and every individual is an actor. The Divine Lord is the Director of the Cosmic Drama. The primary goal of every actor doing a particular role is to carry out their duty, setting aside their individuality. In a school drama, a boy may play the role of a director. While acting, he must exhibit the behavior of a director and not behave like he would in his normal daily routine; those traits must be given a back seat. Your birth as a human being is a God given gift which must be used with due care. Fill your life with righteous acts and do not misuse your talents for unholy purposes. Your life will have a mixture of good and bad, discriminate and select to play your role in a good manner wherein you manifest humanness, and thus conduct yourself worthily. Realise that every human birth is a manifestation of the Divine will.