Moon eclipse in North America..[ 1346 ]

Moon enters 'magnified' eclipse in North America

 

This photo taken by Ian Mercer in Queensland, Australia, shows the eclipse about an hour after it began

BBC Page last updated at 11:37 GMT, Saturday, 26 June 2010 12:37 UK

A partial lunar eclipse now under way should appear magnified to viewers in North America by an effect known as the "moon illusion".

The eclipse began at 1017 GMT, when the Moon entered the shadow of Earth, and is due to last around three hours.

Because of the timing, the eclipse is not visible from the UK or Europe.

But in many parts of the US and Canada, the eclipse should appear larger because it occurs while the Moon is so close to the horizon.

According to Nasa, low-hanging Moons look "unnaturally large when they beam through trees, buildings and other foreground objects". The reason for this is not understood.

"Observers in India, Japan, and parts of East Asia will experience the same phenomenon," Nasa wrote on its website.

"They'll see the eclipse on Saturday evening as the Moon is rising."

At its maximum, 54% of the Moon's diameter will be covered. This will occur at 0438 US pacific time (1138 GMT) - the event will last almost three hours.

Because the Moon, Sun and Earth are not aligned, it will not reach "totality".

Nasa, image of the Day, June 26th [ 1345 ]

The latest NASA "Image of the Day" image.

Supersonic Green Machine

This future aircraft design concept for supersonic flight over land comes from the team led by the Lockheed Martin Corporation. 

The team's simulation shows possibility for achieving overland flight by dramatically lowering the level of sonic booms through the use of an "inverted-V" engine-under wing configuration. 

Other revolutionary technologies help achieve range, payload and environmental goals.

This supersonic cruise concept is among the designs presented in April 2010 to the NASA Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate for its NASA Research Announcement-funded studies into advanced aircraft that could enter service in the 2030-2035 timeframe. 

Image credit: NASA/Lockheed Martin Corporation

Παρασκευή, 25 Ιούνιος 2010 7:00:00 πμ

Safety screen in all train Stations, Japan [ 1344 ]

Safety screen installed on JR Ebisu Station platform, all Yamanote Line stations to follow

A woman gets on a Yamanote Line train through the platform screen door at JR Ebisu Station in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward on June 26. (Mainichi)

(Mainichi Japan) June 26, 2010...,

JR Ebisu Station in downtown Tokyo started operating platform screen doors (PSDs) on the Yamanote Line platform on June 26 in an attempt to prevent accidental falls onto train tracks.

The system is the first of its kind for an East Japan Railway Co. local train station. 

The PSDs will also be introduced at JR Meguro Station in August, and the company plans to install them at all other Yamanote Line stations by fiscal 2017.

The PSD safety system at Ebisu Station is about 1.3 meters high and stretches about 220 meters.

A 28-year-old mother with two small children said, "Sometimes my children suddenly let go of my hand and start running. So, the PSDs are helpful. I hope they will be installed at every station soon."

Click here for the original Japanese story

Tsar Nicholas II..[ 1343 ]

Turkey to restore Russian Tsar Nicholas II's hunting lodge

Click for ...Full story: Today.Az

The inage of Russian Tsar Nicholas II

Speaking to the AA, Director of the Culture and Tourism Department in Kars, Hakan Doganay, said that the hunting lodge in Sarikamis was constructed in a Baltic style.

NASA’s Earth Observing of Persepolis, Iran...[ 1342 ]

Persepolis, Iran

Posted June 19, 2010

acquired January 5, 2004

In southwestern Iran, roughly 650 kilometers (400 miles) south of the capital city of Tehran, and roughly 70 kilometers (40 miles) northeast of Shiraz, a cultivated plain gives way to the Zagros Mountains. At the transition between flat land and rugged mountain, at the base of Kuh-i-Rahmat, or “Mountain of Mercy,” lies Persepolis. Founded around 518 B.C. by Darius the Great, the site served as the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid (or Persian) Empire.

The Advanced Land Imager (ALI) on NASA’s Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) satellite captured this natural-color image of Persepolis and the surrounding region on January 5, 2004. The boundary between agricultural land and mountain runs roughly northwest-southeast. West of the boundary, the land appears as a patchwork of brown fallow fields and green growing crops. East of the boundary, mountain peaks on Kuh-i-Rahmat cast dark shadows to the north.

A tree-lined road leads to the site of Persepolis from the southwest. Persepolis itself is roughly rectangular, and rivals the size of nearby modern settlements. The L-shaped, off-white structure at Persepolis is a modern covering, providing some protection from the elements to part of the ancient complex. Although the vast roofs that once covered the buildings are long gone, pillars, stairways, and sculptures remain.

For nearly two centuries—roughly 518 B.C. to 333 B.C.—Persepolis served as the capital for an empire that stretched from Greece to India. Sacked by Alexander the Great in 333 B.C., however, the site lay hidden under its own ruins until rediscovered in 1620 by García de Silva Figueroa, a Spanish ambassador to the court of Shah Abbas. Persepolis has become a popular destination for foreign tourists and Iranian citizens alike. 

The site became a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Site in 1979.