NASA Image of the Day, Oct 21st..[ 1910 ]

The latest NASA "Image of the Day" image.

Crackling with Solar Flares

Fast-growing sunspot 1112 is crackling with solar flares. So far, none of the blasts has hurled a substantial CME, or coronal mass ejection, toward Earth. 

 

In addition, a vast filament of magnetism is cutting across the sun's southern hemisphere. 

 

This filament is so large it spans a distance greater than the separation of Earth and the moon. A bright 'hot spot' just north of the filament's midpoint is UV radiation from sunspot 1112. 

 

The proximity is no coincidence; the filament appears to be rooted in the sunspot below. If the sunspot flares, it could cause the entire structure to erupt. Thus far, none of the flares has destabilized the filament.

 

Image Credit: NASA

Πέμπτη, 21 Οκτώβριος 2010 7:00:00 πμ

Three bears found at private residence..[ 1909 ]

Another 3 bears found in tree at private residence

The bears climb down the tree at the private residence in the Yamagata Prefectural town of Iide at 11:11 a.m. on Oct. 21 (Mainichi)

(Mainichi Japan) October 21, 2010

YAMAGATA -- Three bears that were found in a tree at a private residence in the Yamagata Prefectural town of Iide have fled into a grove, police said.

Shortly after 6 a.m. on Oct. 21, a local resident spotted the three bears -- believed to be a parent and cubs -- in a 20-meter-tall cedar tree in his yard, which is located some 50 meters north of Iide Municipal Second Elementary School. The school instructed its 87 students to stay inside their houses, while the municipal office recommended that a total of eight households in the area evacuate.

"My dog started barking violently at around 6.a.m., so I looked in the yard. I then heard a crunching noise from the cedar tree and noticed the bears. I had never seen bears so close; it was terrifying," said the owner of the residence.

The cubs -- about 70 to 80 centimeters long -- were found some 15 meters up the tree, while the adult bear -- about 1.2 meters long -- was at some 7 to 8 meters below them.

Police and town workers tried capturing the animals using tranquilizer darts while poking branches with a 3-meter-long pole from a crane. The three bears climbed down the tree at around 11:10 a.m. and fled into the nearby woods when police used water cannons on them.

"The bears could enter the school premises, it's dangerous," said a senior school official.

In a similar incident on Oct. 18, three bears were found in a tree at a residence in Fukushima Prefecture.

Click here for the original Japanese story

(Mainichi Japan) October 21, 2010

NASA. Space Photos : Comets ..[ 1908 ]

Space photos of the day: Comets

October 20, 2010

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The Araona Crater (also known as the Iturralde Structure) is a suspected crater from an impactor which struck northern Bolivia approximately 20,000 years ago. The feature is believed to have been caused by a short period comet striking at 44 miles per second and splattering into the muddy alluvial flood plain in the Lower Amazon jungle. The impact created a circular depression which is now roughly 5 miles across and 10 feet deep. 

NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio+

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US Arms Salew ti Saudi Arabia..[ 1907 ]

US Confirms $60 Billion Arms Sales Package for Saudi Arabia

Photo: US Air Force  /   An F-15 fighter jet (file photo)

VOA News
David Gollust | State Department 20 October 2010

The Obama administration announced plans Wednesday to sell up to $60 billion worth of advanced fighter aircraft, helicopters and related weapons systems to Saudi Arabia.  The package is aimed at helping Saudi Arabia deal with potential threats from Iran and regional terrorism.

The outlines of the arms deal - the largest in U.S. history - had been known for some time, but the administration withheld an official announcement pending consultations with the U.S. Congress.  Under its terms, the United States will provide Saudi Arabia with 84 advanced F-15 fighter planes with electronics and weapons packages tailored to Saudi needs.  An additional 70 F-15's already in Saudi hands will be upgraded to match the capabilities of the new planes.

Saudi Arabia will purchase a huge fleet of nearly 200 Apache, Blackhawk and other U.S. military helicopters, along with a vast array of radar systems, anti-aircraft and anti-ship missiles, and guided bombs.

Officials put the total value of the sales package at as much as $60 billion but said it could be less if Saudi Arabia elects not to exercise purchase options over the 15 to 20 year span of the deal.

At a press event announcing the sale, Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs Andrew Shapiro said it reinforces the existing long-term U.S. military relationship with Saudi Arabia.

Shapiro said a potentially-nuclear armed Iran is one threat the package is designed to deter, but that there are others, including terrorist threats to Saudi Arabia's oil facilities, and border problems such as recent incursions of tribal militants from Yemen.

"It's not solely about Iran.  It's about helping the Saudis with their legitimate security needs, and they have a number of legitimate security needs.  They live in a dangerous neighborhood and we are helping them preserve and protect their security in a dangerous neighborhood against legitimate security threats," said Shapiro.

Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs Alexander Vershbow said the buildup of Saudi capabilities could eventually reduce the need for U.S. military deployments in the Gulf region.

"When one looks at future challenges, having allies throughout the Gulf region who are inter-operable with U.S. forces, who are capable, who have trained together with our forces, it means we have partners and allies we can look to in future contingencies," said Vershbow.  "So it means we may have to station fewer forces on a continuing basis in the region."

Vershbow said the United States has had high-level consultations with Israeli officials on the pending sale, and that Israel does not object to it.

Israel has long had U.S. F-15 fighters in its arsenal and recently has committed to purchase new F-35 strike fighter jets, which U.S. officials say will preserve Israel's qualitative military advantage in the Middle East.

The U.S. Congress could block the Saudi arms deal.  Assistant Secretary Shapiro said, however, that contacts with key House and Senate leaders make administration officials confident that Congress will not be a barrier to the completion of the sale.

NASA Image of the Day, Oct 20th..[ 1906 ]

The latest NASA "Image of the Day" image.

Sun and Moon

On Oct. 7, 2010, NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, or SDO, observed its first lunar transit when the new moon passed directly between the spacecraft (in its geosynchronous orbit) and the sun. 

With SDO watching the sun in a wavelength of extreme ultraviolet light, the dark moon created a partial eclipse of the sun. 

Image Credit: NASA
Τετάρτη, 20 Οκτώβριος 2010 7:00:00 πμ