NASA Image of the Day, Dec 20th..[ 1932 ]

    The latest NASA "Image of the Day" image.

Sotra Facula, Titan

A total lunar eclipse is seen as the full moon is shadowed by the Earth on the arrival of the winter solstice, Tuesday, December 21, 2010 in Arlington, VA. 

The eclipse lasted about three hours and twenty-eight minutes. A lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth lines up directly between the sun and the moon, blocking the sun’s rays and casting a shadow on the moon.

As the moon moves deeper and deeper into the Earth's shadow, the moon changes color before your very eyes, turning from gray to an orange or deep shade of red. 

Image Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

Δευτέρα, 20 Δεκέμβριος 2010 7:00:00 πμ

NASA Image of the Day, Dec 20th..[ 1931 ]

   The latest NASA "Image of the Day" image.   

Sotra Facula, Titan

Based on data from NASA's Cassini spacecraft, this image shows an area of Saturn's moon Titan, known as Sotra Facula. Scientists believe Sotra is the best case for a cryovolcano, or ice volcano. The flyover shows two peaks more than 3,000 feet (about 1,000 meters) tall and multiple craters as deep as 5,000 feet (1,500 meters). The image also shows finger-like flows, which also indicate the presence cryovolcanism. The 3-D topography comes from Cassini's radar instrument. Topography has been vertically exaggerated by a factor of 10. 

The false color in the initial frames shows different compositions of surface material as detected by Cassini's visual and infrared mapping spectrometer. In this color scheme, dunes tend to look relatively brown-blue. Blue suggests the presence of some exposed ice. Scientists think the bright areas have an organic coating that hides the ice and is different and lighter than the dunes. 

The finger-like flows appear bright yellowish-white, like the mountain and caldera. The second set of colors shows elevation, with blue being lowest and yellow and white being the highest. Dunes here appear blue because they tend to occupy low areas. The finger-like flows are harder to see in the elevation data, indicating that they are thin, maybe less than about 300 feet (about 100 meters) thick.

Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/USGS/University of Arizona

Δευτέρα, 20 Δεκέμβριος 2010 7:00:00 πμ

UK.,The privatisation of Royal Mail ..[ 1930 ]

Government admits Queen's head could be lost from stamps

•   The Telegraph , Sun Dec 19, 2010,01:26 GMT

Buckingham Palace is in talks with ministers to ensure the Queen's head remains on postage stamps if privatisation of Royal Mail goes ahead.

A representation of the monarch has appeared on every British postage stamp since 1840 

 Photo: REUTERS

By Harry Wallop, Consumer Affairs Editor 1:26PM GMT 19 Dec 2010

10 Comments

Vince Cable, the Business Secretary, said discussions were taking place after he admitted that there was no specific clause in the Postal Services Bill, setting out the terms of privatisation, which forces any new owner to keep the Queen's head.

An image of the monarch's head has been on British postage stamps since they were invented in 1840.

The draft legislation already contained provisions requiring a future private operator to get Royal approval before issuing new postage stamps bearing Her Majesty’s image – but no clause obliging them to use it in the first place.

It is understood that no one believed that a new owner would want to drop the image, so felt it was not necessary to specify that the Queen's head should remain.

The Government is currently pushing through its plans to sell off up to 80 per cent of Royal Mail, either to a private operator or on the London Stock Exchange, most likely sometime in 2012. It keen to make the business – burdened with a vast pension deficit and declining postal revenues – as attractive as possible to any buyer.

Kosovo : PM Hashim Thaci's crimes ..[ 1929 ]

Kosovo PM Hashim Thaci's crimes 'known to the West'

The USA  Approval and ..love story

Hashim Thaci and Madeline Albright

The West elevated a man it knew to be a criminal boss to the rank of European statesman.
Although Western intelligence agencies warned that Hashim Thaci ran an organised crime network in the late 1990s, Western political leaders backed his Kosovo Liberation Army, according to a report published by the Council of Europe.

The report, adopted unanimously by the council's 47 member states, will add to pressure for an independent criminal inquiry into Mr Thaci, now Kosovo's Prime Minister. 
It also places an embarrassing spotlight on the actions of the NATO members who intervened in Kosovo in 1999 as the country engaged in a war of independence with Slobodan Milosevic's Serbia.

Click for Full story: www.theaustralian.com.au

NASA Image of the Day, Dec 17th..[ 1928 ]

The latest NASA "Image of the Day" image.

Wright Flyer

 

On Dec. 17, 1903, the Wright Brothers made the first powered flight and, in March 1999, a full-scale replica of the 1903 Wright Flyer was mounted in NASA Ames Research Center's 40-foot by 80-foot wind tunnel for tests to build a historically accurate aerodynamic database of the Flyer. For two weeks, engineers studied the replica's stability, control and handling at speeds up to 27 knots (30 mph) in the wind tunnel. 

 

The Wright Flyer replica was constructed by a team of volunteers from the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics using plans provided by the Smithsonian. The replica featured a 40-foot-4-inch wingspan reinforced with piano wire, cotton wing coverings, spruce propellers and a double rudder. 

 

Although it replicated the 1903 Wright Flyer in design, size, appearance and aerodynamics, some changes were made to make it stronger for mounting in the wind tunnel.

 

Image Credit: NASA

Παρασκευή, 17 Δεκέμβριος 2010 7:00:00 πμ