NASA Image of the Day, Dec 27th..[ 1947 ]

The latest NASA "Image of the Day" image.

Decorating the Sky
This mosaic image taken by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, features three nebulae that are part of the giant Orion Molecular Cloud--the Flame nebula, the Horsehead nebula and NGC 2023. 

 

Despite its name, there is no fire roaring in the Flame nebula. What makes this nebula shine is the bright blue star seen to the right of the central cloud. This star, Alnitak, is the easternmost star in Orion's belt. Wind and radiation from Alnitak blasts away electrons from the gas in the Flame nebula, causing it to become ionized and glow in visible light. The infrared glow seen by WISE is from dust warmed by Alnitak's radiation. 

 

The famous Horsehead nebula appears in this image as a faint bump on the lower right side of the vertical dust ridge. In visible light, this nebula is easily recognizable as a dramatic silhouette in the shape of a horse's head. It is classified as a dark nebula because the dense cloud blocks out the visible light of the glowing gas behind it. WISE's infrared detectors can peer into the cloud to see the glow of the dust itself. A third nebula, NGC 2023, can be seen as a bright circle in the lower half of the image. NGC 2023 is classified as a reflection nebula, meaning that the dust is reflecting the visible light of nearby stars. 

 

But here WISE sees the infrared glow of the warmed dust itself. Color in this image represents specific infrared wavelengths. Blue represents light emitted at 3.4-micron wavelengths, mainly from hot stars. Relatively cooler objects, such as the dust of the nebulae, appear green and red. Green represents 4.6-micron light and red represents 12-micron light. This image was made from data collected after WISE began to run out of its supply of solid hydrogen cryogen in August 2010. Cryogen is a coolant used to make infrared detectors more sensitive. WISE mapped the entire sky by July using four infrared detectors, but during the period from August to October 2010, while the cryogen was depleting, WISE had only three detectors operational, and the 12-micron detector was less sensitive. 

 

This turned out to be a good thing in the case of this image, because the less-sensitive detector reduced the glare of the Flame portion of the nebula enough to bring out details of the rest of the nebula.

 

Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA

Δευτέρα, 27 Δεκέμβριος 2010 7:00:00 πμ

Israel will not apologize to Turkey[ 1946 ]

Feedback

Israel says it will not apologize to Turkey over flotilla incident

By the CNN Wire Staff

December 26, 2010 -- Updated 2021 GMT (0421 HKT)

Israeli troops board a ship in a Gaza-bound aid flotilla in the Mediterranean Sea on May 31.

(CNN) -- Despite overtures from Turkey, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman said Sunday that his country will not apologize to Turkey over the deaths of nine Turkish activists aboard an aid flotilla headed for Gaza in May.

"The ones who need to apologize is the Turkish government for supporting terror regarding the IHH (a Turkish charity tied to the flotilla), Hamas and Hezbollah," he told a gathering of Israeli ambassadors from around the world.

"There will be no apology, and if there is one, we are expecting it from Ankara and not vice versa," he added.

A day earlier, Turkey's foreign minister continued to press for an apology from Israel over the incident, as the boat that set off the row between the two countries was scheduled to arrive in Istanbul.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu criticized Israel for not reciprocating his country's efforts to remedy relations, despite Turkey's "wish to reconcile with Israel," according to the state-run Anadolu news agency.

"We are having difficulty, when we don't receive the same will from the other side," he said. "If our friendship with Israel is going to continue, an apology and compensation are the only possible ways for it."

Turkey was once Israel's strongest ally among Muslim nations, but the relationship between the two nations has been chilly since May 31, when Israeli forces intercepted an aid flotilla headed to Gaza from Turkey. Violence broke out, and nine Turkish activists were killed.

Tens of thousands of people were expected Sunday to greet the boat at the center of the controversy, the Mavi Marmara, upon its arrival in Istanbul, according to a press release from Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief.

Israel has maintained that its troops used force on the activists only after they were attacked by those on board one boat. But passengers on board insist Israeli troops fired on them without provocation.

On Saturday, Davutoglu said that Tel Aviv's attempts to lay blame were unfounded.

"Turkish citizens were killed in international waters," he told reporters, according to the Anadolu report. "Nothing can cover this fact. Turkey cannot be blamed."

In September, the U.N. Human Rights Council concluded that Israeli forces committed serious violations of international law in the mid-sea interception. The 56-page report described the circumstances of the deaths of "at least six of the passengers" as being "consistent with ... an arbitrary and summary execution."

Officials from Israel and Turkey met earlier this month in Geneva, Switzerland, in an attempt to reduce tensions. That meeting came days after Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan sent two firefighting planes to Israel to help combat a deadly wildfire, according to a Turkish foreign ministry official.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly thanked Erdogan, then called him to thank him again, the official said. While on the telephone, Netanyahu said he hoped the two countries could discuss the state of their relationship in a different context.

CNN's Michael Schwartz contributed to this report.

Russia: French Mistral warships[ 1945 ]

Russia Selects Warships From France

Click for Full story: Defense News

By PIERRE TRAN
Published: 25 Dec 2010 11:09

Russia has selected France's controversial offer of two Mistral command and projection warships, with an option for two more units, for an undisclosed amount, a French official statement said Dec.

Christmas in...China..[ 1944 ]

China fights inflation with Christmas rate rise

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A shopper walks past a window displaying prices of dresses and handbags at a shopping mall in central Beijing October 21, 2010.

Credit: Reuters/David Gray

By Ben Blanchard and Zhou Xin 

BEIJING | Sat Dec 25, 2010 9:18am EST

 

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's central bank raised interest rates on Saturday for the second time in just over two months as it stepped up its battle to rein in stubbornly high inflation.

The People's Bank of China said it will raise the benchmark lending rate by 25 basis points to 5.81 percent and lift the benchmark deposit rate by 25 basis points to 2.75 percent.

The central bank said in a statement on its website (www.pbc.gov.cn) that the latest rate rise would take effect on Sunday.

The move came after Beijing said earlier in December it was switching to a "prudent" monetary policy, from its earlier "moderately loose" stance.

Analysts said the change of wording, along with a recent pledge by top leaders to make inflation fighting a top priority for 2011, could pave the way for more interest rate increases and lending controls.

"This rate hike demonstrates Chinese authorities' determination to keep inflation under control up front, or front-loaded tightening," said Qing Wang, chief China economist at Morgan Stanley in Hong Kong.

"Compared to rate hikes in the beginning of next year, a rate hike before year-end will have a more tightening impact, as the interest rates on the medium- and long-term loans and deposits are reset at the beginning of each year according to the base rates."

The central bank said on Friday it will deploy a range of policy tools to head off inflationary pressures and asset bubbles.

To tame price pressures, China raised interest rates on Oct 19 for the first time in nearly three years. The consensus of analysts polled by Reuters this month was for three rate rises of 25 basis points each by the end of next year.

Along with playing a key role in the fight against inflation, policy tightening also signals the government's confidence that the world's second-largest economy is on solid ground, even as the U.S. and European recoveries remain fragile.

CHRISTMAS SURPRISE

While almost all investors and analysts thought more policy tightening was coming, there was uncertainty about whether the central bank would raise rates before the end of the year.

The central bank opted to raise banks' reserve requirements on Nov 19 ahead of data which showed inflation hit a 28-month high of 5.1 percent.

"We expected a rate hike by the end of the year, though Christmas Day is something of a surprise -- a rate hike is not normally on the wish-list for Santa Claus, but in China's case this is a prudent move," said Brian Jackson, economist with Royal Bank of Canada in Hong Kong.

"We think it is increasingly clear that using quantitative measures, such as reserve ratios, to rein in liquidity and credit has not been enough, and that adjusting the price of credit -- that is, interest rates -- is needed to get price pressures under control."

Xmas 2010..[ 1943 ]

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