NASA Chief Technologist Visits Wallops...[ 2655 ]

Featured Image ,NASA Chief Technologist  Visits Wallops

NASA Chief Technologist Mason Peck Visits Wallops

NASA Chief Technologist Mason Peck, left, and Robin Heard, Manager of Antares Upper Stage Ground Operations, Orbital Sciences Corp., view the Antares rocket at Wallops on Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012. 

The visit to Wallops was Peck's first visit to an agency center since becoming NASA's Chief Technologist.

Image Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

NASA has dismissed the claim that there is life on Venus,...[ 2654 ]

NASA Debunks Life on Venus Claim

Venus//© Leonid Ksanfomaliti/Solar System Research magazine

MOSCOW, January 25 (RIA Novosti)

NASA has dismissed the sensational claim by a Russian scientist that there is life on Venus, saying that the “disc” seen moving on the surface was in fact a lens cap.

Earlier this month an article published in Solar System Research magazine reported several objects resembling living beings detected on photos made by the Soviet probe that landed on Venus in 1982.

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Leonid Ksanfomaliti of the Space Research Institute of Russia’s Academy of Sciences published research that analyzed photos made by the Venera-13 lander showing several objects resembling “a disk,” “a black flap” and “a scorpion.” All of them “emerge, fluctuate and disappear,” the scientist said, referring to their changing location on different photos and traces on the ground.

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But NASA photo analysts dismissed his claims. “It makes much more sense that it's a piece of the lander designed to break off during the deployment of one of the scientific instrument,” The Daily Mail reported on Tuesday, quoting Jonathon Hill, a NASA mission planner.

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Experts also said that the "scorpion" found by Ksanfomaliti is also just noise in a digital image.

No evidence of life on Venus, where the surface temperature is 464 degrees Celsius (867 degrees Fahrenheit), has ever been found.

Greek film director Theodoros Angelopouos has died ...[ 2653 ]

Filmmaker Theo Angelopoulos dies in accident

Greek filmmaker known for his slow and dreamlike style was killed in a road accident while working on his latest movie

• Associated Press
• guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 24 January 2012 23.36 GMT
• Article history

Greek film director Theodoros Angelopouos has died after being hit by a motorcycle during filming of his latest movie. Photograph: Orestis Panagiotou/EPA

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Theo Angelopoulos, an award-winning Greek filmmaker known for his slow and dreamlike style as a director, has been killed in a road accident while working on his latest movie. He was 76.
Police and hospital officials said Angelopoulos suffered serious head injuries and died at a hospital after being hit by a motorcycle while walking across a road near a movie set near Athens' main port of Piraeus.
The driver, also injured and hospitalised, was later identified as an off-duty police officer.
The accident occurred while Angelopoulos was working on his upcoming movie "The Other Sea."
Angelopoulos had won numerous awards for his movies, mostly at European film festivals, during a career that spanned more than 40 years.
In 1995, he won the Grand Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival for "Ulysses' Gaze," starring American actor Harvey Keitel.

U.S. aircraft carrier goes through Strait of Hormuz ...[ 2652 ]

After Iran threat, U.S. aircraft carrier goes through Strait of Hormuz without incident

By the CNN Wire Staff

January 23, 2012 -- Updated 0404 GMT (1204 HKT)

The USS Abraham Lincoln and the USS John Stennis are in the Gulf. The Lincoln moved through the Strait of Hormuz Sunday.

(CNN) -- Flanked by British and French ships, the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier moved through the Strait of Hormuz without incident Sunday despite recent threats from Iran.

The U.S. Naval Forces Central Command said in a statement that the Lincoln "completed a regular and routine transit of the strait ... to conduct maritime security operations." The Lincoln is in the region with the USS Carl Vinson, giving the U.S. Navy its standard two-carrier presence there.

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A British defense ministry spokesman, who was not named per policy, said Sunday that the "HMS Argyll and a French vessel joined a U.S. carrier group" going through the strait "to underline the unwavering international commitment to maintaining rights of passage under international law."

"Britain maintains a constant presence in the region as part of our enduring contribution to Gulf security," the spokesman said.

Several weeks ago, as the USS John Stennis left the Persian Gulf and headed back to the western Pacific, Iranian officials warned the United States not to send in another carrier.

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"We have always stated that there is no need for the forces belonging to the countries beyond this region to have a presence in the Persian Gulf," Brig. Gen. Ahmad Vahidi said in early January, according to the semi-official Fars News Agency. "Their presence does nothing but create mayhem, and we never wanted them to be present in the Persian Gulf."

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Tehran has threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz, the only outlet to and from the Persian Gulf between Iran and the United Arab Emirates as well as Oman, as Iran faces increased scrutiny over its nuclear program and possible sanctions on its oil exports. The critical shipping lane had 17 million barrels of oil per day passing through in 2011, according to the U.S. Energy Information Agency.

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U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has responded by threatening to "respond" if Iran attempts to shut down traffic. He said that the U.S. naval and military presence in the region will not change and the current level is sufficient to deal with any situation that could arise.

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"We have always maintained a very strong presence in that region," Panetta said earlier this month. "We have a Navy fleet located there. We have a military presence in that region. And ... we have continually maintained a strong presence in the region to make very clear that we were going to do everything possible to help secure the peace in that part of the world.-

Greek debt talks hit snag...[ 2651 ]

Greek debt talks hit snag

 

The IIF said Charles Dallara and Jean Lemierre left Athens for "longstanding personal appointments"

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BBC., 22 January 2012 Last updated at 09:55 GMT

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The chief negotiators for Greece's private creditors have left Athens without securing a deal to write off some of the country's debts.

The Institute of International Finance (IIF), which represents the creditors, said a technical team would remain to work on the details and negotiations would continue on the phone.

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Greece had hoped an agreement would be in place by the end of the weekend.

It needs a deal if it is to receive the next tranche of bailout funds.

The 130bn euro ($168bn; £108bn) rescue package from the EU and IMF is crucial if Greece is to meet its next debt repayment deadline in two months.

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The Institute of International Finance (IIF), which represents the private creditors, denied that its managing director Charles Dallara and his adviser Jean Lemierre had left unexpectedly on Saturday, saying that they had "longstanding personal appointments".

A deal now seems unlikely before eurozone finance ministers meet on Monday.

Default risk

European leaders agreed in principle last year that private lenders would voluntarily write off 50% of their loans to Greece, but private creditors still need to agree to the terms of the deal.

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Athens and the IIF last week discussed not only the size of the write-off, but also the rate of interest on the new loans, which will be renegotiated and rolled over into new bonds as part of any agreement.

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Reports have suggested that a small number of hedge funds are blocking the deal, either to try to force a reduced write-off or to trigger a default, against which they are insured.

However, analysts say that even if an agreement is reached, there is no guarantee that all bond holders will sign up.

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Without the EU-IMF bailout money, the Greek government could run out of cash and be forced to default on its debts.

Some analysts believe that if Greece did default, the country would be forced to leave the eurozone.