Posted February 8th, 2013 at 7:20 pm (UTC+0)

NASA's Cassini spacecraft took this natural color composite photo of Saturn (Photo: NASA)

This natural color composite photo of Saturn was taken by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft. (NASA)

A baby Adélie penguin nuzzles up to its mother. This photo was taken inside one of three bird colonies on Ross Island near Antarctica. (Photo: Penguinscience.com)

A baby Adélie penguin nuzzles up to its mother inside one of three bird colonies on Ross Island near Antarctica. (Penguinscience.com)

Here's A close-up photo of Robonaut 2 - R2, the first dexterous humanoid robot in space that was taken inside the International Space Station's Destiny laboratory. By the way you can see the reflections of NASA astronaut Kevin Ford on R2's helmet visor. (Photo: NASA)

This is Robonaut 2-R2, the first dexterous humanoid robot in space, in an image taken inside the International Space Station. NASA astronaut Kevin Ford’s reflection can be seen on R2′s helmet visor. (NASA)

Lava from a tiny lava pond flows on the north side of Hawaii's Kilauea volcano. (Photo: USGS)

Lava from a lava pond, below the peak, flows on the north side of Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano. (USGS)

Using data from the Hubble Space Telescope this is an assembled photo illustration of the magnificent spiral galaxy M106. (Image: R. Gendler/NASA)

Photo illustration of the magnificent spiral galaxy M106, assembled using data from the Hubble Space Telescope. (NASA)

This is a photomicrograph of a brown fat cell (brown adipocyte) that was taken from a muscle stem cell (Image: Alessandra Pasut, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute)

This photograph, taken through a microscope, is of a brown fat cell (brown adipocyte) taken from a muscle stem cell. (Alessandra Pasut, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute)

Technicians pack-up and prepare NASA's Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM) satellite for its scheduled launch on Monday, Feb. 11th at 1800 UTC (Photo: NASA)

Technicians prepare NASA’s Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM) satellite for its scheduled launch on Monday, Feb. 11 at 1800 UTC. (NASA)

When sockeye salmon migrate from salt water to fresh water, they change color--going from their ocean colors of mostly silver to red when in fresh water (Photo: Dr. Tom Quinn, University of Washington)

Sockeye salmon migrate from salt water to fresh water in British Columbia’s Fraser River, changing from their silvery ocean colors to red in fresh water. (Tom Quinn, University of Washington)

The Orion nebula is featured in this sweeping image from NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE. (Image: NASA)

The Orion nebula is showcased in this sweeping image from NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE). (NASA)

An Atlas V rocket carrying NASA's Tracking and Data Relay Satellite-K (TDRS-K), streaks past the Vehicle Assembly Building and Launch Complex 39 at Kennedy Space Center in Florida (Photo: NASA)

An Atlas V rocket carrying NASA’s Tracking and Data Relay Satellite-K (TDRS-K) streaks past a building at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. (NASA)

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Tags: "brown fat cell", "Kennedy Space Center, "Orion Nebula", "Robonaut 2", "Ross Island", "sockeye salmon", "spiral galaxy", "swim upstream", "Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer", astronaut, Cassini, Hubble, ISS, Kīlauea, Landsat, launch, lava, M106, NASA, penguin, photomicrograph, R2, satellite, Saturn, TDRS-K, volcano

Posted in Science Photo Blog, Science Photos of the Week

Science Images of the Week

Posted December 26th, 2012 at 3:59 pm (UTC+0)

NASA's Cassini spacecraft recently delivered a spectacular view of Saturn, taken while the spacecraft was in Saturn's shadow. The cameras were turned toward Saturn and the sun so that the planet and rings are backlit. (Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute)

NASA’s Cassini spacecraft recently snapped this spectacular view of Saturn, taken while the spacecraft was in Saturn’s shadow. The cameras were turned toward Saturn and the Sun so that the planet and rings are backlit. (NASA)

A sabal causiarum, commonly known as the Puerto Rican hat palm was planted in 1932 at the Montgomery Botanical Center in Coral Gables Florida. (Photo: P. Barry Tomlinson, National Tropical Botanical Garden, Miami/American Journal of Botany)

This sabal causiarum, commonly known as the Puerto Rican hat palm, was planted in 1932 at the Montgomery Botanical Center in Coral Gables Florida. (P. Barry Tomlinson, National Tropical Botanical Garden, Miami/American Journal of Botany)

This is an instrument setup for an astrophysics experiment at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory's Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS), a linear accelerator that produces X-ray pulses that can capture images of atoms and molecules in motion. (Photo: Jose R. Crespo Lopez-Urrutia/Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics)

This linear accelerator produces x-ray pulses that capture images of atoms and molecules in motion and is for an astrophysics experiment at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory’s Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS),. (Jose R. Crespo Lopez-Urrutia/Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics)

This photo, taken recently at a slow shutter speed shows lava flowing down central Ecuador's Tungurahua volcano.(AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa)

Lava flows down central Ecuador’s Tungurahua volcano in this photo taken at a slow shutter speed. (AP)

This is a map of the moon's gravity field as measured by NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL). The two spacecraft that carried out the GRAIL mission was recently crashed into the surface of the Moon by the US space agency. (Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MIT/GSFC)

A map of the moon’s gravity field, as measured by NASA’s Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL). Areas colored in red have a high degree of local gravity, the blue blotches show lower local gravity, and other colors indicate varying degrees of local gravity in between red and blue. (NASA)

This is a diamond anvil cell (DAC). This device has been used in experiments by scientists to recreate the pressure that exists deep inside planets. (Photo by Roy Kaltschmidt, Berkeley Lab)

Scientists use this device, a diamond anvil cell (DAC), in experiments to recreate the pressure that exists deep inside planets. (Roy Kaltschmidt, Berkeley Lab)

Looking like a brightly colored holiday ribbon, here's a striking image of the planetary nebula, NGC-5198 taken recently by the Hubble Space Telescope. (Image: NASA, ESA and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA))

This striking image of the planetary nebula NGC-5198, was taken by the Hubble Space Telescope. (NASA)

The six huge fans shown here provide the wind for the wind tunnel at NASA's National Full-scale Aerodynamics Complex in California (Photo: NASA Ames/Tom Trower)

These six huge fans provide wind for the wind tunnel at NASA’s National Full-scale Aerodynamics Complex in California. (NASA)

This is a hawksbill sea turtle. It's an endangered animal and is one of seven species of the world's sea turtles. It's shell is made up of overlapping plates that are thicker than those of other sea turtles. This heavy duty shell protects them from being battered. (Photo: Caroline S. Rogers/NOAA)

This endangered hawksbill is one of seven species of the world’s sea turtle. Its shell is made up of overlapping plates which are thicker than those of other sea turtles. This heavy-duty shell protects them from being battered. (NOAA)

Here's another interesting volcano photo that was taken from the International Space Station. The huge plume of smoke is from the erupting volcano Ulawan located on the island of New Britain, Papua New Guinea. (Photo: NASA)

In a photo captured from the International Space Station, a mammoth plume of smoke emanates from the erupting Ulawan volcano, located on the island of New Britain, Papua New Guinea. (NASA)

Science Images of the Week

Posted October 24th, 2012 at 4:43 pm (UTC+0)

Astronauts on the International Space Station recently used a digital camera to capture several hundred photographs of the Aurora Australis, or the “southern lights.” (Photo: NASA)

A research team from the University at Buffalo (New York) that has been studying glaciers at Ayr Lake on Baffin Island, Canada found that the island's glaciers reacted rapidly to past climate change, providing what they say is a rare glimpse into glacier sensitivity to climate events. (Photo: Jason Briner via NSF)

A research team from the University at Buffalo in New York, studying glaciers at Ayr Lake on Baffin Island, Canada, found the island’s glaciers reacted rapidly to past climate change, providing what they say is a rare glimpse into glacier sensitivity to climate events. (Photo: Jason Briner via NSF)

The lava lake in the Halemaʻumaʻu crater of Hawaii’s Kīlauea volcano spits and sputters with occasional bursts of volcanic material. (Photo: USGS)

Two galaxies becoming one - this is a Hubble photo of NGC 2623 which is really two galaxies that are in the final stages of a titanic galaxy merger some 300 million light-years away. (Photo: NASA)

Two galaxies becoming one. This is a Hubble telescope photo of NGC 2623, two galaxies in the final stages of a titanic galaxy merger, located some 300 million light-years away. (Photo: NASA)

This is NASA’s SMiRF - Small Multi-Purpose Research Facility that evaluates the performance of thermal protection systems required to provide long-term storage and transfer of cryogenic propellants in space. Recent testing was done over a range of temperatures as low as -253°C and tank pressures from 20-80 psia (pounds per square inch absolute). (Photo: NASA & Bridget R. Caswell (Wyle Information Systems, LLC))

NASA’s Small Multi-Purpose Research Facility ( SMiRF ) evaluates the performance of thermal protection systems required to provide long-term storage and transfer of cryogenic propellants in space. Recent testing was done over a range of temperatures as low as -253°C and tank pressures from 20-80 psia (pounds per square inch absolute). (Photo: NASA & Bridget R. Caswell (Wyle Information Systems, LLC))

The Soyuz rocket carrying ISS Expedition 33 crew members launches to the International Space Station from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, on Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2012. (Photo: NASA)

Paragorga arborea, also known as bubblegum coral, is an abundant coral species that can grow massive colonies, can reach up to 8 meters in height and can be hundreds of years old. (Photo: NOAA/MBARI)

Paragorga arborea, also known as bubblegum coral, is an abundant coral species that can grow massive colonies, and has been found at polar, subpolar, and subtropical regions of all of the world’s oceans. It can reach up to eight meters in height and live up to 100 years. (Photo: NOAA/MBARI)

A look at the center of our galaxy. Using a massive nine-gigapixel image, (from the VISTA infrared survey telescope at ESO’s Paranal Observatory in Chile) an international team of astronomers has created a catalog of more than 84 million stars located in the central parts of the Milky Way. The image is so large that, if printed with the resolution of a typical book, it would be 9 meters long and 7 meters tall. (Photo: ESO/VVV Consortium/Ignacio Toledo)

This is a robot at the US Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory that has been coded with PaR-PaR, which stands for Programming a Robot; a simple, high-level, biology-friendly, robot-programming language that allows researchers to make better use of liquid-handling robots and thereby make possible experiments that otherwise might not have been considered. (Photo: Roy Kaltschmidt, Berkeley Lab)

A bright particle of material found in a hole dug by the Curiosity Martian rover caused a bit of concern at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory because another similar object, found nearby, was identified as a piece of debris from the spacecraft. However, the mission’s science team assessed the bright particles in this scooped pit to be native Martian material rather than spacecraft debris. (Photo: NASA)

NASA is funding research for a potentially revolutionary technology that would be capable of detecting, with atomic-level precision, gravitational waves that were predicted in Einstein’s general theory of relativity. (Photo: NASA)

NASA/Goddard physicist Babak Saif checks an oscilloscope as he works on a project that would be capable of detecting, with atomic-level precision, gravitational waves that were predicted in Einstein’s general theory of relativity. (Photo: NASA)

Science Images of the Week

Posted September 19th, 2012 at 5:20 pm (UTC+0)

A mosaic of images of Saturn and its moon, Titan, taken by NASA's Cassini spacecraft. Seasons have changed on Saturn, the azure blue in the planet’s northern hemisphere is now fading while the southern hemisphere is now taking on a bluish hue. Scientists say these changes are likely due to the reduced intensity of ultraviolet light and the haze it produces in the southern hemisphere as winter approaches, and the increasing intensity of ultraviolet light and haze production in the northern hemisphere as summer approaches. (Photo: NASA)

A composite of a mosaic of images of Saturn and its moon, Titan, taken by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft. Seasons have changed on Saturn, the azure blue in the planet’s northern hemisphere is now fading while the southern hemisphere is now taking on a bluish hue. Scientists say these changes are likely due to the reduced intensity of ultraviolet light and the haze it produces in the southern hemisphere as winter approaches, and the increasing intensity of ultraviolet light and haze production in the northern hemisphere as summer approaches. (Photo: NASA)

The Soyuz TMA-04M spacecraft with ISS Expedition 32 Commander Gennady Padalka of Russia, NASA Flight Engineer Joe Acaba and Russian Flight Engineer Sergei Revin lands in a remote area near the town of Arkalyk, Kazakhstan, on Sept. 17, 2012 (Kazakhstan time). (Photo: NASA/Carla Cioffi)

The Soyuz TMA-04M spacecraft, carrying two cosmonauts and a NASA flight engineer, lands in a remote area near the town of Arkalyk, Kazakhstan, on Sept. 17, 2012. (Photo: NASA)

NASA Flight Engineer Joe Acaba signs the side of his Soyuz TMA-04M spacecraft that brought him and his crew mates back to Earth on September 17, 2012. Acaba, along with Gennady Padalka and Sergei Revin of Russia returned from four months on board the International Space Station where they served as members of the Expedition 31 and 32 crews. (Photo: NASA/Carla Cioffi)

NASA Flight Engineer Joe Acaba signs the side of the Soyuz TMA-04M spacecraft which brought him and his crew mates back to Earth on Sept. 17, 2012. Acaba, along with Gennady Padalka and Sergei Revin of Russia, returned from four months on board the International Space Station where they served as members of the Expedition 31 and 32 crews. (Photo: NASA)

A giraffe calf was recently born at the Dickerson Park Zoo in Springfield, MO. Here, the baby giraffe sits while mother licks its head (Photo: Dickerson Park Zoo)

A giraffe calf, which was recently born at the Dickerson Park Zoo in Springfield, Missouri, with its mother. (Photo: Dickerson Park Zoo)

With the Martian landscape in the background this is the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI), one of seventeen cameras on NASA’s Curiosity rover. The photo was recently taken by the rover’s Mast Camera – MastCam (Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS)

With the Martian landscape in the background, this is the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI), one of 17 cameras on NASA’s Curiosity rover. The photo was taken by the rover’s Mast Camera – MastCam (Photo: NASA)

The Heat Island Group at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory works to cool buildings, cities, and the planet by making roofs, pavements, and cars cooler in the sun. Here, Jordan Woods takes measurements of new cooler pavement coating. Other sample pavement coatings can be seen behind him. (Photo: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory)

While the Mars rover Curiosity is the center of attention right now, Opportunity, a rover that has been on the Red Planet since January 2004 recently sent images of a collection of little spheres that scientists nicknamed ‘blueberries’. These puzzling little objects were found on an outcrop of rock called "Kirkwood" and each is about 3 millimeters in diameter. (NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell Univ. / USGS/Modesto Junior College)

Opportunity, a rover which has been on Mars since January 2004, captured this image of little spheres that scientists nicknamed ‘blueberries.’ These puzzling little objects were found on an outcrop of rock called “Kirkwood” and each is about 3 millimeters in diameter. (Photo: NASA)

An extreme close up of a wild tomato’s trichomes, hair-like protrusions, that produce a mixture of special chemicals that shape the interactions between the plant and its environment some of which act as the first line of defense against pests. (Photo: Michigan State University)

An extreme close up of a wild tomato’s trichomes, hair-like protrusions that produce a mixture of special chemicals which shape the interactions between the plant and its environment, some of which act as the first line of defense against pests. (Photo: Michigan State University)

Astronomers recently discovered two gas giant planets orbiting stars in the Beehive cluster, a collection of about 1,000 tightly packed stars. The planets are the first ever found around sun-like stars in a cluster of stars. This is an artist’s conception of one of the gas giants to the right of its sun-like star, and all around, the stars of the Beehive cluster shine brightly in the dark. (Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech)

Shown above are the spiral galaxies NGC 3788 (top) and NGC 3786 (bottom) in the constellation Ursa Major (home of the Big Dipper). These two galaxies, like many found throughout the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, are gravitationally interacting. (Photo: Sloan Digital Sky Survey)

A close look at active lava flows produced by Hawaii’s Kīlauea Volcano (Photo: USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory)

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Tags: "baby giraffe", "Heat Island Group", "Mission 32", "Sloan Digital Sky Survey", "twin galaxies", astronaut, blueberries, Curiosity, Hawaii, ISS, lava, MAHLI, Mars, Moon, Opportunity, pavement, Saturn, Soyuz, Titan, trichomes, volcano

Posted in Science Photo Blog, Science Photos of the Week

Science Images of the Week

Posted August 15th, 2012 at 4:04 pm (UTC+0)

Millions of monarch butterflies are expected to migrate south in less than a month in their seasonal trip from Canada to Mexico. Ecologists in Kansas and Missouri say extreme temperatures in the Midwest could hurt their southern migration. (Photo: AP Photo/Toby Talbot)

NASA's new Mars rover Curiosity's takes a panoramic picture of itself by its navigation cameras. The picture is actually a mosaic of multple shots taken by the Mars rover. (Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech)

NASA’s new Mars rover Curiosity takes a panoramic picture of itself by its navigation cameras. The picture is actually a mosaic of multiple shots taken by the Mars rover. (Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech)

That’s sure one big snake! Researchers at the Florida Museum of Natural History on the University of Florida campus prepare to examine the anatomy of a 17-foot-7-inch Burmese python, the largest found in Florida so far. The more than 75 kg snake carried a state record 87 eggs in its oviducts. (Photo: University of Florida photo by Kristen Grace/Florida Museum of Natural History)

NASA’s Orion spacecraft will take astronauts on missions to destinations far beyond Earth, such as to an asteroid and Mars. This photo shows one of Orion’s main parachutes undergoing a test of recovery procedures for the parachutes. (Photo: NASA/James Blair)

Cave divers exploring a submarine lava tube cave in the Canary Islands for a National Science Foundation-supported expedition, ‘Survey of Anchialine Cave Fauna of the Bahama Islands’ (Photo: Jill Heinerth/NSF)

Lab on a chip (LOC) devices are microchip-size systems that can prepare and analyze tiny fluid samples with volumes ranging from a few microliters (millionth of a liter) to sub-nanoliters (less than a billionth of a liter) and some day could revolutionize how laboratory tasks such as diagnosing diseases and investigating forensic evidence are performed. (Photo: Cooksey/NIST)

Turning its eye to the Tarantula Nebula, the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has taken this close-up of the outskirts of the main cloud of the Nebula. The Tarantula Nebula is located in the Large Magellanic Cloud, one of our neighboring galaxies, and situated at a distance of 170,000 light-years away from Earth. (Photo: European Space Agency/Judy Schmidt)

Juvenile crocodile captured in Homestead, Fla. Since the croc monitoring program began at the plant in 1978, some 5,000 hatchlings have been captured and marked. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

Juvenile crocodile captured in Homestead, Florida. Since the croc monitoring program began at the plant in 1978, some 5,000 hatchlings have been captured and marked. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

The heat shield for NASA's Mars Science Laboratory is being prepared at Lockaheed Martin Space Systems, Denver. It's the largest ever built for a planetary mission. (Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Lockheed Martin)

The heat shield for NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory is being prepared at Lockaheed Martin Space Systems in Denver. It’s the largest ever built for a planetary mission. (Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Lockheed Martin)

Female pillar coral releases eggs in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Researchers say it was the first time anyone has observed female pillar coral spawning. (Photo; AP Photo/Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, Karen Neely)

Scientists Move Closer to Predicting Volcanic Eruptions

Posted June 12th, 2012 at 6:47 pm (UTC+0)

Map showing some of the new lava flows erupted at Axial Seamount in 2011. Dark blue areas are where there is no depth change, light blue indicates a lava thickness of 3-5 meters, and orange areas show where the lava thickness is as much as 15 meters. (Image: Dave Caress, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, Copyright 2011 MBARI)

Oregon scientists who correctly predicted the 2011 eruption of the Axial Seamount underwater volcano years before it occurred, now say another underwater volcano off the Oregon coast gave off signals just hours before it erupted.

Underwater hydrophones showed a sudden increase in seismic energy about 2.6 hours before the eruption started about 400 kilometers off the Oregon coast, according to the scientific team. The development signals that it might eventually be possible to forecast eruptions of undersea volcanoes.

The scientists noticed a cyclic pattern of ground deformation measurements – which measures the changes in ground shape which can occur before, during and after an eruption – that suggests the Axial Seamount could also erupt again, perhaps as soon as 2018.

For four years before the 2011 eruption, marine geologist Bob Dziak and other team members noted that, while there was a gradual build up in the number of small earthquakes, there was only a small increase in the overall seismic energy produced from those earthquakes. But, just a few hours before Axial erupted on April 6, 2011, that began to change.

“The hydrophones picked up the signal of literally thousands of small earthquakes within a few minutes, which we traced to magma rising from within the volcano and breaking through the crust,” Dziak said. “As the magma ascends, it forces its way through cracks and creates a burst of earthquake activity that intensifies as it gets closer to the surface.

Using seismic analysis, the team was able see just how the magma rose within the volcano about two hours before the eruption.

The chain is all that is visible of an ocean-bottom hydrophone buried in about six feet of new lava from an April 2011 eruption of Axial Seamount. (photo courtesy of Bill Chadwick and Bob Dziak of Oregon State University; copyright Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)

“Whether the seismic energy signal preceding the eruption is unique to Axial or may be replicated at other volcanoes isn’t yet clear,” said Dziak, “but it gives scientists an excellent base from which to begin.”

To make their findings, the Oregon team had some other unique tools at their disposal, including a one-of-a-kind robotic submersible used to bounce sound waves off the seafloor, allowing scientists to map the topography of the Axial Seamount before and after the eruption. Having a before-and-after map allowed geologists to clearly distinguish the lava flows from the 2011 eruption from the flows of previous eruptions in the area.

Over the next few years, the researchers will install a number of new underwater instruments and cables around Axial Seamount, which they say will help scientists monitor the ocean and seafloor off the Pacific Northwest.

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Tags: "Axial Seamount", "Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute", "Oregon State University", 2011, 2018, eruptions, forecast, hydrophone, lava, monitoring, Oregon, OSU, seamount, seismic, volcano

Posted in Environment

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About Science World

Science World

By admin on April 12, 2011

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