The Sonic Boom
An evening pause:
Tag: science
Divers have discovered a Roman shipwreck off the Italian coast so well preserved that they think the food cargo in 200 amphoras might still be intact.
Divers have discovered a Roman shipwreck off the Italian coast so well preserved that they think the food cargo in 200 amphoras might still be intact.
Despite a 3x increase in the use of gasoline and diesel fuel since the 1960s, the amount of vehicle-related pollution in the Los Angeles area has declined by 98 percent during that same time.
Good news: Despite a 3x increase in the use of gasoline and diesel fuel since the 1960s, the amount of vehicle-related pollution in the Los Angeles area has declined by 98 percent during that same time.
While many on the left will argue that this proves the validity of government regulation, I only see it as evidence that the initial regulations imposed in the 1970s did their job, and that there is no reason for stricter regulation now, something that the EPA, the Obama administration, and the left continue to demand.
An absolutely breathtaking view of the Milky Way as seen from Mars
An absolutely breathtaking view of the Milky Way as seen from Mars.
As one of the commenters noted, “Aaaaah……….it’s so beautiful. It seems like you could almost reach out and touch it!”
The myth that rice tossed out at weddings might harm the birds who eat it has now been debunked by science students at the University of Kentucky.
Why am I not surprised? The myth that rice tossed out at weddings might harm the birds who eat it has now been debunked by science students at the University of Kentucky.
Curiosity views its surroundings.
Curiosity views its surroundings. More images here.
In another story, there is speculation that Curiosity’s first image actually captured the dust cloud produced when the spacecraft’s Sky Crane/rockets crashed after placing the rover on the ground and then flying away.
Compare this image, taken right after landing, with this image, taken later. The splotch on the horizon has disappeared.
Using today’s most advanced climate models Indian meteorologists were still unable to correctly predict this year’s monsoon rainfall.
The uncertainty of science: Using today’s most advanced climate computer models and data, Indian meteorologists were still unable to correctly predict this year’s monsoon rainfall.
The rains during the four-month-long monsoon season (June to September) – accounting for more than 80% of India’s annual rainfall – is crucial for the agricultural economy. In April, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) had predicted that the monsoon season would see normal or above-average rainfall. On 2 August, however, it confessed that more than half of India has received “deficient or scanty” rains, and that the monsoon rainfall for the entire country is likely to be 19.7 % less than normal.
Because they were trying to predict a long term weather pattern, the overall rainfall produced by the yearly monsoon, this prediction was not unlike most of the climate temperature predictions produced by the IPCC’s global warming climate scientists. Moreover, this monsoon prediction likely used similar algorithms and the same data as the IPCC models.
Thus, this failed prediction of monsoon rainfall gives us another peek into the accuracy of those global warming climate models. And that peek is not encouraging. It suggests once again that we should not yet put much faith in the predictive accuracy of the IPCC’s models. The science is simply not advanced enough yet.
One of the teams competing for the $30 million Google Lunar X-Prize has signed a launch contract with China.
The competition heats up: One of the teams competing for the $30 million Google Lunar X-Prize has signed a launch contract with China.
In celebration of the European Southern Observatory’s fiftieth anniversary, they are holding two competitions
Pick the target: In celebration of the European Southern Observatory’s fiftieth anniversary, they are holding two competitions, one of which allows the public to pick what the Very Large Telescope will look at. With awards!
The first color image from Curiosity.
The first color image from Curiosity.
And from Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, images (scroll down to Update II) showing all of Curiosity’s hardware scattered across the Martian surface. More here.
And here is a good overview of the possible directions Curiosity might roam in the coming days.
The Sun continues to fizzle
Yesterday NOAA posted its monthly update of the ongoing sunspot cycle of the Sun. You can see this latest graph, covering the month of July, below the fold.
As we have seen now for almost four years, the Sun continues to under-perform the predictions of solar scientists when it comes to the number of sunspots it is producing. In fact, that the sunspot number did not rise in July is surprising, as July had appeared to be a very active month for sunspots, with some of the strongest solar flares and coronal mass ejections seen in years. Instead, the number declined ever so slightly.
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The first science images from Curiosity, including nearby Mt. Sharp.
The first science images from Curiosity, including nearby Mt. Sharp. More here.