Amazing Maps Of The World

The Norwegian Secret To Enjoying A Long Winter

Residents of Norway view their long dark winters as something to celebrate. How it's possible to be cheerful for the next four months.

Now that is pure adaptation!

As the days get darker and colder in much of the northern hemisphere, it’s easy to indulge in gloom. For the next few months, you’ll be shivering. You’ll be battling foul weather. Thanks to daylight saving time there will be no chance to see the sun after work.

The gloom leads to a common question: What can I do to cope with the dark and cold?

If you truly want to be happy during winter, though, this is the wrong approach to the season. Changing your mindset can do more than distracting yourself from the weather.

At first, she was asking “Why aren’t people here more depressed?” and if there were lessons that could be taken elsewhere. But once she was there, “I sort of realized that that was the wrong question to be asking,” she says. When she asked people “Why don’t you have seasonal depression?” the answer was “Why would we?”

It turns out that in northern Norway, “people view winter as something to be enjoyed, not something to be endured,” says Leibowitz, and that makes all the difference.

Lessons From The Far North

To be sure, there are some aspects of the near-polar culture that might be hard to emulate elsewhere. Small Norwegian communities are tightly knit, and strong social ties increase well-being everywhere. That said, there are lessons that can help anyone think differently about cold weather.

Making an impact

ESA - Clean Space Programme logo. 25 September 2015 When a rocket is launched into space it crosses all layers of the atmosphere and interacts with them. How much impact does a launch have on the atmosphere and can we quantify the effect in such a way that we can take mitigation measures? These are only a few of the questions raised by the Clean Space AtILa (Atmospheric Impact of Launchers) project. Neil Murray explains: “It is difficult to use computer modelling to precisely monitor what happens when a rocket is launched as the size of the plume is far smaller than the scale of the climate models that we use to model the atmosphere”.

Picture perfect liftoff

Therefore two strategies were worked out to model the impact, one started from the size of the plume and this was allowed to develop over time and space to the size of the climate model and used as the boundary conditions of the climate model. Another strategy started from the size of the larger model and introduced sub-grid models which modelled the plume within the climate model grids. Both models gave surprisingly similar results. So far it has been thought that chlorine, which is converted from the oxidizer (ammonia perchlorate) in the solid booster fuel mixture, has had the main effect on ozone depletion in the immediate area where the plume is emitted.

Computations conducted at ONERA using the CEDRE code

The latest studies have shown that alumina particles, i.e., oxidised aluminium, which is also present in the solid rocket fuel, may also have a significant ozone depletion effect depending on the particle size. “If the particles are on the micrometer scale they would quickly fall out of the sky and have little impact on the atmosphere. However, the smaller the particles, the higher their combined surface area and the longer they remain suspended in the air, which means that their potential catalytic effect in ozone reduction could also be much higher.” Therefore it is imperative that quantitative data is collected to be able to accurately measure and predict the impact by mathematical models.

Computations conducted at ONERA using the CEDRE code

The first step towards quantitative data is the kick-off of an activity organised in cooperation with DLR whereby a solid rocket motor model in a wind tunnel will be used to simulate the evolution of particles in a representative rocket chamber and to then interpolate this to the conditions at launch. From these measurements accurate models will be developed for predicting the development of alumina particles under real launch conditions. So why not just use real launch data? “It is not that easy to make these measurements during a real launch and so far no data has been collected for European launchers. Up to now we have mainly been relying on data measured by NASA during launches in the 1990s, however, the representativeness of this data with respect to European launchers is questionable. This ultimately leaves us with the task of somehow collecting such flight data and it is something that we are discussing at length.“ 

Ariane 5 ECA V184 climbout

"Even when we are able to make real-time measurements during a launch it still is a large task to interpret this data correctly and extrapolate this to all launches, as daily changes in the atmosphere and the time of the launch are just a few parameters that severely influence the effect. Luckily we are working with some of Europe’s experts in climatology!” The AtILa project aims to understand the impact of launching its rockets into space by modelling the rocket plumes from their origin in the rocket chamber up to their impact on a global scale using climate models. This is one of the projects that ESA carries out under the Clean Space initiative which has carried out life cycle assessments for the space industry in order to monitor the effect of each space project on the environment. Implementing eco-design strategies into every phase of a space project is the ultimate aim of this initiative. ESA links: Life cycle assessment training at ESA: http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Engineering_Technology/Clean_Space/Life_Cycle_Assessment_training_at_ESA Virtual rocket launches will probe atmospheric effects: http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Engineering_Technology/Clean_Space/Virtual_rocket_launches_will_probe_atmospheric_effects Considering hydrazine-free satellite propulsion: http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Engineering_Technology/Clean_Space/Considering_hydrazine-free_satellite_propulsion ‘Green’ satellite fuel designed to make space safer: http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Engineering_Technology/Green_satellite_fuel_designed_to_make_space_safer About Clean Space: What is Clean Space?: http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Engineering_Technology/Clean_Space/What_is_Clean_Space Why is it needed?: http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Engineering_Technology/Clean_Space/Why_is_it_needed What are its objectives?: http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Engineering_Technology/Clean_Space/What_are_its_objectives Images, Text, Credits: ESA/CNES/ARIANESPACE/Photo Optique Vidéo CSG/Service POV du CSG. Best regards, Orbiter.ch Full article

Welcome to my world. Check out this new virtual reality tour of my home on Mars, Gale Crater. It was made by @latimes. (You’ll want some headphones.)

http://graphics.latimes.com/mars-gale-crater-vr/

The astonishing story of Xavier Plassat, a French friar who has fought slavery for decades in the Brazilian Amazon, via Vanity Fair.

READ the abolitionist’s compelling tale here that brought him to the frontlines of 21st century slavery.

Why I'm Naming a New Plant Species After The Martian

Truth be told, while much of what my fellow botanists and I do is pretty cool (and often challenging), there isn't much that would find its way into a blockbuster hero film. That is, until now.

So, a new plant related to the potato is being named after Mark Watney and this makes me very happy.

“My lab group has decided to name this new species Solanum watneyi after Mark Watney, the book/film character who shows us all that botanists can be cool, too.” - Dr. Chris Martine, Professor at Bucknell University

109-Year-Old Woman Said Secret To Long Life Is Avoiding Men

NASA Does Hurricanes

When you think of NASA, you probably think of space. Which makes sense, because space is a huge part of what we do. That being said, here at NASA we are also involved in many other research areas, and even play a role in hurricane weather forecasting.

Our satellites, computer modeling, instruments, aircraft and field missions all contribute to a mix of information used by scientists to get a better understanding of these storms. Aspects of storms from rainfall rates to surface wind speed are all analyzed to help identify the potential for storm formation or intensification.

Currently, our satellites are passing overhead as Hurricane Joaquin (above) travels through the Atlantic Ocean. Our Global Precipitation Measurement, or GPM Core satellite captured images and rainfall rates of the storm. GPM showed a large area of very intense rain, which indicates that large amounts of heat are being released into the storm’s center. This fuels the circulation and provides the means for its intensification.

Maximum sustained winds have increased to near 80 mph and additional strengthening is expected. Joaquin could become a major hurricane during the next few days.

In 2016, we’re launching the Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System (CYGNSS), which is a constellation of eight small satellites. With this launch, we will be able to better understand the rapid intensification of hurricanes, and improve hurricane intensity forecasts.

In addition to our satellite technology, we also conduct field missions to study hurricanes. In our most recent field mission, we investigated the process that underlie hurricane formation and intensity change in the Atlantic Ocean basin.

I honestly don’t understand why there aren’t more people who, when given the platform to discuss minimum wage, don’t simply distill it to the simplest of facts:

A forty hour work week is considered full time.

It’s considered as such because it takes up the amount of time we as a society have agreed should be considered the maximum work schedule required of an employee. (this, of course, does not always bear out practically, but just follow me here)

A person working the maximum amount of time required should earn enough for that labor to be able to survive. Phrased this way, I doubt even most conservatives could effectively argue against it, and out of the mouth of someone verbally deft enough to dance around the pathos-based jabs conservative pundits like to use to avoid actually debating, it could actually get opps thinking.

Therefore, if an employee is being paid less than [number of dollars needed for the post-tax total to pay for the basic necessities in a given area divided by forty] per hour, they are being ripped off and essentially having their labor, productivity, and profit generation value stolen by their employer.

Wages are a business expense, and if a company cannot afford to pay for its labor, it is by definition a failing business. A company stealing labor to stay afloat (without even touching those that do so simply to increase profit margins and/or management/executive pay/bonuses) is no more ethical than a failing construction company breaking into a lumber yard and stealing wood.

Our goal as a society should be to protect each other, especially those that most need protection, not to subsidize failing businesses whose owners could quite well subsidize them on their own.