Suzuki Harunobu (1725-1770)  鈴木春信

The polluted brain

Some of the health risks of inhaling fine and ultrafine pollutant particles are well-established, such as asthma, lung cancer, and, most recently, heart disease. But a growing body of evidence suggests that such exposure can also harm the brain, accelerating cognitive aging, and may even increase risk of Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia.

by Emily Underwood

for Science

brought to you by Graphic Services for Science and Graphic Biology

Earth from Space - LIVE video of Earth From The International Space Station

Thanks, amazing-space-fan!

Muito bom!!

Celebrate Today’s Solar Eclipse With NASA

Today, Aug. 21, the Moon’s shadow is sweeping across North America. People across the continent have the chance to see a partial solar eclipse if skies are clear.

For those within the narrow path of totality, stretching from Oregon to South Carolina, that partial eclipse will become total for a few brief moments. 

Make sure you’re using proper solar filters (not sunglasses) or an indirect viewing method if you plan to watch the eclipse in person.

Wherever you are, you can also watch today’s eclipse online with us at nasa.gov/eclipselive. Starting at noon ET, our show will feature views from our research aircraft, high-altitude balloons, satellites and specially-modified telescopes, as well as live reports from cities across the country and the International Space Station.

Learn all about today’s eclipse at eclipse2017.nasa.gov.

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com

🍂 Outono 🍂

Folhas 🍁

via :))) by Inna Dubrovskaya / 500px Autumn Leaves

Eight Small Satellites Will Give Us a New Look Inside Hurricanes

The same GPS technology that helps people get where they’re going in a car will soon be used in space in an effort to improve hurricane forecasting. The technology is a key capability in a NASA mission called the Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System (CYGNSS).

The CYGNSS mission, led by the University of Michigan, will use eight micro-satellite observatories to measure wind speeds over Earth’s oceans, increasing the ability of scientists to understand and predict hurricanes. Each microsatellite observatory will make observations based on the signals from four GPS satellites.

The CYGNSS microsatellite observatories will only receive signals broadcast directly to them from GPS satellites already orbiting the Earth and the reflection of the same satellite’s signal reflected from the Earth’s surface. The CYGNSS satellites themselves will not broadcast.

The use of eight microsatellite observatories will decrease the revisit time as compared with current individual weather satellites. The spacecraft will be deployed separately around the planet, with successive satellites passing over the same region every 12 minutes.

This will be the first time that satellites can peer through heavy tropical rainfall into the middle of hurricanes and predict how intense they are before and during landfall.

As the CYGNSS and GPS constellations orbit around the Earth, the interaction of the two systems will result in a new image of wind speed over the entire tropics every few hours, compared to every few days for a single satellite.

Another advantage of CYGNSS is that its orbit is designed to measure only in the tropics…where hurricanes develop and are most often located. The focus on tropical activity means that the instruments will be able to gather much more useful data on weather systems exclusively found in the tropics. This data will ultimately be used to help forecasters and emergency managers make lifesaving decisions.

Watch Launch!

Launch of CYGNSS is scheduled for 8:24 a.m. EST on Monday, Dec. 12 from our Kennedy Space Center in Florida. CYGNSS will launch aboard an Orbital ATK Pegasus XL rocket, which will be deployed from Orbital’s “Stargazer” L-1011 carrier aircraft. 

Pegasus is a winged, three-stage solid propellant rocket that can launch a satellite into low Earth orbit. How does it work? Great question! 

After takeoff, the aircraft (which looks like a commercial airplane..but with some special quirks) flies to about 39,000 feet over the ocean and releases the rocket. 

After a five-second free fall in a horizontal position, the Pegasus first stage ignites. The aerodynamic lift, generated by the rocket’s triangle-shaped wing, delivers the payload into orbit in about 10 minutes. 

Pegasus is used to deploy small satellites weighing up to 1,000 pounds into low Earth orbit. 

Watch live coverage HERE. 

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com

On this day but in 1750, Caroline Lucretia Herschel was born.

Caroline Herschel was the sister of the astronomer William Herschel. After learning astronomy alone and math with the help of her brother, she became his assistant. His most significant contribution to astronomy were the discoveries of various comets, especially comet 35P / Herschel-Rigollet.

Bom domingo!!

Ernst Haeckel’s “Paleontological Tree of Vertebrates” (c. 1879).

Linda imagem.

A stereo image of Jupiter’s atmosphere, derived from data collected by the Juno spacecraft during perijove 3.  These images, taken at different point in the orbit, can be combined to reveal the 3D structure and relief of clouds in the southern atmosphere.  To see the image in 3D, relax the eyes until the white circles overlap, then look at the image.  Alternatively the image can be viewed with Google Cardboard or another VR device.

Image source: NASA

Processing: James Tyrwhitt-Drake