Science and Exploration

Greyson · 02-22-2013, 08:09 PM

By Tia Ghose , LiveScience

Tweets reveal the happiest U.S. cities

The 10 happiest cities were:

1.Napa, Calif.
2.Longmont, Colo.
3.San Clemente, Calif.
4.Santa Fe, N.M.
5.Santa Cruz, Calif.
6.Green Bay, Wis.
7.Santa Rosa, Calif.
8.Simi Valley, Calif.
9.Lafayette, Colo.
10.Asheville, N.C.

The 10 least happy cities:

1.Beaumont, Texas
2.Albany, Ga.
3.Texas City, Texas
4.Shreveport, La.
5.Monroe, La.
6.Memphis, Tenn.
7.Battle Creek, Mich.
8.Flint, Mich.
9.Lima, Ohio
10.Houma, La.

Looks like the State of Louisiana is the winner.

http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/te...ties-1C8502786

Jean_TX · 02-26-2013, 11:33 AM

Here's an interesting article about the microbes (bacteria, fungi, and protozoa) that live in the human body:

http://news.yahoo.com/body-bugs-5-su...170617561.html

femmeInterrupted · 02-26-2013, 03:06 PM

Toughy · 02-26-2013, 03:23 PM

interesting...........

http://news.yahoo.com/ancient-micro-...194239722.html

femmeInterrupted · 02-27-2013, 12:00 PM

This is really fascinating.

Europa is the second of the four Galilean moons of Jupiter, when counted outwards from the planet. First observed by Galileo Galilei in 1610, all four moons can be easily seen with a small telescope or binoculars. Europa is the smallest of the four, but still only slightly smaller than Earth's Moon.

Europa is considered by many planetary scientists to be the most likely place in our Solar System to harbour life, besides Earth. It is very cold on the surface, between 50 K and 110 K (-220 C to -160 C), but it's abundant in water. Our understanding of Europa's inner structure is based mostly on photographs taken by spacecraft, in particular the Galileo probe during its many flybys of the moon.

Europa is covered with a crust of ice, estimated to be 10-30 km thick, but planetary models indicate that underneath it there should be liquid ocean, as deep as 100 km. As Europa's eccentric orbit moves it closer or farther from Jupiter, the planet's tidal forces change in strength causing the moon to elongate slightly and then relax to its rounder shape. This constant squeezing and pulling is thought to generate enough heat to keep the ocean from freezing completely.

Europa has an atmosphere that's made mostly of oxygen. It is quite thin, with the surface pressure a trillion times lower than Earth's. The oxygen is not thought to be of biological origin. It's likely a result of molecules of water being split into oxygen and hydrogen by solar ultra-violet radiation and charged particles from Jupiter's magnetosphere.

A mission to Europa to examine it up close and to look for signs of life is being proposed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory together with Johns Hopkins University, Maryland. The spacecraft named Clipper would be launched in 2021 and enter an orbit of Jupiter some 3 years later to focus on flybys of Europa. The mission hasn't yet been funded so its future is uncertain, but exploring the moon is high on the list of priorities for future planetary exploration. ESA is planning to launch its own spacecraft JUICE (Jupiter Icy Moon Explorer) around the same time (2022) that would target also Ganymede and Callisto.

The image taken by Galileo in 1998 shows the surface of Europa with its characteristic lines and freckles, thought to be a result of liquid water or warmer ice erupting through to the surface of the moon.

FAQ about Europa

http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/europa/faq.cfm

Corkey · 02-27-2013, 05:55 PM

http://news.yahoo.com/500-million-ol...180743101.html

Earliest anthropoid found.

dreadgeek · 02-28-2013, 09:59 AM

http://idealab.talkingpointsmemo.com....php?ref=fpblg

What I find so fascinating about this is that a consequence of E=mc^2* is as any object with mass approaches the speed of light it becomes more massive requiring every more energy to push it even closer to C**. A black hole is, by necessity, several solar masses (the mass of Sol multiplied by some number N). Supermassive black holes are in the realm of millions to billions of solar masses! So if a tiny sub-atomic particle with mass requires a fantastic amount of energy to get it moving at an appreciable fraction of the speed of light, imagine the kind of energy it takes to get something billions of times more massive than our local star moving at close to the speed of light! That's an unimaginable amount of energy!

* E=mc^2 is energy equals mass times the speed of light squared.
** C is the common shorthand notation for the speed of light.

02-22-2013, 08:09 PM	#1
Greyson Infamous Member How Do You Identify?: Transmasculine/Non-Binary Preferred Pronoun?: Hy (Pronounced He) Relationship Status: Married Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: SF Bay Area Posts: 6,589 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 21,132 Thanked 8,146 Times in 2,005 Posts Rep Power: 21474859	Technology : Twitter By Tia Ghose , LiveScience Tweets reveal the happiest U.S. cities The 10 happiest cities were: 1.Napa, Calif. 2.Longmont, Colo. 3.San Clemente, Calif. 4.Santa Fe, N.M. 5.Santa Cruz, Calif. 6.Green Bay, Wis. 7.Santa Rosa, Calif. 8.Simi Valley, Calif. 9.Lafayette, Colo. 10.Asheville, N.C. The 10 least happy cities: 1.Beaumont, Texas 2.Albany, Ga. 3.Texas City, Texas 4.Shreveport, La. 5.Monroe, La. 6.Memphis, Tenn. 7.Battle Creek, Mich. 8.Flint, Mich. 9.Lima, Ohio 10.Houma, La. Looks like the State of Louisiana is the winner. http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/te...ties-1C8502786 __________________ Sometimes you don't realize your own strength until you come face to face with your greatest weakness. - Susan Gale

02-26-2013, 11:33 AM	#2
Jean_TX Junior Member How Do You Identify?: via driver's license Preferred Pronoun?: Jean Relationship Status: Not available Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Texas Posts: 78 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 197 Thanked 216 Times in 61 Posts Rep Power: 1155756	biology Here's an interesting article about the microbes (bacteria, fungi, and protozoa) that live in the human body: http://news.yahoo.com/body-bugs-5-su...170617561.html __________________ Why not just remove all the warning labels and let Nature take care of the problem?

02-26-2013, 03:06 PM	#3
femmeInterrupted Member How Do You Identify?: Queer femme Preferred Pronoun?: she works out well ;) Relationship Status: Happily married. Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Ontario Posts: 812 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 1,885 Thanked 3,215 Times in 666 Posts Rep Power: 21474852	__________________ "If you have come to help me, you are wasting your time. But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us walk together." Lila Watson You say you love rain, but you use an umbrella to walk under it. You say you love sun, but you seek shade when its shining. You say you love wind, but when its comes you close your window. So that's why I'm scared, when you say you love me. -- Bob Marley

02-26-2013, 03:23 PM	#4
Toughy Senior Member How Do You Identify?: pervert butch feminist woman Preferred Pronoun?: see above Relationship Status: independent entity Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Oakland Posts: 1,826 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 4,068 Thanked 7,654 Times in 1,523 Posts Rep Power: 21474853	interesting........... http://news.yahoo.com/ancient-micro-...194239722.html __________________ We are everywhere We are different I do not care if resistance is futile I will not assimilate www.butchfemmesocials.com/

02-27-2013, 12:00 PM	#5
femmeInterrupted Member How Do You Identify?: Queer femme Preferred Pronoun?: she works out well ;) Relationship Status: Happily married. Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Ontario Posts: 812 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 1,885 Thanked 3,215 Times in 666 Posts Rep Power: 21474852	Life on Europa? This is really fascinating. Europa is the second of the four Galilean moons of Jupiter, when counted outwards from the planet. First observed by Galileo Galilei in 1610, all four moons can be easily seen with a small telescope or binoculars. Europa is the smallest of the four, but still only slightly smaller than Earth's Moon. Europa is considered by many planetary scientists to be the most likely place in our Solar System to harbour life, besides Earth. It is very cold on the surface, between 50 K and 110 K (-220 C to -160 C), but it's abundant in water. Our understanding of Europa's inner structure is based mostly on photographs taken by spacecraft, in particular the Galileo probe during its many flybys of the moon. Europa is covered with a crust of ice, estimated to be 10-30 km thick, but planetary models indicate that underneath it there should be liquid ocean, as deep as 100 km. As Europa's eccentric orbit moves it closer or farther from Jupiter, the planet's tidal forces change in strength causing the moon to elongate slightly and then relax to its rounder shape. This constant squeezing and pulling is thought to generate enough heat to keep the ocean from freezing completely. Europa has an atmosphere that's made mostly of oxygen. It is quite thin, with the surface pressure a trillion times lower than Earth's. The oxygen is not thought to be of biological origin. It's likely a result of molecules of water being split into oxygen and hydrogen by solar ultra-violet radiation and charged particles from Jupiter's magnetosphere. A mission to Europa to examine it up close and to look for signs of life is being proposed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory together with Johns Hopkins University, Maryland. The spacecraft named Clipper would be launched in 2021 and enter an orbit of Jupiter some 3 years later to focus on flybys of Europa. The mission hasn't yet been funded so its future is uncertain, but exploring the moon is high on the list of priorities for future planetary exploration. ESA is planning to launch its own spacecraft JUICE (Jupiter Icy Moon Explorer) around the same time (2022) that would target also Ganymede and Callisto. The image taken by Galileo in 1998 shows the surface of Europa with its characteristic lines and freckles, thought to be a result of liquid water or warmer ice erupting through to the surface of the moon. FAQ about Europa http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/europa/faq.cfm __________________ "If you have come to help me, you are wasting your time. But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us walk together." Lila Watson You say you love rain, but you use an umbrella to walk under it. You say you love sun, but you seek shade when its shining. You say you love wind, but when its comes you close your window. So that's why I'm scared, when you say you love me. -- Bob Marley

02-27-2013, 05:55 PM	#6
Corkey Infamous Member How Do You Identify?: Human Preferred Pronoun?: He Relationship Status: Very Married Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Where I want to be Posts: 8,155 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 47,491 Thanked 29,268 Times in 6,637 Posts Rep Power: 21474859	http://news.yahoo.com/500-million-ol...180743101.html Earliest anthropoid found. __________________ "Many proposals have been made to us to adopt your laws, your religion, your manners and your customs. We would be better pleased with beholding the good effects of these doctrines in your own practices, than with hearing you talk about them". ~Old Tassel, Chief of the Tsalagi (Cherokee)

02-28-2013, 09:59 AM	#7
dreadgeek Power Femme How Do You Identify?: Cinnamon spiced, caramel colored, power-femme Preferred Pronoun?: She Relationship Status: Married to a wonderful horse girl Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Lat: 45.60 Lon: -122.60 Posts: 1,733 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 1,132 Thanked 6,841 Times in 1,493 Posts Rep Power: 21474853	Supermassive black holes spin faster than expected http://idealab.talkingpointsmemo.com....php?ref=fpblg What I find so fascinating about this is that a consequence of E=mc^2* is as any object with mass approaches the speed of light it becomes more massive requiring every more energy to push it even closer to C*. A black hole is, by necessity, several solar masses (the mass of Sol multiplied by some number N). Supermassive black holes are in the realm of millions to billions of solar masses! So if a tiny sub-atomic particle with mass requires a fantastic amount of energy to get it moving at an appreciable fraction of the speed of light, imagine the kind of energy it takes to get something billions of times more massive than our local star moving at close to the speed of light! That's an unimaginable amount of energy! E=mc^2 is energy equals mass times the speed of light squared. ** C is the common shorthand notation for the speed of light. __________________ Proud member of the reality-based community. "People on the side of The People always ended up disappointed, in any case. They found that The People tended not to be grateful or appreciative or forward-thinking or obedient. The People tended to be small-minded and conservative and not very clever and were even distrustful of cleverness. And so, the children of the revolution were faced with the age-old problem: it wasn’t that you had the wrong kind of government, which was obvious, but that you had the wrong kind of people. As soon as you saw people as things to be measured, they didn’t measure up." (Terry Pratchett)