The Space Station

Billionaire Boys Club Laptop (15″) case:

We truly live in an amazing time for exoplanet research. It was only 18 years ago the first planet outside our solar system was discovered. Fifteen since the first confirmation of one around a main sequence star. Even more recently, direct images have begun to sprout up, as well as the first spectra of the atmospheres of such planets. So much data is becoming available, astronomers have even begun to be able to make inferences as to how these extra solar planets could have formed.

In general, there are two methods by which planets can form. The first is via coaccretion in which the star and the planet would form from gravitational collapse independently of one another, but in close enough proximity that their mutual gravity binds them together in orbit. The second, the method through which our solar system formed, is the disk method. In this, material from a thin disk around a proto-star collapses to form a planet. Each of these processes has a different set of parameters that may leave traces which could allow astronomers to uncover which method is dominant. A new paper from Helmut Abt of Kitt Peak National Observatory, looks at these characteristics and determines that, from our current sampling of exoplanets, our solar system may be an oddity.

New research from NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope reveals that asteroids somewhat near Earth, termed near-Earth objects, are a mixed bunch, with a surprisingly wide array of compositions. Like a piñata filled with everything from chocolates to fruity candies, these asteroids come in assorted colors and compositions. Some are dark and dull; others are shiny and bright. The Spitzer observations of 100 known near-Earth asteroids demonstrate that the objects’ diversity is greater than previously thought.

NASA’s new iPad app lets space-fans catch up with all the latest happenings, track satellites, watch NASA TV, leaf through its archive of fantastic imagery and much, much more.

It’s been possible to stream NASA TV on Apple devices for quite some time, but now there’s more to play with between broadcasts. The app lets iPad users browse NASA’s image database, read up on current missions and future launch data, or track satellites—with a specific section telling you when to open the window and look out for the International Space Station passing overhead.

Racing is rarely the term that comes to mind when one considers astronomy. However, many events are a race to reach stability before a system flies apart or implodes. The formation of stars from gigantic interstellar clouds is just such a race in which stars struggle to form before the cloud is dispersed. Although a rough estimation of the requirements for collapse are discussed in introductory astrophysics classes (See: Jeans Mass Criterion) this formulation leaves out several elements that come into play in the real universe. Unfortunately for astronomers, these effects can be subtle but significant but untangling them is the subject of a recent paper uploaded to the arXiv preprint server.

Hurricane Earl (lower left), Tropical Storm Fiona located to Earl’s east, and Tropical Storm Danielle far in the Northern Atlantic. Credit: NASA/GOES Project

My father had a favorite adage when life was hectic: “There’s lots of commotion in the ocean.” That saying was never more true than the current situation in the busy Atlantic Ocean. The GOES-13 satellite captured this image earlier today (Tuesday Aug. 31) and visible are three areas of tropical commotion. The large and powerful Hurricane Earl (lower left) is passing Puerto Rico, Tropical Storm Fiona located to Earl’s east, and Tropical Storm Danielle far in the Northern Atlantic. Below is footage taken by the International Space Station of the action.

The center of the Milky Way containing Sagittarius A*. The supermassive black hole and several massive young stars in the region create a surrounding haze of superheated gas that shows up in X-ray light. Credit: chandra.harvard.edu and Kyoto University.

Many an alternative theory of gravity has been dreamt up in the bath, while waiting for a bus – or maybe over a light beverage or two. These days it’s possible to debunk (or otherwise) your own pet theory by predicting on paper what should happen to an object that is closely orbiting a black hole – and then test those predictions against observations of S2 and perhaps other stars that are closely orbiting our galaxy’s central supermassive black hole – thought to be situated at the radio source Sagittarius A*.

Okay this hit the Station like a ton of bricks & I’m way to juiced about this info.. after years and years of wanting this it’s now in motion.

Nice Kicks updates us with some news that’ll have all the hardcore collectors sweating, as they unveil a look into the official patent for an automatic lacing system from Nike. The design eerily resembles the system featured within Nike’s Air Mag, Marty McFly’s sneakers in the cult film Back to the Future II. This information comes from the World Intellectual Property Organization website, with Tinker Hatfield and the designers at Nike’s Innovative Kitchen listed on the proposition. Stay tuned as we’ll surely hear more news about these between now and 2015.

via Fully Laced

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals just decided that it was legal for the police to put a GPS tracking device on your car, sitting in your driveway, on your property. Here’s how to protect yourself.

Matt’s post about the decision explains in depth about the ruling. To quickly summarize, the supreme court had said before that police can look through things that anyone in the public could come across, meaning, your driveway is freely accessible to the public, hence, the cops can look through it. The 9th circuit court now says that cops can shove a GPS locator onto your car, because the area is publicly accessible and you have no reasonable expectation of privacy there. Then said cops can use the GPS track you. Without a warrant.

ow do you stop this without combing over the underside—or perhaps even inside—of your car and finding the GPS tracker? With technology.

Your first bet is probably to find out if someone is tracking you or not. You can turn here for cellphone and bug device detectors. But these aren’t 100%, so if you’re really paranoid and want to hide your location, you’ll want to just go ahead and stop the trackers anyway.

The first type is a GPS jammer, which is technically illegal to buy and use in the US, so keep that in mind. These types of GPS jammers plug into the cigarette lighter in your car, and will “prohibit GPS signal” up to 10 meters. Ten meters isn’t too far, but it isn’t super close either, so cars next to you might get some GPS interference as you drive down the road.

Eight years ago the first CLS signaled the birth of the “four-door coupe” market, and after countless lookalikes, the original is back. The all-new 2012 Mercedes Benz CLS ($TBA) sports a more muscular but still identifiable body, with striking headlamps sporting 71 LEDs that make up the side light, high, low, and main beams, and the indicators, more LEDs in the wrap-around tail lights, wood, black piano lacquer, or carbon fiber trim, semi-aniline premium leather, matte galvanized air vents, a wrap-around dashboard, and a central display integrated into the upper portion of the instrument panel. No word on suspension or powertrain specifications, but if the past is anything to go by, you won’t be disappointed.

There is another Sun-like star out there with an intriguing family of planets orbiting about and it could be the closest parallel to our own solar system that astronomers have found yet. European astronomers discovered a planetary system containing at least five planets, orbiting the star HD 10180, with evidence that two other planets may be present. If confirmed, one of those would have the lowest mass ever found.

“We have found what is most likely the system with the most planets yet discovered,” says Christophe Lovis, who led the team. “This remarkable discovery also highlights the fact that we are now entering a new era in exoplanet research: the study of complex planetary systems and not just of individual planets. Studies of planetary motions in the new system reveal complex gravitational interactions between the planets and give us insights into the long-term evolution of the system.”

The most detailed sunspot ever obtained in visible light was seen by new telescope at NJIT’s Big Bear Solar Observatory. Credit: Big Bear Solar Observatory

A new type of adaptive optics for solar observations has produced some incredible results, providing the most detailed image of a sunspot ever obtained in visible light. A new telescope built by the New Jersey Institute of Technology’s Big Bear Solar Observatory has seen its ‘first light’ using a deformable mirror, which is able to reduce atmospheric distortions. This is the first facility-class solar observatory built in more than a generation in the U.S.

The New Solar Telescope (NST) is located in the mountains east of Los Angeles. It has 97 actuators that make up the deformable mirror. By the summer of 2011, in collaboration with the National Solar Observatory, BBSO will have upgraded the current adaptive optics system to one utilizing a 349 actuator deformable mirror. The telescope has a 1.6 m clear aperture, with a resolution covering about 50 miles on the Sun’s surface.

The NST will be the pathfinder for an even larger ground-based telescope, the Advanced Technology Solar Telescope to be built over the next decade. Philip R. Goode from NJIT is leading a partnership with the National Solar Observatory (NSO) to develop a new and more sophisticated kind of adaptive optics, known as multi-conjugate adaptive optics. This new optical system will allow the researchers to increase the distortion-free field of view to allow for better ways to study these larger and puzzling areas of the Sun, and a 4-meter aperture telescope will be built in the next decade.

Via Universe

Imagine a public eye scanner that can identify 50 people per minute, in motion. Now imagine that the government install these scanner systems all across an entire city. Or don’t imagine it, because it’s already happening, right now. The City of Leon, Mexico, is doing exactly that, installing real time iris scanners from biometrics R&D firm Global Rainmakers Inc. These scanners don’t require people to stop and put their eyes in front of a camera.

There are different kinds of machines being installed across Leon, from large scanners—capable of identifying 50 people per minute in motion— to smaller ones—like the EyeSwipe in the video above—that range from 15 to 30 people per minute. These devices are being installed in public places, like train and bus stations, and connected to a database that will track people across the city.

City officials and proponents of the system are hoping that public retinal scans will stop crime and fraud. According to Jeff Carter, CDO of Global Rainmakers:

If you’ve been convicted of a crime, in essence, this will act as a digital scarlet letter. If you’re a known shoplifter, for example, you won’t be able to go into a store without being flagged. Certainly for others, boarding a plane will be impossible.

The retinal scanning of Leon’s one million population has started already with its convicted criminals. Citizens with no criminal records have been offered the opportunity to “voluntarily” scan their eyes. This, however, is just the beginning. According to Carter, everyone in the planet should be connected to the iris tracking system in 10 years:

In the future, whether it’s entering your home, opening your car, entering your workspace, getting a pharmacy prescription refilled, or having your medical records pulled up, everything will come off that unique key that is your iris. Every person, place, and thing on this planet will be connected within the next 10 years.

Very few electric sports car concepts captivate attention while still on the design board and fewer still transform into head turning street legal versions. Izaro Gte promises to fall into the latter category with its seductive looks. Based on Factory Five Racing’s $19,990 GTM supercar Izaro GTe being developed by a Spanish company called Izaro Motors is an electric supercar which apparently it will also be sold with a hybrid power train.

When the Robonaut shoots into space on its very first mission aboard STS-133, it will not do so in style.

As you can see from the photo, the Robonaut, or R2 as it is officially called for the mission, needs to be handled and packaged with care before it is subjected to the intense vibration and g-forces of a space shuttle launch. Hence, Sleepr, the R2’s special crate, which will blanket the 330-lb. robot with protection thanks to thick insulating foam and an aluminum frame.

Once R2 is unpacked, its arms will carry tools and perform some of the same tasks as its astronaut comrades via a remote link to Houston.

VIA Gizmodo