The Cherry Blossom Classic, Part Two [EvolutionBlog]

After my win in round two I was excited for round three. My opponent sported a 1952 rating, and he had white. He opened with 1. e4.

Now, over the years I’ve tried most of the major defenses to e4. I was an aficionado of the Dragon Sicilian for a while, until I noticed I kept getting mated on h7 against stronger opponents. Then it was the Scandinavian for many years. I had many good games with it, but eventually I lost confidence. If white knows what he’s doing he can make things pretty unpleasant for black.

So I’ve recently turned to the open games. This is not a move (ha!) to be taken lightly. Openings with 1. e4 e5 are the ones we all learn when we first start playing this miserable game. But it turns out that this simple, common sense beginning leads to some of the most intense tactics in all of chess. The King’s Gambit alone can drive you insane. Not to mention the Goring and Evans Gambits. Heck, a lot of the time white can just sac his king’s knight and get a reasonable position for his trouble. And that’s before you even start studying the more reputable lines. Black can get mated pretty fast if he’s not careful. I’ve devoted some time to studying the relevant lines, but I still find them pretty hairy.

The good news is, my opponent did not test me in any of those lines. The bad news is that he chose the Scotch Game instead. The Scotch is to e4 e5 what the exchange queen’s gambit is to d4 d5 openings. Boring!

Here’s the position with black about to make his eighth move:

This is the Mieses (pronounced MEE-sis) variation. Black now has to choose between moving the attacked knight with Nb6, or pinning the c-pawn with Ba6. In his book on the open games, Marin recommends Ba6. But Bologan, in his book, prefers Nb6. The computer says they’re both fine.

I chose 8. … Nb6. After the game my opponent told me he was annoyed by this, since he knw much more about the Ba6 lines. Whoo hoo!

Alas, it was mostly a pretty dull game. Skipping ahead, we have black about to make his fourteenth move.

Time for a pawn break. Black’s got three of them to choose from: d6, d5, or f6. I chose 14. … f6. The computer thinks this is fine, but prefers both d6 and d5. Drat!

But really, for the rest of the game nothing much happens. The computer felt I had a small edge through most of it, but it doesn’t point to anything dramatic that I missed. I could probably have put a bit more pressure on white than I did, but all in all it was one of my better analytical efforts.

White, for his part, also played with little ambition. The pieces came off the board pretty quickly. Here’s the final position, after thirty-two moves:

Draw agreed. The computer’s evaluation is 0.00.

So, after three rounds things were going OK. Rating-wise I was up about three points. The win in the second round canceled out the draw to the lower-rated player in the first. I had just played two respectable games in a row, so I was feeling good about Round Four, the Sunday morning game.

My opponent turned out to be another kid who was eye-level with the pieces. This one was sporting a rating in the 1400s, however. He was playing way up. In Round Three he beat someone higher-rated than me.

Well that’s just peachy! Some grossly underrated kid. A win would get me basically nothing in terms of rating points, while even a draw would mean a huge hit.

Whatever.

I had white this time. I opened with e4, and he responded with the French Defense. The Advance variation has been my main reply to the French for a while, but I’m losing confidence in it. Here’s the position with white about to play his twelfth move.

For a long time, the Advance variation was considered inferior to Nc3 or Nd2 for white on the third move. It’s modern revival had much to do with the work of GM Evgeny Sveshnikov, whose creativity in the opening is well-known. (Just look at the crazy line of the Sicilian that bears his name.) When he plays the Advance, he usually ends up mauling black’s kingside in a blaze of tactical glory.

When I play it I just seem to end up with a weak d-pawn with little to show for it.

But seriously, 1400-rated kids now know French Defense theory ten moves deep? What the frick? When I was 1400-rated I barely knew what the French Defense was. This kid was blitzing off good moves and was looking bored doing it.

Sometimes, chess blows.

OK Rosenhouse, get your head in the game. Is this kid going to get the better of you? I don’t think so! Book smarts only get you so far. You may have memorized a few moves my youthful opponent, but I have life experience.

By which I mean, I know a few things about the endgame. Or at least I thought I did, before this game. (Oops. Spoiler.)

Here’s the position, with white about to play his thirty-third move.

The position has changed a bit. White has a healthy, mobile pawn majority on the queenside. But he is also facing a protected, passed d-pawn, and he has to do something about his bad bishop. Objectively, the position is dead level. But I was feeling good, since black really can only sit and wait, while white can make some mischief.

I pushed my kingside pawns, in an attempt to give him something to worry about. That led to this position, with black about to play his thirty-eighth move.

My little kingside demonstration provoked 38. … g6. I got excited, since this creates a weakness on h6 for my bishop to aim at. I thought I might already be close to winning now, but the computer explains that the position is still level. When I move my pawn to h5 to fix the weakness, black gains the plan of transferring his knight to f5 via c6 and e7, leaving his king to defend the queenside.

But black didn’t play this plan. Instead we reached this position, with white to play his forty-second move.

Folks, explain to me please what kind of fish doesn’t play f5 and f6 here? I saw it immediately, of course. The first point is that black cannot take with exf5. That would leave black’s d-pawn defenseless, after which white would just march his king right into black’s position.

But what then? He would have to move his king over to cover the h-pawn. Pushing the pawn to f6 then locks the kingside, and forces black to just leave his king in the corner. With a little preparation, I then play the clearance sacrifice with b5. Black will temporarily be up a pawn, but then the white king will just march into the queenside. In the close-quarter fighting, the knight is no match for the king.

And I saw all of this. But somehow I decided that things weren’t so clear after the pawn sac. I kept finding silly lines where the knight jumps around like it’s on a pogo stick, making trouble. And I thought I had an even simpler winning plan. I would just maneuver my bishop all the way to b6 and flush out the knight that way. Then I can play b5 without it being a pawn sac and just win prosaically.

Sadly, it’s all crap. The b5 sac wins trivially. And the Bh4-d8-b6 plan doesn’t work, since Nc6 will then gain a tempo for black by attacking the bishop, after which pushing the d-pawn can be a very effective decoy.

So I missed my opportunity and futzed around for a few moves, looking for the obvious win I was certain had to be there. Eventually my opponent played 48. … f5:

The position is just completely blocked and white cannot make progress. I made him shuffle the pieces around for another twenty moves, but white’s moment has passed. Draw agreed.

Chess suuuuuucks. (I know, I know. I suck, not the game. You’re really going to bring that up now?)

That little draw cost me sixteen rating points. Oh well.

Now, round five was Sunday night, but when registering for the tournament I decided to take a bye. I wanted to have a day to spend in Washington DC, where there all sorts of fun things to do. I had dinner at a good Indian restaurant in Georgetown, and then went over to the E-Street Cinema. They show independent films and documentaries. I saw The Man Who Knew Infinity. The film is about the true story of the relationship between British mathematician G. H. Hardy and Indian prodigy Srinivasa Ramanujan. Jeremy Irons and Dev Patel played the leads. (Short review: Good, but not great. Needed more math.)

Going into the city was a good idea. I needed some time to shrug off my disappointment in round four.

That brings us to Monday, the final day of the tournament. Now, I had already decided to skip the last round. It was a two-drive home, after all, and I needed to get ready for class the next day. And once you check out of the hotel it’s awful to have to sit around the lobby for hours waiting for the round to start.

That meant I only had one more game to play, on Monday morning. It turned out to be a doozy! Stay tuned!

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After my win in round two I was excited for round three. My opponent sported a 1952 rating, and he had white. He opened with 1. e4.

Now, over the years I’ve tried most of the major defenses to e4. I was an aficionado of the Dragon Sicilian for a while, until I noticed I kept getting mated on h7 against stronger opponents. Then it was the Scandinavian for many years. I had many good games with it, but eventually I lost confidence. If white knows what he’s doing he can make things pretty unpleasant for black.

So I’ve recently turned to the open games. This is not a move (ha!) to be taken lightly. Openings with 1. e4 e5 are the ones we all learn when we first start playing this miserable game. But it turns out that this simple, common sense beginning leads to some of the most intense tactics in all of chess. The King’s Gambit alone can drive you insane. Not to mention the Goring and Evans Gambits. Heck, a lot of the time white can just sac his king’s knight and get a reasonable position for his trouble. And that’s before you even start studying the more reputable lines. Black can get mated pretty fast if he’s not careful. I’ve devoted some time to studying the relevant lines, but I still find them pretty hairy.

The good news is, my opponent did not test me in any of those lines. The bad news is that he chose the Scotch Game instead. The Scotch is to e4 e5 what the exchange queen’s gambit is to d4 d5 openings. Boring!

Here’s the position with black about to make his eighth move:

This is the Mieses (pronounced MEE-sis) variation. Black now has to choose between moving the attacked knight with Nb6, or pinning the c-pawn with Ba6. In his book on the open games, Marin recommends Ba6. But Bologan, in his book, prefers Nb6. The computer says they’re both fine.

I chose 8. … Nb6. After the game my opponent told me he was annoyed by this, since he knw much more about the Ba6 lines. Whoo hoo!

Alas, it was mostly a pretty dull game. Skipping ahead, we have black about to make his fourteenth move.

Time for a pawn break. Black’s got three of them to choose from: d6, d5, or f6. I chose 14. … f6. The computer thinks this is fine, but prefers both d6 and d5. Drat!

But really, for the rest of the game nothing much happens. The computer felt I had a small edge through most of it, but it doesn’t point to anything dramatic that I missed. I could probably have put a bit more pressure on white than I did, but all in all it was one of my better analytical efforts.

White, for his part, also played with little ambition. The pieces came off the board pretty quickly. Here’s the final position, after thirty-two moves:

Draw agreed. The computer’s evaluation is 0.00.

So, after three rounds things were going OK. Rating-wise I was up about three points. The win in the second round canceled out the draw to the lower-rated player in the first. I had just played two respectable games in a row, so I was feeling good about Round Four, the Sunday morning game.

My opponent turned out to be another kid who was eye-level with the pieces. This one was sporting a rating in the 1400s, however. He was playing way up. In Round Three he beat someone higher-rated than me.

Well that’s just peachy! Some grossly underrated kid. A win would get me basically nothing in terms of rating points, while even a draw would mean a huge hit.

Whatever.

I had white this time. I opened with e4, and he responded with the French Defense. The Advance variation has been my main reply to the French for a while, but I’m losing confidence in it. Here’s the position with white about to play his twelfth move.

For a long time, the Advance variation was considered inferior to Nc3 or Nd2 for white on the third move. It’s modern revival had much to do with the work of GM Evgeny Sveshnikov, whose creativity in the opening is well-known. (Just look at the crazy line of the Sicilian that bears his name.) When he plays the Advance, he usually ends up mauling black’s kingside in a blaze of tactical glory.

When I play it I just seem to end up with a weak d-pawn with little to show for it.

But seriously, 1400-rated kids now know French Defense theory ten moves deep? What the frick? When I was 1400-rated I barely knew what the French Defense was. This kid was blitzing off good moves and was looking bored doing it.

Sometimes, chess blows.

OK Rosenhouse, get your head in the game. Is this kid going to get the better of you? I don’t think so! Book smarts only get you so far. You may have memorized a few moves my youthful opponent, but I have life experience.

By which I mean, I know a few things about the endgame. Or at least I thought I did, before this game. (Oops. Spoiler.)

Here’s the position, with white about to play his thirty-third move.

The position has changed a bit. White has a healthy, mobile pawn majority on the queenside. But he is also facing a protected, passed d-pawn, and he has to do something about his bad bishop. Objectively, the position is dead level. But I was feeling good, since black really can only sit and wait, while white can make some mischief.

I pushed my kingside pawns, in an attempt to give him something to worry about. That led to this position, with black about to play his thirty-eighth move.

My little kingside demonstration provoked 38. … g6. I got excited, since this creates a weakness on h6 for my bishop to aim at. I thought I might already be close to winning now, but the computer explains that the position is still level. When I move my pawn to h5 to fix the weakness, black gains the plan of transferring his knight to f5 via c6 and e7, leaving his king to defend the queenside.

But black didn’t play this plan. Instead we reached this position, with white to play his forty-second move.

Folks, explain to me please what kind of fish doesn’t play f5 and f6 here? I saw it immediately, of course. The first point is that black cannot take with exf5. That would leave black’s d-pawn defenseless, after which white would just march his king right into black’s position.

But what then? He would have to move his king over to cover the h-pawn. Pushing the pawn to f6 then locks the kingside, and forces black to just leave his king in the corner. With a little preparation, I then play the clearance sacrifice with b5. Black will temporarily be up a pawn, but then the white king will just march into the queenside. In the close-quarter fighting, the knight is no match for the king.

And I saw all of this. But somehow I decided that things weren’t so clear after the pawn sac. I kept finding silly lines where the knight jumps around like it’s on a pogo stick, making trouble. And I thought I had an even simpler winning plan. I would just maneuver my bishop all the way to b6 and flush out the knight that way. Then I can play b5 without it being a pawn sac and just win prosaically.

Sadly, it’s all crap. The b5 sac wins trivially. And the Bh4-d8-b6 plan doesn’t work, since Nc6 will then gain a tempo for black by attacking the bishop, after which pushing the d-pawn can be a very effective decoy.

So I missed my opportunity and futzed around for a few moves, looking for the obvious win I was certain had to be there. Eventually my opponent played 48. … f5:

The position is just completely blocked and white cannot make progress. I made him shuffle the pieces around for another twenty moves, but white’s moment has passed. Draw agreed.

Chess suuuuuucks. (I know, I know. I suck, not the game. You’re really going to bring that up now?)

That little draw cost me sixteen rating points. Oh well.

Now, round five was Sunday night, but when registering for the tournament I decided to take a bye. I wanted to have a day to spend in Washington DC, where there all sorts of fun things to do. I had dinner at a good Indian restaurant in Georgetown, and then went over to the E-Street Cinema. They show independent films and documentaries. I saw The Man Who Knew Infinity. The film is about the true story of the relationship between British mathematician G. H. Hardy and Indian prodigy Srinivasa Ramanujan. Jeremy Irons and Dev Patel played the leads. (Short review: Good, but not great. Needed more math.)

Going into the city was a good idea. I needed some time to shrug off my disappointment in round four.

That brings us to Monday, the final day of the tournament. Now, I had already decided to skip the last round. It was a two-drive home, after all, and I needed to get ready for class the next day. And once you check out of the hotel it’s awful to have to sit around the lobby for hours waiting for the round to start.

That meant I only had one more game to play, on Monday morning. It turned out to be a doozy! Stay tuned!

from ScienceBlogs http://ift.tt/1TJ0uUx

More good news from the ACA: Big gains in the state with the most uninsured [The Pump Handle]

Everything’s bigger in Texas — including the number of Texans without health insurance. But thanks to the Affordable Care Act, the percentage of uninsured Texas residents has dropped by 30 percent. That means the Texas uninsured rate has hit its lowest point in nearly two decades.

In a new issue brief from Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, researchers report that the Texas uninsured rate dropped from 26 percent in September 2013 — before the ACA’s first open enrollment period — to 18 percent as of March 2016. The decline was observed among every age, income and ethnic group throughout the Lone Star state. And researchers say it’s all likely due to the ACA.

The new numbers are based on data from the Health Reform Monitoring Survey, a quarterly survey of people ages 18 to 64 that began in 2013.

“These latest numbers confirm the continuing downward trend in the number of uninsured Texans that began as the ACA was implemented,” said Elena Marks, a co-author of the brief and president and CEO of the Episcopal Health Foundation, in a news release. “For more than a decade prior to the ACA, the uninsured rate remained above 20 percent and was rising. It’s now clear that it’s moving in the opposite direction, and the ACA deserves the credit.”

Getting into the details of the report, researchers found that between 2013 and 2016, uninsurance among Texans ages 18-64 dropped nearly one-third, with the biggest decline among those ages 50-64, who experienced a whopping 51 percent decrease in the uninsured rate. Texans with incomes between 139 percent and 399 percent of the federal poverty level experienced an uninsurance decline of 42 percent. The number of Hispanics living without insurance went down by nearly 12 percentage points.

Among the ACA mechanisms behind the dramatic declines are new premium standards and marketplace subsidies, researchers reported. For example, ACA provisions that limit premium differences based on age made health insurance much more affordable for many Texans ages 18 to 64, while marketplace subsidies enabled many low- and moderate-income households to purchase health coverage.

The ACA has also contributed to narrowing health insurance disparities in Texas. The report found significant growth in insurance rates among Hispanic residents, with the rate of uninsurance dropping by 11.9 percentage points. Still, the uninsurance rate among Texas Hispanics is about double that of black Texans and triple the rate of white Texans.

Also, because Texas legislators decided against expanding Medicaid eligibility, as is authorized via the ACA and fully financed with federal funding, many low-income Texans remain without insurance. (Quick explainer: For states that did not expand Medicaid, many of their residents now fall into a coverage gap in which they don’t qualify for marketplace subsidies nor do they qualify for Medicaid. Essentially, they’re still being priced out of the health insurance market.) According to the new issue brief, uninsurance among this population group in Texas remains “stubbornly high” at 46 percent.

“The ACA as implemented in Texas offers little hope for Texans with the lowest incomes,” Marks said in the news release. “They make too much to qualify for traditional Medicaid and not enough to get a subsidy to help pay for their premium. They’re stuck in the ‘coverage gap’ and unless Texas expands Medicaid or comes up with another system of coverage for this group, they will remained uninsured.”

Despite the good news, the latest numbers from the U.S. Census show that Texas remains No. 1 when it comes to the number of residents without health insurance.

To download a full copy of the new issue brief, visit the Baker Institute.

Kim Krisberg is a freelance public health writer living in Austin, Texas, and has been writing about public health for nearly 15 years.

from ScienceBlogs http://ift.tt/1sJvs87

Everything’s bigger in Texas — including the number of Texans without health insurance. But thanks to the Affordable Care Act, the percentage of uninsured Texas residents has dropped by 30 percent. That means the Texas uninsured rate has hit its lowest point in nearly two decades.

In a new issue brief from Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, researchers report that the Texas uninsured rate dropped from 26 percent in September 2013 — before the ACA’s first open enrollment period — to 18 percent as of March 2016. The decline was observed among every age, income and ethnic group throughout the Lone Star state. And researchers say it’s all likely due to the ACA.

The new numbers are based on data from the Health Reform Monitoring Survey, a quarterly survey of people ages 18 to 64 that began in 2013.

“These latest numbers confirm the continuing downward trend in the number of uninsured Texans that began as the ACA was implemented,” said Elena Marks, a co-author of the brief and president and CEO of the Episcopal Health Foundation, in a news release. “For more than a decade prior to the ACA, the uninsured rate remained above 20 percent and was rising. It’s now clear that it’s moving in the opposite direction, and the ACA deserves the credit.”

Getting into the details of the report, researchers found that between 2013 and 2016, uninsurance among Texans ages 18-64 dropped nearly one-third, with the biggest decline among those ages 50-64, who experienced a whopping 51 percent decrease in the uninsured rate. Texans with incomes between 139 percent and 399 percent of the federal poverty level experienced an uninsurance decline of 42 percent. The number of Hispanics living without insurance went down by nearly 12 percentage points.

Among the ACA mechanisms behind the dramatic declines are new premium standards and marketplace subsidies, researchers reported. For example, ACA provisions that limit premium differences based on age made health insurance much more affordable for many Texans ages 18 to 64, while marketplace subsidies enabled many low- and moderate-income households to purchase health coverage.

The ACA has also contributed to narrowing health insurance disparities in Texas. The report found significant growth in insurance rates among Hispanic residents, with the rate of uninsurance dropping by 11.9 percentage points. Still, the uninsurance rate among Texas Hispanics is about double that of black Texans and triple the rate of white Texans.

Also, because Texas legislators decided against expanding Medicaid eligibility, as is authorized via the ACA and fully financed with federal funding, many low-income Texans remain without insurance. (Quick explainer: For states that did not expand Medicaid, many of their residents now fall into a coverage gap in which they don’t qualify for marketplace subsidies nor do they qualify for Medicaid. Essentially, they’re still being priced out of the health insurance market.) According to the new issue brief, uninsurance among this population group in Texas remains “stubbornly high” at 46 percent.

“The ACA as implemented in Texas offers little hope for Texans with the lowest incomes,” Marks said in the news release. “They make too much to qualify for traditional Medicaid and not enough to get a subsidy to help pay for their premium. They’re stuck in the ‘coverage gap’ and unless Texas expands Medicaid or comes up with another system of coverage for this group, they will remained uninsured.”

Despite the good news, the latest numbers from the U.S. Census show that Texas remains No. 1 when it comes to the number of residents without health insurance.

To download a full copy of the new issue brief, visit the Baker Institute.

Kim Krisberg is a freelance public health writer living in Austin, Texas, and has been writing about public health for nearly 15 years.

from ScienceBlogs http://ift.tt/1sJvs87

PPG Volunteers Help Science Buddies Improve Student Chromatography Project

A team of PPG volunteers got hands-on with a Science Buddies student science project. The team applied their expertise with real-world chromatography to a student chromatography project that uses a homemade, low-tech setup at home.

Above: PPG employees put the Column Chromatography student science project to a hands-on test to help find ways to improve the popular biotechnology project.

When PPG approached Science Buddies about a day of service activity for a team of volunteers from their headquarters in PA, Science Buddies had just the right project for them. With more than 1,100 free science projects ideas in its library, Science Buddies is continually evaluating content and project procedures to ensure that students doing Science Buddies Project Ideas have a positive science project experience. Regardless of a project's difficulty level, Science Buddies aims for the procedure to be scaled appropriately for a successful independent student science exploration. This can be particularly challenging when a procedure or topic requires expensive, specialized laboratory equipment.

Bringing real-world science techniques to students often involves innovative homemade setups and procedures that simulate, on a small scale, the processes done in laboratory environments. Having external teams put student science project procedures to a hands-on test is a great way to bring a sponsor company's expertise to a project. Teams of volunteers with expertise in a particular area of science or engineering may have important insight that can help strengthen a student project procedure or setup. Whether they are asked to solve a specific problem with a project, look for general areas of improvement, or help brainstorm new approaches to certain steps or "Make It Your Own" variations, Science Buddies knows that the contributions of volunteer teams can help make projects even more student-friendly. Sometimes a very small change in a procedure can have a big impact on how a student's project goes.

As the first of two "Done in a Day" volunteer initiatives, a team of scientists put together by the PPG Science Education Council tested the Column Chromatography: Can you Separate the Dyes in Grape Soda Using Space Sand^™? project. In this popular biotechnology project, students experiment with column chromatography and grape soda. Using a homemade column chromatography setup involving hydrophobic sand, students experiment to see if they can separate purple grape soda into its individual dye components.

Science Buddies asked PPG volunteers to do general hands-on testing of the project as well as to test to see if other approaches or materials might work or work more effectively. Thanks to PPG testing, Science Buddies was able to make minor changes to the project procedure that will help ensure a more successful science project experience for students doing the project. Based on PPG's hands-on evaluation of the procedure, Science Buddies made changes that make the homemade column chromatography setup less likely to lose sand through the syringe opening. Another change recommended by PPG improves the purity (and vibrancy) of the dye that students see at a certain point in the procedure.

"We are incredibly grateful for the time PPG employees spent working through the column chromatography experiment," says Sandra Slutz, Director of Science for Science Buddies. "With their years of expertise in the subject, they were able to suggest a number of small changes to the procedure that made a large difference in the column's performance and the magnitude of the effect students see. The willingness of companies like PPG to lend us their expertise is what makes it possible for Science Buddies to cover so many areas of science with a small scientific staff."

PPG volunteers will be testing another student science project in coming months.

Above: Scientists from the Analytical Department at PPG. From left to right: Jessica Ryan, Jennifer Coles, Connie Schussler, Keith Moquin, Andrew Davic, Daryl Mains.

Science Buddies appreciates the support from sponsor companies like PPG. Thanks to sponsors and volunteers, Science Buddies' resources remain free to use for more than 15 million students, teachers, and parents each year.

from Science Buddies Blog http://ift.tt/1sJk7EX

A team of PPG volunteers got hands-on with a Science Buddies student science project. The team applied their expertise with real-world chromatography to a student chromatography project that uses a homemade, low-tech setup at home.

Above: PPG employees put the Column Chromatography student science project to a hands-on test to help find ways to improve the popular biotechnology project.

When PPG approached Science Buddies about a day of service activity for a team of volunteers from their headquarters in PA, Science Buddies had just the right project for them. With more than 1,100 free science projects ideas in its library, Science Buddies is continually evaluating content and project procedures to ensure that students doing Science Buddies Project Ideas have a positive science project experience. Regardless of a project's difficulty level, Science Buddies aims for the procedure to be scaled appropriately for a successful independent student science exploration. This can be particularly challenging when a procedure or topic requires expensive, specialized laboratory equipment.

Bringing real-world science techniques to students often involves innovative homemade setups and procedures that simulate, on a small scale, the processes done in laboratory environments. Having external teams put student science project procedures to a hands-on test is a great way to bring a sponsor company's expertise to a project. Teams of volunteers with expertise in a particular area of science or engineering may have important insight that can help strengthen a student project procedure or setup. Whether they are asked to solve a specific problem with a project, look for general areas of improvement, or help brainstorm new approaches to certain steps or "Make It Your Own" variations, Science Buddies knows that the contributions of volunteer teams can help make projects even more student-friendly. Sometimes a very small change in a procedure can have a big impact on how a student's project goes.

As the first of two "Done in a Day" volunteer initiatives, a team of scientists put together by the PPG Science Education Council tested the Column Chromatography: Can you Separate the Dyes in Grape Soda Using Space Sand^™? project. In this popular biotechnology project, students experiment with column chromatography and grape soda. Using a homemade column chromatography setup involving hydrophobic sand, students experiment to see if they can separate purple grape soda into its individual dye components.

Science Buddies asked PPG volunteers to do general hands-on testing of the project as well as to test to see if other approaches or materials might work or work more effectively. Thanks to PPG testing, Science Buddies was able to make minor changes to the project procedure that will help ensure a more successful science project experience for students doing the project. Based on PPG's hands-on evaluation of the procedure, Science Buddies made changes that make the homemade column chromatography setup less likely to lose sand through the syringe opening. Another change recommended by PPG improves the purity (and vibrancy) of the dye that students see at a certain point in the procedure.

"We are incredibly grateful for the time PPG employees spent working through the column chromatography experiment," says Sandra Slutz, Director of Science for Science Buddies. "With their years of expertise in the subject, they were able to suggest a number of small changes to the procedure that made a large difference in the column's performance and the magnitude of the effect students see. The willingness of companies like PPG to lend us their expertise is what makes it possible for Science Buddies to cover so many areas of science with a small scientific staff."

PPG volunteers will be testing another student science project in coming months.

Above: Scientists from the Analytical Department at PPG. From left to right: Jessica Ryan, Jennifer Coles, Connie Schussler, Keith Moquin, Andrew Davic, Daryl Mains.

Science Buddies appreciates the support from sponsor companies like PPG. Thanks to sponsors and volunteers, Science Buddies' resources remain free to use for more than 15 million students, teachers, and parents each year.

from Science Buddies Blog http://ift.tt/1sJk7EX

June 2016 guide to the 5 bright planets

View larger.Jupiter, Mars and Saturn are bright in the evening sky throughout June 2016. Look for the bright star Spica between Jupiter and Mars. Read more.

Three planets – Jupiter, Mars and Saturn – pop out as darkness falls in June 2016. Jupiter, the brightest of the bunch, is found in the western half of the sky and lights up the night until midnight or later. Mars, only a touch fainter than Jupiter, shines above Saturn in the southeast sky at nightfall. Saturn comes closest to Earth for the year on June 3, less than four days after Mars’ closest approach to Earth on May 30. Mars and Saturn shine close to the supergiant red star Antares on the sky’s dome, painting a bright and colorful triangle on the blackboard of night. Not only are Mars and Saturn at their brightest and best in late May and early June, they’re out all night long. Mercury appears as a morning “star” before sunrise, though this morning showing of Mercury greatly favors the Southern Hemisphere. The brightest planet – Venus – is lost in the glare of sun in June. Follow the links below to learn more about the June planets.

Jupiter brightest “star” in June

Mars, dusk until dawn, shines near Saturn

Saturn, dusk until dawn, shines near Mars

Mercury in eastern predawn sky

Venus, brightest planet, lost in the sunrise

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Astronomy events, star parties, festivals, workshops

Use the moon to find planet Jupiter, star Regulus and constellation Leo on the evenings of June 9, June 10 and June 11. The green line depicts the ecliptic – the sun and moon’s pathway in front of the constellations of the zodiac.

Jupiter brightest “star” in June. Jupiter lights up the sky almost immediately after sunset on these June evenings. From mid-northern latitudes, the king planet shines in the southwest sky at nightfall. From the Southern Hemisphere, look in the northern sky as darkness falls.

For all of us, Jupiter sets in the west at or around midnight. It will remain a fine evening object throughout July and into August.

Jupiter is almost impossible to miss. It’s the fourth-brightest celestial object, after the sun, moon and Venus. But Venus is now lost in the glare of the sun, so Jupiter rules the nighttime on June evenings. Although Mars is not all that much fainter than Jupiter in early June, Jupiter and Mars are nowhere close together on the sky’s dome. As evening falls, Mars and Saturn sit rather low in the southeast sky, while Jupiter appears in the western half of sky. Most of all, Mars’ bloody-red color is dead giveaway of the red planet. Jupiter, on the other hand, shines bold white.

The moon swings close to Jupiter on the sky’s dome on June 10 and June 11.

If you have binoculars (on a tripod) or a telescope, it’s fairly easy to see Jupiter’s four major moons, which look like pinpricks of light on or near the same plane. They are often called the Galilean moons to honor Galileo, who discovered these great Jovian moons in 1610. In their order from Jupiter, these moons are Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto.

View larger. Jupiter and the Galilean moons through a 10″ (25 cm) Meade LX200 telescope via Jan Sandberg.

These moons circle Jupiter around the Jovian equator. In cycles of six years, we view Jupiter’s equator edge-on. So, in 2015, we got to view a number of mutual events involving Jupiter’s moons through a high-powered telescope. Click here or here or here for more details.

Although Jupiter’s axial tilt is only 3^o out of perpendicular relative to the ecliptic (Earth’s orbital plane), Jupiter’s axis will tilt enough toward the sun and Earth so that the farthest of these four moons, Callisto, will not pass in front of Jupiter or behind Jupiter for a period of about three years, starting in late 2016.

During this approximate 3-year period, Callisto will remain perpetually visible, alternately swinging above and below Jupiter from our earthly perspective.

Click here for a Jupiter moons almanac, courtesy of Sky & Telescope.

View larger | Mikhail Chubarets in the Ukraine made this chart. It shows the view of Mars through a telescope in 2016. We pass between Mars and the sun on May 22. We won’t see Mars as a disk like this with the eye alone. But, between the start of 2016 and May, the dot of light that is Mars grows dramatically brighter and redder in our night sky. Watch for it!

Watch the brilliant waxing gibbous moon swing by the planets Mars and Saturn, plus the star Antares, on June 16, June 17 and June 18.

Mars, dusk until dawn, shines near Saturn. Mars is almost as bright as Jupiter when the month begins, but will fade quickly this month!

Mars was at its brightest at its opposition on May 22. Jupiter was at its brightest during its opposition on March 8. Mars and Jupiter will remain spectacularly bright in the June night sky, but, by the month’s end, you’ll notice the edge has gone off Mars’ brightness.

Looking for a sky almanac? EarthSky recommends…

Here’s some really good news, though. Mars is near another planet on the sky’s dome, Saturn. Look for Mars and Saturn near Antares, the brightest star in the constellation Scorpius the Scorpion. They make a noticeable triangle on the sky’s dome.

Let the moon help guide your eye to Mars (and the bright star Spica) for several evenings, centered on June 15. Then watch for the moon to swing away from Spica and more closely with Mars on June 16 and June 17. Then by June 18, the moon will move away from Mars to pair up with Saturn.

Yes, you can find the ringed Saturn near the brighter red planet Mars throughout June 2016! You can also find the bright star Spica between Jupiter and Mars. The green line depicts the ecliptic – pathway of the sun, moon and planets in front of the constellations of the zodiac. Read more.

Saturn, dusk until dawn, shines near Mars. Both Mars and Saturn are near a fainter object – still one of the sky’s brightest stars – Antares in the constellation Scorpius.

The ringed planet starts the month rising in the east around sunset. That’s because Saturn will be at opposition – opposite the sun in Earth’s sky – on June 3. At opposition, Saturn is rising in the east at sunset, and setting in the west at sunrise. At midnight, meanwhile, Saturn is highest up for the night. By the month’s end, Saturn will be coming up in the east roughly two hours before sunset, and will soar to its highest point for the night around 10 p.m. local time (11 p.m. local Daylight Saving Time).

Although Saturn shines on par with the sky’s brightest stars, its brilliance can’t match that of Mars. Look for Saturn near Mars all month long. These two worlds form a bright celestial triangle with the star Antares in the June night sky. Mars is brighter than Saturn, which in turn is brighter than Antares.

Mars will eventually catch up with Saturn on August 24, 2016, to present a conjunction of these two worlds in the August evening sky.

Watch for the moon to swing by Saturn for several days, centered on or near June 18.

Saturn, the farthest world that you can easily view with the eye alone, appears golden in color. It shines with a steady light. Binoculars don’t reveal Saturn’s gorgeous rings, by the way. For that, you need a small telescope. But binoculars will enhance Saturn’s golden color.

Contrasting the size of Saturn and its rings with our planet Earth via Hubble Heritage Team.

Saturn’s rings are inclined at a little more than 26^o from edge-on in June 2016, exhibiting their northern face. Next year, in October 2017, the rings will open most widely, displaying a maximum inclination of 27^o.

As with so much in space (and on Earth), the appearance of Saturn’s rings from Earth is cyclical. In the year 2025, the rings will appear edge-on as seen from Earth. After that, we’ll begin to see the south side of Saturn’s rings, to increase to a maximum inclination of 27^o by May 2032.

Click here for recommended almanacs. They can help you know when the planets rise, transit and set in your sky

The slender waning crescent moon and Mercury, from the perspective of middle latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere. The Southern Hemisphere enjoys a much better view of Mercury in the morning sky because Mercury rises before morning dawn in that part of the world.

Mercury in eastern predawn sky. Mercury transitioned from the evening to morning sky on May 9, 2016. Usually, you can’t see Mercury at this juncture because it swings to the north or south of the solar disk, and is lost in the sun’s glare. But this time around, some of you actually witnessed the planet Mercury passing directly in front of the sun on May 9, 2016.

For the Southern Hemisphere, the first couple of weeks in June will feature a grand time for catching Mercury before sunrise in the predawn sky. Mercury will reach its greatest western (morning) elongation on June 5, 2016. Look eastward, over the sunrise point on the horizon, starting 90 minutes or more before sunrise. Look for the waning crescent moon near Mercury in the predawn/dawn sky on June 2 and 3.

It’ll be more of a challenge to spot Mercury as a morning “star” at dawn from mid-northern latitudes. Look eastward about 60 to 45 minutes before sunrise. Binoculars could come in handy.

Click here for an almanac giving Mercury’s rising time into sky.

Photo of the transit of Venus on June 6, 2012, via NASA Goddard Space Flight Center,

Venus, brightest planet, lost in the sunrise. From all over the world, Venus sinks closer to the glare of sunrise until Venus swings directly behind the sun on June 6, 2016, to transition from the morning to the evening sky. Venus probably won’t become visible in the western sky at dusk until July.

Exactly four years previous to Venus passing directly behind the sun on June 6, 2016, Venus swung directly in front of the sun on June 6, 2012, to present the last transit of Venus until December 11, 2117. See the photo above.

What do we mean by bright planet? By bright planet, we mean any solar system planet that is easily visible without an optical aid and that has been watched by our ancestors since time immemorial. In their outward order from the sun, the five bright planets are Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. These planets actually do appear bright in our sky. They are typically as bright as – or brighter than – the brightest stars. Plus, these relatively nearby worlds tend to shine with a steadier light than the distant, twinkling stars. You can spot them, and come to know them as faithful friends, if you try.

Bottom line: In June 2016, Jupiter is the brightest starlike object up when the sun goes down. Saturn and the bright star Antares make a triangle with Mars on the sky’s dome. Mercury, the innermost planet, is in the morning sky all month long. Venus is behind the sun.

Easily locate stars and constellations with EarthSky’s planisphere.

Don’t miss anything. Subscribe to EarthSky News by email

From late January, and through mid-February, 5 bright planets were visible at once in the predawn sky. This image is from February 8, 2016. It’s by Eliot Herman in Tucson, Arizona. View on Flickr.

Awesome month for planets before dawn: October, 2015! Photo taken October 2, 2015 by Mohamed Laaifat Photographies in Normandy, France.

Eastern sky before dawn now. Photo taken September 18, 2015 and submitted to EarthSky by Greg Hogan in Kathleen, Georgia. Thanks, Greg!

View larger. Evening dusk on August 5: Venus at left. Mercury is climbing higher, toward Regulus (at top) and Jupiter (beneath Regulus).

By the evening of July 12, Venus and Jupiter were farther apart and lower in the western sky after sunset. Photo by Robert Kelly. Thanks, Robert!

Photo taken June 13, 2015 by John Nelson at Puget Sound, Washington. Thanks, John!

View larger. | Photo taken in early June, 2015 by Göran Strand in Sweden. He wrote: “One of the last nights during the spring when the stars were still visible … ” Follow Fotograf Göran Strand on Facebook, or @astrofotografen on Instagram. Or visit his website.

Lunar eclipse on the night of October 8, 2014. The object to the left is the planet Uranus! This beautiful photo is by Janey Wing Kenyon of Story, Wyoming.

Debra Fryar in Calobreves, Texas captured this photo of the moon and Jupiter on May 31, 2014. Jupiter was close to the twilight then.

With only a modest backyard telescope, you can easily see Jupiter’s four largest moons. Here they are through a 10″ (25 cm) Meade LX200 telescope. Image credit: Jan Sandberg

Jupiter was rivaling the streetlights, when Mohamed Laaifat Photographies captured this photo in Normandy, France. Visit his page on Facebook.

Venus by Danny Crocker-Jensen

These are called star trails. It’s a long-exposure photo, which shows you how Earth is turning under the stars. The brightest object here is Jupiter, which is the second-brightest planet, after Venus. This awesome photo by EarthSky Facebook friend Mohamed Laaifat in Normandy, France. Thank you, Mohamed.

Skywatcher, by Predrag Agatonovic.

Easily locate stars and constellations with EarthSky’s planisphere.

Don’t miss anything. Subscribe to EarthSky News by email

from EarthSky http://ift.tt/IJfHCr

View larger.Jupiter, Mars and Saturn are bright in the evening sky throughout June 2016. Look for the bright star Spica between Jupiter and Mars. Read more.

Three planets – Jupiter, Mars and Saturn – pop out as darkness falls in June 2016. Jupiter, the brightest of the bunch, is found in the western half of the sky and lights up the night until midnight or later. Mars, only a touch fainter than Jupiter, shines above Saturn in the southeast sky at nightfall. Saturn comes closest to Earth for the year on June 3, less than four days after Mars’ closest approach to Earth on May 30. Mars and Saturn shine close to the supergiant red star Antares on the sky’s dome, painting a bright and colorful triangle on the blackboard of night. Not only are Mars and Saturn at their brightest and best in late May and early June, they’re out all night long. Mercury appears as a morning “star” before sunrise, though this morning showing of Mercury greatly favors the Southern Hemisphere. The brightest planet – Venus – is lost in the glare of sun in June. Follow the links below to learn more about the June planets.

Jupiter brightest “star” in June

Mars, dusk until dawn, shines near Saturn

Saturn, dusk until dawn, shines near Mars

Mercury in eastern predawn sky

Venus, brightest planet, lost in the sunrise

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Astronomy events, star parties, festivals, workshops

Use the moon to find planet Jupiter, star Regulus and constellation Leo on the evenings of June 9, June 10 and June 11. The green line depicts the ecliptic – the sun and moon’s pathway in front of the constellations of the zodiac.

Jupiter brightest “star” in June. Jupiter lights up the sky almost immediately after sunset on these June evenings. From mid-northern latitudes, the king planet shines in the southwest sky at nightfall. From the Southern Hemisphere, look in the northern sky as darkness falls.

For all of us, Jupiter sets in the west at or around midnight. It will remain a fine evening object throughout July and into August.

Jupiter is almost impossible to miss. It’s the fourth-brightest celestial object, after the sun, moon and Venus. But Venus is now lost in the glare of the sun, so Jupiter rules the nighttime on June evenings. Although Mars is not all that much fainter than Jupiter in early June, Jupiter and Mars are nowhere close together on the sky’s dome. As evening falls, Mars and Saturn sit rather low in the southeast sky, while Jupiter appears in the western half of sky. Most of all, Mars’ bloody-red color is dead giveaway of the red planet. Jupiter, on the other hand, shines bold white.

The moon swings close to Jupiter on the sky’s dome on June 10 and June 11.

If you have binoculars (on a tripod) or a telescope, it’s fairly easy to see Jupiter’s four major moons, which look like pinpricks of light on or near the same plane. They are often called the Galilean moons to honor Galileo, who discovered these great Jovian moons in 1610. In their order from Jupiter, these moons are Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto.

View larger. Jupiter and the Galilean moons through a 10″ (25 cm) Meade LX200 telescope via Jan Sandberg.

These moons circle Jupiter around the Jovian equator. In cycles of six years, we view Jupiter’s equator edge-on. So, in 2015, we got to view a number of mutual events involving Jupiter’s moons through a high-powered telescope. Click here or here or here for more details.

Although Jupiter’s axial tilt is only 3^o out of perpendicular relative to the ecliptic (Earth’s orbital plane), Jupiter’s axis will tilt enough toward the sun and Earth so that the farthest of these four moons, Callisto, will not pass in front of Jupiter or behind Jupiter for a period of about three years, starting in late 2016.

During this approximate 3-year period, Callisto will remain perpetually visible, alternately swinging above and below Jupiter from our earthly perspective.

Click here for a Jupiter moons almanac, courtesy of Sky & Telescope.

View larger | Mikhail Chubarets in the Ukraine made this chart. It shows the view of Mars through a telescope in 2016. We pass between Mars and the sun on May 22. We won’t see Mars as a disk like this with the eye alone. But, between the start of 2016 and May, the dot of light that is Mars grows dramatically brighter and redder in our night sky. Watch for it!

Watch the brilliant waxing gibbous moon swing by the planets Mars and Saturn, plus the star Antares, on June 16, June 17 and June 18.

Mars, dusk until dawn, shines near Saturn. Mars is almost as bright as Jupiter when the month begins, but will fade quickly this month!

Mars was at its brightest at its opposition on May 22. Jupiter was at its brightest during its opposition on March 8. Mars and Jupiter will remain spectacularly bright in the June night sky, but, by the month’s end, you’ll notice the edge has gone off Mars’ brightness.

Looking for a sky almanac? EarthSky recommends…

Here’s some really good news, though. Mars is near another planet on the sky’s dome, Saturn. Look for Mars and Saturn near Antares, the brightest star in the constellation Scorpius the Scorpion. They make a noticeable triangle on the sky’s dome.

Let the moon help guide your eye to Mars (and the bright star Spica) for several evenings, centered on June 15. Then watch for the moon to swing away from Spica and more closely with Mars on June 16 and June 17. Then by June 18, the moon will move away from Mars to pair up with Saturn.

Yes, you can find the ringed Saturn near the brighter red planet Mars throughout June 2016! You can also find the bright star Spica between Jupiter and Mars. The green line depicts the ecliptic – pathway of the sun, moon and planets in front of the constellations of the zodiac. Read more.

Saturn, dusk until dawn, shines near Mars. Both Mars and Saturn are near a fainter object – still one of the sky’s brightest stars – Antares in the constellation Scorpius.

The ringed planet starts the month rising in the east around sunset. That’s because Saturn will be at opposition – opposite the sun in Earth’s sky – on June 3. At opposition, Saturn is rising in the east at sunset, and setting in the west at sunrise. At midnight, meanwhile, Saturn is highest up for the night. By the month’s end, Saturn will be coming up in the east roughly two hours before sunset, and will soar to its highest point for the night around 10 p.m. local time (11 p.m. local Daylight Saving Time).

Although Saturn shines on par with the sky’s brightest stars, its brilliance can’t match that of Mars. Look for Saturn near Mars all month long. These two worlds form a bright celestial triangle with the star Antares in the June night sky. Mars is brighter than Saturn, which in turn is brighter than Antares.

Mars will eventually catch up with Saturn on August 24, 2016, to present a conjunction of these two worlds in the August evening sky.

Watch for the moon to swing by Saturn for several days, centered on or near June 18.

Saturn, the farthest world that you can easily view with the eye alone, appears golden in color. It shines with a steady light. Binoculars don’t reveal Saturn’s gorgeous rings, by the way. For that, you need a small telescope. But binoculars will enhance Saturn’s golden color.

Contrasting the size of Saturn and its rings with our planet Earth via Hubble Heritage Team.

Saturn’s rings are inclined at a little more than 26^o from edge-on in June 2016, exhibiting their northern face. Next year, in October 2017, the rings will open most widely, displaying a maximum inclination of 27^o.

As with so much in space (and on Earth), the appearance of Saturn’s rings from Earth is cyclical. In the year 2025, the rings will appear edge-on as seen from Earth. After that, we’ll begin to see the south side of Saturn’s rings, to increase to a maximum inclination of 27^o by May 2032.

Click here for recommended almanacs. They can help you know when the planets rise, transit and set in your sky

The slender waning crescent moon and Mercury, from the perspective of middle latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere. The Southern Hemisphere enjoys a much better view of Mercury in the morning sky because Mercury rises before morning dawn in that part of the world.

Mercury in eastern predawn sky. Mercury transitioned from the evening to morning sky on May 9, 2016. Usually, you can’t see Mercury at this juncture because it swings to the north or south of the solar disk, and is lost in the sun’s glare. But this time around, some of you actually witnessed the planet Mercury passing directly in front of the sun on May 9, 2016.

For the Southern Hemisphere, the first couple of weeks in June will feature a grand time for catching Mercury before sunrise in the predawn sky. Mercury will reach its greatest western (morning) elongation on June 5, 2016. Look eastward, over the sunrise point on the horizon, starting 90 minutes or more before sunrise. Look for the waning crescent moon near Mercury in the predawn/dawn sky on June 2 and 3.

It’ll be more of a challenge to spot Mercury as a morning “star” at dawn from mid-northern latitudes. Look eastward about 60 to 45 minutes before sunrise. Binoculars could come in handy.

Click here for an almanac giving Mercury’s rising time into sky.

Photo of the transit of Venus on June 6, 2012, via NASA Goddard Space Flight Center,

Venus, brightest planet, lost in the sunrise. From all over the world, Venus sinks closer to the glare of sunrise until Venus swings directly behind the sun on June 6, 2016, to transition from the morning to the evening sky. Venus probably won’t become visible in the western sky at dusk until July.

Exactly four years previous to Venus passing directly behind the sun on June 6, 2016, Venus swung directly in front of the sun on June 6, 2012, to present the last transit of Venus until December 11, 2117. See the photo above.

What do we mean by bright planet? By bright planet, we mean any solar system planet that is easily visible without an optical aid and that has been watched by our ancestors since time immemorial. In their outward order from the sun, the five bright planets are Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. These planets actually do appear bright in our sky. They are typically as bright as – or brighter than – the brightest stars. Plus, these relatively nearby worlds tend to shine with a steadier light than the distant, twinkling stars. You can spot them, and come to know them as faithful friends, if you try.

Bottom line: In June 2016, Jupiter is the brightest starlike object up when the sun goes down. Saturn and the bright star Antares make a triangle with Mars on the sky’s dome. Mercury, the innermost planet, is in the morning sky all month long. Venus is behind the sun.

Easily locate stars and constellations with EarthSky’s planisphere.

Don’t miss anything. Subscribe to EarthSky News by email

From late January, and through mid-February, 5 bright planets were visible at once in the predawn sky. This image is from February 8, 2016. It’s by Eliot Herman in Tucson, Arizona. View on Flickr.

Awesome month for planets before dawn: October, 2015! Photo taken October 2, 2015 by Mohamed Laaifat Photographies in Normandy, France.

Eastern sky before dawn now. Photo taken September 18, 2015 and submitted to EarthSky by Greg Hogan in Kathleen, Georgia. Thanks, Greg!

View larger. Evening dusk on August 5: Venus at left. Mercury is climbing higher, toward Regulus (at top) and Jupiter (beneath Regulus).

By the evening of July 12, Venus and Jupiter were farther apart and lower in the western sky after sunset. Photo by Robert Kelly. Thanks, Robert!

Photo taken June 13, 2015 by John Nelson at Puget Sound, Washington. Thanks, John!

View larger. | Photo taken in early June, 2015 by Göran Strand in Sweden. He wrote: “One of the last nights during the spring when the stars were still visible … ” Follow Fotograf Göran Strand on Facebook, or @astrofotografen on Instagram. Or visit his website.

Lunar eclipse on the night of October 8, 2014. The object to the left is the planet Uranus! This beautiful photo is by Janey Wing Kenyon of Story, Wyoming.

Debra Fryar in Calobreves, Texas captured this photo of the moon and Jupiter on May 31, 2014. Jupiter was close to the twilight then.

With only a modest backyard telescope, you can easily see Jupiter’s four largest moons. Here they are through a 10″ (25 cm) Meade LX200 telescope. Image credit: Jan Sandberg

Jupiter was rivaling the streetlights, when Mohamed Laaifat Photographies captured this photo in Normandy, France. Visit his page on Facebook.

Venus by Danny Crocker-Jensen

These are called star trails. It’s a long-exposure photo, which shows you how Earth is turning under the stars. The brightest object here is Jupiter, which is the second-brightest planet, after Venus. This awesome photo by EarthSky Facebook friend Mohamed Laaifat in Normandy, France. Thank you, Mohamed.

Skywatcher, by Predrag Agatonovic.

Easily locate stars and constellations with EarthSky’s planisphere.

Don’t miss anything. Subscribe to EarthSky News by email

from EarthSky http://ift.tt/IJfHCr

April Showers Bring May Flowers and Mosquitoes

Northern Culex mosquito laying eggs on water’s surface. Image: Susan Ellis, Bugwood.org

By Marcia Anderson

There is nothing as pleasant as a warm spring day. Flowers are beginning to bloom, tree buds are swelling, and the air is sweet with the smell of spring. Then, you hear the buzz, feel a slight prick, and the spell is gone. Yes, April showers really do bring May flowers followed by mosquitoes.

Is there anything that you can do to reduce mosquitoes and the threat of mosquito-borne diseases this year? Actually there is.

Most people do not realize all of the areas around their own homes where mosquitoes can find stagnant water for laying their eggs. Mosquitoes that live in close association with humans typically breed in containers that are holding water. Amazingly, many mosquitoes can breed in something as little as a bottle cap.

This article is designed to help you identify water sources around your home and neighborhood that could provide breeding grounds for mosquitoes. By eliminating these areas through an approach called Integrated Pest Management (IPM), you can reduce the number of mosquitoes in your neighborhood. Here are some suggestions for identifying and eliminating these problematic water sources.

Water collected in a child’s toy left outside can support mosquito larvae.

Surveillance: Identify the locations and sizes of all stagnant water sources, including bird baths, pet water and food bowls, trays beneath potted plants, outdoor containers, kiddy pools, outdoor toys, open water barrels, tarps, blocked catchment basins, clogged storm drains, obstructed roof gutters, garbage cans and dumpsters without lids or drains, discarded appliances, and car parts, especially tires.

Sanitation: An essential component of mosquito management is the elimination of breeding sites. All mosquitoes need water on which to lay their eggs. Removing the stagnant water sources identified in the surveillance of your property will diminish the mosquitoes.

Plastics deserve a special focus because they are not only a huge waste problem, but also key breeding grounds for mosquitoes and other disease carrying pests. Improperly discarded plastic bags and food/drink containers can become pest breeding sites. Remember to empty the rainwater from children’s toys that have been left outdoors.

Maintenance: If you live in an area with irrigation diversions, swales, open stormwater culverts, or trenches, you should maintain them to prevent obstruction of the water flow by sediment or plant debris. Clogged gutters and flat roof tops with poor drainage are also commonly overlooked mosquito breeding sites that require regular maintenance.

Report standing water – in New York City call 311; in other communities, call your local health department. If your property has large areas of standing water that do not readily drain, discuss options with your municipal engineer or local agricultural extension service office.

Creative Solutions:  For a small to moderate ornamental pond, consider biological solutions such as mosquito-eating fish, tadpoles, flatworms or copepods.  (See how New Jersey used copepods to reduce mosquito larvae). Bodies of water with fish or other mosquito-eating wildlife are not prone to mosquito problems. To illustrate, every spring I add feeder goldfish to my bird bath. The tiny fish devour any mosquito larvae that appear, and the neighborhood children love to watch the fish. As a result of this and our efforts to remove or regularly empty water-collecting containers, our yard is free of mosquitoes.

Simple Steps You Can Take:

• Unblock drains and gutters to maintain water flow.
• Drill a few small drainage holes in pots, plastic toys, and garbage cans.
• Empty saucers, tarps, and children’s toys of water within a few days after a rain.
• Properly dispose of unwanted tires.

The EPA recommends that you use IPM to control all of your pests, even mosquitoes. IPM creates a safer and healthier environment by managing pests proactively and at their source. For mosquitoes, this means focusing on eliminating the places they can breed around your home and in your neighborhood. For more information, visit EPA’s mosquito control website.

 

About the Author: Marcia is with EPA’s Center of Expertise for School IPM in Dallas, Texas. She holds a PhD in Environmental Management from Montclair State University along with degrees in Biology, Environmental Design, Landscape Architecture, and Instruction and Curriculum. Marcia was formerly with the EPA Region 2 Pesticides Program and has been a professor of Earth and Environmental Studies, Geology, and Oceanography at several universities.

from The EPA Blog http://ift.tt/1UrwqPE

Northern Culex mosquito laying eggs on water’s surface. Image: Susan Ellis, Bugwood.org

By Marcia Anderson

There is nothing as pleasant as a warm spring day. Flowers are beginning to bloom, tree buds are swelling, and the air is sweet with the smell of spring. Then, you hear the buzz, feel a slight prick, and the spell is gone. Yes, April showers really do bring May flowers followed by mosquitoes.

Is there anything that you can do to reduce mosquitoes and the threat of mosquito-borne diseases this year? Actually there is.

Most people do not realize all of the areas around their own homes where mosquitoes can find stagnant water for laying their eggs. Mosquitoes that live in close association with humans typically breed in containers that are holding water. Amazingly, many mosquitoes can breed in something as little as a bottle cap.

This article is designed to help you identify water sources around your home and neighborhood that could provide breeding grounds for mosquitoes. By eliminating these areas through an approach called Integrated Pest Management (IPM), you can reduce the number of mosquitoes in your neighborhood. Here are some suggestions for identifying and eliminating these problematic water sources.

Water collected in a child’s toy left outside can support mosquito larvae.

Surveillance: Identify the locations and sizes of all stagnant water sources, including bird baths, pet water and food bowls, trays beneath potted plants, outdoor containers, kiddy pools, outdoor toys, open water barrels, tarps, blocked catchment basins, clogged storm drains, obstructed roof gutters, garbage cans and dumpsters without lids or drains, discarded appliances, and car parts, especially tires.

Sanitation: An essential component of mosquito management is the elimination of breeding sites. All mosquitoes need water on which to lay their eggs. Removing the stagnant water sources identified in the surveillance of your property will diminish the mosquitoes.

Plastics deserve a special focus because they are not only a huge waste problem, but also key breeding grounds for mosquitoes and other disease carrying pests. Improperly discarded plastic bags and food/drink containers can become pest breeding sites. Remember to empty the rainwater from children’s toys that have been left outdoors.

Maintenance: If you live in an area with irrigation diversions, swales, open stormwater culverts, or trenches, you should maintain them to prevent obstruction of the water flow by sediment or plant debris. Clogged gutters and flat roof tops with poor drainage are also commonly overlooked mosquito breeding sites that require regular maintenance.

Report standing water – in New York City call 311; in other communities, call your local health department. If your property has large areas of standing water that do not readily drain, discuss options with your municipal engineer or local agricultural extension service office.

Creative Solutions:  For a small to moderate ornamental pond, consider biological solutions such as mosquito-eating fish, tadpoles, flatworms or copepods.  (See how New Jersey used copepods to reduce mosquito larvae). Bodies of water with fish or other mosquito-eating wildlife are not prone to mosquito problems. To illustrate, every spring I add feeder goldfish to my bird bath. The tiny fish devour any mosquito larvae that appear, and the neighborhood children love to watch the fish. As a result of this and our efforts to remove or regularly empty water-collecting containers, our yard is free of mosquitoes.

Simple Steps You Can Take:

• Unblock drains and gutters to maintain water flow.
• Drill a few small drainage holes in pots, plastic toys, and garbage cans.
• Empty saucers, tarps, and children’s toys of water within a few days after a rain.
• Properly dispose of unwanted tires.

The EPA recommends that you use IPM to control all of your pests, even mosquitoes. IPM creates a safer and healthier environment by managing pests proactively and at their source. For mosquitoes, this means focusing on eliminating the places they can breed around your home and in your neighborhood. For more information, visit EPA’s mosquito control website.

 

About the Author: Marcia is with EPA’s Center of Expertise for School IPM in Dallas, Texas. She holds a PhD in Environmental Management from Montclair State University along with degrees in Biology, Environmental Design, Landscape Architecture, and Instruction and Curriculum. Marcia was formerly with the EPA Region 2 Pesticides Program and has been a professor of Earth and Environmental Studies, Geology, and Oceanography at several universities.

from The EPA Blog http://ift.tt/1UrwqPE

How Global Warming Will Someday End Life On Earth (Synopsis) [Starts With A Bang]

“We have known since the 1800s that carbon dioxide traps heat in the atmosphere. The right amount keeps the climate conducive to human life.” -James Hansen

Thanks to our position in space, the energy output of the Sun, and the right atmospheric conditions on Earth, we have temperatures conducive to liquid water on our planet. Over the past 4.5 billion years, that’s led to the flourishing and evolving of life, with our present existence marking something unlike anything else our planet’s ever seen.

The very cold, polar regions of the Earth have a mean temperature far below the rest of the planet. Image credit: ESA/IPEV/PNRA–B. Healey, via http://ift.tt/1QGrMhJ.

But it’s only a precarious set of circumstances that allowed it to be this way right now, and it won’t stay this way for long. The Sun is gradually warming, and has been its entire life. In another 1 or 2 billion years, it will increase its luminosity by so much that the oceans will boil, ending life-as-we-know-it on our world. We might be able to escape to other planets or star systems by then, but that doesn’t change the fact that global warming will eventually, if slowly, bring this all to an end.

The evolution of some of the Sun’s properties over time. Luminosity is what impacts the temperature here on Earth. Image credit: Wikimedia Commons user RJHall, based on Ribas, Ignasi (2010), “The Sun and stars as the primary energy input in planetary atmospheres”.

Come get the full story (while I’m on vacation) over on Forbes today!

from ScienceBlogs http://ift.tt/1Vssz78

“We have known since the 1800s that carbon dioxide traps heat in the atmosphere. The right amount keeps the climate conducive to human life.” -James Hansen

Thanks to our position in space, the energy output of the Sun, and the right atmospheric conditions on Earth, we have temperatures conducive to liquid water on our planet. Over the past 4.5 billion years, that’s led to the flourishing and evolving of life, with our present existence marking something unlike anything else our planet’s ever seen.

The very cold, polar regions of the Earth have a mean temperature far below the rest of the planet. Image credit: ESA/IPEV/PNRA–B. Healey, via http://ift.tt/1QGrMhJ.

But it’s only a precarious set of circumstances that allowed it to be this way right now, and it won’t stay this way for long. The Sun is gradually warming, and has been its entire life. In another 1 or 2 billion years, it will increase its luminosity by so much that the oceans will boil, ending life-as-we-know-it on our world. We might be able to escape to other planets or star systems by then, but that doesn’t change the fact that global warming will eventually, if slowly, bring this all to an end.

The evolution of some of the Sun’s properties over time. Luminosity is what impacts the temperature here on Earth. Image credit: Wikimedia Commons user RJHall, based on Ribas, Ignasi (2010), “The Sun and stars as the primary energy input in planetary atmospheres”.

Come get the full story (while I’m on vacation) over on Forbes today!

from ScienceBlogs http://ift.tt/1Vssz78

Top 10 new species of 2016

Image via IISE.

Scientists think that there may be roughly 10 million species on Earth, but only about 2 million species have been identified and named. Each year, scientists add the names of thousands of new species to taxonomic lists that catalog the diversity of life. To celebrate this feat, the International Institute for Species Exploration (IISE) compiles a top 10 new species list of notable discoveries that were made during the previous year. The annual list is released on May 23 in honor of the birthday of Carl Linnaeus, a renowned botantist and physician who developed our modern binomial classification system for naming organisms by their genus and species names.

Below are the top 10 new species for 2016.

Giant Tortoise (Chelonoidis donfaustol). Image Credit: Adalgisa Caccone.

1. Giant Tortoise (Chelonoidis donfaustol). A distinct species of giant tortoise was discovered on the island of Santa Cruz in the Galapagos off the coast of Ecuador.

Giant Sundew (Drosera magnifica). Image Credit: Paulo M. Gonella.

2. Giant Sundew (Drosera magnifica). The giant sundew is a carnivorous plant that was discovered on top of a mountain in Brazil. Photographs posted to Facebook helped to spur its recognition as a new species.

Hominin (Homo naledi). Image Credit: John Hawks, Wits University.

3. Hominin (Homo naledi). Scientists identified this new species of hominin through fossil remains uncovered in South Africa. Their size and weight were similar to that of modern humans.

Isopod (Iuiuniscus iuiuensis). Image Credit: Souza, Ferreira, and Senna.

4. Isopod (Iuiuniscus iuiuensis). This new species of crustacean was discovered in a cave in Brazil. It builds shelters out of mud.

Anglerfish (Lasiognathus dinema). Image Credit: Theodore W. Pietsch, University of Washington.

5. Anglerfish (Lasiognathus dinema). This small fish was discovered in the Gulf of Mexico.

Seadragon (Phyllopteryx dewysea). Image Credit: Josefin Stiller, Nerida Wilson, and Greg Rouse.

6. Seadragon (Phyllopteryx dewysea). This new species of seadragon was discovered off the coast of western Australia. There are only three known species of seadragons, which are close relatives of seahorses.

Tiny Beetle (Phytotelmatrichis osopaddington). Image Credit: Michael Darby.

7. Tiny Beetle (Phytotelmatrichis osopaddington). This species was discovered in Peru. The beetles are only about 1 millimeter in length. They were named after Paddington Bear, a well known character from children’s literature who also hailed from Peru.

Primate (Pliobates cataloniae). Image Credit: Marta Palmero, Institut Catalá de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont (ICP).

8. Primate (Pliobates cataloniae). This new species of ape was discovered through fossil remains uncovered in Spain. The ape is thought to have lived 11.6 million years ago.

Flowering Tree (Sirdavidia solannona). Image Credit: Thomas Couvreur.

9. Flowering Tree (Sirdavidia solannona). This new species of tree was discovered nearby the main road that runs through Africa’s Monts de Cristal National Park in Gabon.

Sparklewing Damselfly (Umma gumma). Image Credit: Jens Kipping.

10. Sparklewing Damselfly (Umma gumma). This species is just one of dozens of new species of damselflies and dragonflies that were discovered in Gabon. It was named after the 1969 Pink Floyd album Ummagumma, which is also a slang word for sex.

You can read more about each of these species at the link here.

The top 10 new species lists have been released by IISE every year since 2008. IISE is located in Syracuse, New York. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF).

Quentin Wheeler, director of the IISE and president of ESF, commented on this year’s list in a statement. He said:

In the past half-century we have come to recognize that species are going extinct at an alarming rate. It is time that we accelerate species exploration, too. Knowledge of what species exist, where they live, and what they do will help mitigate the biodiversity crisis and archive evidence of the life on our planet that does disappear in the wild.

Bottom line: The International Institute for Species Exploration (IISE) compiles a top 10 new species list of notable discoveries that were made during the previous year. This year’s list includes a seadragon, a carnivorous sundew plant, and a hominin that was discovered through fossilized remains.

Extraordinary fossil find sheds light on duck-billed dinosaurs

Another wave of bird extinctions in the Americas?

from EarthSky http://ift.tt/1TTWMtA

Image via IISE.

Scientists think that there may be roughly 10 million species on Earth, but only about 2 million species have been identified and named. Each year, scientists add the names of thousands of new species to taxonomic lists that catalog the diversity of life. To celebrate this feat, the International Institute for Species Exploration (IISE) compiles a top 10 new species list of notable discoveries that were made during the previous year. The annual list is released on May 23 in honor of the birthday of Carl Linnaeus, a renowned botantist and physician who developed our modern binomial classification system for naming organisms by their genus and species names.

Below are the top 10 new species for 2016.

Giant Tortoise (Chelonoidis donfaustol). Image Credit: Adalgisa Caccone.

1. Giant Tortoise (Chelonoidis donfaustol). A distinct species of giant tortoise was discovered on the island of Santa Cruz in the Galapagos off the coast of Ecuador.

Giant Sundew (Drosera magnifica). Image Credit: Paulo M. Gonella.

2. Giant Sundew (Drosera magnifica). The giant sundew is a carnivorous plant that was discovered on top of a mountain in Brazil. Photographs posted to Facebook helped to spur its recognition as a new species.

Hominin (Homo naledi). Image Credit: John Hawks, Wits University.

3. Hominin (Homo naledi). Scientists identified this new species of hominin through fossil remains uncovered in South Africa. Their size and weight were similar to that of modern humans.

Isopod (Iuiuniscus iuiuensis). Image Credit: Souza, Ferreira, and Senna.

4. Isopod (Iuiuniscus iuiuensis). This new species of crustacean was discovered in a cave in Brazil. It builds shelters out of mud.

Anglerfish (Lasiognathus dinema). Image Credit: Theodore W. Pietsch, University of Washington.

5. Anglerfish (Lasiognathus dinema). This small fish was discovered in the Gulf of Mexico.

Seadragon (Phyllopteryx dewysea). Image Credit: Josefin Stiller, Nerida Wilson, and Greg Rouse.

6. Seadragon (Phyllopteryx dewysea). This new species of seadragon was discovered off the coast of western Australia. There are only three known species of seadragons, which are close relatives of seahorses.

Tiny Beetle (Phytotelmatrichis osopaddington). Image Credit: Michael Darby.

7. Tiny Beetle (Phytotelmatrichis osopaddington). This species was discovered in Peru. The beetles are only about 1 millimeter in length. They were named after Paddington Bear, a well known character from children’s literature who also hailed from Peru.

Primate (Pliobates cataloniae). Image Credit: Marta Palmero, Institut Catalá de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont (ICP).

8. Primate (Pliobates cataloniae). This new species of ape was discovered through fossil remains uncovered in Spain. The ape is thought to have lived 11.6 million years ago.

Flowering Tree (Sirdavidia solannona). Image Credit: Thomas Couvreur.

9. Flowering Tree (Sirdavidia solannona). This new species of tree was discovered nearby the main road that runs through Africa’s Monts de Cristal National Park in Gabon.

Sparklewing Damselfly (Umma gumma). Image Credit: Jens Kipping.

10. Sparklewing Damselfly (Umma gumma). This species is just one of dozens of new species of damselflies and dragonflies that were discovered in Gabon. It was named after the 1969 Pink Floyd album Ummagumma, which is also a slang word for sex.

You can read more about each of these species at the link here.

The top 10 new species lists have been released by IISE every year since 2008. IISE is located in Syracuse, New York. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF).

Quentin Wheeler, director of the IISE and president of ESF, commented on this year’s list in a statement. He said:

In the past half-century we have come to recognize that species are going extinct at an alarming rate. It is time that we accelerate species exploration, too. Knowledge of what species exist, where they live, and what they do will help mitigate the biodiversity crisis and archive evidence of the life on our planet that does disappear in the wild.

Bottom line: The International Institute for Species Exploration (IISE) compiles a top 10 new species list of notable discoveries that were made during the previous year. This year’s list includes a seadragon, a carnivorous sundew plant, and a hominin that was discovered through fossilized remains.

Extraordinary fossil find sheds light on duck-billed dinosaurs

Another wave of bird extinctions in the Americas?

from EarthSky http://ift.tt/1TTWMtA