Everything you need to know: Perseid meteor shower

In the Northern Hemisphere, the annual August Perseid meteor shower probably ranks as the all-time favorite meteor shower of the year. This major shower takes place during the lazy, hazy days of summer, when many families are on vacation. And what could be more luxurious than taking a siesta in the heat of the day and watching this summertime classic in the relative coolness of night? No matter where you live worldwide, the 2015 Perseid meteor shower will probably be fine on the mornings of August 11, 12, 13 and 14, with the nod going to August 13. On a dark, moonless night, you can often see 50 or more meteors per hour from northerly latitudes, and from southerly latitudes in the Southern Hemisphere, perhaps about one-third that many meteors. Fortunately, in 2015, the waning crescent moon comes up shortly before sunrise, so you’re guaranteed of dark skies for this year’s Perseid meteor shower. Thus, on the Perseids’ peak mornings, moonlight will not obscure this year’s Perseid meteors. Follow the links below to learn more.

When and how should I watch the Perseid meteor shower in 2015?

General rules for Perseid-watching.

What’s the source of the Perseid meteor shower?

What is the radiant point for the Perseid meteor shower?

View larger. | Meteor seen at Acadia National Park during the 2012 Perseid meteor shower. Photo from EarthSky Facebook friend Jack Fusco Photography. See more from Jack here.

From mid-northern latitudes, the constellation Perseus, the stars Capella and Aldebaran, and the Pleiades cluster light up the northeast sky in the wee hours after midnight on August nights.

When and how should I watch the Perseid meteor shower in 2015? Don’t wait until the peak nights of the 2015 Perseid shower to watch for meteors this year. Start watching in the second week of August, when the Delta Aquarid meteor shower is rambling along steadily, reliably producing meteors each night. Then keep watching in the second week of August, when the Perseids are rising to a peak. The Perseid shower is known to rise gradually to a peak, then fall off rapidly afterwards. In early August (and even through the peak nights), you’ll see them combine with meteors from the Delta Aquarid shower. Overall, the meteors will be increasing in number from early August onward, and better yet, the moonlight will diminish until the new moon on August 14, 2015.

Don’t rule out early evenings As a general rule, the Perseid meteors tend to be few and far between at nightfall and early evening. Yet, if fortune smiles upon you, you could catch an earthgrazer – a looooong, slow, colorful meteor traveling horizontally across the evening sky. Earthgrazer meteors are rare but most exciting and memorable, if you happen to spot one. Perseid earthgrazers can only appear at early to mid-evening, when the radiant point of the shower is close to the horizon.

As evening deepens into late night, and the meteor shower radiant climbs higher in the sky, more and more Perseid meteors streak the nighttime. The meteors don’t really start to pick up steam until after midnight, and usually don’t bombard the sky most abundantly until the wee hours before dawn. You may see 50 or so meteors per hour in a dark sky.

General rules for Perseid-watching. You need no special equipment to enjoy this nighttime spectacle. You don’t even have to know the constellations. But you’ll definitely want to find a dark, open sky to fully enjoy the show. It also helps to be a night owl. Give yourself at least an hour of observing time, for these meteors in meteor showers come in spurts and are interspersed with lulls.

An open sky is essential because these meteors fly across the sky in many different directions and in front of numerous constellations. If you trace the paths of the Perseid meteors backward, you’d find they come from a point in front of the constellation Perseus. But once again, you don’t need to know Perseus or any other constellation to watch this or any meteor shower.

Enjoy the comfort of a reclining lawn chair and look upward in a dark sky, far away from pesky artificial lights. Remember, your eyes can take as long as twenty minutes to truly adapt to the darkness of night. So don’t rush the process. All good things come to those who wait.

Earth encounters debris from comet, via AstroBob

An illustration from the 1872 Popular Science Monthly showing the intersection of Earth’s orbit with the orbital path of Comet Swift-Tuttle (Perseid meteoroid stream). Bits and pieces from this comet burn up in the Earth’s upper atmosphere as Perseid meteors.

What’s the source of the Perseid meteor shower? Every year, from around July 17 to August 24, our planet Earth crosses the orbital path of Comet Swift-Tuttle, the parent of the Perseid meteor shower. Debris from this comet litters the comet’s orbit, but we don’t really get into the thick of the comet rubble until after the first week of August. The bits and pieces from Comet Swift-Tuttle slam into the Earth’s upper atmosphere at some 210,000 kilometers (130,000 miles) per hour, lighting up the nighttime with fast-moving Perseid meteors. If our planet happens to pass through an unusually dense clump of meteoroids – comet rubble – we’ll see an elevated number of meteors. We can always hope!

Comet Swift-Tuttle has a very eccentric – oblong – orbit that takes this comet outside the orbit of Pluto when farthest from the sun, and inside the Earth’s orbit when closest to the sun. It orbits the sun in a period of about 133 years. Every time this comet passes through the inner solar system, the sun warms and softens up the ices in the comet, causing it to release fresh comet material into its orbital stream. Comet Swift-Tuttle last reached perihelion – closest point to the sun – in December 1992 and will do so next in July 2126.

Although the Perseid meteor shower gives us one of the more reliable productions of the year, the ins and outs of any meteor shower cannot be known with absolute certainty. Forecasting the time and intensity of any meteor shower’s peak – or multiple peaks – is akin to predicting the outcome of a sporting event. There’s always the element of surprise and uncertainty. Depending on the year, the shower can exceed, or fall shy, of expectation.

The swift-moving and often bright Perseid meteors frequently leave persistent trains – ionized gas trails lasting for a few moments after the meteor has already gone. Watch for these meteors to streak the nighttime in front of the age-old, lore-laden constellations from late night until dawn as we approach the second weekend in August. The Perseids should put out a few dozen meteors per hour in the wee hours of the mornings of August 11, 12 and 13.

The constellation Cassiopeia points out the famous Double Cluster in northern tip of the constellation Perseus. Faintly visible to the unaided eye on a dark night, it’s better viewed with an optical aid. The Double Cluster nearly marks the radiant of the Perseid meteor shower. Photo by Flickr user madmiked

The radiant point for the Perseid meteor shower is in the constellation Perseus. But you don’t have to find a shower’s radiant point to see meteors. Instead, the meteors will be flying in all parts of the sky.

What is the radiant point for the Perseid meteor shower? If you trace all the Perseid meteors backward, they all seem to come from the constellation Perseus, near the famous Double Cluster. Hence, the meteor shower is named in the honor of the constellation Perseus the Hero.

However, this is a chance alignment of the meteor shower radiant with the constellation Perseus. The stars in Perseus are light-years distant while these meteors burn up about 100 kilometers (60 miles) above the Earth’s surface. If any meteor survives its fiery plunge to hit the ground intact, the remaining portion is called a meteorite. Few – if any – meteors in meteor showers become meteorites, however, because of the flimsy nature of comet debris. Most meteorites are the remains of asteroids.

In ancient Greek star lore, Perseus is the son of the god Zeus and the mortal Danae. It is said that the Perseid shower commemorates the time when Zeus visited Danae, the mother of Perseus, in a shower of gold.

In our day and age of expanded artificial lighting, fewer and fewer people have actually seen the wonders of an inky black night sky. Why not make a date with the Perseid meteor shower and witness one of nature’s most remarkable sky shows?
Simply find a dark, open sky, enjoy the comfort of a reclining lawn chair and make a night of it!

Bottom line: The 2015 Perseid meteor shower will probably feature a good show on in the predawn hours of August 11, 12, 13 and 14, with the nod going to the morning of August 13. This year, the waning crescent moon coming up shortly before sunrise will not obtrude on this year’s Perseid meteors. That means you’ll want to watch for the Perseids, starting in the second week of August. The Perseid meteors won’t be as plentiful as they are at its peak around August 12-13, but a another shower, the Delta Aquarids, is also going on and adding to the mix.

Everything you need to know: Delta Aquarid meteor shower

from EarthSky http://ift.tt/15Sj88b

In the Northern Hemisphere, the annual August Perseid meteor shower probably ranks as the all-time favorite meteor shower of the year. This major shower takes place during the lazy, hazy days of summer, when many families are on vacation. And what could be more luxurious than taking a siesta in the heat of the day and watching this summertime classic in the relative coolness of night? No matter where you live worldwide, the 2015 Perseid meteor shower will probably be fine on the mornings of August 11, 12, 13 and 14, with the nod going to August 13. On a dark, moonless night, you can often see 50 or more meteors per hour from northerly latitudes, and from southerly latitudes in the Southern Hemisphere, perhaps about one-third that many meteors. Fortunately, in 2015, the waning crescent moon comes up shortly before sunrise, so you’re guaranteed of dark skies for this year’s Perseid meteor shower. Thus, on the Perseids’ peak mornings, moonlight will not obscure this year’s Perseid meteors. Follow the links below to learn more.

When and how should I watch the Perseid meteor shower in 2015?

General rules for Perseid-watching.

What’s the source of the Perseid meteor shower?

What is the radiant point for the Perseid meteor shower?

View larger. | Meteor seen at Acadia National Park during the 2012 Perseid meteor shower. Photo from EarthSky Facebook friend Jack Fusco Photography. See more from Jack here.

From mid-northern latitudes, the constellation Perseus, the stars Capella and Aldebaran, and the Pleiades cluster light up the northeast sky in the wee hours after midnight on August nights.

When and how should I watch the Perseid meteor shower in 2015? Don’t wait until the peak nights of the 2015 Perseid shower to watch for meteors this year. Start watching in the second week of August, when the Delta Aquarid meteor shower is rambling along steadily, reliably producing meteors each night. Then keep watching in the second week of August, when the Perseids are rising to a peak. The Perseid shower is known to rise gradually to a peak, then fall off rapidly afterwards. In early August (and even through the peak nights), you’ll see them combine with meteors from the Delta Aquarid shower. Overall, the meteors will be increasing in number from early August onward, and better yet, the moonlight will diminish until the new moon on August 14, 2015.

Don’t rule out early evenings As a general rule, the Perseid meteors tend to be few and far between at nightfall and early evening. Yet, if fortune smiles upon you, you could catch an earthgrazer – a looooong, slow, colorful meteor traveling horizontally across the evening sky. Earthgrazer meteors are rare but most exciting and memorable, if you happen to spot one. Perseid earthgrazers can only appear at early to mid-evening, when the radiant point of the shower is close to the horizon.

As evening deepens into late night, and the meteor shower radiant climbs higher in the sky, more and more Perseid meteors streak the nighttime. The meteors don’t really start to pick up steam until after midnight, and usually don’t bombard the sky most abundantly until the wee hours before dawn. You may see 50 or so meteors per hour in a dark sky.

General rules for Perseid-watching. You need no special equipment to enjoy this nighttime spectacle. You don’t even have to know the constellations. But you’ll definitely want to find a dark, open sky to fully enjoy the show. It also helps to be a night owl. Give yourself at least an hour of observing time, for these meteors in meteor showers come in spurts and are interspersed with lulls.

An open sky is essential because these meteors fly across the sky in many different directions and in front of numerous constellations. If you trace the paths of the Perseid meteors backward, you’d find they come from a point in front of the constellation Perseus. But once again, you don’t need to know Perseus or any other constellation to watch this or any meteor shower.

Enjoy the comfort of a reclining lawn chair and look upward in a dark sky, far away from pesky artificial lights. Remember, your eyes can take as long as twenty minutes to truly adapt to the darkness of night. So don’t rush the process. All good things come to those who wait.

Earth encounters debris from comet, via AstroBob

An illustration from the 1872 Popular Science Monthly showing the intersection of Earth’s orbit with the orbital path of Comet Swift-Tuttle (Perseid meteoroid stream). Bits and pieces from this comet burn up in the Earth’s upper atmosphere as Perseid meteors.

What’s the source of the Perseid meteor shower? Every year, from around July 17 to August 24, our planet Earth crosses the orbital path of Comet Swift-Tuttle, the parent of the Perseid meteor shower. Debris from this comet litters the comet’s orbit, but we don’t really get into the thick of the comet rubble until after the first week of August. The bits and pieces from Comet Swift-Tuttle slam into the Earth’s upper atmosphere at some 210,000 kilometers (130,000 miles) per hour, lighting up the nighttime with fast-moving Perseid meteors. If our planet happens to pass through an unusually dense clump of meteoroids – comet rubble – we’ll see an elevated number of meteors. We can always hope!

Comet Swift-Tuttle has a very eccentric – oblong – orbit that takes this comet outside the orbit of Pluto when farthest from the sun, and inside the Earth’s orbit when closest to the sun. It orbits the sun in a period of about 133 years. Every time this comet passes through the inner solar system, the sun warms and softens up the ices in the comet, causing it to release fresh comet material into its orbital stream. Comet Swift-Tuttle last reached perihelion – closest point to the sun – in December 1992 and will do so next in July 2126.

Although the Perseid meteor shower gives us one of the more reliable productions of the year, the ins and outs of any meteor shower cannot be known with absolute certainty. Forecasting the time and intensity of any meteor shower’s peak – or multiple peaks – is akin to predicting the outcome of a sporting event. There’s always the element of surprise and uncertainty. Depending on the year, the shower can exceed, or fall shy, of expectation.

The swift-moving and often bright Perseid meteors frequently leave persistent trains – ionized gas trails lasting for a few moments after the meteor has already gone. Watch for these meteors to streak the nighttime in front of the age-old, lore-laden constellations from late night until dawn as we approach the second weekend in August. The Perseids should put out a few dozen meteors per hour in the wee hours of the mornings of August 11, 12 and 13.

The constellation Cassiopeia points out the famous Double Cluster in northern tip of the constellation Perseus. Faintly visible to the unaided eye on a dark night, it’s better viewed with an optical aid. The Double Cluster nearly marks the radiant of the Perseid meteor shower. Photo by Flickr user madmiked

The radiant point for the Perseid meteor shower is in the constellation Perseus. But you don’t have to find a shower’s radiant point to see meteors. Instead, the meteors will be flying in all parts of the sky.

What is the radiant point for the Perseid meteor shower? If you trace all the Perseid meteors backward, they all seem to come from the constellation Perseus, near the famous Double Cluster. Hence, the meteor shower is named in the honor of the constellation Perseus the Hero.

However, this is a chance alignment of the meteor shower radiant with the constellation Perseus. The stars in Perseus are light-years distant while these meteors burn up about 100 kilometers (60 miles) above the Earth’s surface. If any meteor survives its fiery plunge to hit the ground intact, the remaining portion is called a meteorite. Few – if any – meteors in meteor showers become meteorites, however, because of the flimsy nature of comet debris. Most meteorites are the remains of asteroids.

In ancient Greek star lore, Perseus is the son of the god Zeus and the mortal Danae. It is said that the Perseid shower commemorates the time when Zeus visited Danae, the mother of Perseus, in a shower of gold.

In our day and age of expanded artificial lighting, fewer and fewer people have actually seen the wonders of an inky black night sky. Why not make a date with the Perseid meteor shower and witness one of nature’s most remarkable sky shows?
Simply find a dark, open sky, enjoy the comfort of a reclining lawn chair and make a night of it!

Bottom line: The 2015 Perseid meteor shower will probably feature a good show on in the predawn hours of August 11, 12, 13 and 14, with the nod going to the morning of August 13. This year, the waning crescent moon coming up shortly before sunrise will not obtrude on this year’s Perseid meteors. That means you’ll want to watch for the Perseids, starting in the second week of August. The Perseid meteors won’t be as plentiful as they are at its peak around August 12-13, but a another shower, the Delta Aquarids, is also going on and adding to the mix.

Everything you need to know: Delta Aquarid meteor shower

from EarthSky http://ift.tt/15Sj88b

Weekend Diversion: The Living Bridges Of India (Synopsis) [Starts With A Bang]

“Your problem is to bridge the gap which exists between where you are now and the goal you intend to reach.” –Earl Nightingale

When you think about the obstacles facing us in the world today, it’s easy to look to advances in technology as the panacea. If there are waterways that need crossing, you’ll build what architects have been telling us to build for generations — as Lucy Wainwright Roche would sing — a

Bridge.

But not all bridges are built the same.

Image credit: Flickr User Pratham Books.

In the state of Meghalaya, India, one of the wettest, rainiest places on Earth, the rivers flood during the rainy season and become impassable. But thanks to a very clever use of the indigenous rubber trees, Ficus Elastica, that grow there, natural bridges that strengthen themselves over time provide a way across… and a beautiful sight to boot.

Image credit: Léopold Lambert of http://ift.tt/1UgFyWH.

Check out the root bridges of India for our weekend diversion!

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

“Your problem is to bridge the gap which exists between where you are now and the goal you intend to reach.” –Earl Nightingale

When you think about the obstacles facing us in the world today, it’s easy to look to advances in technology as the panacea. If there are waterways that need crossing, you’ll build what architects have been telling us to build for generations — as Lucy Wainwright Roche would sing — a

Bridge.

But not all bridges are built the same.

Image credit: Flickr User Pratham Books.

In the state of Meghalaya, India, one of the wettest, rainiest places on Earth, the rivers flood during the rainy season and become impassable. But thanks to a very clever use of the indigenous rubber trees, Ficus Elastica, that grow there, natural bridges that strengthen themselves over time provide a way across… and a beautiful sight to boot.

Image credit: Léopold Lambert of http://ift.tt/1UgFyWH.

Check out the root bridges of India for our weekend diversion!

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

August 2015 guide to the five visible planets

Saturn is the only easy-to-see visible planet in August, 2015. The other four visible planets – Mercury, Venus, Mars and Jupiter – are obscured by the sun’s glare for much of the month. Read more

Saturn rules this month! And that’s very unusual, because Saturn is the faintest and least noticeable of the bright planets. So why is Saturn top dog in August, 2015? Only because Mercury, Venus, Mars and Jupiter – the other planets visible to the eye alone – all are hiding in the glare of evening or morning twilight throughout this month. Follow the links below to learn more.

Evening planets in August 2015

Brilliant Venus disappears in sunset glare by mid-August

Bright Jupiter lost in sunset glare in early August

Mercury up in evening twilight, best from Southern Hemisphere

Saturn easily visible from nightfall until late night

Morning planets in August 2015

Mars rises at – or shortly before – dawn

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Brilliant Venus disappears in sunset glare by mid-August. Venus – the brightest planet and third-brightest sky object overall (after the sun and moon) – moves out of the evening sky and into the morning sky in mid-August 2015. If you are blessed with an unobstructed horizon in the direction of sunrise, you’ll probably see Venus low in the eastern dawn (about an hour before sunrise) sometime during the last week of August 2015.

The real challenge is to see Venus in the west at evening dusk in early August. At mid-northern latitudes, Venus sets roughly 45 minutes after the sun, and at temperate latitudes in the Southern Hemisphere, Venus sets over an hour after sunset in early August. In other words, the Southern Hemisphere has the advantage over the Northern Hemisphere for catching Venus in the evening sky in the first part of the month.

Southerly latitudes might even see Venus with Jupiter and Mercury toward the end of the first week of August, though only for a brief while after sunset. Click here to find out more. Thereafter, Venus and Jupiter rapidly sink into the sun’s glare and disappears from the evening sky, while Mercury remains an evening object for the rest of the month.

By mid-August, Venus will be gone from our evening sky. It will pass between us and the sun on August 15.

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From the Northern Hemisphere, It’ll be extremely hard to see the planets Mercury, Venus and Jupiter sitting in the glare of evening twilight in early August 2015. All three planets follow the sun beneath the horizon before darkness falls. Read more

Bright Jupiter lost in sunset glare in early August. Jupiter shines more brilliantly than any star. It’s the second-brightest planet after Venus. Both Venus and Jupiter will transition over into the morning sky in August 2015.

In late June and early July, Venus and Jupiter staged their closest conjunction until August 27, 2016, and displayed a second – though less close – conjunction in the evening sky on July 31 – the same date as this year’s Blue Moon. After that, these two brilliant worlds will display their third and final conjunction of the year in the morning sky on October 26, 2015.

By a wonderful coincidence, as Venus and Jupiter showcase their final conjunction of the year – on October 26, 2015 – Venus will reach its greatest eastern (morning) elongation from the sun. Moreover, the year’s closest grouping of three planets – Venus, Mars and Jupiter – will also take place on October 26. That’s a big deal because the next planetary trio won’t occur again until January, 2021!

If you live in the Southern Hemisphere or the northern tropics, you might catch the conjunction of Jupiter and Mercury in the evening sky after sunset on August 6 or 7. Have binoculars on hand for the conjunction will take place near the horizon and in the murk of evening dusk. It’ll be their closest conjunction since May 22, 2012; and closer one won’t happen again until November 27, 2018.

Normally, if you have binoculars 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. In August of 2015, however, Jupiter’s moons will have a hard time competing with the sun’s glare.

These moons circle Jupiter around the Jovian equator. In cycles of six years, we view Jupiter’s equator edge-on. So, in 2015, we get 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.

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

The Southern Hemisphere has the advantage over the Northern Hemisphere for catching the conjunction of Mercury and Jupiter. In addition, southerly latitudes are more likely to spot Venus and Regulus, the constellation Leo’s brightest star. Read more.

Mercury up in evening twilight, best from Southern Hemisphere. Mercury is our solar system’s innermost planet and always stays near the sun in our sky. Mercury passed out of the morning sky and into the evening sky in July, 2015. Mercury will remain an evening object for an unusually long time – till the very end of September, 2015. It will be a real challenge to catch Mercury and Jupiter in conjunction at the end of the first week of August – especially from northerly latitudes.

Mercury and Jupiter after sunset on August 6 and 7?

For the Southern Hemisphere, August and September present Mercury’s best appearance in the evening sky for all 2015. By mid-August, Mercury will set about 90 minutes after the sun. By the month’s end, Mercury will set a whopping two hours after sunset, and Mercury’s great evening apparition will continue throughout the most of September – in the Southern Hemisphere and the northern tropics.

Those residing at northerly latitudes aren’t nearly as lucky. At mid-northern latitudes, Mercury sets a maximum of one hour after the sun in late August. Try scanning with binoculars in the glow of evening dusk.

At temperate latitudes in the Southern Hemisphere, this world actually sets after the end of evening twilight from about mid-August to mid-September. Look for Mercury over the sunset point on the horizon as dusk gives way to darkness. Click here to find out Mercury’s setting time in your sky, and for the time at which astronomical twilight ends.

Binoculars are always recommended to enhance sky views! Click here for recommended almanacs. They can help you know when Mercury sets in your sky.

Mercury will stay in the evening sky until September 30, 2015. Then it’ll pass into the morning sky, to give the Northern Hemisphere its best morning apparition of Mercury for the year.

Distances of the planets from the sun

As darkness gives way to the first stirrings of dawn on Tuesday, August 11, let the waning moon guide your eye to the Gemini stars, Castor and Pollux. The planet Mars may be difficult to catch so close to the horizon.

This is an excellent time to see Saturn in the night sky, since Earth recently passed between it and the sun. Photo taken June 13, 2015 by John Nelson at Puget Sound, Washington. Thanks, John!

The moon moves eastward relative to the background stars and planets of the Zodiac. The dark side of the waxing moon points eastward – in the moon’s direction of of travel. The green line depicts the ecliptic – Earth’s orbital plane projected onto the constellations of the Zodiac.

Saturn easily visible from nightfall until late night. Throughout August 2015, the golden planet Saturn comes out at nightfall. Depending on where you live worldwide, Saturn sets at late evening or after midnight.

Watch for the moon to shine close to Saturn (and the star Antares) on August 21, August 22 and August 23.

Binoculars don’t reveal Saturn’s gorgeous rings. For that, you need a small telescope.

Saturn’s rings are inclined at about 24^o from edge-on in August 2015, exhibiting their northern face. A few years from now, 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.

Mars rises at – or shortly before – dawn. Mars passed into the morning sky on June 14, 2015. Most likely, you won’t see Mars before sunrise until after the first week of August at mid-northern latitudes, or not until September at temperate latitudes in the Southern Hemisphere. Try using the moon to guide your eye to Mars before sunrise on August 11 and 12. Binoculars may be helpful!

Mars will be easier to see in late August and September. By that time, Mars will rise sooner before sunrise and be higher up at dawn. Plus the dazzling planet Venus will be fairly close to Mars, enabling you to use Venus to locate the red planet Mars.

What do we mean by visible planet? By visible 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 visible planets are Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. These planets are visible in our sky because their disks reflect sunlight, and these relatively nearby worlds tend to shine with a steadier light than the distant, twinkling stars. They tend to be bright! You can spot them, and come to know them as faithful friends, if you try.

Bottom line: Saturn is the dominant planet in August, 2015. Four of the five visible planets – Mercury, Venus, Mars and Jupiter – hide in the glare of evening or morning twilight.

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!

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.

View larger.| Venus near the setting sun on November 18, 2014 by Helio de Carvalho Vital in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He wrote, “I managed to capture Venus as it is starting its return to dusk, despite the fact that it is still at a mere 6.2° distance from the sun. The photos show it a few minutes before setting behind the northern side of the 1,021-meter high Tijuca Peak, located some 6.5 km away. It was deeply immersed in the intense glare of the sun, that would set some 13 minutes later.”

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.

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from EarthSky http://ift.tt/IJfHCr

Saturn is the only easy-to-see visible planet in August, 2015. The other four visible planets – Mercury, Venus, Mars and Jupiter – are obscured by the sun’s glare for much of the month. Read more

Saturn rules this month! And that’s very unusual, because Saturn is the faintest and least noticeable of the bright planets. So why is Saturn top dog in August, 2015? Only because Mercury, Venus, Mars and Jupiter – the other planets visible to the eye alone – all are hiding in the glare of evening or morning twilight throughout this month. Follow the links below to learn more.

Evening planets in August 2015

Brilliant Venus disappears in sunset glare by mid-August

Bright Jupiter lost in sunset glare in early August

Mercury up in evening twilight, best from Southern Hemisphere

Saturn easily visible from nightfall until late night

Morning planets in August 2015

Mars rises at – or shortly before – dawn

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Brilliant Venus disappears in sunset glare by mid-August. Venus – the brightest planet and third-brightest sky object overall (after the sun and moon) – moves out of the evening sky and into the morning sky in mid-August 2015. If you are blessed with an unobstructed horizon in the direction of sunrise, you’ll probably see Venus low in the eastern dawn (about an hour before sunrise) sometime during the last week of August 2015.

The real challenge is to see Venus in the west at evening dusk in early August. At mid-northern latitudes, Venus sets roughly 45 minutes after the sun, and at temperate latitudes in the Southern Hemisphere, Venus sets over an hour after sunset in early August. In other words, the Southern Hemisphere has the advantage over the Northern Hemisphere for catching Venus in the evening sky in the first part of the month.

Southerly latitudes might even see Venus with Jupiter and Mercury toward the end of the first week of August, though only for a brief while after sunset. Click here to find out more. Thereafter, Venus and Jupiter rapidly sink into the sun’s glare and disappears from the evening sky, while Mercury remains an evening object for the rest of the month.

By mid-August, Venus will be gone from our evening sky. It will pass between us and the sun on August 15.

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From the Northern Hemisphere, It’ll be extremely hard to see the planets Mercury, Venus and Jupiter sitting in the glare of evening twilight in early August 2015. All three planets follow the sun beneath the horizon before darkness falls. Read more

Bright Jupiter lost in sunset glare in early August. Jupiter shines more brilliantly than any star. It’s the second-brightest planet after Venus. Both Venus and Jupiter will transition over into the morning sky in August 2015.

In late June and early July, Venus and Jupiter staged their closest conjunction until August 27, 2016, and displayed a second – though less close – conjunction in the evening sky on July 31 – the same date as this year’s Blue Moon. After that, these two brilliant worlds will display their third and final conjunction of the year in the morning sky on October 26, 2015.

By a wonderful coincidence, as Venus and Jupiter showcase their final conjunction of the year – on October 26, 2015 – Venus will reach its greatest eastern (morning) elongation from the sun. Moreover, the year’s closest grouping of three planets – Venus, Mars and Jupiter – will also take place on October 26. That’s a big deal because the next planetary trio won’t occur again until January, 2021!

If you live in the Southern Hemisphere or the northern tropics, you might catch the conjunction of Jupiter and Mercury in the evening sky after sunset on August 6 or 7. Have binoculars on hand for the conjunction will take place near the horizon and in the murk of evening dusk. It’ll be their closest conjunction since May 22, 2012; and closer one won’t happen again until November 27, 2018.

Normally, if you have binoculars 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. In August of 2015, however, Jupiter’s moons will have a hard time competing with the sun’s glare.

These moons circle Jupiter around the Jovian equator. In cycles of six years, we view Jupiter’s equator edge-on. So, in 2015, we get 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.

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

The Southern Hemisphere has the advantage over the Northern Hemisphere for catching the conjunction of Mercury and Jupiter. In addition, southerly latitudes are more likely to spot Venus and Regulus, the constellation Leo’s brightest star. Read more.

Mercury up in evening twilight, best from Southern Hemisphere. Mercury is our solar system’s innermost planet and always stays near the sun in our sky. Mercury passed out of the morning sky and into the evening sky in July, 2015. Mercury will remain an evening object for an unusually long time – till the very end of September, 2015. It will be a real challenge to catch Mercury and Jupiter in conjunction at the end of the first week of August – especially from northerly latitudes.

Mercury and Jupiter after sunset on August 6 and 7?

For the Southern Hemisphere, August and September present Mercury’s best appearance in the evening sky for all 2015. By mid-August, Mercury will set about 90 minutes after the sun. By the month’s end, Mercury will set a whopping two hours after sunset, and Mercury’s great evening apparition will continue throughout the most of September – in the Southern Hemisphere and the northern tropics.

Those residing at northerly latitudes aren’t nearly as lucky. At mid-northern latitudes, Mercury sets a maximum of one hour after the sun in late August. Try scanning with binoculars in the glow of evening dusk.

At temperate latitudes in the Southern Hemisphere, this world actually sets after the end of evening twilight from about mid-August to mid-September. Look for Mercury over the sunset point on the horizon as dusk gives way to darkness. Click here to find out Mercury’s setting time in your sky, and for the time at which astronomical twilight ends.

Binoculars are always recommended to enhance sky views! Click here for recommended almanacs. They can help you know when Mercury sets in your sky.

Mercury will stay in the evening sky until September 30, 2015. Then it’ll pass into the morning sky, to give the Northern Hemisphere its best morning apparition of Mercury for the year.

Distances of the planets from the sun

As darkness gives way to the first stirrings of dawn on Tuesday, August 11, let the waning moon guide your eye to the Gemini stars, Castor and Pollux. The planet Mars may be difficult to catch so close to the horizon.

This is an excellent time to see Saturn in the night sky, since Earth recently passed between it and the sun. Photo taken June 13, 2015 by John Nelson at Puget Sound, Washington. Thanks, John!

The moon moves eastward relative to the background stars and planets of the Zodiac. The dark side of the waxing moon points eastward – in the moon’s direction of of travel. The green line depicts the ecliptic – Earth’s orbital plane projected onto the constellations of the Zodiac.

Saturn easily visible from nightfall until late night. Throughout August 2015, the golden planet Saturn comes out at nightfall. Depending on where you live worldwide, Saturn sets at late evening or after midnight.

Watch for the moon to shine close to Saturn (and the star Antares) on August 21, August 22 and August 23.

Binoculars don’t reveal Saturn’s gorgeous rings. For that, you need a small telescope.

Saturn’s rings are inclined at about 24^o from edge-on in August 2015, exhibiting their northern face. A few years from now, 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.

Mars rises at – or shortly before – dawn. Mars passed into the morning sky on June 14, 2015. Most likely, you won’t see Mars before sunrise until after the first week of August at mid-northern latitudes, or not until September at temperate latitudes in the Southern Hemisphere. Try using the moon to guide your eye to Mars before sunrise on August 11 and 12. Binoculars may be helpful!

Mars will be easier to see in late August and September. By that time, Mars will rise sooner before sunrise and be higher up at dawn. Plus the dazzling planet Venus will be fairly close to Mars, enabling you to use Venus to locate the red planet Mars.

What do we mean by visible planet? By visible 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 visible planets are Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. These planets are visible in our sky because their disks reflect sunlight, and these relatively nearby worlds tend to shine with a steadier light than the distant, twinkling stars. They tend to be bright! You can spot them, and come to know them as faithful friends, if you try.

Bottom line: Saturn is the dominant planet in August, 2015. Four of the five visible planets – Mercury, Venus, Mars and Jupiter – hide in the glare of evening or morning twilight.

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!

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.

View larger.| Venus near the setting sun on November 18, 2014 by Helio de Carvalho Vital in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He wrote, “I managed to capture Venus as it is starting its return to dusk, despite the fact that it is still at a mere 6.2° distance from the sun. The photos show it a few minutes before setting behind the northern side of the 1,021-meter high Tijuca Peak, located some 6.5 km away. It was deeply immersed in the intense glare of the sun, that would set some 13 minutes later.”

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

“like being inside Hansens head” [Stoat]

One of my favourite journal-club comments, from back in the days when I did science, about a previous Hansen paper that failed to find favour. I’m hoping to actually read the Hansen Noveau, and hopeful that it isn’t just old wine in new bottles, but first a brief comment about comment policy. Blogs without a comment policy but with any degree of popularity tend to have a comment section full of mush. So what of the EGU open review journals? Generally, they’re saved by lack of popularity, but as Tamino points out, one of the recent comments is just raving nutjobbery. Revkin, in his much-updated article on the storm, posts an explanation of the policy from Ulrich Pöschl, Chief-Executive Editor of Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics:

To keep the peer review process efficient and avoid diluting the scientific discussion, only members of the scientific community are invited to post expert comments in the scientific discussion forums of the EGU interactive open access journals. People from outside the scientific community are welcome to read and follow the public review and discussion in the scientific discussion forums, but should pursue further (non-expert) discussions in other more appropriate venues (blogs etc.). Speaking informally: “scientific community” can be broadly defined as scientific researchers with an expert knowledge on the subject of the study under discussion…

Which seems clear enough. So why hasn’t the drivel from Nabil Swedan been deleted, then? Perhaps a blogger or bloggers with a known close connection with the EGU journals might comment?

(I’m just back from holiday, BTW)

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

One of my favourite journal-club comments, from back in the days when I did science, about a previous Hansen paper that failed to find favour. I’m hoping to actually read the Hansen Noveau, and hopeful that it isn’t just old wine in new bottles, but first a brief comment about comment policy. Blogs without a comment policy but with any degree of popularity tend to have a comment section full of mush. So what of the EGU open review journals? Generally, they’re saved by lack of popularity, but as Tamino points out, one of the recent comments is just raving nutjobbery. Revkin, in his much-updated article on the storm, posts an explanation of the policy from Ulrich Pöschl, Chief-Executive Editor of Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics:

To keep the peer review process efficient and avoid diluting the scientific discussion, only members of the scientific community are invited to post expert comments in the scientific discussion forums of the EGU interactive open access journals. People from outside the scientific community are welcome to read and follow the public review and discussion in the scientific discussion forums, but should pursue further (non-expert) discussions in other more appropriate venues (blogs etc.). Speaking informally: “scientific community” can be broadly defined as scientific researchers with an expert knowledge on the subject of the study under discussion…

Which seems clear enough. So why hasn’t the drivel from Nabil Swedan been deleted, then? Perhaps a blogger or bloggers with a known close connection with the EGU journals might comment?

(I’m just back from holiday, BTW)

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

Should babies be screened for autism risk?

Karen Rommelfanger, neuroethics program director at the Emory Center for Ethics, co-wrote an opinion piece for The Conversation with Jennifer Sarrett, lecturer at Emory's Center for the Study of Human Health. Below is an excerpt:

For children with autism, early intervention is critical. Therapies and education – especially in the first two years of life – can facilitate a child’s social development, reduce familial stress and ultimately improve quality of life.

But while we can reliably diagnose autism spectrum disorder (ASD) at 24 months, most children are diagnosed much later. This is largely due to a lack of resources, poor adherence to screening guidelines and the fact that primary care physicians are often uncomfortable talking about autism risk to parents.

But what if we could use a simple, routine test to screen every baby for autism? It’s not as far-fetched as it sounds. Larger-scale clinical trials for an eye-tracking device that could be used to predict autism are slated to begin this year. This presents a new and unique set of ethical concerns.

Technologies that predict the possibility of a neurological disorder have the weight of affecting conceptions of not just "what" these children have but "who" these children will become. As a neuroethicist and autism researcher, we believe it is time to have a conversation about these technologies, and what it will mean for parents and children or for people with autism.

Many researchers have found that autistic children prefer to look at different things than typically developing children. This is called gaze preference. In fact, gaze preference changes can be detected prior to the onset of autism. Researchers have been using eye-tracking devices to record where babies gaze when viewing videos of social scenes. And they have been using this device not to diagnose autism, but to predict autism.

A 2013 study using an eye-tracking device found that differences in gaze preference can be detected in infants as young as two months. When viewing videos, the infants who look at mouths more than eyes and objects more than people are more likely to later be diagnosed with autism. These infants experienced a decline in attention to other people’s eyes.

The researchers from this study are working to replicate these findings in larger studies and are heading up the development of the eye-tracking device slated for clinical trials this year, and should the trials be successful, researchers will seek FDA approval for the device.

Read the whole article in The Conversation.

from eScienceCommons http://ift.tt/1MEpfAQ

Karen Rommelfanger, neuroethics program director at the Emory Center for Ethics, co-wrote an opinion piece for The Conversation with Jennifer Sarrett, lecturer at Emory's Center for the Study of Human Health. Below is an excerpt:

For children with autism, early intervention is critical. Therapies and education – especially in the first two years of life – can facilitate a child’s social development, reduce familial stress and ultimately improve quality of life.

But while we can reliably diagnose autism spectrum disorder (ASD) at 24 months, most children are diagnosed much later. This is largely due to a lack of resources, poor adherence to screening guidelines and the fact that primary care physicians are often uncomfortable talking about autism risk to parents.

But what if we could use a simple, routine test to screen every baby for autism? It’s not as far-fetched as it sounds. Larger-scale clinical trials for an eye-tracking device that could be used to predict autism are slated to begin this year. This presents a new and unique set of ethical concerns.

Technologies that predict the possibility of a neurological disorder have the weight of affecting conceptions of not just "what" these children have but "who" these children will become. As a neuroethicist and autism researcher, we believe it is time to have a conversation about these technologies, and what it will mean for parents and children or for people with autism.

Many researchers have found that autistic children prefer to look at different things than typically developing children. This is called gaze preference. In fact, gaze preference changes can be detected prior to the onset of autism. Researchers have been using eye-tracking devices to record where babies gaze when viewing videos of social scenes. And they have been using this device not to diagnose autism, but to predict autism.

A 2013 study using an eye-tracking device found that differences in gaze preference can be detected in infants as young as two months. When viewing videos, the infants who look at mouths more than eyes and objects more than people are more likely to later be diagnosed with autism. These infants experienced a decline in attention to other people’s eyes.

The researchers from this study are working to replicate these findings in larger studies and are heading up the development of the eye-tracking device slated for clinical trials this year, and should the trials be successful, researchers will seek FDA approval for the device.

Read the whole article in The Conversation.

from eScienceCommons http://ift.tt/1MEpfAQ

2015 SkS Weekly News Roundup #31D

• Climate models are even more accurate than you thought
• Drought stunts tree growth for four years, study says
• Firefighter dies battling blaze as Gov. Brown declares state of emergency
• GOP leaders shift subtly on warming as Democrats talk boldly
• How battery-powered homes are unplugging Australia
• How cleaner cow burps could help fight climate change
• This app shows how climate change is affecting the world around you
• U.N.’s post-2015 development agenda under fire
• What changes to expect from Obama's final Clean Power Plan
• Will the "War on Science" in Canada become an election issue?

Climate models are even more accurate than you thought

Global climate models aren’t given nearly enough credit for their accurate global temperature change projections. As the 2014 IPCC report showed, observed global surface temperature changes have been within the range of climate model simulations.

Now a new study shows that the models were even more accurate than previously thought. In previous evaluations like the one done by the IPCC, climate model simulations of global surface air temperature were compared to global surface temperature observational records like HadCRUT4. However, over the oceans, HadCRUT4 uses sea surface temperatures rather than air temperatures.

Climate models are even more accurate than you thought by Dana Nuccitelli, Climate Consensus-the 97%, The Guardian, July 31, 2015

---

Drought stunts tree growth for four years, study says

Trees could take up to four years to return to normal growth rates in the aftermath of a severe drought, a new study finds. 

With the frequency and severity of droughts likely to increase with climate change, we might not be able to rely on forests to absorb as much of our carbon emissions, the researchers say.

Drought stunts tree growth for four years, study says by Robert McSweeney, The Carbon Brief, July 30, 2015

---

Firefighter dies battling blaze as Gov. Brown declares state of emergency

 Nearly 20 major wildfires raged across California on Saturday, forcing thousands to evacuate under smoke-darkened summer skies as firefighters struggled with an ominous drought-fueled fire season.

The dry conditions proved to be deadly on Friday. Officials announced that a U.S Forest Service firefighter, David Ruhl of Rapid City, S.D., died while battling the Frog Fire, an 800-acre blaze burning in far Northern California about 100 miles east of Mount Shasta.

“This loss of life is tragic and heartbreaking,” said Forest Supervisor Amanda McAdams. “Please keep the family and all of our Forest Service employees in your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time.”

The fires prompted Gov. Jerry Brown to declare a state of emergency Friday, which will free up additional firefighters and disaster response resources to combat the growing crisis.

Firefighter dies battling blaze as Gov. Brown declares state of emergency by Kurtis Alexander, Henry K. Lee and Hamed Aleaziz, SFGate, Aug 1, 2015

---

GOP leaders shift subtly on warming as Democrats talk boldly

It's not the seismic shift environmentalists hope to see one day, but there is evidence that a few Republicans both on and off the campaign trail are searching for a new language on climate change. GOP presidential contenders who hope to capture their party's moderate votes in the primaries — notably former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham — have made statements acknowledging the man-made climate change that voters, according to polls, believe is occurring.

In Bush's case, his "concern" was tempered by an even stronger concern for coal industry jobs, as he told a New Hampshire forum in April (ClimateWire, April 20). Graham has a longer history on climate change but shied away from talking about it for years after the carbon legislation he contributed to collapsed in 2010. Now he's back promising to "address climate change, CO2 emissions in a business-friendly way."

And not all of the messaging revisions are emanating from the campaign trail in Iowa and New Hampshire. 

GOP leaders shift subtly on warming as Democrats talk boldly by Jean Chemnick and Geof Koss, E&E Daily, July 30, 2015

---

How battery-powered homes are unplugging Australia

While the much-hyped Powerwall home battery system from Californian electric car pioneer Tesla Motors won't be available locally until 2016, lithium-ion batteries have been on offer to Australian homes and businesses for the last year or so.

High-tech, adaptable and controllable and typically the size of a small fridge, these systems have left clumsy and ugly lead acid batteries far behind.

Less than a week after the soft launch of the sleek Powerwall and larger Powerpack batteries in late April, Tesla was said to have sold out until mid-2016 after about $US800 million of orders for some 55,000 Powerwalls and 25,000 commercial units.

In Australia, the 1.4 million homes with rooftop solar panels are the battleground for battery providers and retailers. 

How battery-powered homes are unplugging Australia by Angela Macdonald-Smith, Sydney Morning Herald, Aug 1, 2015

---

How cleaner cow burps could help fight climate change

First, let’s get one thing straight. Despite what you may have heard, it is cow burps, not cow farts, that are the real climate change problem.

Here’s how it works: Cows digest their food in four-part stomachs, including a “rumen,” which is a site that allows for fermentation — a process that gives off a lot of carbon dioxide and methane gas, as microorganisms aid in the process of digestion. That gas has to get out of the cow’s body somehow — hence, burps. “Approximately 132 to 264 gallons of ruminal gas produced by fermentation are belched each day,” notes the Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences.

And because we have so many cows — where would human civilization be without them? — this really adds up. Indeed, according to the EPA, so-called “enteric fermentation” in cows and other ruminant animals, like sheep and goats, contributed 26 percent of the country’s total emissions of methane, a hard-hitting greenhouse gas with much greater short term warming consequences than carbon dioxide does (though the latter packs a far greater long-term punch).

How cleaner cow burps could help fight climate change by Chris Mooney, Energy & Environment, Washington Post, July 31, 2015

---

This app shows how climate change is affecting the world around you

You’ve heard about what climate change is doing the arctic and to the sea levels around the world. But sometimes it can be hard to understand what’s happening in your own backyard. A new app called Field Notes shows you just that.

The free app, manufactured by tech mapping company Esri, is part of a broader effort by the company to put data about people, climate and geography at your fingertips.

This app shows how climate change is affecting the world around you by Justin Worland, Time, July 30, 2015 

---

U.N.’s post-2015 development agenda under fire

The U.N.’s highly ambitious post-2015 development agenda, which is expected to be finalised shortly, has come fire even before it could get off the ground.

A global network of civil society organisations (CSOs), under the banner United Nations Major Groups (UNMG), has warned that the agenda, which includes 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), “lacks urgency, a clear implementation strategy and accountability.”

U.N.’s Post-2015 Development Agenda Under Fire Thalif Deen, Inter Press Service (iPS), July 29, 2015

---

What changes to expect from Obama's final Clean Power Plan

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will unveil as soon as Monday the final version of a sweeping - and controversial - regulation to cut carbon emissions from the electricity sector.

In its initial version, the Clean Power Plan called for cutting the country's power plant emissions 30 percent from 2005 levels by 2030, setting different targets for each state.

The proposal is the signature piece of President Barack Obama's climate change policy. White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough said this week that the final rule will be "stronger in many ways than the proposed rule."

What changes to expect from Obama's final Clean Power Plan by Valerie Volcovici, Reuters, July 31, 2015

---

Will the "War on Science" in Canada become an election issue?

The number of anti-science decisions the federal government has made in recent years is staggering: axing the long-form census, trying to shut down theExperimental Lakes Area, sending media relations personnel to accompany scientists at international conferences.

There are so many mindboggling instances, in fact, that the non-profit organization Evidence for Democracy has decided to create an interactive website to chronicle them all.

“Even for those of us who are following the issue closely, it’s still hard to keep track of it all,” says executive director Katie Gibbs.

“We were a little worried that if people hadn’t been following this from the get-go, they might think it’s just too complex or overwhelming of an issue to learn about this late in the game. We wanted this site to really be that entry point for people who haven’t been following it all along and see what has happened and why it matters.” 

Will the War on Science Become an Election Issue? by James Wilt, DeSmog Canada, July 31, 2015 

---

from Skeptical Science http://ift.tt/1ISdYx7

• Climate models are even more accurate than you thought
• Drought stunts tree growth for four years, study says
• Firefighter dies battling blaze as Gov. Brown declares state of emergency
• GOP leaders shift subtly on warming as Democrats talk boldly
• How battery-powered homes are unplugging Australia
• How cleaner cow burps could help fight climate change
• This app shows how climate change is affecting the world around you
• U.N.’s post-2015 development agenda under fire
• What changes to expect from Obama's final Clean Power Plan
• Will the "War on Science" in Canada become an election issue?

Climate models are even more accurate than you thought

Global climate models aren’t given nearly enough credit for their accurate global temperature change projections. As the 2014 IPCC report showed, observed global surface temperature changes have been within the range of climate model simulations.

Now a new study shows that the models were even more accurate than previously thought. In previous evaluations like the one done by the IPCC, climate model simulations of global surface air temperature were compared to global surface temperature observational records like HadCRUT4. However, over the oceans, HadCRUT4 uses sea surface temperatures rather than air temperatures.

Climate models are even more accurate than you thought by Dana Nuccitelli, Climate Consensus-the 97%, The Guardian, July 31, 2015

---

Drought stunts tree growth for four years, study says

Trees could take up to four years to return to normal growth rates in the aftermath of a severe drought, a new study finds. 

With the frequency and severity of droughts likely to increase with climate change, we might not be able to rely on forests to absorb as much of our carbon emissions, the researchers say.

Drought stunts tree growth for four years, study says by Robert McSweeney, The Carbon Brief, July 30, 2015

---

Firefighter dies battling blaze as Gov. Brown declares state of emergency

 Nearly 20 major wildfires raged across California on Saturday, forcing thousands to evacuate under smoke-darkened summer skies as firefighters struggled with an ominous drought-fueled fire season.

The dry conditions proved to be deadly on Friday. Officials announced that a U.S Forest Service firefighter, David Ruhl of Rapid City, S.D., died while battling the Frog Fire, an 800-acre blaze burning in far Northern California about 100 miles east of Mount Shasta.

“This loss of life is tragic and heartbreaking,” said Forest Supervisor Amanda McAdams. “Please keep the family and all of our Forest Service employees in your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time.”

The fires prompted Gov. Jerry Brown to declare a state of emergency Friday, which will free up additional firefighters and disaster response resources to combat the growing crisis.

Firefighter dies battling blaze as Gov. Brown declares state of emergency by Kurtis Alexander, Henry K. Lee and Hamed Aleaziz, SFGate, Aug 1, 2015

---

GOP leaders shift subtly on warming as Democrats talk boldly

It's not the seismic shift environmentalists hope to see one day, but there is evidence that a few Republicans both on and off the campaign trail are searching for a new language on climate change. GOP presidential contenders who hope to capture their party's moderate votes in the primaries — notably former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham — have made statements acknowledging the man-made climate change that voters, according to polls, believe is occurring.

In Bush's case, his "concern" was tempered by an even stronger concern for coal industry jobs, as he told a New Hampshire forum in April (ClimateWire, April 20). Graham has a longer history on climate change but shied away from talking about it for years after the carbon legislation he contributed to collapsed in 2010. Now he's back promising to "address climate change, CO2 emissions in a business-friendly way."

And not all of the messaging revisions are emanating from the campaign trail in Iowa and New Hampshire. 

GOP leaders shift subtly on warming as Democrats talk boldly by Jean Chemnick and Geof Koss, E&E Daily, July 30, 2015

---

How battery-powered homes are unplugging Australia

While the much-hyped Powerwall home battery system from Californian electric car pioneer Tesla Motors won't be available locally until 2016, lithium-ion batteries have been on offer to Australian homes and businesses for the last year or so.

High-tech, adaptable and controllable and typically the size of a small fridge, these systems have left clumsy and ugly lead acid batteries far behind.

Less than a week after the soft launch of the sleek Powerwall and larger Powerpack batteries in late April, Tesla was said to have sold out until mid-2016 after about $US800 million of orders for some 55,000 Powerwalls and 25,000 commercial units.

In Australia, the 1.4 million homes with rooftop solar panels are the battleground for battery providers and retailers. 

How battery-powered homes are unplugging Australia by Angela Macdonald-Smith, Sydney Morning Herald, Aug 1, 2015

---

How cleaner cow burps could help fight climate change

First, let’s get one thing straight. Despite what you may have heard, it is cow burps, not cow farts, that are the real climate change problem.

Here’s how it works: Cows digest their food in four-part stomachs, including a “rumen,” which is a site that allows for fermentation — a process that gives off a lot of carbon dioxide and methane gas, as microorganisms aid in the process of digestion. That gas has to get out of the cow’s body somehow — hence, burps. “Approximately 132 to 264 gallons of ruminal gas produced by fermentation are belched each day,” notes the Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences.

And because we have so many cows — where would human civilization be without them? — this really adds up. Indeed, according to the EPA, so-called “enteric fermentation” in cows and other ruminant animals, like sheep and goats, contributed 26 percent of the country’s total emissions of methane, a hard-hitting greenhouse gas with much greater short term warming consequences than carbon dioxide does (though the latter packs a far greater long-term punch).

How cleaner cow burps could help fight climate change by Chris Mooney, Energy & Environment, Washington Post, July 31, 2015

---

This app shows how climate change is affecting the world around you

You’ve heard about what climate change is doing the arctic and to the sea levels around the world. But sometimes it can be hard to understand what’s happening in your own backyard. A new app called Field Notes shows you just that.

The free app, manufactured by tech mapping company Esri, is part of a broader effort by the company to put data about people, climate and geography at your fingertips.

This app shows how climate change is affecting the world around you by Justin Worland, Time, July 30, 2015 

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U.N.’s post-2015 development agenda under fire

The U.N.’s highly ambitious post-2015 development agenda, which is expected to be finalised shortly, has come fire even before it could get off the ground.

A global network of civil society organisations (CSOs), under the banner United Nations Major Groups (UNMG), has warned that the agenda, which includes 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), “lacks urgency, a clear implementation strategy and accountability.”

U.N.’s Post-2015 Development Agenda Under Fire Thalif Deen, Inter Press Service (iPS), July 29, 2015

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What changes to expect from Obama's final Clean Power Plan

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will unveil as soon as Monday the final version of a sweeping - and controversial - regulation to cut carbon emissions from the electricity sector.

In its initial version, the Clean Power Plan called for cutting the country's power plant emissions 30 percent from 2005 levels by 2030, setting different targets for each state.

The proposal is the signature piece of President Barack Obama's climate change policy. White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough said this week that the final rule will be "stronger in many ways than the proposed rule."

What changes to expect from Obama's final Clean Power Plan by Valerie Volcovici, Reuters, July 31, 2015

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Will the "War on Science" in Canada become an election issue?

The number of anti-science decisions the federal government has made in recent years is staggering: axing the long-form census, trying to shut down theExperimental Lakes Area, sending media relations personnel to accompany scientists at international conferences.

There are so many mindboggling instances, in fact, that the non-profit organization Evidence for Democracy has decided to create an interactive website to chronicle them all.

“Even for those of us who are following the issue closely, it’s still hard to keep track of it all,” says executive director Katie Gibbs.

“We were a little worried that if people hadn’t been following this from the get-go, they might think it’s just too complex or overwhelming of an issue to learn about this late in the game. We wanted this site to really be that entry point for people who haven’t been following it all along and see what has happened and why it matters.” 

Will the War on Science Become an Election Issue? by James Wilt, DeSmog Canada, July 31, 2015 

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Interview: Latest research on the rate and extent of sea level rise [Greg Laden's Blog]

I did an interview with JD Goodwin at at Blue Streak Science. It is here. Great science podcast, check out their other items.

Here is the interview on iTunes.

from ScienceBlogs http://ift.tt/1M5eSqQ

I did an interview with JD Goodwin at at Blue Streak Science. It is here. Great science podcast, check out their other items.

Here is the interview on iTunes.

from ScienceBlogs http://ift.tt/1M5eSqQ