A district attorney embarrasses himself spewing antivaccine nonsense [Respectful Insolence]

Last night was one of those nights where I was working late because I was asked to do a panel discussion on breast cancer last night. Such are the perils of being a breast cancer expert, I guess. That doesn’t mean I don’t have time for an uncharacteristically brief notice of some particularly dumb bit of antivaccine nonsense. Just as I said in yesterday’s post, such things are like waving a cape in front of the proverbial bull. Even worse, it’s a lawyer. Let me just put it this way. When I discuss the law, I’m very circumspect. I’m not a lawyer, which means that I am acutely aware of my limitations with respect to pontificating on the law. As “Dirty Harry” Callahan (played by Clint Eastwood) said in the movie Magnum Force, “A man’s got to know his limitations.” I like to think I know mine. Clearly the lawyer featured in this story has failed to heed that wise advice:

Here’s what I mean:

Bexar County District Attorney Nico LaHood on Sunday screened a controversial documentary, “Vaxxed: From Cover-Up to Catastrophe,” linking childhood vaccines to autism at a local movie theater, according to a source who received an invitation.

Elected in 2014, LaHood also was videotaped sitting at his desk in his county office making a statement on the controversial topic.

“I’m Nico LaHood,” he said. “I’m the criminal district attorney in San Antonio, Texas. I’m here to tell you that vaccines can and do cause autism.”

Well, la-de-dah.

Am I supposed to be impressed by this. Let’s put it this way. The skills set necessary to analyze legal evidence is not the same skill set needed to analyze scientific evidence, particularly with respect to the question of whether vaccines cause autism. He even made a teaser video for the team behind VAXXED, you know, the antivaccine movie by Andrew Wakefield and Del Bigtree:

The video in which he appeared is so much like antivaccine videos I’ve deconstructed over the years and suffers from the same confusing of correlation with causation. LaHood himself views the movie like a trial against vaccines and seems quite impressed by the “evidence” it presents. Unfortunately, as tempting as it is for a lawyer and DA to see everything in legal terms, science doesn’t work that way. He goes on and on about how children seemingly regressing after vaccines is “strong circumstantial evidence.” Yes, perhaps, but in science circumstantial evidence isn’t enough. In reality what Mr. LaHood calls “strong circumstantial evidence” is what we in the medical biz call anecdotal, and, in science, unlike the case in law anecdotal evidence is the weakest form of evidence.

Sadly, Nico LaHood is confusing correlation with causation with his own child, as so many parents have done, and is now abusing his position of trust as District Attorney to promote the discredited notion that vaccines cause autism:

The next shot declares that “Niko’s (sic) Story” is “coming” on Tuesday, followed by a plug for the Vaxxed documentary.
LaHood acknowledged in an interview Monday that “this is not a politically correct opinion.”

“We had a very normally developed child, meeting all the marks as a child – walking, eye contact … and after his 18-month vaccination we had a very different child,” LaHood said. “And our story is not alone. I mean, there’s thousands of parents out there that have the same story. So my opinions are just my opinions as a daddy, as a husband who happens to be the DA.”

This daddy might happen to be the DA, but that doesn’t stop him from falling for the fallacy of confusing correlation with causation. Unfortunately, despite people trying to educate him as to the error of his ways, Mr. LaHood continues to double down. In fact, just yesterday he doubled down in a Facebook post:

Basically, in this post, Mr. LaHood urges “everyone” to view VAXXED. Bad choice. Unfortunately, that doesn’t stop Mr. LaHood from diving deep into antivaccine crankery in four points.

1. Parents educate yourselves for the sake of your precious children. Stay away from rhetoric and look at hard facts.

“Educate yourselves.” You keep using that term. I do not think it means what you think it means. Ditto the term “hard facts.” Whenever you see someone spewing antivaccine talking points telling you to “educate yourself,” what he really means is to read websites like NaturalNews.com, Mercola.com, Age of Autism, and other antivaccine websites to imbibe antivaccine pseudoscience and conspiracy theories.

Let’s see what Mr. LaHood has to say next:

2. Let doctors be doctors. They should be able to take a position for or against vaccines. It is a shame that, if they do not support vaccinations, they are ostracized, slandered, and chastised by licensing boards and certain segments of the public.

Silly DA. There’s a reason why doctors who don’t suport vaccination are ostracized. It’s because they have betrayed their profession. Why? Doctors are expected to follow professional standards In pediatrics, there is no “anti-” position when it comes to vaccines, at least not in any responsible medical society. Doctors who do not vaccinate are not practicing according to the standard of care, at the very minimum, in the process endangering their patients.

3. Do not force vaccines on our parents. Keep exemptions and parents rights alive. It should be a parents choice “if” and “when” they will vaccinate.

Ah, yes. the old “parental rights” argument. Here’s the problem with that. Children are not the property of their parents. They are autonomous beings who have their own rights. Insofar as parents protect those rights and look out for the best interests, they are doing their job. However, failing to vaccinate is doing exactly the opposite of that, because vaccinating is almost always in the best interest of a child. The only exception is when a child has a medical condition that renders vaccination too risky; i.e., has a medical condition for which vaccination is contraindicated and thus rates a true medical exemption.

LaHood saves the most ignorant for last:

4. Ask your legislators to demand the same phase 1 safety studies that all pharmaceutical drugs go through. That is not happening with the vast majority of vaccines and no one is asking why. The CDC should be mandated to show us objective research that proves which position is right or wrong.

The stupid, it burns. It burns mightily and painfully. I feel sorry for the people of San Antonio to have such a ignorant dolt as their district attorney.

This is such a common myth among antivaccinationists—and, make no mistake, what LaHood is laying down is pure antivaccine talking points, particularly this one. This is one of those times where all I can do is to shrug and point Mr. LaHood to some links that describe the testing process for vaccines, which does include phase I clinical trials. (One wonders if Mr. LaHood even knows what a phase I clinical trial is.) He’s also risibly ignorant of how vaccines are approved.

The government already does require “objective research” to determine whether vaccines are safe and efficacious, It’s called the Food, Drug, and Cosmetics Act. just not how LaHood thinks. For one thing, it is the FDA, not the CDC, that approves vaccines, and vaccines go through the same approval process as any pharmaceutical. The CDC only selects among vaccines already approved by the FDA to include in its list of recommended vaccines. For a lawyer, Mr. LaHood is certainly ignorant of the law and regulations with respect to vaccines and pharmaceuticals.

LaHood concludes:

I will zealously defend our children. I will zealously defend the rights of parents to protect their children from something, they believe, may have a link to harming their children, unless it is proven otherwise. In the end, you have a right to vaccinate or not; it is your choice.

‘I will defend parents’ ‘rights’ to endanger children based on pseudoscience, fear mongering, and conspiracy theories. There, fixed that for ya.

LaHood does, however, preemptively play the victim:

Lastly, if anyone is going to criticize me for supporting the information contained in the documentary, Vaxxed, I humbly suggest they watch it first, then advocate an opinion. I’m happy to organize a public showing and discussion with anyone willing.

I have watched VAXXED. That’s why I know it’s antivaccine propaganda chock full of lies, misinformation, and pseudoscience presented so blatantly that it would make Leni Reifenstahl blush, were she still alive to see it. That a DA like Mr. LaHood would find the film so compelling does not speak well of his knowledge of science or, more importantly for his job, his critical thinking capabilities.

I can’t help but note that Tara Haelle found a rather interesting quote from Mr. LaHood about a grand jury proceeding regarding a man killed by police whom the grand jury declined to indict:

The code of criminal procedure restricts me from saying what was presented to the grand jury but let me tell you what our practice is. What the new culture is in this office. We present all evidence to the grand jury. We don’t cherry pick evidence. I don’t think that’s honorable,

One wonders, then, why Mr. LaHood doesn’t consider Andrew Wakefield and Del Bigtree to be completely without honor. Cherry picking evidence was their favored technique in making VAXXED. LaHood might call himself an “evidence guy,” but he’s clearly anything but. In the video, he expresses disbelief that anyone could watch VAXXED and conclude “they made it up.” Well, if you know the background, you can quickly recognize which parts of VAXXED are made up and which parts are dishonest spin. That’s about 95% of the movie. The movie’s so blatant that even people, film reviewers, with no special knowledge of vaccines could tell that Bigtree and Wakefield were laying down a load of fetid dingo’s kidneys, a pack of lies. Yet Mr. LaHood believed the movie and praises it.

The people of Bexar County and San Antonio are clearly poorly represented by this clown.

from ScienceBlogs http://ift.tt/2bSZZsh

Last night was one of those nights where I was working late because I was asked to do a panel discussion on breast cancer last night. Such are the perils of being a breast cancer expert, I guess. That doesn’t mean I don’t have time for an uncharacteristically brief notice of some particularly dumb bit of antivaccine nonsense. Just as I said in yesterday’s post, such things are like waving a cape in front of the proverbial bull. Even worse, it’s a lawyer. Let me just put it this way. When I discuss the law, I’m very circumspect. I’m not a lawyer, which means that I am acutely aware of my limitations with respect to pontificating on the law. As “Dirty Harry” Callahan (played by Clint Eastwood) said in the movie Magnum Force, “A man’s got to know his limitations.” I like to think I know mine. Clearly the lawyer featured in this story has failed to heed that wise advice:

Here’s what I mean:

Bexar County District Attorney Nico LaHood on Sunday screened a controversial documentary, “Vaxxed: From Cover-Up to Catastrophe,” linking childhood vaccines to autism at a local movie theater, according to a source who received an invitation.

Elected in 2014, LaHood also was videotaped sitting at his desk in his county office making a statement on the controversial topic.

“I’m Nico LaHood,” he said. “I’m the criminal district attorney in San Antonio, Texas. I’m here to tell you that vaccines can and do cause autism.”

Well, la-de-dah.

Am I supposed to be impressed by this. Let’s put it this way. The skills set necessary to analyze legal evidence is not the same skill set needed to analyze scientific evidence, particularly with respect to the question of whether vaccines cause autism. He even made a teaser video for the team behind VAXXED, you know, the antivaccine movie by Andrew Wakefield and Del Bigtree:

The video in which he appeared is so much like antivaccine videos I’ve deconstructed over the years and suffers from the same confusing of correlation with causation. LaHood himself views the movie like a trial against vaccines and seems quite impressed by the “evidence” it presents. Unfortunately, as tempting as it is for a lawyer and DA to see everything in legal terms, science doesn’t work that way. He goes on and on about how children seemingly regressing after vaccines is “strong circumstantial evidence.” Yes, perhaps, but in science circumstantial evidence isn’t enough. In reality what Mr. LaHood calls “strong circumstantial evidence” is what we in the medical biz call anecdotal, and, in science, unlike the case in law anecdotal evidence is the weakest form of evidence.

Sadly, Nico LaHood is confusing correlation with causation with his own child, as so many parents have done, and is now abusing his position of trust as District Attorney to promote the discredited notion that vaccines cause autism:

The next shot declares that “Niko’s (sic) Story” is “coming” on Tuesday, followed by a plug for the Vaxxed documentary.
LaHood acknowledged in an interview Monday that “this is not a politically correct opinion.”

“We had a very normally developed child, meeting all the marks as a child – walking, eye contact … and after his 18-month vaccination we had a very different child,” LaHood said. “And our story is not alone. I mean, there’s thousands of parents out there that have the same story. So my opinions are just my opinions as a daddy, as a husband who happens to be the DA.”

This daddy might happen to be the DA, but that doesn’t stop him from falling for the fallacy of confusing correlation with causation. Unfortunately, despite people trying to educate him as to the error of his ways, Mr. LaHood continues to double down. In fact, just yesterday he doubled down in a Facebook post:

Basically, in this post, Mr. LaHood urges “everyone” to view VAXXED. Bad choice. Unfortunately, that doesn’t stop Mr. LaHood from diving deep into antivaccine crankery in four points.

1. Parents educate yourselves for the sake of your precious children. Stay away from rhetoric and look at hard facts.

“Educate yourselves.” You keep using that term. I do not think it means what you think it means. Ditto the term “hard facts.” Whenever you see someone spewing antivaccine talking points telling you to “educate yourself,” what he really means is to read websites like NaturalNews.com, Mercola.com, Age of Autism, and other antivaccine websites to imbibe antivaccine pseudoscience and conspiracy theories.

Let’s see what Mr. LaHood has to say next:

2. Let doctors be doctors. They should be able to take a position for or against vaccines. It is a shame that, if they do not support vaccinations, they are ostracized, slandered, and chastised by licensing boards and certain segments of the public.

Silly DA. There’s a reason why doctors who don’t suport vaccination are ostracized. It’s because they have betrayed their profession. Why? Doctors are expected to follow professional standards In pediatrics, there is no “anti-” position when it comes to vaccines, at least not in any responsible medical society. Doctors who do not vaccinate are not practicing according to the standard of care, at the very minimum, in the process endangering their patients.

3. Do not force vaccines on our parents. Keep exemptions and parents rights alive. It should be a parents choice “if” and “when” they will vaccinate.

Ah, yes. the old “parental rights” argument. Here’s the problem with that. Children are not the property of their parents. They are autonomous beings who have their own rights. Insofar as parents protect those rights and look out for the best interests, they are doing their job. However, failing to vaccinate is doing exactly the opposite of that, because vaccinating is almost always in the best interest of a child. The only exception is when a child has a medical condition that renders vaccination too risky; i.e., has a medical condition for which vaccination is contraindicated and thus rates a true medical exemption.

LaHood saves the most ignorant for last:

4. Ask your legislators to demand the same phase 1 safety studies that all pharmaceutical drugs go through. That is not happening with the vast majority of vaccines and no one is asking why. The CDC should be mandated to show us objective research that proves which position is right or wrong.

The stupid, it burns. It burns mightily and painfully. I feel sorry for the people of San Antonio to have such a ignorant dolt as their district attorney.

This is such a common myth among antivaccinationists—and, make no mistake, what LaHood is laying down is pure antivaccine talking points, particularly this one. This is one of those times where all I can do is to shrug and point Mr. LaHood to some links that describe the testing process for vaccines, which does include phase I clinical trials. (One wonders if Mr. LaHood even knows what a phase I clinical trial is.) He’s also risibly ignorant of how vaccines are approved.

The government already does require “objective research” to determine whether vaccines are safe and efficacious, It’s called the Food, Drug, and Cosmetics Act. just not how LaHood thinks. For one thing, it is the FDA, not the CDC, that approves vaccines, and vaccines go through the same approval process as any pharmaceutical. The CDC only selects among vaccines already approved by the FDA to include in its list of recommended vaccines. For a lawyer, Mr. LaHood is certainly ignorant of the law and regulations with respect to vaccines and pharmaceuticals.

LaHood concludes:

I will zealously defend our children. I will zealously defend the rights of parents to protect their children from something, they believe, may have a link to harming their children, unless it is proven otherwise. In the end, you have a right to vaccinate or not; it is your choice.

‘I will defend parents’ ‘rights’ to endanger children based on pseudoscience, fear mongering, and conspiracy theories. There, fixed that for ya.

LaHood does, however, preemptively play the victim:

Lastly, if anyone is going to criticize me for supporting the information contained in the documentary, Vaxxed, I humbly suggest they watch it first, then advocate an opinion. I’m happy to organize a public showing and discussion with anyone willing.

I have watched VAXXED. That’s why I know it’s antivaccine propaganda chock full of lies, misinformation, and pseudoscience presented so blatantly that it would make Leni Reifenstahl blush, were she still alive to see it. That a DA like Mr. LaHood would find the film so compelling does not speak well of his knowledge of science or, more importantly for his job, his critical thinking capabilities.

I can’t help but note that Tara Haelle found a rather interesting quote from Mr. LaHood about a grand jury proceeding regarding a man killed by police whom the grand jury declined to indict:

The code of criminal procedure restricts me from saying what was presented to the grand jury but let me tell you what our practice is. What the new culture is in this office. We present all evidence to the grand jury. We don’t cherry pick evidence. I don’t think that’s honorable,

One wonders, then, why Mr. LaHood doesn’t consider Andrew Wakefield and Del Bigtree to be completely without honor. Cherry picking evidence was their favored technique in making VAXXED. LaHood might call himself an “evidence guy,” but he’s clearly anything but. In the video, he expresses disbelief that anyone could watch VAXXED and conclude “they made it up.” Well, if you know the background, you can quickly recognize which parts of VAXXED are made up and which parts are dishonest spin. That’s about 95% of the movie. The movie’s so blatant that even people, film reviewers, with no special knowledge of vaccines could tell that Bigtree and Wakefield were laying down a load of fetid dingo’s kidneys, a pack of lies. Yet Mr. LaHood believed the movie and praises it.

The people of Bexar County and San Antonio are clearly poorly represented by this clown.

from ScienceBlogs http://ift.tt/2bSZZsh

Neptune closest for year on September 1

Tonight – September 1, 2016 – Neptune comes closest to Earth for the year. It reaches opposition – when it is most opposite the sun from Earth for this year – on September 2. By closest, we don’t mean close. Neptune lodges in the outskirts of our solar system and at opposition lies 29 times farther away from Earth than Earth lies from our sun.

Neptune is said to be at opposition – opposite the sun in Earth’s sky – whenever our planet Earth in its orbit passes between the sun and Neptune. That’s what’s happening over the next couple of days.

Because we’re more or less between it and the sun around now, Neptune is rising in the east around the time of sunset, climbing highest up for the night around midnight and setting in the west around sunrise.

As viewed from Earth now, this world is in front of the constellation Aquarius the Water Carrier.

In 1989, NASA’s Voyager 2 became the first spacecraft to observe Neptune. More about this image and more photos from Voyager 1’s flyby.

Opposition is a special event. When any planet outside of Earth’s orbit is at or near opposition, Earth comes closest to that planet for the year, and that planet, in turn, shines most brightly in our sky. Even at opposition, however, Neptune, the eighth planet outward from the sun, is not all that close and it’s not all that bright.

In fact, Neptune is the only major solar system planet that’s absolutely not visible to the unaided eye. This world is about five times fainter than the dimmest star that you can see on an inky black night. You’ll need binoculars (at least) and a detailed sky chart to see Neptune in front of the constellation Aquarius.

Even at that, it’ll only look like a faint star. Many sky watchers will find the faint star Lambda Aquarii with the unaided eye and then star-hop to Neptune.

Neptune, the fourth-largest planet, is just a touch smaller than Uranus, the third-largest. You’d have to line up four Earths side by side to equal the diameter of either planet.

Okay, so it’s unlikely you’ll see Neptune unless you have optical aid and a detailed star chart. But there are four other planets in the evening sky now. First, look for the Saturn and Mars, as shown on the chart below.

It’s pretty easy to spot them anytime during the evening hours, that is, from sunset until a few hours later, as seen from around the globe.

You won’t need an optical aid to see the planets Mars and Saturn, plus the star Antares, on September 2016 evenings. They are all bright enough to see with the eye alone!

Now here are two more planets, which are a little tougher to see because they’re near the sunset. You have to look outside shortly after the sun goes down. On the other hand, Venus and Jupiter are the two brightest planets. Plus the moon is moving past them, beginning on September 2.

On September 2, 2016, the moon is near Jupiter, low in the west after sunset. Venus, 3rd-brightest sky object after sun and moon, might be your ticket to finding Jupiter (4th-brightest sky object). Or you might spot the moon first that night. From very northerly latitudes, bring your binoculars. The moon and Jupiter will be exceedingly near the sunset.

By September 3, 2016, the moon will be easy to see from all parts of Earth. It’ll still be near Venus and Jupiter, shortly after sunset. Look west!

Bottom line: On September 1, 2016, the Earth is about to swing in between the sun and Neptune. On this day, Neptune comes closest to Earth and shines at its brightest for the year. Yet … you’ll still need good binoculars on a tripod or a telescope to spot Neptune.

Uranus and Neptune finder charts for 2016 here

from EarthSky http://ift.tt/2cesTUU

Tonight – September 1, 2016 – Neptune comes closest to Earth for the year. It reaches opposition – when it is most opposite the sun from Earth for this year – on September 2. By closest, we don’t mean close. Neptune lodges in the outskirts of our solar system and at opposition lies 29 times farther away from Earth than Earth lies from our sun.

Neptune is said to be at opposition – opposite the sun in Earth’s sky – whenever our planet Earth in its orbit passes between the sun and Neptune. That’s what’s happening over the next couple of days.

Because we’re more or less between it and the sun around now, Neptune is rising in the east around the time of sunset, climbing highest up for the night around midnight and setting in the west around sunrise.

As viewed from Earth now, this world is in front of the constellation Aquarius the Water Carrier.

In 1989, NASA’s Voyager 2 became the first spacecraft to observe Neptune. More about this image and more photos from Voyager 1’s flyby.

Opposition is a special event. When any planet outside of Earth’s orbit is at or near opposition, Earth comes closest to that planet for the year, and that planet, in turn, shines most brightly in our sky. Even at opposition, however, Neptune, the eighth planet outward from the sun, is not all that close and it’s not all that bright.

In fact, Neptune is the only major solar system planet that’s absolutely not visible to the unaided eye. This world is about five times fainter than the dimmest star that you can see on an inky black night. You’ll need binoculars (at least) and a detailed sky chart to see Neptune in front of the constellation Aquarius.

Even at that, it’ll only look like a faint star. Many sky watchers will find the faint star Lambda Aquarii with the unaided eye and then star-hop to Neptune.

Neptune, the fourth-largest planet, is just a touch smaller than Uranus, the third-largest. You’d have to line up four Earths side by side to equal the diameter of either planet.

Okay, so it’s unlikely you’ll see Neptune unless you have optical aid and a detailed star chart. But there are four other planets in the evening sky now. First, look for the Saturn and Mars, as shown on the chart below.

It’s pretty easy to spot them anytime during the evening hours, that is, from sunset until a few hours later, as seen from around the globe.

You won’t need an optical aid to see the planets Mars and Saturn, plus the star Antares, on September 2016 evenings. They are all bright enough to see with the eye alone!

Now here are two more planets, which are a little tougher to see because they’re near the sunset. You have to look outside shortly after the sun goes down. On the other hand, Venus and Jupiter are the two brightest planets. Plus the moon is moving past them, beginning on September 2.

On September 2, 2016, the moon is near Jupiter, low in the west after sunset. Venus, 3rd-brightest sky object after sun and moon, might be your ticket to finding Jupiter (4th-brightest sky object). Or you might spot the moon first that night. From very northerly latitudes, bring your binoculars. The moon and Jupiter will be exceedingly near the sunset.

By September 3, 2016, the moon will be easy to see from all parts of Earth. It’ll still be near Venus and Jupiter, shortly after sunset. Look west!

Bottom line: On September 1, 2016, the Earth is about to swing in between the sun and Neptune. On this day, Neptune comes closest to Earth and shines at its brightest for the year. Yet … you’ll still need good binoculars on a tripod or a telescope to spot Neptune.

Uranus and Neptune finder charts for 2016 here

from EarthSky http://ift.tt/2cesTUU

No alien signal, says SETI astronomer

You might have read the stories this week about Russian astronomers detecting a possible “signal” from a star 94 light-years from Earth. The signal from sunlike star HD 164595 – said to be a very strong signal – spawned a flurry of speculation that, maybe, perhaps, at last, we’ve heard a signal from an alien civilization. In the video above, though, Seth Soshak of the SETI Institute says the signal has now been identified as being from a Russian military satellite.

Astronomer Yulia Sotnikova wrote in an update published today – August 31, 2016 – by the Special Astrophysical Observatory of the Russian Academy of Sciences:

Subsequent processing and analysis of the signal revealed its most probable terrestrial origin. It can be said with confidence that no sought-for signal has been detected yet.

Like many other stars in our Milky Way galaxy, the star HD 164595 looked promising as an abode for alien life. Italian astronomer Claudio Maccone and others had described it as:

… a strong candidate for SETI.

What did SETI astronomers think the signal might be?

If the signal had been artificial, its strength suggested that it came from an advanced civilization, at least a Type II on the Kardashev scale, which astronomers have been talking about and speculating about for decades. The Kardashev scale – originally designed in 1964 by the Russian astrophysicist Nikolai Kardashev – is a lot of fun to think about. It’s a way of imagining a civilization’s level of technological advancement, based on the amount of energy it’s able to harness.

We humans on Earth, for example, represent a Type I civilization – sometimes called planetary civilization. We have the technology to use and store energy from our sun that strikes our world’s surface, or nearby space.

A Type II civilization can do much more. It has the capability to harness the energy of the entire star. The device used to do this is called a Dyson sphere. It’s basically a big sphere built around a star that can capture its energy. Read more about Dyson spheres here.

As early as yesterday, those with technical backgrounds were already urging caution on the idea that the signal apparently from HD 164595 was a sign of aliens. On the website SETI@home, someone (apparently an astronomer) commented:

I was one of the many people who received the the email with the subject ‘Candidate SETI SIGNAL DETECTED by Russians from star HD 164595 by virtue of RATAN-600 radio telescope.’ Since the email did come from known SETI researchers, I looked over the presentation. I was unimpressed. In one out of 39 scans that passed over star showed a signal at about 4.5 times the mean noise power with a profile somewhat like the beam profile. Of course SETI@home has seen millions of potential signals with similar characteristics, but it takes more than that to make a good candidate. Multiple detections are a minimum criterion.

Because the receivers used were making broad band measurements, there’s really nothing about this “signal” that would distinguish it from a natural radio transient (stellar flare, active galactic nucleus, microlensing of a background source, etc.) There’s also nothing that could distinguish it from a satellite passing through the telescope field of view.

And so it is a satellite. To all SETI astronomers: keep searching!

So, that new SETI signal everyone is babbling about? Yeah, not really that interesting. Via https://t.co/qghGhLgMdh http://pic.twitter.com/5ro2zhxRek

— Lee Billings (@LeeBillings) August 29, 2016

Bottom line: A strong signal from sunlike star HD 164595 sparked a flurry of speculation this week that we have – at last – heard from an alien civilization. Now astronomers say the signal was from a military satellite.

from EarthSky http://ift.tt/2bCClV0

You might have read the stories this week about Russian astronomers detecting a possible “signal” from a star 94 light-years from Earth. The signal from sunlike star HD 164595 – said to be a very strong signal – spawned a flurry of speculation that, maybe, perhaps, at last, we’ve heard a signal from an alien civilization. In the video above, though, Seth Soshak of the SETI Institute says the signal has now been identified as being from a Russian military satellite.

Astronomer Yulia Sotnikova wrote in an update published today – August 31, 2016 – by the Special Astrophysical Observatory of the Russian Academy of Sciences:

Subsequent processing and analysis of the signal revealed its most probable terrestrial origin. It can be said with confidence that no sought-for signal has been detected yet.

Like many other stars in our Milky Way galaxy, the star HD 164595 looked promising as an abode for alien life. Italian astronomer Claudio Maccone and others had described it as:

… a strong candidate for SETI.

What did SETI astronomers think the signal might be?

If the signal had been artificial, its strength suggested that it came from an advanced civilization, at least a Type II on the Kardashev scale, which astronomers have been talking about and speculating about for decades. The Kardashev scale – originally designed in 1964 by the Russian astrophysicist Nikolai Kardashev – is a lot of fun to think about. It’s a way of imagining a civilization’s level of technological advancement, based on the amount of energy it’s able to harness.

We humans on Earth, for example, represent a Type I civilization – sometimes called planetary civilization. We have the technology to use and store energy from our sun that strikes our world’s surface, or nearby space.

A Type II civilization can do much more. It has the capability to harness the energy of the entire star. The device used to do this is called a Dyson sphere. It’s basically a big sphere built around a star that can capture its energy. Read more about Dyson spheres here.

As early as yesterday, those with technical backgrounds were already urging caution on the idea that the signal apparently from HD 164595 was a sign of aliens. On the website SETI@home, someone (apparently an astronomer) commented:

I was one of the many people who received the the email with the subject ‘Candidate SETI SIGNAL DETECTED by Russians from star HD 164595 by virtue of RATAN-600 radio telescope.’ Since the email did come from known SETI researchers, I looked over the presentation. I was unimpressed. In one out of 39 scans that passed over star showed a signal at about 4.5 times the mean noise power with a profile somewhat like the beam profile. Of course SETI@home has seen millions of potential signals with similar characteristics, but it takes more than that to make a good candidate. Multiple detections are a minimum criterion.

Because the receivers used were making broad band measurements, there’s really nothing about this “signal” that would distinguish it from a natural radio transient (stellar flare, active galactic nucleus, microlensing of a background source, etc.) There’s also nothing that could distinguish it from a satellite passing through the telescope field of view.

And so it is a satellite. To all SETI astronomers: keep searching!

So, that new SETI signal everyone is babbling about? Yeah, not really that interesting. Via https://t.co/qghGhLgMdh http://pic.twitter.com/5ro2zhxRek

— Lee Billings (@LeeBillings) August 29, 2016

Bottom line: A strong signal from sunlike star HD 164595 sparked a flurry of speculation this week that we have – at last – heard from an alien civilization. Now astronomers say the signal was from a military satellite.

from EarthSky http://ift.tt/2bCClV0

Will Planet 9 spell doom for solar system?

View larger. | Artist’s concept via University of Warwick.

We frequently get messages from an anxious people asking about Nibiru, which doesn’t exist, by the way, but which zealous or uninformed or unscrupulous websites and YouTube videos say is a large planet due for a disastrous encounter with Earth very soon. Actually, it’s supposed to have happened years ago, but who’s counting? Nibiru is one of many internet hoaxes. Meanwhile – confusingly – in scientific circles, there is a hypothetical Planet 9, announced by astronomers in early 2016. Thus astrophysicists at University of Warwick were likely having fun with their famous deadpan British humor, and also perhaps looking for media attention, when they used the words “doom for solar system” in their August 30, 2016 statement about the hypothetical Planet 9 ejecting Jupiter from our solar system after our sun dies, billions of years from now:

The solar system could be thrown into disaster when the sun dies if the mysterious ‘Planet Nine’ exists, according to research from the University of Warwick.

Yes, these are real theoretical astrophysicists – bound by the laws of physics and the power of their computers – not internet hoaxers. It can be hard to tell the difference sometimes, right? One way to tell is to look for publication in peer-reviewed journals like the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society , where this work has been accepted.

The work is led by Dimitri Veras of University of Warwick. His group says that the presence of Planet 9 – the hypothetical planet which may exist on the outskirts of our solar system – could cause the elimination of at least one of the giant planets after the sun dies, probably Jupiter, hurling it or them into interstellar space through a sort of ‘pinball’ effect. Veras’ statement explains:

When the sun starts to die in around seven billion years, it will blow away half of its own mass and inflate itself — swallowing the Earth — before fading into an ember known as a white dwarf. This mass ejection will push Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune out to what was assumed a safe distance.

However, Dr. Veras has discovered that the existence of Planet 9 could rewrite this happy ending. He found that Planet 9 might not be pushed out in the same way, and in fact might instead be thrust inward into a death dance with the solar system’s four known giant planets — most notably Uranus and Neptune. The most likely result is ejection from the solar system, forever.

Using a unique code that can simulate the death of planetary systems, Dr. Veras has mapped numerous different positions where a ‘Planet 9’ could change the fate of the solar system. The further away and the more massive the planet is, the higher the chance that the solar system will experience a violent future.

Veras and his group point out that their work sheds light not just on the fate of our solar system, but also on:

… planetary architectures in different solar systems. Almost half of existing white dwarfs contain rock, a potential signature of the debris generated from a similarly calamitous fate in other systems with distant ‘Planet 9s’ of their own.

In effect, the future death of our sun could explain the evolution of other planetary systems.

By the way, the soon-to-be-published paper of these astronomers will be given the less provocative title of ‘The fates of solar system analogues with one additional distant planet.’ Look for it soon in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

Read the rest of Veras’ statement here

Want to know more about hypothetical Planet 9 at our solar system’s outskirts? Remember, it hasn’t been discovered. So far, it’s just a very, very educated and high tech conjecture. The video below explains more:

And back to Nibiru, just for a moment. It’s supposedly “revealed near the sun” in photos. The photos I’ve seen all actually show either the brightest planet Venus (now low in the west after sunset) or, more often, lens flares. Lens flares often appear on photos as globes of light near bright objects such as the sun or moon. We see a lot of them here at EarthSky, on photos submitted by our community. They’re not really objects in the sky. They’re internal reflections from peoples’ cameras. Read more about lens flares.

I found this photo on a website about Nirbiru, but it’s really a lens flare, an internal reflection from the photographer’s camera.

Bottom line: Theoretical astrophysicists at University of Warwick announced on August 30, 2016 that a hypothetical Planet 9 could hurtle Jupiter into interstellar space when the sun dies, billions of years from now.

from EarthSky http://ift.tt/2bCPzwj

View larger. | Artist’s concept via University of Warwick.

We frequently get messages from an anxious people asking about Nibiru, which doesn’t exist, by the way, but which zealous or uninformed or unscrupulous websites and YouTube videos say is a large planet due for a disastrous encounter with Earth very soon. Actually, it’s supposed to have happened years ago, but who’s counting? Nibiru is one of many internet hoaxes. Meanwhile – confusingly – in scientific circles, there is a hypothetical Planet 9, announced by astronomers in early 2016. Thus astrophysicists at University of Warwick were likely having fun with their famous deadpan British humor, and also perhaps looking for media attention, when they used the words “doom for solar system” in their August 30, 2016 statement about the hypothetical Planet 9 ejecting Jupiter from our solar system after our sun dies, billions of years from now:

The solar system could be thrown into disaster when the sun dies if the mysterious ‘Planet Nine’ exists, according to research from the University of Warwick.

Yes, these are real theoretical astrophysicists – bound by the laws of physics and the power of their computers – not internet hoaxers. It can be hard to tell the difference sometimes, right? One way to tell is to look for publication in peer-reviewed journals like the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society , where this work has been accepted.

The work is led by Dimitri Veras of University of Warwick. His group says that the presence of Planet 9 – the hypothetical planet which may exist on the outskirts of our solar system – could cause the elimination of at least one of the giant planets after the sun dies, probably Jupiter, hurling it or them into interstellar space through a sort of ‘pinball’ effect. Veras’ statement explains:

When the sun starts to die in around seven billion years, it will blow away half of its own mass and inflate itself — swallowing the Earth — before fading into an ember known as a white dwarf. This mass ejection will push Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune out to what was assumed a safe distance.

However, Dr. Veras has discovered that the existence of Planet 9 could rewrite this happy ending. He found that Planet 9 might not be pushed out in the same way, and in fact might instead be thrust inward into a death dance with the solar system’s four known giant planets — most notably Uranus and Neptune. The most likely result is ejection from the solar system, forever.

Using a unique code that can simulate the death of planetary systems, Dr. Veras has mapped numerous different positions where a ‘Planet 9’ could change the fate of the solar system. The further away and the more massive the planet is, the higher the chance that the solar system will experience a violent future.

Veras and his group point out that their work sheds light not just on the fate of our solar system, but also on:

… planetary architectures in different solar systems. Almost half of existing white dwarfs contain rock, a potential signature of the debris generated from a similarly calamitous fate in other systems with distant ‘Planet 9s’ of their own.

In effect, the future death of our sun could explain the evolution of other planetary systems.

By the way, the soon-to-be-published paper of these astronomers will be given the less provocative title of ‘The fates of solar system analogues with one additional distant planet.’ Look for it soon in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

Read the rest of Veras’ statement here

Want to know more about hypothetical Planet 9 at our solar system’s outskirts? Remember, it hasn’t been discovered. So far, it’s just a very, very educated and high tech conjecture. The video below explains more:

And back to Nibiru, just for a moment. It’s supposedly “revealed near the sun” in photos. The photos I’ve seen all actually show either the brightest planet Venus (now low in the west after sunset) or, more often, lens flares. Lens flares often appear on photos as globes of light near bright objects such as the sun or moon. We see a lot of them here at EarthSky, on photos submitted by our community. They’re not really objects in the sky. They’re internal reflections from peoples’ cameras. Read more about lens flares.

I found this photo on a website about Nirbiru, but it’s really a lens flare, an internal reflection from the photographer’s camera.

Bottom line: Theoretical astrophysicists at University of Warwick announced on August 30, 2016 that a hypothetical Planet 9 could hurtle Jupiter into interstellar space when the sun dies, billions of years from now.

from EarthSky http://ift.tt/2bCPzwj

September 2016 bright planet guide

Skywatcher, by Predrag Agatonovic.

All five bright planets start out as evening objects in September 2016, but two are hard to see. Mercury and Jupiter are quickly fading into the glare of sunset, and will move into the morning sky later this month. Venus, Mars and Saturn adorn the evening sky all through September. Venus is up just after sunset (setting before nightfall at northerly latitudes or shortly after dark in the Southern Hemisphere). The other two evening planets – Mars and Saturn – stay out until late evening at mid-northern latitudes (or until midnight or beyond as seen from the Southern Hemisphere). Mars is still bright, forming a noticeable triangle on the sky’s dome with Saturn and the bright star Antares. Follow the links below to learn more about September planets in 2016.

Brilliant Venus sets at dusk or early evening

Mercury in morning sky by late September

Jupiter shifts from evening to morning sky

Mars, dusk until mid-to-late evening, shines near Saturn

Saturn, dusk until mid-to-late evening, shines near Mars

Like what EarthSky offers? Sign up for our free daily newsletter today!

Astronomy events, star parties, festivals, workshops

Visit a new EarthSky feature – Best Places to Stargaze – and add your fav.

On September 2, 2016, the moon is near Jupiter, low in the west after sunset. Venus, 3rd-brightest sky object after sun and moon, might be your ticket to finding Jupiter (4th-brightest sky object). Or you might spot the moon first that night. From very northerly latitudes, bring your binoculars. The moon and Jupiter will be exceedingly near the sunset.

By September 3, 2016, the moon will be easy to see from all parts of Earth. It’ll still be near Venus and Jupiter, shortly after sunset. Look west!

On September 4, 5 and 6, the bow of the waxing crescent moon points toward the planets Venus and Jupiter. This month, Jupiter quickly falls into the glare of sunset while Venus slowly but surely climbs away. Read more.

Brilliant Venus sets at dusk or early evening . People have been reporting sightings of the brightest planet, Venus, in the west after sunset. It’s rather low in the twilight glare, but surprisingly bright for being so close to the horizon. Everyone on Earth has a shot at seeing it, but it’s easier from Earth’s Southern Hemisphere.

Watch for Venus near the moon on September 3. Binoculars will enhance the view!

Venus will become easier to see in the western evening sky in October, and even more so in November.

By the way, when Venus passed behind the sun in June, it passed directly behind it, as seen from Earth. That happened on June 6, 2016, and at that time Venus officially transitioned from our morning to our evening sky. 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. You might remember that event: the widely watched transit of Venus, during which Venus crossed the sun’s face as seen from Earth (see photos). It was the last transit of Venus until December 11, 2117.

Here’s Venus, caught from a plane over southern Oregon, on July 28, 2016. Notice the bright twilight background. Photo by Gemini Brett.

The bow of the waning crescent moon points toward Mercury’s place over the sunrise point on the horizon. Mercury is more easily viewed in the Northern Hemisphere. Read more.

Mercury in morning sky by late September. Although Mercury may still be visible as an evening object from the Southern Hemisphere in early September, this fleet-footed planet will move out of the evening sky and into the morning sky by mid-September 2016. Mercury will swing to its greatest morning elongation from the sun on September 28, to present a fine morning apparition of Mercury in the Northern Hemisphere (and not so good for the Southern Hemisphere).

Fortunately, the waning crescent moon can help you locate Mercury at and near its greatest morning elongation on September 27, September 28 and September 29.

From northerly latitudes, Mercury may remain visible before sunrise for the first week or two during October 2016. If you are blessed with clear skies, you might even see the conjunction of Mercury and Jupiter on the morning of October 11, 2016. See the sky chart below.

How many of you will see Mercury and Jupiter snuggling up together before sunrise on or near October 11, 2016?

Click here for recommended almanacs; they can give you Mercury’s rising time in your sky.

Look for the moon near Jupiter on August 5 and August 6. Binoculars could come in handy. The green line depicts the ecliptic – Earth’s orbital plane projected on the great dome of sky.

Jupiter shifts from evening to morning sky. From around the world, Jupiter quickly fades into the sunset and, for the most part, is lost in the glare of the sun throughout the month. Your best chance of spotting Jupiter this month is in the evening sky during the first few days of September. Southerly latitudes in the Southern Hemisphere are favored for seeing the last vestiges of Jupiter as an evening “star.”

If you are blessed with an unobstructed horizon in the direction of sunset, and crystal-clear skies, you might catch the young waxing crescent moon with Jupiter on or near September 2. the moon and Jupiter will be especially hard to see from northerly latitudes, so have binoculars handy!

Venus, the third-brightest celestial object, after sun and moon, may be your ticket to finding Jupiter, the fourth-brightest celestial body. At northerly latitudes, you’ll probably need binoculars to view the moon and Jupiter on this date.

After Jupiter disappears from evening sky in early September, its reappearance in the morning sky will come sometime in October 2016.

View larger | Mikhail Chubarets in the Ukraine made this chart. It shows the view of Mars through a telescope in 2016. We never see Mars as a disk like this with the eye alone. But you can see why Mars has been so bright to the eye in 2016.

Look for the moon near Saturn, Antares and Mars as darkness falls on September 7, 8 and 9. Read more.

Mars, dusk until mid-to-late evening, shines near Saturn. Mars is still bright this month, though fainter than it was earlier in 2016! Saturn came closest to Earth for the year on June 3, less than four days after Mars’ closest approach to Earth on May 30. Although Mars and Saturn are beginning to fade a bit, they’re still plenty bright and easy to see – especially Mars!

Mars was at its brightest at its opposition on May 22. Although Mars has faded since its glory days in May and June 2016, Mars is nonetheless respectably bright, shining on par with the sky’s brightest stars.

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 (plus Saturn and the bright star Antares) for several evenings, centered on or near September 9.

Use the moon on to find the colorful threesome – Mars, Saturn and Antares – on September 8. Read more.

Saturn, dusk until mid-to-late evening, shines near Saturn. 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 out the month appearing in the southwest sky at nightfall. Although Saturn appears respectably bright, its brilliance can’t match that of Mars. Look for Saturn near Mars, even though Mars moves farther away from Saturn (and the star Antares) all month long. These two worlds form a bright celestial triangle with the star Antares in the September night sky. Mars is brighter than Saturn, which in turn is brighter than Antares.

Watch for the moon to swing by Saturn for several days, centered on or near September 8.

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, although binoculars will enhance Saturn’s golden color. To see the rings, you need a small telescope. A telescope will also reveal one or more of Saturn’s many moons, most notably Titan.

Tom Wildoner over-exposed Saturn itself to capture this view of Saturn’s moons on June 25, 2016. Visit Tom at LeisurelyScientist.com.

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 August 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

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.

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.

Bottom line: In August 2016, Jupiter starts out the month above Mercury and Venus in the western evening sky. Toward the end of the month, Venus climbs above Mercury and then Jupiter. Saturn and the bright star Antares make a triangle with Mars on the sky’s dome, shining from dusk until late night.

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

Skywatcher, by Predrag Agatonovic.

All five bright planets start out as evening objects in September 2016, but two are hard to see. Mercury and Jupiter are quickly fading into the glare of sunset, and will move into the morning sky later this month. Venus, Mars and Saturn adorn the evening sky all through September. Venus is up just after sunset (setting before nightfall at northerly latitudes or shortly after dark in the Southern Hemisphere). The other two evening planets – Mars and Saturn – stay out until late evening at mid-northern latitudes (or until midnight or beyond as seen from the Southern Hemisphere). Mars is still bright, forming a noticeable triangle on the sky’s dome with Saturn and the bright star Antares. Follow the links below to learn more about September planets in 2016.

Brilliant Venus sets at dusk or early evening

Mercury in morning sky by late September

Jupiter shifts from evening to morning sky

Mars, dusk until mid-to-late evening, shines near Saturn

Saturn, dusk until mid-to-late evening, shines near Mars

Like what EarthSky offers? Sign up for our free daily newsletter today!

Astronomy events, star parties, festivals, workshops

Visit a new EarthSky feature – Best Places to Stargaze – and add your fav.

On September 2, 2016, the moon is near Jupiter, low in the west after sunset. Venus, 3rd-brightest sky object after sun and moon, might be your ticket to finding Jupiter (4th-brightest sky object). Or you might spot the moon first that night. From very northerly latitudes, bring your binoculars. The moon and Jupiter will be exceedingly near the sunset.

By September 3, 2016, the moon will be easy to see from all parts of Earth. It’ll still be near Venus and Jupiter, shortly after sunset. Look west!

On September 4, 5 and 6, the bow of the waxing crescent moon points toward the planets Venus and Jupiter. This month, Jupiter quickly falls into the glare of sunset while Venus slowly but surely climbs away. Read more.

Brilliant Venus sets at dusk or early evening . People have been reporting sightings of the brightest planet, Venus, in the west after sunset. It’s rather low in the twilight glare, but surprisingly bright for being so close to the horizon. Everyone on Earth has a shot at seeing it, but it’s easier from Earth’s Southern Hemisphere.

Watch for Venus near the moon on September 3. Binoculars will enhance the view!

Venus will become easier to see in the western evening sky in October, and even more so in November.

By the way, when Venus passed behind the sun in June, it passed directly behind it, as seen from Earth. That happened on June 6, 2016, and at that time Venus officially transitioned from our morning to our evening sky. 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. You might remember that event: the widely watched transit of Venus, during which Venus crossed the sun’s face as seen from Earth (see photos). It was the last transit of Venus until December 11, 2117.

Here’s Venus, caught from a plane over southern Oregon, on July 28, 2016. Notice the bright twilight background. Photo by Gemini Brett.

The bow of the waning crescent moon points toward Mercury’s place over the sunrise point on the horizon. Mercury is more easily viewed in the Northern Hemisphere. Read more.

Mercury in morning sky by late September. Although Mercury may still be visible as an evening object from the Southern Hemisphere in early September, this fleet-footed planet will move out of the evening sky and into the morning sky by mid-September 2016. Mercury will swing to its greatest morning elongation from the sun on September 28, to present a fine morning apparition of Mercury in the Northern Hemisphere (and not so good for the Southern Hemisphere).

Fortunately, the waning crescent moon can help you locate Mercury at and near its greatest morning elongation on September 27, September 28 and September 29.

From northerly latitudes, Mercury may remain visible before sunrise for the first week or two during October 2016. If you are blessed with clear skies, you might even see the conjunction of Mercury and Jupiter on the morning of October 11, 2016. See the sky chart below.

How many of you will see Mercury and Jupiter snuggling up together before sunrise on or near October 11, 2016?

Click here for recommended almanacs; they can give you Mercury’s rising time in your sky.

Look for the moon near Jupiter on August 5 and August 6. Binoculars could come in handy. The green line depicts the ecliptic – Earth’s orbital plane projected on the great dome of sky.

Jupiter shifts from evening to morning sky. From around the world, Jupiter quickly fades into the sunset and, for the most part, is lost in the glare of the sun throughout the month. Your best chance of spotting Jupiter this month is in the evening sky during the first few days of September. Southerly latitudes in the Southern Hemisphere are favored for seeing the last vestiges of Jupiter as an evening “star.”

If you are blessed with an unobstructed horizon in the direction of sunset, and crystal-clear skies, you might catch the young waxing crescent moon with Jupiter on or near September 2. the moon and Jupiter will be especially hard to see from northerly latitudes, so have binoculars handy!

Venus, the third-brightest celestial object, after sun and moon, may be your ticket to finding Jupiter, the fourth-brightest celestial body. At northerly latitudes, you’ll probably need binoculars to view the moon and Jupiter on this date.

After Jupiter disappears from evening sky in early September, its reappearance in the morning sky will come sometime in October 2016.

View larger | Mikhail Chubarets in the Ukraine made this chart. It shows the view of Mars through a telescope in 2016. We never see Mars as a disk like this with the eye alone. But you can see why Mars has been so bright to the eye in 2016.

Look for the moon near Saturn, Antares and Mars as darkness falls on September 7, 8 and 9. Read more.

Mars, dusk until mid-to-late evening, shines near Saturn. Mars is still bright this month, though fainter than it was earlier in 2016! Saturn came closest to Earth for the year on June 3, less than four days after Mars’ closest approach to Earth on May 30. Although Mars and Saturn are beginning to fade a bit, they’re still plenty bright and easy to see – especially Mars!

Mars was at its brightest at its opposition on May 22. Although Mars has faded since its glory days in May and June 2016, Mars is nonetheless respectably bright, shining on par with the sky’s brightest stars.

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 (plus Saturn and the bright star Antares) for several evenings, centered on or near September 9.

Use the moon on to find the colorful threesome – Mars, Saturn and Antares – on September 8. Read more.

Saturn, dusk until mid-to-late evening, shines near Saturn. 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 out the month appearing in the southwest sky at nightfall. Although Saturn appears respectably bright, its brilliance can’t match that of Mars. Look for Saturn near Mars, even though Mars moves farther away from Saturn (and the star Antares) all month long. These two worlds form a bright celestial triangle with the star Antares in the September night sky. Mars is brighter than Saturn, which in turn is brighter than Antares.

Watch for the moon to swing by Saturn for several days, centered on or near September 8.

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, although binoculars will enhance Saturn’s golden color. To see the rings, you need a small telescope. A telescope will also reveal one or more of Saturn’s many moons, most notably Titan.

Tom Wildoner over-exposed Saturn itself to capture this view of Saturn’s moons on June 25, 2016. Visit Tom at LeisurelyScientist.com.

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 August 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

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.

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.

Bottom line: In August 2016, Jupiter starts out the month above Mercury and Venus in the western evening sky. Toward the end of the month, Venus climbs above Mercury and then Jupiter. Saturn and the bright star Antares make a triangle with Mars on the sky’s dome, shining from dusk until late night.

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

Clean Energy in a Revitalized Spartanburg

Re-posted from the White House Blog

By Rohan Patel

Vulnerable communities around the country are transforming their neighborhoods through collaborative partnerships. When their voices, ideas, and visions are honored, amazing things can happen.

Almost 20 years ago, residents in Spartanburg, South Carolina, began to formulate their vision for change. It started with assistance from EPA’s regional office in Atlanta, when the community discovered the sources of public health and environmental problems in their neighborhoods. As a former mill town, Spartanburg had faced disinvestment for many years. As manufacturing facilities shut down, a 30 acre dump site and a three acre site with leaking underground storage tanks was left behind, exposing residents to toxic air and water pollution.

But that wasn’t the end of the story of Spartanburg; it was the beginning of the revitalization and renewal of the community. In 1997, longtime resident Harold Mitchell prompted EPA to investigate the causes of rare cancers and respiratory diseases that were affecting his family, friends, and neighbors in Spartanburg. The link to the legacy of pollution from years past became clear. Mitchell soon founded a program called ReGenisis to address these significant environmental concerns and to reverse the blight, disinvestment, and hopelessness impacting the neighborhood.

Over the last 20 years ReGenesis has led a collaborative and transformational effort to revive Spartanburg. It started with a $20,000 EPA environmental justice small grant, a program that has provided over $24 million to over 1,400 community-based organizations. Mr. Mitchell and his community members did something extraordinary – they leveraged that $20,000 into more than $300 million in public and private funding to turn things around. With investments from federal, state, and local government, as well as private foundations, ReGenisis spearheaded the effort to clean up the Superfund sites, bring in 500 affordable housing units, six health clinics, job training programs and many other amenities that sparked far-reaching positive changes in Spartanburg. This model inspired EPA to develop its Collaborative Problem Solving (CPS) Model and subsequent CPS grant program.

Today, I had the opportunity to participate in the first Clean Energy Savings for All Summit to highlight one of the crowning achievements of the revitalization effort in Spartanburg: the Arkwright Solar Farm, which is being built directly on top of one of the Superfund sites that was responsible for environmental contamination in the community. It’s a powerful symbol of the transformation that has happened in these communities. What once was a source of pollution and blight, the former Arkwright landfill is now being covered with 12,000 solar panels that will bring jobs and a source of clean energy that can power almost 500 homes in the surrounding neighborhoods.

For authentic and sustainable change to happen, it must be driven by communities. The story of Spartanburg is a lesson in how government can partner with communities, empower them to find solutions to their problems, and develop innovative and collaborative strategies to make them a reality. The solar farm is the latest chapter in the story of the revitalization of Spartanburg, and we are excited to continue to raise awareness of these examples so other communities across the country can follow the path from surviving to thriving.

About the author Rohan Patel: Special Assistant to the President, Deputy Director of Intergovernmental Affairs, and Senior Advisor for Climate and Energy Policy.

from The EPA Blog http://ift.tt/2bCbdqw

Re-posted from the White House Blog

By Rohan Patel

Vulnerable communities around the country are transforming their neighborhoods through collaborative partnerships. When their voices, ideas, and visions are honored, amazing things can happen.

Almost 20 years ago, residents in Spartanburg, South Carolina, began to formulate their vision for change. It started with assistance from EPA’s regional office in Atlanta, when the community discovered the sources of public health and environmental problems in their neighborhoods. As a former mill town, Spartanburg had faced disinvestment for many years. As manufacturing facilities shut down, a 30 acre dump site and a three acre site with leaking underground storage tanks was left behind, exposing residents to toxic air and water pollution.

But that wasn’t the end of the story of Spartanburg; it was the beginning of the revitalization and renewal of the community. In 1997, longtime resident Harold Mitchell prompted EPA to investigate the causes of rare cancers and respiratory diseases that were affecting his family, friends, and neighbors in Spartanburg. The link to the legacy of pollution from years past became clear. Mitchell soon founded a program called ReGenisis to address these significant environmental concerns and to reverse the blight, disinvestment, and hopelessness impacting the neighborhood.

Over the last 20 years ReGenesis has led a collaborative and transformational effort to revive Spartanburg. It started with a $20,000 EPA environmental justice small grant, a program that has provided over $24 million to over 1,400 community-based organizations. Mr. Mitchell and his community members did something extraordinary – they leveraged that $20,000 into more than $300 million in public and private funding to turn things around. With investments from federal, state, and local government, as well as private foundations, ReGenisis spearheaded the effort to clean up the Superfund sites, bring in 500 affordable housing units, six health clinics, job training programs and many other amenities that sparked far-reaching positive changes in Spartanburg. This model inspired EPA to develop its Collaborative Problem Solving (CPS) Model and subsequent CPS grant program.

Today, I had the opportunity to participate in the first Clean Energy Savings for All Summit to highlight one of the crowning achievements of the revitalization effort in Spartanburg: the Arkwright Solar Farm, which is being built directly on top of one of the Superfund sites that was responsible for environmental contamination in the community. It’s a powerful symbol of the transformation that has happened in these communities. What once was a source of pollution and blight, the former Arkwright landfill is now being covered with 12,000 solar panels that will bring jobs and a source of clean energy that can power almost 500 homes in the surrounding neighborhoods.

For authentic and sustainable change to happen, it must be driven by communities. The story of Spartanburg is a lesson in how government can partner with communities, empower them to find solutions to their problems, and develop innovative and collaborative strategies to make them a reality. The solar farm is the latest chapter in the story of the revitalization of Spartanburg, and we are excited to continue to raise awareness of these examples so other communities across the country can follow the path from surviving to thriving.

About the author Rohan Patel: Special Assistant to the President, Deputy Director of Intergovernmental Affairs, and Senior Advisor for Climate and Energy Policy.

from The EPA Blog http://ift.tt/2bCbdqw

Moyhu: climate feedbacks and circuits [Stoat]

There’s a vair nice post at Moyhu called climate feedbacks and circuits.

I think it is particaulrly nice that someone competent has finally taken and shaken the gibberish about feedbacks that the EE’s fling about so thoughtlessly and actually made some sense of it.

from ScienceBlogs http://ift.tt/2c5g7sD

There’s a vair nice post at Moyhu called climate feedbacks and circuits.

I think it is particaulrly nice that someone competent has finally taken and shaken the gibberish about feedbacks that the EE’s fling about so thoughtlessly and actually made some sense of it.

from ScienceBlogs http://ift.tt/2c5g7sD