Comet Tempel 1 and Deep Impact

View larger. | NASA’s ‘Deep Impact’ probe’s historic appointment with Comet Tempel 1 on July 4, 2005. Artist’s concept by Marco Nero in Sydney, Australia

Marco Nero submitted this artist’s concept to EarthSky. He created this image of NASA’s Deep Impact probe’s historic appointment with Comet Tempel 1 on July 4, 2005. Marco wrote:

After 174 days of space travel, the Deep Impact probe released an “impactor” carrying a copper payload (since scientists didn’t expect the comet to contain copper… and the metal wouldn’t interfere with the scientific instruments aboard the probe).

Delivering 100kg of copper at a closing velocity of more than 10km/s, the impactor’s kinetic energy was equivalent to 4.8 metric tons of TNT. The resulting collision exposed the interior of the comet’s nucleus and answered questions concerning comet composition.

Marco Nero – who is in Sydney, Australia – is working on a book on the subject of meteorite hunting and collecting. This is one of the images he created to go along with an article on comets.

By the way, the collision between the coffee table-sized impactor and city-sized comet was the first of its kind. Read more about the Deep Impact mission to Comet Tempel 1, from NASA.

Here’s an actual image – a photo – taken by Deep Impact as its impactor hit Comet Tempel 1. The image depicts the first moments after Deep Impact’s probe interfaced with the comet. Image via NASA/JPL-Caltech/UMD. Read more about this image.

Bottom line: An artist’s concept – and a real photo – from the first ever impact from an earthly space probe, NASA’s Deep Impact probe, onto the surface of a comet. The comet was Tempel 1. The impact took place on July 4, 2005.

from EarthSky http://ift.tt/1Iu0qFV

View larger. | NASA’s ‘Deep Impact’ probe’s historic appointment with Comet Tempel 1 on July 4, 2005. Artist’s concept by Marco Nero in Sydney, Australia

Marco Nero submitted this artist’s concept to EarthSky. He created this image of NASA’s Deep Impact probe’s historic appointment with Comet Tempel 1 on July 4, 2005. Marco wrote:

After 174 days of space travel, the Deep Impact probe released an “impactor” carrying a copper payload (since scientists didn’t expect the comet to contain copper… and the metal wouldn’t interfere with the scientific instruments aboard the probe).

Delivering 100kg of copper at a closing velocity of more than 10km/s, the impactor’s kinetic energy was equivalent to 4.8 metric tons of TNT. The resulting collision exposed the interior of the comet’s nucleus and answered questions concerning comet composition.

Marco Nero – who is in Sydney, Australia – is working on a book on the subject of meteorite hunting and collecting. This is one of the images he created to go along with an article on comets.

By the way, the collision between the coffee table-sized impactor and city-sized comet was the first of its kind. Read more about the Deep Impact mission to Comet Tempel 1, from NASA.

Here’s an actual image – a photo – taken by Deep Impact as its impactor hit Comet Tempel 1. The image depicts the first moments after Deep Impact’s probe interfaced with the comet. Image via NASA/JPL-Caltech/UMD. Read more about this image.

Bottom line: An artist’s concept – and a real photo – from the first ever impact from an earthly space probe, NASA’s Deep Impact probe, onto the surface of a comet. The comet was Tempel 1. The impact took place on July 4, 2005.

from EarthSky http://ift.tt/1Iu0qFV

USN Reservist on Cutting Edge of Science and Technology

By Warren Duffie, Office of Naval Research

For contributions to groundbreaking technologies such as tactical cyber ranges and augmented-reality glasses, Lt. Cmdr. Tom McAndrew, a Reservist with the Office of Naval Research (ONR), yesterday received the Navy Reserve’s 2014 Outstanding Junior Officer of the Year award, presented by the Reserve Officers Association in Washington, D.C.

As an ONR Reservist, McAndrew has supported numerous cyber and electronic warfare efforts, earning recognition as ONR’s 2014 Reserve Science and Technology Officer of the Year. In March, he also was the first Reservist to win a Federal 100 Award for supporting research and development of innovative technologies to enable Sailors and Marines to operate more effectively in cyberspace.

McAndrew’s efforts have contributed to more than a dozen special projects that have been funded and delivered-including unmanned air and ground vehicles and the first cyber training ranges designed specifically for tactical cyber training for the Marine Corps.

“The tactical cyber range was one of the most important projects that we delivered,” said McAndrew. “Tactical cyber is warfare conducted out in the field, where you may not have an Internet connection, a stable power source or adequate bandwidth.”

McAndrew’s recognition comes during the centennial of the U.S. Navy Reserve, and is an example of the importance of ONR’s Reserve Component (ONR-RC) in developing the Navy’s science and technology (S&T). ONR-RC comprises approximately 190 Navy Reservists from 15 units nationwide-most of whom have earned advanced technical degrees in science and engineering disciplines and were once on active duty.

“Our Reservists offer a powerful combination of advanced degrees, prior active-duty experience in the fleet and successful civilian careers,” said ONR-RC Director Capt. Mark Lokay. “Depending on their operational experience and technical background, ONR Reservists will almost certainly find a project where their expertise will benefit naval S&T research.”

The Reservists act as liaisons to Sailors and Marines, communicating ONR’s mission and messages. They also provide real-world perspective to ONR program managers and researchers on whether a technology will be practical or efficient for U.S. warfighters to use.

Reservists support ONR’s mission in several other ways:

Conducting basic research and testing prototypes-Reservists regularly help test developing technologies like unmanned autonomous vehicles. They also maintain and operate the Navy’s fire-suppression test ship, the ex-USS Shadwell, a World War II-era vessel that now serves as the Navy’s platform to conduct firefighting research.

Developing prototype systems-Reservists have played key roles in projects like the Electromagnetic Railgun, which uses electricity instead of chemical propellants to launch projectiles; the Shipboard Autonomous Firefighting Robot (SAFFiR), a human-sized robot that could one day fight shipboard fires; and Navy Fuels, a Naval Research Laboratory-led effort to develop an on-ship system to generate fuel from seawater while underway.

Supporting fleet-wide events and exercises-These range from demonstrating ONR-sponsored technology at Fleet Week New York to supporting youth-oriented science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) functions.

Serving at ONR is unique because Reservists enjoy a great opportunity to have an impact on the future of naval warfare,” said Lokay. “Game-changing capabilities result from scientific research, and the ONR-RC plays a vital role.”

For McAndrew, the hard work is worth it when “you realize you’re making real changes to the future of the Navy and Marine Corps.”

Warren Duffie is a contractor for ONR Corporate Strategic Communications.

 

from Armed with Science http://ift.tt/1MWaxmE

By Warren Duffie, Office of Naval Research

For contributions to groundbreaking technologies such as tactical cyber ranges and augmented-reality glasses, Lt. Cmdr. Tom McAndrew, a Reservist with the Office of Naval Research (ONR), yesterday received the Navy Reserve’s 2014 Outstanding Junior Officer of the Year award, presented by the Reserve Officers Association in Washington, D.C.

As an ONR Reservist, McAndrew has supported numerous cyber and electronic warfare efforts, earning recognition as ONR’s 2014 Reserve Science and Technology Officer of the Year. In March, he also was the first Reservist to win a Federal 100 Award for supporting research and development of innovative technologies to enable Sailors and Marines to operate more effectively in cyberspace.

McAndrew’s efforts have contributed to more than a dozen special projects that have been funded and delivered-including unmanned air and ground vehicles and the first cyber training ranges designed specifically for tactical cyber training for the Marine Corps.

“The tactical cyber range was one of the most important projects that we delivered,” said McAndrew. “Tactical cyber is warfare conducted out in the field, where you may not have an Internet connection, a stable power source or adequate bandwidth.”

McAndrew’s recognition comes during the centennial of the U.S. Navy Reserve, and is an example of the importance of ONR’s Reserve Component (ONR-RC) in developing the Navy’s science and technology (S&T). ONR-RC comprises approximately 190 Navy Reservists from 15 units nationwide-most of whom have earned advanced technical degrees in science and engineering disciplines and were once on active duty.

“Our Reservists offer a powerful combination of advanced degrees, prior active-duty experience in the fleet and successful civilian careers,” said ONR-RC Director Capt. Mark Lokay. “Depending on their operational experience and technical background, ONR Reservists will almost certainly find a project where their expertise will benefit naval S&T research.”

The Reservists act as liaisons to Sailors and Marines, communicating ONR’s mission and messages. They also provide real-world perspective to ONR program managers and researchers on whether a technology will be practical or efficient for U.S. warfighters to use.

Reservists support ONR’s mission in several other ways:

Conducting basic research and testing prototypes-Reservists regularly help test developing technologies like unmanned autonomous vehicles. They also maintain and operate the Navy’s fire-suppression test ship, the ex-USS Shadwell, a World War II-era vessel that now serves as the Navy’s platform to conduct firefighting research.

Developing prototype systems-Reservists have played key roles in projects like the Electromagnetic Railgun, which uses electricity instead of chemical propellants to launch projectiles; the Shipboard Autonomous Firefighting Robot (SAFFiR), a human-sized robot that could one day fight shipboard fires; and Navy Fuels, a Naval Research Laboratory-led effort to develop an on-ship system to generate fuel from seawater while underway.

Supporting fleet-wide events and exercises-These range from demonstrating ONR-sponsored technology at Fleet Week New York to supporting youth-oriented science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) functions.

Serving at ONR is unique because Reservists enjoy a great opportunity to have an impact on the future of naval warfare,” said Lokay. “Game-changing capabilities result from scientific research, and the ONR-RC plays a vital role.”

For McAndrew, the hard work is worth it when “you realize you’re making real changes to the future of the Navy and Marine Corps.”

Warren Duffie is a contractor for ONR Corporate Strategic Communications.

 

from Armed with Science http://ift.tt/1MWaxmE

Medicare and Medicaid turn 50 [The Pump Handle]

On July 30^th, 1965, President Lyndon Johnson signed into law the Social Security Amendment Act that created Medicare and Medicaid. At the signing ceremony, President Johnson enrolled President Truman as the first Medicare beneficiary and gave a speech on the importance of the legislation. The President’s description of the law’s impact describes the conditions it aimed to alleviate:

No longer will older Americans be denied the healing miracle of modern medicine. No longer will illness crush and destroy the savings that they have so carefully put away over a lifetime so that they might enjoy dignity in their later years. No longer will young families see their own incomes, and their own hopes, eaten away simply because they are carrying out their deep moral obligations to their parents, and to their uncles, and their aunts.

… there is another tradition that we share today. It calls upon us never to be indifferent toward despair. It commands us never to turn away from helplessness. It directs us never to ignore or to spurn those who suffer untended in a land that is bursting with abundance.

In 1966, there were 19 million Medicare enrollees; by 2014, the program covered 54 million. In 2010, Medicaid financed 48% of all births. Today, nearly 71 million people have Medicaid coverage. Together, Medicare and Medicaid cover nearly one out of three Americans, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid reports. (For a more in-depth look, check out the Kaiser Family Foundation’s Medicare & Medicaid at 50 and Beyond site.)

These two programs help beneficiaries get preventive care, lifesaving treatments, and care that improves their quality of life. They make it less likely that people will have to choose between desperately needed care and their families’ financial wellbeing. They help millions of people stay healthy, active, and engaged in their communities.

Medicaid enrollment has increased rapidly over the past few years thanks to the Affordable Care Act, which expanded Medicaid eligibility to all legal-resident adults with incomes up to 133% of the federal poverty level. The Supreme Court’s decision to make that Medicaid expansion optional for states has resulted in this benefit being unevenly distributed across the country. Even so, CDC analysis of data from the National Health Interview Survey found that the portion of the population uninsured at the time of interview dropped from 15.4 in 2009 to 11.5 in 2014.

It’s still shameful that 12% of people in one of the world’s wealthiest countries don’t have health insurance. And even among those who are insured, many still struggle to pay their deductibles, premiums, and co-payments. Access to providers is far from perfect. But over the past five decades, we’ve made progress.

When he signed the Affordable Care Act on March 23, 2010, President Obama stated, “We have now just enshrined … the core principle that everybody should have some basic security when it comes to their healthcare.” In 1965, we took the position that being elderly or impoverished shouldn’t mean foregoing healthcare. Now, we’ve committed to making healthcare coverage attainable for the US population as a whole. Efforts to improve healthcare quality and health outcomes while keeping costs affordable for both individuals and the government are far from complete, but they are underway.

I hope in another 50 years we’ll be able to look back again and say that we’ve come a long way – not just toward assuring access to healthcare, but toward improving health.

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

On July 30^th, 1965, President Lyndon Johnson signed into law the Social Security Amendment Act that created Medicare and Medicaid. At the signing ceremony, President Johnson enrolled President Truman as the first Medicare beneficiary and gave a speech on the importance of the legislation. The President’s description of the law’s impact describes the conditions it aimed to alleviate:

No longer will older Americans be denied the healing miracle of modern medicine. No longer will illness crush and destroy the savings that they have so carefully put away over a lifetime so that they might enjoy dignity in their later years. No longer will young families see their own incomes, and their own hopes, eaten away simply because they are carrying out their deep moral obligations to their parents, and to their uncles, and their aunts.

… there is another tradition that we share today. It calls upon us never to be indifferent toward despair. It commands us never to turn away from helplessness. It directs us never to ignore or to spurn those who suffer untended in a land that is bursting with abundance.

In 1966, there were 19 million Medicare enrollees; by 2014, the program covered 54 million. In 2010, Medicaid financed 48% of all births. Today, nearly 71 million people have Medicaid coverage. Together, Medicare and Medicaid cover nearly one out of three Americans, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid reports. (For a more in-depth look, check out the Kaiser Family Foundation’s Medicare & Medicaid at 50 and Beyond site.)

These two programs help beneficiaries get preventive care, lifesaving treatments, and care that improves their quality of life. They make it less likely that people will have to choose between desperately needed care and their families’ financial wellbeing. They help millions of people stay healthy, active, and engaged in their communities.

Medicaid enrollment has increased rapidly over the past few years thanks to the Affordable Care Act, which expanded Medicaid eligibility to all legal-resident adults with incomes up to 133% of the federal poverty level. The Supreme Court’s decision to make that Medicaid expansion optional for states has resulted in this benefit being unevenly distributed across the country. Even so, CDC analysis of data from the National Health Interview Survey found that the portion of the population uninsured at the time of interview dropped from 15.4 in 2009 to 11.5 in 2014.

It’s still shameful that 12% of people in one of the world’s wealthiest countries don’t have health insurance. And even among those who are insured, many still struggle to pay their deductibles, premiums, and co-payments. Access to providers is far from perfect. But over the past five decades, we’ve made progress.

When he signed the Affordable Care Act on March 23, 2010, President Obama stated, “We have now just enshrined … the core principle that everybody should have some basic security when it comes to their healthcare.” In 1965, we took the position that being elderly or impoverished shouldn’t mean foregoing healthcare. Now, we’ve committed to making healthcare coverage attainable for the US population as a whole. Efforts to improve healthcare quality and health outcomes while keeping costs affordable for both individuals and the government are far from complete, but they are underway.

I hope in another 50 years we’ll be able to look back again and say that we’ve come a long way – not just toward assuring access to healthcare, but toward improving health.

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

Video: The science of dogs

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The return of the revenge of the “CDC whistleblower” [Respectful Insolence]

Blue Moon – second July full moon – on July 31

Blue Moon coming! If you see the moon in tonight’s sky, you’ll see it’s nearly full. In fact, it’ll likely look like a full moon to you. Look at the calendar, and it’ll probably tell you that this month’s second full moon will fall tomorrow – on July 31, 2015. However, for much of North America, it’ll actually turn precisely full before sunrise tomorrow, on July 31. Thus many will call tomorrow’s full moon – and probably tonight’s nearly full moon as well – a Blue Moon.

Will you see the moon as blue in color? Nope. The name Blue Moon has nothing to do with the color blue. It’s just a name for the second full moon in a calendar month.

Read about the origin of the name Blue moon here

If the moon won’t be blue in color tonight or tomorrow night, what will it look like? It’ll look like any ordinary full moon.

This month’s moon turns precisely full on July 31 at 10:43 Universal Time – the standard clock time at the prime meridian of 0^o longitude.

Translating Universal Time to the time zones in the mainland U.S., we see that the moon will reach the crest of its full phase at 6:43 a.m. EDT, 5:43 a.m. CDT, 4:43 a.m. MDT or 3:43 a.m. PDT on the morning of July 31. Does that mean you should look for the moon at those exact times? Not necessarily. Those times just indicate when the moon is precisely full.

As always, the moon at the vicinity of full phase remains pretty much opposite the sun all night long – rising around sunset, overhead around midnight, setting around sunrise.

So even though tonight’s moon will look plenty full as it lights up the nighttime from dusk until dawn, the full moon – astronomically speaking – only represents a fleeting instant of time.

It’s when the moon stands 180^o opposite the sun in ecliptic longitude.

Everything you need to know about the July 31 Blue Moon

Image credit, top of post: Ava Verino on Flickr

Meteors ahead! Everything you need to know: Perseid meteor shower

Enjoying EarthSky so far? Sign up for our free daily newsletter today!

Day and night sides of Earth at instant of July 31 full moon

Day and night sides of earth at the instant of the July 31 full moon (2015 July 31 at 10:43 Universal Tine). Image credit via Earth & Moon Viewer

Bottom line: The July 31, 2015 full moon won’t appear blue in color. But – as the second of two full moons to occur in a single calendar month – many will call it a Blue Moon.

EarthSky astronomy kits are perfect for beginners. Order today from the EarthSky store

Donate: Your support means the world to us

from EarthSky http://ift.tt/1LvY8XW

Blue Moon coming! If you see the moon in tonight’s sky, you’ll see it’s nearly full. In fact, it’ll likely look like a full moon to you. Look at the calendar, and it’ll probably tell you that this month’s second full moon will fall tomorrow – on July 31, 2015. However, for much of North America, it’ll actually turn precisely full before sunrise tomorrow, on July 31. Thus many will call tomorrow’s full moon – and probably tonight’s nearly full moon as well – a Blue Moon.

Will you see the moon as blue in color? Nope. The name Blue Moon has nothing to do with the color blue. It’s just a name for the second full moon in a calendar month.

Read about the origin of the name Blue moon here

If the moon won’t be blue in color tonight or tomorrow night, what will it look like? It’ll look like any ordinary full moon.

This month’s moon turns precisely full on July 31 at 10:43 Universal Time – the standard clock time at the prime meridian of 0^o longitude.

Translating Universal Time to the time zones in the mainland U.S., we see that the moon will reach the crest of its full phase at 6:43 a.m. EDT, 5:43 a.m. CDT, 4:43 a.m. MDT or 3:43 a.m. PDT on the morning of July 31. Does that mean you should look for the moon at those exact times? Not necessarily. Those times just indicate when the moon is precisely full.

As always, the moon at the vicinity of full phase remains pretty much opposite the sun all night long – rising around sunset, overhead around midnight, setting around sunrise.

So even though tonight’s moon will look plenty full as it lights up the nighttime from dusk until dawn, the full moon – astronomically speaking – only represents a fleeting instant of time.

It’s when the moon stands 180^o opposite the sun in ecliptic longitude.

Everything you need to know about the July 31 Blue Moon

Image credit, top of post: Ava Verino on Flickr

Meteors ahead! Everything you need to know: Perseid meteor shower

Enjoying EarthSky so far? Sign up for our free daily newsletter today!

Day and night sides of Earth at instant of July 31 full moon

Day and night sides of earth at the instant of the July 31 full moon (2015 July 31 at 10:43 Universal Tine). Image credit via Earth & Moon Viewer

Bottom line: The July 31, 2015 full moon won’t appear blue in color. But – as the second of two full moons to occur in a single calendar month – many will call it a Blue Moon.

EarthSky astronomy kits are perfect for beginners. Order today from the EarthSky store

Donate: Your support means the world to us

from EarthSky http://ift.tt/1LvY8XW

On the Road Again [EvolutionBlog]

I’m writing this from my New Jersey office, which is to say that I am visiting the ‘rents. But it’s a very short visit. In fact, I’m mostly just using them for their garage. I’m stashing my car there for a few days while I go galavanting around to various math conferences, with a little vacation thrown in for good measure.

Tomorrow I’ll be taking a train up to New York City. (Though it looks like riding NJ Transit is a bit risky these days.) A few days of vacation come first. Figure I’ll catch a few shows, eat some good food (I might just have to stop by Katz’s Deli at some point), and find some other ways to amuse myself. (Would you belive that with all the time I’ve spent in NYC over the years, I’ve never visited the Marshall Chess Club? Might have to fix that.) Of course, I’ll need to find a place to watch the Ronda Rousey fight on Saturday night. Anyone know a good sports bar in Midtown?

Then it’s back to business. First up is the MOVES Conference on recreational math. I’ll be giving a talk about logic puzzles. Should be fun! Later in the week I’ll take Amtrak down to Washington DC for Mathfest. I’ll be giving another talk about logic puzzles. It’s a different talk, I promise! I’m also doing a thing on the Monty Hall problem at their &kdquo;Mathematical Carnival.” I don’t really know what that is either. I know it involved making a poster, which was interesting, since the last time I made a poster for anything was the middle school science fair. Turns out poster-making technology has improved since then.

So it’s going to be a busy ten days. In fact, it’s been a grueling couple of weeks. Writing two talks from scratch is no small task, and my poster-making efforts were slowed down by the fact that I didn’t know what I was doing. Then the galley proofs for the book I’ve been editing forever came in, and they required immediate, well, editing. And indexing. Tedious, but rewarding when it’s all done.

Folks who think that academics only work during the school year are wrong. Right now I can’t wait for the school year to begin. I need a vacation from my vacation!

from ScienceBlogs http://ift.tt/1I3thzC

I’m writing this from my New Jersey office, which is to say that I am visiting the ‘rents. But it’s a very short visit. In fact, I’m mostly just using them for their garage. I’m stashing my car there for a few days while I go galavanting around to various math conferences, with a little vacation thrown in for good measure.

Tomorrow I’ll be taking a train up to New York City. (Though it looks like riding NJ Transit is a bit risky these days.) A few days of vacation come first. Figure I’ll catch a few shows, eat some good food (I might just have to stop by Katz’s Deli at some point), and find some other ways to amuse myself. (Would you belive that with all the time I’ve spent in NYC over the years, I’ve never visited the Marshall Chess Club? Might have to fix that.) Of course, I’ll need to find a place to watch the Ronda Rousey fight on Saturday night. Anyone know a good sports bar in Midtown?

Then it’s back to business. First up is the MOVES Conference on recreational math. I’ll be giving a talk about logic puzzles. Should be fun! Later in the week I’ll take Amtrak down to Washington DC for Mathfest. I’ll be giving another talk about logic puzzles. It’s a different talk, I promise! I’m also doing a thing on the Monty Hall problem at their &kdquo;Mathematical Carnival.” I don’t really know what that is either. I know it involved making a poster, which was interesting, since the last time I made a poster for anything was the middle school science fair. Turns out poster-making technology has improved since then.

So it’s going to be a busy ten days. In fact, it’s been a grueling couple of weeks. Writing two talks from scratch is no small task, and my poster-making efforts were slowed down by the fact that I didn’t know what I was doing. Then the galley proofs for the book I’ve been editing forever came in, and they required immediate, well, editing. And indexing. Tedious, but rewarding when it’s all done.

Folks who think that academics only work during the school year are wrong. Right now I can’t wait for the school year to begin. I need a vacation from my vacation!

from ScienceBlogs http://ift.tt/1I3thzC