What Are The Most Energetic Particles In The Universe? (Synopsis) [Starts With A Bang]

“Energy is liberated matter, matter is energy waiting to happen.” –Bill Bryson

When it comes to the Universe, you might think that energy really is only limited by rarity: get enough particles accelerated by enough supermassive, super-energetic sources, and it’s only a matter of time (and flux) before you get one that reaches any arbitrary energy threshold. After all, we’ve got no shortage of, say, supermassive black holes at the hearts of active galaxies.

Galaxy NGC 1275, as imaged by Hubble. Image credit: NASA, ESA, Hubble Heritage (STScI/AURA).

And yes, we do find cosmic rays hundreds, thousands or even millions of times the energy that the LHC can achieve. But when we think about the Universe in detail, these cosmic rays aren’t unlimited in their energy, but are rather stopped in their tracks by the most unlikely of sources: the ultra-low-energy cosmic microwave background, left over some 13.8 billion years after the Big Bang.

The spectrum of cosmic rays. Image credit: Hillas 2006, preprint arXiv:astro-ph/0607109 v2, via University of Hamburg.

Come get the full story on the most energetic particles in the Universe, and learn why we have those limits at all!

from ScienceBlogs http://ift.tt/2an1D4T

“Energy is liberated matter, matter is energy waiting to happen.” –Bill Bryson

When it comes to the Universe, you might think that energy really is only limited by rarity: get enough particles accelerated by enough supermassive, super-energetic sources, and it’s only a matter of time (and flux) before you get one that reaches any arbitrary energy threshold. After all, we’ve got no shortage of, say, supermassive black holes at the hearts of active galaxies.

Galaxy NGC 1275, as imaged by Hubble. Image credit: NASA, ESA, Hubble Heritage (STScI/AURA).

And yes, we do find cosmic rays hundreds, thousands or even millions of times the energy that the LHC can achieve. But when we think about the Universe in detail, these cosmic rays aren’t unlimited in their energy, but are rather stopped in their tracks by the most unlikely of sources: the ultra-low-energy cosmic microwave background, left over some 13.8 billion years after the Big Bang.

The spectrum of cosmic rays. Image credit: Hillas 2006, preprint arXiv:astro-ph/0607109 v2, via University of Hamburg.

Come get the full story on the most energetic particles in the Universe, and learn why we have those limits at all!

from ScienceBlogs http://ift.tt/2an1D4T

After SB 277, online medical exemptions to school vaccine mandates are now for sale [Respectful Insolence]

After writing about the failure of state medical boards to discipline physicians who practice quackery and an apparent notable exception in Tennessee just yesterday, my attention was brought back to California and the topic of SB 277, the law enacted last year that, as of July 1 this year, eliminated non-medical exemptions to school vaccine mandates. As anyone who’s read this blog for more than a year knows (or anyone who’s just paid attention to the political battle to pass SB 277 lsat year in the wake of the Disneyland measles outbreak), once the battle was over and antivaccine activists lost, their attention turned immediately to finding ways to get around the law. Unfortunately, the law provided a way.

There are now three states in the US that do not allow nonmedical exemptions to school vaccine mandates: Mississippi, California, and West Virginia. Not surprisingly, just as antivaccine parents have tried to falsely claim religious exemptions in states that only Each of them has different standards for documentation of what is required to qualify for a medical exemption that fall into two categories. The most strict is West Virginia, where requests for medical exemptions are reviewed by an Immunization Officer, who determines if they are appropriate “based upon the most recent guidance from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), and the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) with respect to medical contraindications or precautions for each vaccine.” In Mississippi and, now, in California, all that is required is a letter from a physician.

You might ask: So what’s the problem with just letting any old physician write a letter supporting a medical exemption to school vaccine mandates in California? It’s a system that seems to work very well in Mississippi. Here’s the problem: California is not Mississippi. One key difference is that California is has a lot more antivaccine parents; indeed, it is arguably the epicenter of antivaccine activism in the US, which is why the resistance to SB 277 was so loud and public. It’s also why I’ve said on more than one occasion that when the outbreaks occur they’ll start in California. Another key difference is that California is chock full of antivaccine and antivaccine-sympathetic pediatricians and family doctors who have seen a lucrative business opportunity selling medical exemptions to all of these antivaccine parents. Indeed, I speculated whether this would happen right around the time SB 277 passed.

So did others:

@gorskon @MyHealthyBabies @JayGordonMDFAAP No doubt some CA doctors will profit from this. I hear Bob just ordered a new Lamborghini.

— Greg Hinson (@ackdoc) June 30, 2015

Dr. Bob, of course, is Dr. Bob Sears, the antivaccine-sympathetic pediatrician who’s’ most famous for a book full of bad advice on vaccines and, during the political battle over SB 277, prone to going full Godwin over the bill. Consistent with that, it didn’t take Dr. Bob very long at all to start giving seminars on how to get medical exemptions and avoid school vaccine mandates under SB 277. At the time, mere weeks after the passage of SB 277, Dr. Bob focused on non-evidence-based reasons for medical exemptions and ways to get around the law other than home schooling. For example, he suggested getting an Individualized Education Program (IEP) that specifies regular classroom time. IEPs are mandated by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) for children with special needs. If a child receives special educations services, he must have an IEP that includes a description of how the child is doing, the child’s specific annual education goals, specific special education supports and services that the school will provide to help the child reach those goals, modifications and accommodations the school will provide to help the child make progress, and other information. To comply with federal law, SB 277 specifically stipulates that the law “does not prohibit a pupil who qualifies for an individualized education program, pursuant to federal law and Section 56026 of the Education Code, from accessing any special education and related services required by his or her individualized education program.” So Dr. Bob recommended that parents seek an IEP, even for “minimal speech delay or learning issue” when the child is 2 or 3 years old so that they have it later and will be “protected” from SB 277 for the entire child’s school career.

Less than three months ago, I learned that there was now basically a cottage industry of bogus medical exemptions, with physicians such as Dr. Tara Zandvliet, Dr. Kelly Sutton, and, of course, Dr. Bob Sears selling medical exemptions based on medical reasons not supported by science.

What I don’t talk about that much on this blog is how often people write to me about the issues I discuss on this blog. Sometimes it’s just abuse from people who don’t like my point of view on alternative medicine, vaccines, and science. Sometimes, it’s people asking for medical advice, which I really can’t give, except in general terms. Sometimes it’s people telling me their stories about encounters with quacks. Of these, reading stories of patients whose family members have chosen, for example, Gerson therapy instead of real medicine are the hardest to read and steel me to continue what I do. Sometimes people let me know about something that I might want to blog about. This was one of those times, as it was the story of a parent and Dr. Bob’s vaccine exemptions that demonstrates how bogus these exemptions are.

I won’t tell you whether this was a male or a female, and I’ve stripped all potentially identifiable information from the genuine letters generated by Dr. Bob’s office in support of medical exemptions for their children. I’m going to refer to this parent as “he” for convenience and based on the default to male pronouns in English. Basically, this story developed out of, unfortunately, divorce, where the person who wrote me is not the custodial parent. He describes himself as formerly antivaccine but now pro-vaccine, which, as described, caused a rift in the marriage to the point where his spouse left. This is, unfortunately, a story I’ve heard too many times. In any case, this person who wrote me wants the children vaccinated. His spouse, however, does not, and his spouse stymied him by getting a medical exemption from Dr. Sears. Basically, his spouse filled out an online history form, paid a fee, and Dr. Bob’s office spit out these two boilerplate exemption letters. Nothing about them has been altered, other than to white out the names, dates of birth, and the date of the letter. (I wouldn’t want Dr. Bob to be able to figure out who it was based on the reasons for exemption and the date issued. Let’s just say that it was within the last four months or so.) Here are the letters (click to embiggen):

Note the bogus reasons:

• Family history of Autoimmune Disorders, Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Neurodevelopmental Disorders, Psychiatric Disorders.
• His own current medical problems.

My reader described how he showed these letters to the children’s regular pediatrician, who was appalled. By e-mail (and, by the way, I’ve saved every e-mail), I urged him to report Dr. Bob for what, in my opinion, is highly unethical behavior and failure to meet the standard of care. After all, Dr. Bob never actually examined the patient and appears never to have verified even the medical history. Basically, he appears to have an online form that a parent can fill out and get a medical exemption for pretty much any condition. I was assured that a report to the Medical Board of California has been filed.

To be honest, given how many quacks practice in California, I’m not as optimistic as I’d like to be that anything will be done about Dr. Bob’s issuing boilerplate medical exemptions unless there are a lot of complaints. That’s the problem. The very parents who take advantage of such a “service” are the very parents least likely to complain to a state medical board about the physician providing the service. After all, such parents got what they want: an exemption from vaccinating their children. Because they are antivaccine and motivated enough to seek out such a service, they really don’t care how they got the exemption; all they care about is that they got it. Cases like this one, where one parent has become pro-vaccine and objects enough when the other parent uses a physician like Dr. Bob to obtain a medical exemption are almost certainly comparatively rare. No doubt he’ll get that new Lamborghini if he wants it.

Still, I’m hopeful that publicizing this story, with the permission of my reader, will draw some attention to Dr. Bob. In the meantime, I referred my reader to people who can help find legal help if he doesn’t already have it. If ever there were a case that cried out for investigation by the Medical Board of California, this is it.

from ScienceBlogs http://ift.tt/2aPo6Zz

After writing about the failure of state medical boards to discipline physicians who practice quackery and an apparent notable exception in Tennessee just yesterday, my attention was brought back to California and the topic of SB 277, the law enacted last year that, as of July 1 this year, eliminated non-medical exemptions to school vaccine mandates. As anyone who’s read this blog for more than a year knows (or anyone who’s just paid attention to the political battle to pass SB 277 lsat year in the wake of the Disneyland measles outbreak), once the battle was over and antivaccine activists lost, their attention turned immediately to finding ways to get around the law. Unfortunately, the law provided a way.

There are now three states in the US that do not allow nonmedical exemptions to school vaccine mandates: Mississippi, California, and West Virginia. Not surprisingly, just as antivaccine parents have tried to falsely claim religious exemptions in states that only Each of them has different standards for documentation of what is required to qualify for a medical exemption that fall into two categories. The most strict is West Virginia, where requests for medical exemptions are reviewed by an Immunization Officer, who determines if they are appropriate “based upon the most recent guidance from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), and the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) with respect to medical contraindications or precautions for each vaccine.” In Mississippi and, now, in California, all that is required is a letter from a physician.

You might ask: So what’s the problem with just letting any old physician write a letter supporting a medical exemption to school vaccine mandates in California? It’s a system that seems to work very well in Mississippi. Here’s the problem: California is not Mississippi. One key difference is that California is has a lot more antivaccine parents; indeed, it is arguably the epicenter of antivaccine activism in the US, which is why the resistance to SB 277 was so loud and public. It’s also why I’ve said on more than one occasion that when the outbreaks occur they’ll start in California. Another key difference is that California is chock full of antivaccine and antivaccine-sympathetic pediatricians and family doctors who have seen a lucrative business opportunity selling medical exemptions to all of these antivaccine parents. Indeed, I speculated whether this would happen right around the time SB 277 passed.

So did others:

@gorskon @MyHealthyBabies @JayGordonMDFAAP No doubt some CA doctors will profit from this. I hear Bob just ordered a new Lamborghini.

— Greg Hinson (@ackdoc) June 30, 2015

Dr. Bob, of course, is Dr. Bob Sears, the antivaccine-sympathetic pediatrician who’s’ most famous for a book full of bad advice on vaccines and, during the political battle over SB 277, prone to going full Godwin over the bill. Consistent with that, it didn’t take Dr. Bob very long at all to start giving seminars on how to get medical exemptions and avoid school vaccine mandates under SB 277. At the time, mere weeks after the passage of SB 277, Dr. Bob focused on non-evidence-based reasons for medical exemptions and ways to get around the law other than home schooling. For example, he suggested getting an Individualized Education Program (IEP) that specifies regular classroom time. IEPs are mandated by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) for children with special needs. If a child receives special educations services, he must have an IEP that includes a description of how the child is doing, the child’s specific annual education goals, specific special education supports and services that the school will provide to help the child reach those goals, modifications and accommodations the school will provide to help the child make progress, and other information. To comply with federal law, SB 277 specifically stipulates that the law “does not prohibit a pupil who qualifies for an individualized education program, pursuant to federal law and Section 56026 of the Education Code, from accessing any special education and related services required by his or her individualized education program.” So Dr. Bob recommended that parents seek an IEP, even for “minimal speech delay or learning issue” when the child is 2 or 3 years old so that they have it later and will be “protected” from SB 277 for the entire child’s school career.

Less than three months ago, I learned that there was now basically a cottage industry of bogus medical exemptions, with physicians such as Dr. Tara Zandvliet, Dr. Kelly Sutton, and, of course, Dr. Bob Sears selling medical exemptions based on medical reasons not supported by science.

What I don’t talk about that much on this blog is how often people write to me about the issues I discuss on this blog. Sometimes it’s just abuse from people who don’t like my point of view on alternative medicine, vaccines, and science. Sometimes, it’s people asking for medical advice, which I really can’t give, except in general terms. Sometimes it’s people telling me their stories about encounters with quacks. Of these, reading stories of patients whose family members have chosen, for example, Gerson therapy instead of real medicine are the hardest to read and steel me to continue what I do. Sometimes people let me know about something that I might want to blog about. This was one of those times, as it was the story of a parent and Dr. Bob’s vaccine exemptions that demonstrates how bogus these exemptions are.

I won’t tell you whether this was a male or a female, and I’ve stripped all potentially identifiable information from the genuine letters generated by Dr. Bob’s office in support of medical exemptions for their children. I’m going to refer to this parent as “he” for convenience and based on the default to male pronouns in English. Basically, this story developed out of, unfortunately, divorce, where the person who wrote me is not the custodial parent. He describes himself as formerly antivaccine but now pro-vaccine, which, as described, caused a rift in the marriage to the point where his spouse left. This is, unfortunately, a story I’ve heard too many times. In any case, this person who wrote me wants the children vaccinated. His spouse, however, does not, and his spouse stymied him by getting a medical exemption from Dr. Sears. Basically, his spouse filled out an online history form, paid a fee, and Dr. Bob’s office spit out these two boilerplate exemption letters. Nothing about them has been altered, other than to white out the names, dates of birth, and the date of the letter. (I wouldn’t want Dr. Bob to be able to figure out who it was based on the reasons for exemption and the date issued. Let’s just say that it was within the last four months or so.) Here are the letters (click to embiggen):

Note the bogus reasons:

• Family history of Autoimmune Disorders, Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Neurodevelopmental Disorders, Psychiatric Disorders.
• His own current medical problems.

My reader described how he showed these letters to the children’s regular pediatrician, who was appalled. By e-mail (and, by the way, I’ve saved every e-mail), I urged him to report Dr. Bob for what, in my opinion, is highly unethical behavior and failure to meet the standard of care. After all, Dr. Bob never actually examined the patient and appears never to have verified even the medical history. Basically, he appears to have an online form that a parent can fill out and get a medical exemption for pretty much any condition. I was assured that a report to the Medical Board of California has been filed.

To be honest, given how many quacks practice in California, I’m not as optimistic as I’d like to be that anything will be done about Dr. Bob’s issuing boilerplate medical exemptions unless there are a lot of complaints. That’s the problem. The very parents who take advantage of such a “service” are the very parents least likely to complain to a state medical board about the physician providing the service. After all, such parents got what they want: an exemption from vaccinating their children. Because they are antivaccine and motivated enough to seek out such a service, they really don’t care how they got the exemption; all they care about is that they got it. Cases like this one, where one parent has become pro-vaccine and objects enough when the other parent uses a physician like Dr. Bob to obtain a medical exemption are almost certainly comparatively rare. No doubt he’ll get that new Lamborghini if he wants it.

Still, I’m hopeful that publicizing this story, with the permission of my reader, will draw some attention to Dr. Bob. In the meantime, I referred my reader to people who can help find legal help if he doesn’t already have it. If ever there were a case that cried out for investigation by the Medical Board of California, this is it.

from ScienceBlogs http://ift.tt/2aPo6Zz

Local Teachers Develop STEM Curriculum Through Corps Externships

Story by Mark Rankin
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Nashville District 

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District is committed to supporting science, technology, engineering and mathematics programs in partnership with local educators.

Three Stratford STEM Magnet High School teachers recently participated in an externship at the Nashville District Headquarters and at Old Hickory Dam that will help them develop project-based curriculum and facilitate applied learning.

Fred Copeland, capstone teacher; Lauren Guengerich, biology teacher; and Eric Bloom, social studies teacher; interacted with Nashville District water managers June 21 and learned how the Corps provides collaborative water resource engineering solutions, public infrastructure management, and environmental stewardship for the Cumberland-Tennessee River systems.

Bill Walker, geologist and Scott Massa, geologist share information about instrumentation at the Old Hickory Lock and Dam in Hendersonville, Tenn., explains how water circulates at the dam and how it is managed to Stratford STEM High School teachers during an externship with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District July 21, 2016.

Carol Haynes, Nashville District Equal Employment Opportunity chief; Allison Walker, natural resources specialist; Rob Baulsir, mechanical engineer and STEM Program coordinator; and Ben Rohrbach, Nashville District Engineering and Construction chief; welcomed the teachers and emphasized to them that the Corps of Engineers is committed to empowering teachers in support of STEM programs and the importance of STEM education for future potential Corps employees.

Rohrbach provided a detailed briefing about Corps history, Corps leadership, organization, navigation, flood risk reduction, hydropower, recreation, emergency management, real estate and construction. He also talked about operations and missions, and explained how the Nashville District serves the region and the nation by providing collaborative water resource engineering solutions, world class public infrastructure management, and environmental stewardship for the Cumberland-Tennessee River Systems.

“It’s great you are here and we appreciate you taking the time out your busy schedules to learn about the Corps and what we do,” Rohrbach said. “STEM subjects are key to helping students understand engineering, shaping their young minds for the future because you are on the front line to develop a curriculum, educate and prepare students for their future.”

John Bell, a hydropower engineer at the Old Hickory Power Plant in Hendersonville, Tenn., explains how water is generated, it’s functions and how it is managed to Stratford STEM High School teachers during an externship with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District July 21, 2016.

The teachers interacted and asked questions to water managers, hydropower engineers, geologists and geotechnical engineers and learned how the Corps provides collaborative water resource engineering solutions, public infrastructure management, and environmental stewardship.

The group gathered at the Cumberland River Operations Center June 22 for instruction in Instrumentation. They also boarded a vessel, locked through Old Hickory Lock and then toured the hydropower plant.

“This has been a great experience for me,” said Copeland. “I can’t explain how much the instruction and tour has opened my eyes about engineering, its functions, the importance of managing water and the variety of types of jobs available to our STEM students.”

John Bell, hydropower engineer at the Old Hickory Power Plant in Hendersonville, Tenn., explains how water circulates at the dam and how it is managed to Stratford STEM High School teachers during an externship with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District July 21, 2016.

The idea behind the partnership between the Corps and Stratford teachers is to collaborate on the development of project based learning curriculum for STEM classes.

Walker, one of the coordinators of the externship project for the Nashville District, said the opportunity to host educators and help provide students with practical instruction is such a worthy endeavor.

“This was exciting to host the teachers and see them respond to the information they were provided,” said Walker. “They expressed how they were able to draw creative ties to the classroom in a manner not thought of and I’m looking forward to seeing what the final project they come up with looks like.”

Robert Dillingham, Water Management specialist; Sarah Wiles, geologist; Don Getty, project manager for the Kentucky Lock Addition Project; Lacy Thomason, project manager; and Baulsir presented detailed information on water management; water quality; hydropower; geology and geotechnical engineering; civil & structural engineering; electrical & mechanical engineering; and water management operations.

Bill Walker, geologist; Scott Massa, geologist; shared information about instrumentation at Corps’ dams, and John Bell, hydropower trainee engineer; Joseph Conaster, Power Plant superintendent; provided a tour and talked about the powerhouse’s many functions and management of the water. Mark Worley, lock master, provided additional insight on navigation and lock functions.

“It is great to have the opportunity to see the teachers out here learning about what we do, so they can take it back to the classrooms and educate students on real-world STEM jobs,” said Bell.

Bell said the group was very attentive to all the information he presented and thinks providing the instruction and tour is a great idea.

The teachers listened and interacted constantly during the two-day externship because they want to learn about the Corps of Engineers and then expose students to scientific and engineering processes.

“I really have enjoyed the tour and learning so much about the Army Corps of Engineers that I did not know, especially how the water is collected and managed,” Guengerich said.

Bloom said that the group is very excited to partner with the Corps to learn and it is great to gather such a large quantity of information to develop project-based lessons for students.

“Having the opportunity to be on this tour of the dam has simply blown my mind and I think it is an excellent way for me to get ideas and provide my students a variety of different types of opportunities for them to study,” said Bloom.

Walker added that it is very important that the Corps continue to recognize the need to prioritize STEM subjects and broaden the relationship between STEM teachers and the Corps of engineers. She said the time shared through the recent externship allowed Stratford STEM teachers to engage with STEM professionals in a real-world setting and to observe methods and work tasks.

“Engaging with teachers is an important part of this process for us to gain valuable employees and other community industries because it allows teachers the ability to share with us the exciting things going on with high schoolers in the STEM fields and how we can help grow those students through engineering,” said Walker.

The Nashville District is supportive of STEM initiatives and has a rich history of supporting the mentorship of students in local schools.

Baulsir said his focus for helping educate STEM students has been to promote the district’s existing STEM activities, and initiate new partnerships with K-12 schools and universities.

“It is important that we mostly educate high school students about STEM subjects early because this is where youth decide their profession and concentration for college,” he said.

Follow U.S. Department of Defense on Twitter!

Disclaimer: Re-published content may have been edited for length and clarity. The appearance of hyperlinks does not constitute endorsement by the Department of Defense. For other than authorized activities, such as, military exchanges and Morale, Welfare and Recreation sites, the Department of Defense does not exercise any editorial control over the information you may find at these locations. Such links are provided consistent with the stated purpose of this DoD website.

from Armed with Science http://ift.tt/2aCboRj

Story by Mark Rankin
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Nashville District 

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District is committed to supporting science, technology, engineering and mathematics programs in partnership with local educators.

Three Stratford STEM Magnet High School teachers recently participated in an externship at the Nashville District Headquarters and at Old Hickory Dam that will help them develop project-based curriculum and facilitate applied learning.

Fred Copeland, capstone teacher; Lauren Guengerich, biology teacher; and Eric Bloom, social studies teacher; interacted with Nashville District water managers June 21 and learned how the Corps provides collaborative water resource engineering solutions, public infrastructure management, and environmental stewardship for the Cumberland-Tennessee River systems.

Bill Walker, geologist and Scott Massa, geologist share information about instrumentation at the Old Hickory Lock and Dam in Hendersonville, Tenn., explains how water circulates at the dam and how it is managed to Stratford STEM High School teachers during an externship with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District July 21, 2016.

Carol Haynes, Nashville District Equal Employment Opportunity chief; Allison Walker, natural resources specialist; Rob Baulsir, mechanical engineer and STEM Program coordinator; and Ben Rohrbach, Nashville District Engineering and Construction chief; welcomed the teachers and emphasized to them that the Corps of Engineers is committed to empowering teachers in support of STEM programs and the importance of STEM education for future potential Corps employees.

Rohrbach provided a detailed briefing about Corps history, Corps leadership, organization, navigation, flood risk reduction, hydropower, recreation, emergency management, real estate and construction. He also talked about operations and missions, and explained how the Nashville District serves the region and the nation by providing collaborative water resource engineering solutions, world class public infrastructure management, and environmental stewardship for the Cumberland-Tennessee River Systems.

“It’s great you are here and we appreciate you taking the time out your busy schedules to learn about the Corps and what we do,” Rohrbach said. “STEM subjects are key to helping students understand engineering, shaping their young minds for the future because you are on the front line to develop a curriculum, educate and prepare students for their future.”

John Bell, a hydropower engineer at the Old Hickory Power Plant in Hendersonville, Tenn., explains how water is generated, it’s functions and how it is managed to Stratford STEM High School teachers during an externship with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District July 21, 2016.

The teachers interacted and asked questions to water managers, hydropower engineers, geologists and geotechnical engineers and learned how the Corps provides collaborative water resource engineering solutions, public infrastructure management, and environmental stewardship.

The group gathered at the Cumberland River Operations Center June 22 for instruction in Instrumentation. They also boarded a vessel, locked through Old Hickory Lock and then toured the hydropower plant.

“This has been a great experience for me,” said Copeland. “I can’t explain how much the instruction and tour has opened my eyes about engineering, its functions, the importance of managing water and the variety of types of jobs available to our STEM students.”

John Bell, hydropower engineer at the Old Hickory Power Plant in Hendersonville, Tenn., explains how water circulates at the dam and how it is managed to Stratford STEM High School teachers during an externship with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District July 21, 2016.

The idea behind the partnership between the Corps and Stratford teachers is to collaborate on the development of project based learning curriculum for STEM classes.

Walker, one of the coordinators of the externship project for the Nashville District, said the opportunity to host educators and help provide students with practical instruction is such a worthy endeavor.

“This was exciting to host the teachers and see them respond to the information they were provided,” said Walker. “They expressed how they were able to draw creative ties to the classroom in a manner not thought of and I’m looking forward to seeing what the final project they come up with looks like.”

Robert Dillingham, Water Management specialist; Sarah Wiles, geologist; Don Getty, project manager for the Kentucky Lock Addition Project; Lacy Thomason, project manager; and Baulsir presented detailed information on water management; water quality; hydropower; geology and geotechnical engineering; civil & structural engineering; electrical & mechanical engineering; and water management operations.

Bill Walker, geologist; Scott Massa, geologist; shared information about instrumentation at Corps’ dams, and John Bell, hydropower trainee engineer; Joseph Conaster, Power Plant superintendent; provided a tour and talked about the powerhouse’s many functions and management of the water. Mark Worley, lock master, provided additional insight on navigation and lock functions.

“It is great to have the opportunity to see the teachers out here learning about what we do, so they can take it back to the classrooms and educate students on real-world STEM jobs,” said Bell.

Bell said the group was very attentive to all the information he presented and thinks providing the instruction and tour is a great idea.

The teachers listened and interacted constantly during the two-day externship because they want to learn about the Corps of Engineers and then expose students to scientific and engineering processes.

“I really have enjoyed the tour and learning so much about the Army Corps of Engineers that I did not know, especially how the water is collected and managed,” Guengerich said.

Bloom said that the group is very excited to partner with the Corps to learn and it is great to gather such a large quantity of information to develop project-based lessons for students.

“Having the opportunity to be on this tour of the dam has simply blown my mind and I think it is an excellent way for me to get ideas and provide my students a variety of different types of opportunities for them to study,” said Bloom.

Walker added that it is very important that the Corps continue to recognize the need to prioritize STEM subjects and broaden the relationship between STEM teachers and the Corps of engineers. She said the time shared through the recent externship allowed Stratford STEM teachers to engage with STEM professionals in a real-world setting and to observe methods and work tasks.

“Engaging with teachers is an important part of this process for us to gain valuable employees and other community industries because it allows teachers the ability to share with us the exciting things going on with high schoolers in the STEM fields and how we can help grow those students through engineering,” said Walker.

The Nashville District is supportive of STEM initiatives and has a rich history of supporting the mentorship of students in local schools.

Baulsir said his focus for helping educate STEM students has been to promote the district’s existing STEM activities, and initiate new partnerships with K-12 schools and universities.

“It is important that we mostly educate high school students about STEM subjects early because this is where youth decide their profession and concentration for college,” he said.

Follow U.S. Department of Defense on Twitter!

Disclaimer: Re-published content may have been edited for length and clarity. The appearance of hyperlinks does not constitute endorsement by the Department of Defense. For other than authorized activities, such as, military exchanges and Morale, Welfare and Recreation sites, the Department of Defense does not exercise any editorial control over the information you may find at these locations. Such links are provided consistent with the stated purpose of this DoD website.

from Armed with Science http://ift.tt/2aCboRj

Spectacular rocket reentry over US West

People in California, Nevada, and Utah saw a huge meteor-like, disintegrating object in the sky on July 27, 2016. Ian Norman and his friends, who captured the video above (warning: profanity) from California’s Sierra Nevada mountain range recognized it as a satellite reentry. Experts from Aerospace.org say it was the reentry of a Chinese CZ-7 rocket body. The rocket had been launched from Wenchang Satellite Launch Center, China on June 25, 2016 on a technology demonstration mission.

The amazing reentry was seen near 9:38 pm PST and, because it was slowly crossing the skies, the event was recorded in video by several witnesses. You can see more videos by going to YouTube and using the search term July 27, 2016 fireball.

Here’s the American Meteor Society’s page on the July 27 event.

The Chinese rocket body designated as CZ-7 (41628) successfully carried to space the Tiange and Aoxiang small satellites, as well, as other small experimental modules.

When you see a disintegrating meteor-like object like this one, how can you tell whether it’s a human-made object or a natural space rock?

A disintegrating spacecraft will look like a spectacular meteor, but will look considerably slower upon reentry than natural meteors. The reentry might appear slow enough to allow you to announce it to people standing next to you, and even take video or pictures. This is something very difficult with much faster natural (space rocks or comet fragments) meteors.

Also, reentering spacecraft have shown significant fragmentation. Go back to the video at the top of this page, and notice the fragmentation around 1:05.

Path of reentry of Chinese CZ-7 rocket body on July 27, 2016 as described by Aerospace.org.

Bottom line: Observers in the U.S. West saw a huge fireball on July 27, 2016. It was the reentry of a Chinese rocket body.

from EarthSky http://ift.tt/2avSNE6

People in California, Nevada, and Utah saw a huge meteor-like, disintegrating object in the sky on July 27, 2016. Ian Norman and his friends, who captured the video above (warning: profanity) from California’s Sierra Nevada mountain range recognized it as a satellite reentry. Experts from Aerospace.org say it was the reentry of a Chinese CZ-7 rocket body. The rocket had been launched from Wenchang Satellite Launch Center, China on June 25, 2016 on a technology demonstration mission.

The amazing reentry was seen near 9:38 pm PST and, because it was slowly crossing the skies, the event was recorded in video by several witnesses. You can see more videos by going to YouTube and using the search term July 27, 2016 fireball.

Here’s the American Meteor Society’s page on the July 27 event.

The Chinese rocket body designated as CZ-7 (41628) successfully carried to space the Tiange and Aoxiang small satellites, as well, as other small experimental modules.

When you see a disintegrating meteor-like object like this one, how can you tell whether it’s a human-made object or a natural space rock?

A disintegrating spacecraft will look like a spectacular meteor, but will look considerably slower upon reentry than natural meteors. The reentry might appear slow enough to allow you to announce it to people standing next to you, and even take video or pictures. This is something very difficult with much faster natural (space rocks or comet fragments) meteors.

Also, reentering spacecraft have shown significant fragmentation. Go back to the video at the top of this page, and notice the fragmentation around 1:05.

Path of reentry of Chinese CZ-7 rocket body on July 27, 2016 as described by Aerospace.org.

Bottom line: Observers in the U.S. West saw a huge fireball on July 27, 2016. It was the reentry of a Chinese rocket body.

from EarthSky http://ift.tt/2avSNE6

Delta Aquarid radiant point near Skat

The star Skat – near the radiant for the Delta Aquarids – is the 3rd-brightest in the faint constellation Aquarius.

The Delta Aquarid meteor shower has a broad maximum and produces meteors throughout late July and early August. It overlaps with the more famous Perseid meteor shower, which is expected to have an outburst in 2016. The Delta Aquarid shower takes its name from the star Skat – also known by its Greek name Delta Aquarii. If you trace the paths of the meteors backward, you’ll find that all Delta Aquarids appear to originate from a point near this star. This point – near Skat – is called the radiant point of the Delta Aquarid meteor shower.

Skat isn’t a bright star. It ranks as only the third-brightest in the dim constellation Aquarius the Water Bearer. Still, you can glimpse this constellation and this star, if you go someplace nice and dark. If you’re in the N. Hemisphere, you’ll also need a good view to the south. From mid-latitudes in the Southern Hemisphere, the star and constellation are northward and higher in the sky.

Skat or Delta Aquarii appears modestly bright in a dark country sky. It’s near on the sky’s dome to a very bright star, Fomalhaut in the constellation Piscis Austrinus the Southern Fish.

If you can see the Great Square of Pegasus and Fomalhaut, they can help you find Skat. See the chart below.

Find the star Skat by first finding the Great Square of Pegasus. Skat is found roughly on a line drawn southward through stars on Square’s west side. It’s between the Great Square and the bright star Fomalhaut.

Of course, in actuality, the Delta Aquarid meteors have nothing whatever to do with the star Skat. The meteors burn up some 60 miles (100 km) above Earth’s surface. Skat lies about 160 light-years away.

A meteor shower results when the Earth passes through the orbital path of a comet, and the debris from this passing comet vaporizes in the Earth’s upper atmosphere. The meteors enter Earth’s atmosphere on parallel paths.

Seeing them come from a radiant point in the sky is much the same illusion as standing on railroad tracks and seeing the tracks converge in the distance.

When you stand on a railroad track, you can see the illusion of tracks converging in the distance. Likewise, the paths of meteors in a single meteor shower appear to converge at a point – the radiant point – on the sky’s dome. Image via Shutterstock.

In late July and early August, when the Delta Aquarid meteors are flying, Skat and its constellation Aquarius rise above the horizon in the hours between midnight and dawn. They’re best seen in the evening sky in the months of October, November, and December.

No matter when you look, you’ll always find Skat to the south (or below) the Great Square of Pegasus and to the north (or above) the bright star Fomalhaut.

View larger. | Want to see the star Skat? This chart can help, and you also need a dark sky. Chart via Wikimedia Commons.

Bottom line: How to find the star Skat, or Delta Aquarius, third-brightest star in the constellation Aquarius the Water Bearer, radiant point for the Delta Aquarid meteor shower. Plus an explanation of why meteors in annual showers have radiant points.

Great Square of Pegasus: Easy to see

Read about all the major meteor showers: EarthSky’s meteor shower guide

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

The star Skat – near the radiant for the Delta Aquarids – is the 3rd-brightest in the faint constellation Aquarius.

The Delta Aquarid meteor shower has a broad maximum and produces meteors throughout late July and early August. It overlaps with the more famous Perseid meteor shower, which is expected to have an outburst in 2016. The Delta Aquarid shower takes its name from the star Skat – also known by its Greek name Delta Aquarii. If you trace the paths of the meteors backward, you’ll find that all Delta Aquarids appear to originate from a point near this star. This point – near Skat – is called the radiant point of the Delta Aquarid meteor shower.

Skat isn’t a bright star. It ranks as only the third-brightest in the dim constellation Aquarius the Water Bearer. Still, you can glimpse this constellation and this star, if you go someplace nice and dark. If you’re in the N. Hemisphere, you’ll also need a good view to the south. From mid-latitudes in the Southern Hemisphere, the star and constellation are northward and higher in the sky.

Skat or Delta Aquarii appears modestly bright in a dark country sky. It’s near on the sky’s dome to a very bright star, Fomalhaut in the constellation Piscis Austrinus the Southern Fish.

If you can see the Great Square of Pegasus and Fomalhaut, they can help you find Skat. See the chart below.

Find the star Skat by first finding the Great Square of Pegasus. Skat is found roughly on a line drawn southward through stars on Square’s west side. It’s between the Great Square and the bright star Fomalhaut.

Of course, in actuality, the Delta Aquarid meteors have nothing whatever to do with the star Skat. The meteors burn up some 60 miles (100 km) above Earth’s surface. Skat lies about 160 light-years away.

A meteor shower results when the Earth passes through the orbital path of a comet, and the debris from this passing comet vaporizes in the Earth’s upper atmosphere. The meteors enter Earth’s atmosphere on parallel paths.

Seeing them come from a radiant point in the sky is much the same illusion as standing on railroad tracks and seeing the tracks converge in the distance.

When you stand on a railroad track, you can see the illusion of tracks converging in the distance. Likewise, the paths of meteors in a single meteor shower appear to converge at a point – the radiant point – on the sky’s dome. Image via Shutterstock.

In late July and early August, when the Delta Aquarid meteors are flying, Skat and its constellation Aquarius rise above the horizon in the hours between midnight and dawn. They’re best seen in the evening sky in the months of October, November, and December.

No matter when you look, you’ll always find Skat to the south (or below) the Great Square of Pegasus and to the north (or above) the bright star Fomalhaut.

View larger. | Want to see the star Skat? This chart can help, and you also need a dark sky. Chart via Wikimedia Commons.

Bottom line: How to find the star Skat, or Delta Aquarius, third-brightest star in the constellation Aquarius the Water Bearer, radiant point for the Delta Aquarid meteor shower. Plus an explanation of why meteors in annual showers have radiant points.

Great Square of Pegasus: Easy to see

Read about all the major meteor showers: EarthSky’s meteor shower guide

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

Friday Cephalopod: Darwin’s pet octopus [Pharyngula]

He had several, because all the cool scientists like cephalopods, and they’re still bottled up and preserved in museums.

Sophie Wiltshire

No word on the status of Darwin’s pet cat.

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

He had several, because all the cool scientists like cephalopods, and they’re still bottled up and preserved in museums.

Sophie Wiltshire

No word on the status of Darwin’s pet cat.

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

Go someplace dark and watch meteors!

Tonight – July 29, 2016 – and in the coming nights, treat yourself to one of nature’s spectacles. Every year, people look forward to the August Perseid meteor shower. And it’s wonderful, with regular rates of about 60 meteors per hour and with a possibility of a Perseid outburst in 2016. But there’s another meteor shower going on around now, too. It’s the Delta Aquarid shower, whose radiant point is shown on the chart above.

The Delta Aquarids don’t have as definite a peak as the Perseids. This shower is now producing a steady supply of meteors, which you can see in dark skies this weekend and in the coming weeks.

The Delta Aquarid shower reaches its nominal peak every year in late July. They’ll still be flying when the Perseids peak in August.

The moon is waning towards the new phase right now. And the Perseids are now rising to a peak. That makes late July and the first few weeks of August, in the hours before dawn, a good time to watch meteors.

You can tell a Perseid meteor from a Delta Aquarid, because the showers have 2 different radiant points. Here’s the Perseid radiant, rising in the northeast around midnight. The Delta Aquarid radiant point is closer to the ecliptic, or sun’s path across our sky. If you trace the paths of the Delta Aquarid meteors backward, you’d find the star Delta Aquarii – also called Skat – nearly coinciding with the radiant.

The Perseid shower is expected to produce the greatest number of meteors on the night of August 11-12, 2016. It’s on that night that you might see the Perseid outburst, with perhaps 200 meteors per hour at the peak.

But you don’t need to see that many to enjoy watching meteors. And the Perseids are known to rise to a peak gradually, so they’ll be increasing in numbers every night over the coming weeks. Plus the Delta Aquarids will be raining down steadily, night after night.

So … when exactly should you watch, over the coming weeks? Remember three things.

First, meteor showers tend to be best after midnight, with predawn often an optimum time to watch.

Second, in 2016, new moon comes on August 2 and a first quarter moon on August 10. A first quarter moon sets around midnight (1 a.m. Daylight Time). After first quarter, the moon will continue to wax larger and set later. It’ll begin washing the predawn sky with its light by around mid-August, but – on the peak mornings of the Perseid shower – you’ll still be able to watch in the optimum hours before dawn.

Third, there’s a Perseid outburst predicted for this year. It’s predicted for the night of August 11-12 (evening of August 11, morning of August 12) and expected to last half a day. The times of the predictions vary from astronomer to astronomer (see the chart midway down in this article). So on the night of August 11-12, you might want to watch all night … moon or no moon. Just hope the outburst comes for you when the moon is down!

Yes, you can watch from the South Hemisphere, too! The Delta Aquarids, especially, are a good shower for you. The Delta Aquarids fall more abundantly in the Southern Hemisphere, featuring perhaps 15 Delta Aquarid meteors per hour in an inky dark sky. All around the world, the radiant of the shower climbs highest up for the night around 2 to 3 a.m. local time (3 to 4 a.m. local Daylight Time), but the radiant soars way higher in the Southern Hemisphere than at comparable latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere.

Here’s a custom sunrise/set calendar (check the moonrise/set box).

Composite image of Perseid meteor shower taken morning of August 13, 2013 in Mersing, Malaysia. Andromeda Galaxy is also visible in the top right corner. Image created by our friend Justin NG in Mersing, Malaysia.

Bottom line: You won’t see as many meteors in late July and early August as you will at the Perseid meteor shower’s peak dates on the mornings of August 11, 12 and 13. Even so, you might see a decent sprinkling of meteors during the final weekend of July 2016!

EarthSky astronomy kits are perfect for beginners. Order yours today.

EarthSky’s meteor shower guide for 2016

from EarthSky http://ift.tt/1olIi7i

Tonight – July 29, 2016 – and in the coming nights, treat yourself to one of nature’s spectacles. Every year, people look forward to the August Perseid meteor shower. And it’s wonderful, with regular rates of about 60 meteors per hour and with a possibility of a Perseid outburst in 2016. But there’s another meteor shower going on around now, too. It’s the Delta Aquarid shower, whose radiant point is shown on the chart above.

The Delta Aquarids don’t have as definite a peak as the Perseids. This shower is now producing a steady supply of meteors, which you can see in dark skies this weekend and in the coming weeks.

The Delta Aquarid shower reaches its nominal peak every year in late July. They’ll still be flying when the Perseids peak in August.

The moon is waning towards the new phase right now. And the Perseids are now rising to a peak. That makes late July and the first few weeks of August, in the hours before dawn, a good time to watch meteors.

You can tell a Perseid meteor from a Delta Aquarid, because the showers have 2 different radiant points. Here’s the Perseid radiant, rising in the northeast around midnight. The Delta Aquarid radiant point is closer to the ecliptic, or sun’s path across our sky. If you trace the paths of the Delta Aquarid meteors backward, you’d find the star Delta Aquarii – also called Skat – nearly coinciding with the radiant.

The Perseid shower is expected to produce the greatest number of meteors on the night of August 11-12, 2016. It’s on that night that you might see the Perseid outburst, with perhaps 200 meteors per hour at the peak.

But you don’t need to see that many to enjoy watching meteors. And the Perseids are known to rise to a peak gradually, so they’ll be increasing in numbers every night over the coming weeks. Plus the Delta Aquarids will be raining down steadily, night after night.

So … when exactly should you watch, over the coming weeks? Remember three things.

First, meteor showers tend to be best after midnight, with predawn often an optimum time to watch.

Second, in 2016, new moon comes on August 2 and a first quarter moon on August 10. A first quarter moon sets around midnight (1 a.m. Daylight Time). After first quarter, the moon will continue to wax larger and set later. It’ll begin washing the predawn sky with its light by around mid-August, but – on the peak mornings of the Perseid shower – you’ll still be able to watch in the optimum hours before dawn.

Third, there’s a Perseid outburst predicted for this year. It’s predicted for the night of August 11-12 (evening of August 11, morning of August 12) and expected to last half a day. The times of the predictions vary from astronomer to astronomer (see the chart midway down in this article). So on the night of August 11-12, you might want to watch all night … moon or no moon. Just hope the outburst comes for you when the moon is down!

Yes, you can watch from the South Hemisphere, too! The Delta Aquarids, especially, are a good shower for you. The Delta Aquarids fall more abundantly in the Southern Hemisphere, featuring perhaps 15 Delta Aquarid meteors per hour in an inky dark sky. All around the world, the radiant of the shower climbs highest up for the night around 2 to 3 a.m. local time (3 to 4 a.m. local Daylight Time), but the radiant soars way higher in the Southern Hemisphere than at comparable latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere.

Here’s a custom sunrise/set calendar (check the moonrise/set box).

Composite image of Perseid meteor shower taken morning of August 13, 2013 in Mersing, Malaysia. Andromeda Galaxy is also visible in the top right corner. Image created by our friend Justin NG in Mersing, Malaysia.

Bottom line: You won’t see as many meteors in late July and early August as you will at the Perseid meteor shower’s peak dates on the mornings of August 11, 12 and 13. Even so, you might see a decent sprinkling of meteors during the final weekend of July 2016!

EarthSky astronomy kits are perfect for beginners. Order yours today.

EarthSky’s meteor shower guide for 2016

from EarthSky http://ift.tt/1olIi7i