Now that Steve Irwin is no longer a threat, Reggie seems comfortable with emerging from his hiding place. We thought his overdue emergence in 2005 ended this unusual story.
We were wrong.
Read about the sighting from the Daily Breeze:
Environment
First STEREO Images
The STEREO spacecraft has furnished its first 3D images. The images are taken from STEREO’s X-ray cameras; one taken from the “Ahead” spacecraft and one taken from the “Behind” spacecraft and then combined to produce the 3D effect.
To view these anaglyphic images in 3D you will need red-blue glasses, which you can get free from Rainbow Symphony.
I also repackaged a lower-bandwidth video of the rotation of the solar disk leading up to the view of the Sun seen above. I even put some music to it to add some cinematic pizazz. Eat your heart out, Al Gore:
Sideways Sunspot
Today’s Astronomy Picture of the Day features this remarkable image of a sunspot on the limb of the Sun as seen from the Japanese solar-observing spacecraft, Hinode. Like a fountain of fire, solar plasma is ejected from the sunspot, most of which cascades back onto the surface. Some of the ejecta particles will continue speeding off into space, ultimately falling onto whatever is in the path. Better understanding of how the Sun ejects particles into space may result in more accurate predictions of solar storms that affect satellites, astronauts, and even power grids on Earth.
Image Credit & Copyright: Hinode, JAXA, NASA
Between the venerable SOHO spacecraft and the newly-launched Hinode and STEREO probes, scientists are sure to discover much more about our stellar companion. We are entering into an age of enlightenment (so to speak) about the nature of the Sun’s influence on the environment and climate on planet Earth. This is unfortunate for those who would like to divert attention from science in favor of over-representing anthropogenic (man-made) effects and predictions of imminent global disaster.
An Inconvenient Methane Truth
Apparently, the rate of change of the methane in the atmosphere seems to have gone from increasing to zero change. This must be disappointing to alarmists that claim that unbridled man-made emissions will continue to cause an increase in the levels of tropospheric methane in the 21st century.
Right: Level of Atmospheric Methane 1980-2004 – click image to enlarge.
A recent study published in Environmental Science & Technology shows the unexpected decrease in the atmospheric methane rate of change. Data from the study indicate a trend toward decreasing atmospheric methane.
The folks at CO2 Science analyzed the study:
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has long predicted that earth’s tropospheric methane (CH4) concentration would rise dramatically throughout the 21st century; see, for example, Ehhalt and Prather (2001). So entrenched a place did this dogma come to occupy in both the popular and scientific psyches, in fact, that when real-world data suddenly suggested otherwise, Simpson et al. (2002) continued to vehemently contend it was “premature to believe that the CH4 burden is ceasing to increase,” even though their own data bore witness against them in demonstrating that such was in fact occurring, as we indicated in our Editorial of 8 Jan 2003. Newer findings, however, ultimately caused even them to recant (Simpson et al., 2006); and, now, Khalil et al. (2007) have essentially “put the nails in the coffin” of the idea that rising atmospheric CH4 concentrations pose any further global warming threat at all.
Continue reading Atmospheric Methane: The Good-News Trend Continues
The ‘Global Warming And The Climate’ Website
Last weekend, I ran across a website originating in Norway that offers some compelling science that further debunks the hype about man-made global warming. The site, Global Warming And The Climate, is maintained by Per Strandberg of Voss, Norway. Per does a great job of tying several observed climate influencing phenomena together: Solar activity, greenhouse gasses and cosmic ray flux.
I discovered Per’s site after he left a comment on our post, Correlating Sunspots to Global Warming.
Actually I started to look at the cause for global warming by looking at the data. Here are my result. The leading climate scientists use misleading and deceptive methods when they analyze climate data.
Amazingly there are no repository and comprehensive information to be found at any location on the Internet over the existing two theories for global warming.
People should be able to make informative and objective judgment for themselves.Therefore I collected this information here on my website http://www.global-warming-and-the-climate.com On it I have collected information and graphs covering both the greenhouse gas and the cosmic ray cloud cover theory and made analysis from the data.
Thanks to Per Strandberg for sharing his good work with us.
Yellow Phalaenopsis Orchid
Don’t let its delicate appearance fool you. This exotic, graceful orchid is among the most hardy of houseplants. These plants are commonly referred to as “Moth Orchids” and are considered among the easiest of the orchid family to care for as well as the most recognizable. The long-lasting flowers bloom perfectly for up to three months. The flowering intervals vary with each plant, and you may be treated to a bloom as often as twice a year. Phalaenopsis have become one of the most popular variety of orchids because of their low maintenance and delicate balance of poise and elegance.
We picked up this beauty yesterday at our local garden center. There are three blooms and more on the way.
A Panoramic View of Catalina Island
I took this photo (actually five photos stitched together) from Del Cerro Park, one of the highest points on the Palos Verdes Peninsula in Southern California. The panorama sweeps from the Southeast (San Pedro Hill is the high point on the left) across the horizon where Catalina Island can be seen below the clouds in the distance. The sweep continues to the West-Southwest toward Santa Barbara Island which can only be seen on an exceptionally clear day. Somewhere near the center, you can see Damsel taking photos of Portuguese Bend. Click on the image for a larger version.
