Solar Spicules

Huge spikes of plasma fly out of the Sun’s surface all the time, according to scientists studying observations made by SOHO and STEREO spacecraft. This week’s SOHO Pick of the Week discusses these spikes in scientific terms, although there is still considerable question as to their nature and effects, especially about how they affect the planets — ours in particular.

I’m thankful for the ongoing study of the Sun. The more we learn about it, the more we will be able to refute the hysterical Greenbat nonsense about man-made global warming .

Breaking News! James Hansen’s Fake Temperature Algorithms

From SOHO Pick of the Week:

spiculesA close up view of the top of the Sun as seen in profile shows thousands of little spurts, like small blow torches, shooting out all over the Sun. The movie shows just an average day’s worth of this kind of activity as seen from the STEREO spacecraft (Ahead) in extreme ultraviolet light (August 3, 2007). These spurts are called spicules. With STEREO’s 2048×2048 image resolution and an image every 10 minutes, we can zoom in on features like this with no distortion. Spicules are plasma jets that shoot through the Sun’s atmosphere or corona at about 90,000 kilometers per hour. Discovered in 1877 by Angelo Secchi, they remain largely unexplained, in part because observations are difficult for objects with a brief life (about 5 minutes) and relatively small size (diameters of just 300 miles / 500 kilometers). They are caused by shock waves formed when sound waves at the solar surface leak into the solar atmosphere. More than 100,000 spicules occur at any given time on our star’s surface.

Watch the video below for a dynamic look at Solar Spicules.

Continue reading…

Sunflower Centerpiece

This week these sunflowers have been decorating our living room. At a certain time each morning (if the clouds are gone) they are bathed in the sunlight – great for taking their pictures!

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Large Exoplanet Discovered by Lowell Astronomers

tres-4.jpgFor several years, Damsel and I have been contributing members of Lowell Observatory on Mars Hill near Flagstaff, Arizona. We occasionally visit them and always enjoy the museum and tours.

Recently, Lowell Astronomers made a discovery of a very large, but low-density planet, orbiting a distant star. The planet should be smaller and more compact, according to physics, but it is a nebulous, oversized lightweight ball.

Image above courtesy Lowell Observatory: Artist conception of TrES-4 and it’s host star. Click on the thumbnail image to view the high-resolution artwork.

From Lowell Observatory:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 6, 2007

Largest Transiting Extrasolar Planet Found Around A Distant Star

Flagstaff, Ariz.– An international team of astronomers with the Trans-atlantic Exoplanet Survey announce today the discovery of TrES-4, a new extrasolar planet in the constellation of Hercules. The new planet was identified by astronomers looking for transiting planets – that is, planets that pass in front of their home star – using a network of small automated telescopes in Arizona, California, and the Canary Islands. TrES-4 was discovered less than half a degree (about the size of the full Moon) from the team’s third planet, TrES-3.

“TrES-4 is the largest known exoplanet,” said Georgi Mandushev, Lowell Observatory astronomer and the lead author of the paper announcing the discovery. “It is about 70 percent bigger than Jupiter, the Solar System’s largest planet, but less massive, making it a planet of extremely low density. Its mean density is only about 0.2 grams per cubic centimeter, or about the density of balsa wood! And because of the planet’s relatively weak pull on its upper atmosphere, some of the atmosphere probably escapes in a comet-like tail.”

Continue reading…

Newsweek and the Denial Machine

newsweak.jpgNewsweek is a magazine whose name is only half right. They publish each week, but their content? News? Not so much . . .

This time, Newsweek (a part of the far left MSNBC media) published an article proclaiming that those of us who challenge the ‘consensus’ that the planet is doomed, are in fact part of a massive ‘Denial Machine.’ In the article, the authors claim that there is yet another ‘vast conspiracy’ funded by the oil companies and pushed by research groups like the Competitive Enterprise Institute. They claim that this ‘machine’ is well-funded, but wait! The promoters of the ‘consensus’ are funded way more than the ‘deniers.’

Senator James Inhofe (R – Okla), on the Senate EPW Minority Blog, points out that Newsweek ignored his statistics on relative funding levels of both sides of the issue:

The only problem is — Newsweek knew better. Reporter Eve Conant, who interviewed Senator James Inhofe (R-Okla.), the Ranking Member of the Environment & Public Works Committee, was given all the latest data proving conclusively that it is the proponents of man-made global warming fears that enjoy a monumental funding advantage over the skeptics. (A whopping $50 BILLION to a paltry $19 MILLION for skeptics – Yes, that is BILLION to MILLION . . .)

The ‘Planet Gore‘ blog also published some interesting things about this Newsweek article:


Newsweek: “The Denial Machine”
. Newsweek tries to marginalize global warming opposition by coining the phrase “the denial machine” in this week’s issue.

Newsweek Clueless: How the Tail Wagged the Dog. Newsweek’s cover story, by Sharon Begley and three colleagues, purports to be an expose of the global-warming “denial machine” and how it keeps America Kyoto-free.

More on Newsweek Cover Story. Marlo and Henry have commented well on the Newsweek cover story, and especially the lead item referring to the crazy story out a few months ago involving me and AEI in supposedly trying to “bribe” scientists to undermine the IPCC.

This is the same Newsweek magazine that predicted an ice age was coming in the 1970’s. Can anyone doubt the left-wing agenda of publishers like Newsweek?

Respectable Woman

Our weekly trip to the range consisted of the usual faire; a couple of our .38 caliber revolvers, a 9mm pistol and our 12 and 20 gauge shotguns. This week, we borrowed a Glock 26 9mm pistol from the range for a ‘test drive’ since we’re thinking about adding one to our collection.

I shot some video of Damsel when she was firing her 20 gauge and, later, when we were trying out the 9mm Glock. This reminded me of a cubicle placard that Damsel used to have – it said,

“I am a respectable business woman – do not [screw] with me.”

So I went with that thought and put this video together.

Canyon de Chelly Panoramic View

I’m introducing a new feature to our weblog – a viewer for panoramic images. The camera I use, a Canon A710-IS, has a panoramic image mode that allows you to take a series of photos and ‘stitch’ them together using a software tool that comes with the camera.

During our vacation last week, I took several of these panoramic images for my own enjoyment, and thought I would share some of them here on the website. One such image was this 270° panorama taken at Canyon de Chelly in Northeastern Arizona on the Navajo Nation. Sweeping from left to right, you can see remains of an ancient cliff dwelling, fertile farmland on the canyon floor, immense rocky pillars and a mountain range in New Mexico in the distance. Click on the thumbnail image below to go to the panoramic image viewer.

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Landfill Lilies

The nearest County Recycle Center is located at a closed landfill in Rolling Hills Estates on the Palos Verdes Peninsula. When we have collected enough glass, aluminum and plastic, we take them to the center. The County nicely maintains the landfill landscaping and these nice pink lilies were among the flowers we saw blooming today while we were recycling.

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