Paul

Paul Leonard Newman (26.01.1925 - 26.09.2008)

Gas!

Navy Girl

Happy Monday!

New Space Station Camera Reveals the Cosmic Shore

Part of human fascination with space is the chance to look back at our own planet from afar. The unique vantage from the International Space Station affords a vista both breathtaking and scientifically illuminating.

Here on Earth, both scientists and spectators rely on the station's crew to record and transmit images and videos of what they see to share in their experience. Until recently, reduced lighting conditions at night, combined with insufficiently perceptive equipment, made some of the most beautiful views difficult to capture.

This changed with the arrival of the Super Sensitive High Definition TV, or SS-HDTV, camera on the space station. With the SS-HDTV, the crew can document new and more detailed footage of the dynamic interactions that take place in the area between the Earths' atmosphere and the vacuum of space, known as the cosmic shore.

According to Keiji Murakami, a senior engineer with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, this camera's superior recording capability opens up a significant window of observation. Some may not realize that the station orbits the Earth 16 times a day, experiencing multiple sunrises and sunsets during those 24 hours. The crew actually has a 50/50 chance of a night view. "Half of the Earth view from [station] is a night view. And the day view and night view are very different," said Murakami.

By October, JAXA astronaut Satoshi Furukawa had logged more than 30 hours of video using the camera. While the Earth observations are an amazing sight, they are also an important part of the research goals for the space station. From images taken by crew members aboard station, scientists can research natural phenomena and man-made changes to the planet.

Japan Broadcasting Corp., or NHK, which is similar to the U.S.'s Public Broadcasting System, or PBS, aired the first public videos showing the SS-HDTV camera's capabilities Sept. 18, 2011. The resulting show was appropriately titled "The Cosmic Shore," and it thrilled audiences with a spectacular view of natural phenomena, such as aurora and lightning. Furukawa filmed and narrated the video footage, which also shared man-made wonders, like the lights of Japan at night, in greater detail than previously possible.

Murakami comments on the merit of the SS-HDTV camera system's ability to capture momentary phenomena, like meteors and sprites -- a form of upper atmospheric lightning. "Using this super sensitive camera, we have observed the lightning, sprite, aurora, meteor, noctilucent cloud and airglow," said Murakami. "The phenomena of the sprite has not yet been studied in high definition until now. The color video of the sprite was taken for the first time from space using this camera."

This advanced equipment belongs to JAXA, in cooperation with NHK, and enables recording of the elusive phenomena that occurs within low-light conditions using an Electron Multiplying Charged Coupled Device, or EM-CCD, sensor. After filming, the crew downlinks the videos to the ground using data-relay satellites.

The SS-HDTV also can advance astronomical observations, according to Murakami. This equipment will continue to operate on orbit indefinitely. Even if a failure should occur, there is a backup camera and Panasonic SD card recorder already aboard the station as a precaution. As with many facilities and technology on the space station, this camera provides another asset available to future researchers as they continue to explore the space environment using the orbiting laboratory.

For more information visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/news/Cosmic_Shore.html

Jessica Fontaine Bridal Collection

Prepare designer fashion bridal gowns, Jessica Fontaine bridal, for you here! With fine fabrics and delicate handmade work, Jessica Fontaine wedding dresses are welcomed by brides these years. Most of their wedding gowns are simple yet elegant style. Bride dressed in a pure white yarn wedding dress, looks like a princess out of a fairy tale.
Designed with romantic lace element, bridal gowns from Jessica Fontaine have a foggy-like feel. Watching the bridal show of Jessica Fontaine, you might have a mission as if you were in a fairyland at the moment.

Rebecca

(Before the wedding..)

Hello Veejay,

The dress arrived today and it fits perfectly I can't believe it!!!! The bodice as well as the lace fits like a glove. So very beautiful and I think you have captured the romantic feeling of northern Italy so well. We will be thinking of you on that day. Without having met me in person you have also been able to make me a dress that I think suits my personality and shape very well. Thank you for making me such a special dress. It is nearly too sad that I will only wear it once :) I will send you lots photos :)
Hope that things in London are going well and that you are enjoying your course.

Love,

Rebecca

(After the wedding..)

Hello Veejay,

I just saw your Skype message - the wedding was so wonderful and everyone LOVED the dress! The Europeans were very impressed with the beadwork and there were many comments on the individual style :) Thank you for making me feel very special that day :) I will send you pictures as soon as I get them from the photographer. I hope you are enjoying your time in London and are getting lots of inspiration- it is that kind of place isn't it, despite the riots. Please stay safe! I'm really going to miss mailing with you. I know you are going to be really busy when you get back but if possible I would love to have an evening gown of yours- something that I can wear again and again :)

Love,

Rebecca

I was sad because there was no time to meet Rebecca personally. We did everything through Skype: fittings and meetings.. everything was done online. I was in London taking up my short course in Bridalwear when they had their wedding in Italy. She is a very sweet lady. She even gave me advice about my future plans. I will never forget her. She made me believe that if you really want to achieve something, you just need to focus and you can achieve it.

Thank you, Rebecca! I really hope to meet you someday! God bless! :-) Mwah!!!!

Ton Up Boys Creed

On January 14, 1961 the new issue of Today magazine featured the boys and girls at the Ace Cafè of London under the headline:
‘Live Fast, Love Hard, Die Young. The Ton Up Boys creed’.
- - -
Il 14 Gennaio 1961 la rivista inglese Today ritraeva i ragazzi dell'Ace Cafè di Londra titolando ‘Live Fast, Love Hard, Die Young. The Ton Up Boys creed’.
http://www.caraibirockers.com/

Casablanca Bridal Collection

Casablanca Bridal is well known as the designing and manufacturing bridal gowns brand. They pay their attention on the wedding dresses’ good quality, original design and the excellent details.
If you are the one who want a perfect wedding gown, and do not stand any mistake, you can consider Casablanca when you start to select your wedding dress. The quality and the details of their wedding gowns never disappoint you!
You can search the Casablanca bridal gowns online, or just go to their stores, all the gowns at their website are available there. You can try and ask their professional advices, they must offer a good services.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Family + Food.

And using your wedding china for the first time.

Cheers to you and yours! Thank you @Lynlyw for tweeting! 

Toyota Levin Rally n.12

Wow!

NASA's Chandra Contributes to Black Hole Birth Announcement

New details about the birth of a famous black hole that took place millions of years ago have been uncovered, thanks to a team of scientists who used data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory as well as from radio, optical and other X-ray telescopes.

Over three decades ago, Stephen Hawking placed -- and eventually lost -- a bet against the existence of a black hole in Cygnus X-1. Today, astronomers are confident the Cygnus X-1 system contains a black hole, and with these latest studies they have remarkably precise values of its mass, spin, and distance from Earth. With these key pieces of information, the history of the black hole has been reconstructed.

"This new information gives us strong clues about how the black hole was born, what it weighed and how fast it was spinning," said author Mark Reid of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA) in Cambridge, Mass. "This is exciting because not much is known about the birth of black holes."

Reid led one of three papers -- all appearing in the November 10th issue of The Astrophysical Journal -- describing these new results on Cygnus X-1. The other papers were led by Jerome Orosz from San Diego State University and Lijun Gou, also from CfA.

Cygnus X-1 is a so-called stellar-mass black hole, a class of black holes that comes from the collapse of a massive star. The black hole is in close orbit with a massive, blue companion star.

Using X-ray data from Chandra, the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer, and the Advanced Satellite for Cosmology and Astrophysics, a team of scientists was able to determine the spin of Cygnus X-1 with unprecedented accuracy, showing that the black hole is spinning at very close to its maximum rate. Its event horizon -- the point of no return for material falling towards a black hole -- is spinning around more than 800 times a second.

An independent study that compared the evolutionary history of the companion star with theoretical models indicates that the black hole was born some 6 million years ago. In this relatively short time (in astronomical terms), the black hole could not have pulled in enough gas to ramp up its spin very much. The implication is that Cygnus X-1 was likely born spinning very quickly.

Using optical observations of the companion star and its motion around its unseen companion, the team made the most precise determination ever for the mass of Cygnus X-1, of 14.8 times the mass of the Sun. It was likely to have been almost this massive at birth, because of lack of time for it to grow appreciably.

"We now know that Cygnus X-1 is one of the most massive stellar black holes in the Galaxy," said Orosz. "And, it's spinning as fast as any black hole we've ever seen."

Knowledge of the mass, spin and charge gives a complete description of a black hole, according to the so-called "No Hair" theorem. This theory postulates that all other information aside from these parameters is lost for eternity behind the event horizon. The charge for an astronomical black hole is expected to be almost zero, so only the mass and spin are needed.

"It is amazing to me that we have a complete description of this asteroid-sized object that is thousands of light years away," said Gou. "This means astronomers have a more complete understanding of this black hole than any other in our Galaxy."

The team also announced that they have made the most accurate distance estimate yet of Cygnus X-1 using the National Radio Observatory's Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA). The new distance is about 6,070 light years from Earth. This accurate distance was a crucial ingredient for making the precise mass and spin determinations.

The radio observations also measured the motion of Cygnus X-1 through space, and this was combined with its measured velocity to give the three-dimensional velocity and position of the black hole.

This work showed that Cygnus X-1 is moving very slowly with respect to the Milky Way, implying it did not receive a large "kick" at birth. This supports an earlier conjecture that Cygnus X-1 was not born in a supernova, but instead may have resulted from the dark collapse of a progenitor star without an explosion. The progenitor of Cygnus X-1 was likely an extremely massive star, which initially had a mass greater than about 100 times the sun before losing it in a vigorous stellar wind.

In 1974, soon after Cygnus X-1 became a good candidate for a black hole, Stephen Hawking placed a bet with fellow astrophysicist Kip Thorne, a professor of theoretical physics at the California Institute of Technology, that Cygnus X-1 did not contain a black hole. This was treated as an insurance policy by Hawking, who had done a lot of work on black holes and general relativity.

By 1990, however, much more work on Cygnus X-1 had strengthened the evidence for it being a black hole. With the help of family, nurses, and friends, Hawking broke into Thorne's office, found the framed bet, and conceded.

"For forty years, Cygnus X-1 has been the iconic example of a black hole. However, despite Hawking's concession, I have never been completely convinced that it really does contain a black hole -- until now," said Thorne. "The data and modeling described in these three papers at last provide a completely definitive description of this binary system."

For more information visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/chandra/news/cygnusx1.html

Rock n' Roll

Wild and loud!

Giant-Sized Webb Space Telescope Model to 'Land' in Baltimore

Baltimore's Maryland Science Center is going to be the "landing site" for the life-sized full-scale model of NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, and it's free for all to see.

The Webb telescope life-sized model is as big as a tennis court, and its coming to the Maryland Science Center at Baltimore's Inner Harbor from October 14 through 26, 2011. It's a chance for young and old to get a close-up look at the successor to the Hubble Space Telescope in the same size it will be launched into space.

The real James Webb Space Telescope is currently being built, but this model will be constructed in a couple of days. The real Webb will be the largest space telescope ever built. Once in orbit, the Webb telescope will look back in time more than 13 billion years to help us understand the formation of galaxies, stars and planets.

Experts will be on hand to discuss the Webb telescope's deep-space mission, how it will observe distant galaxies and nearby stars and planets, and the progress made to date in building the observatory. Spokespeople will also be available throughout the model exhibition.

The Maryland Science Center is located at 601 Light Street, Baltimore, Md. 21230. For directions and more information, call the center at 410-685-5225.

The full-scale model of the Webb telescope was built by NASA's prime contractor to provide a better understanding of the size, scale and complexity of the observatory. The model is constructed mainly of aluminum and steel, weighs 12,000 lbs., and is approximately 80 feet long, 40 feet wide and 40 feet tall. The model requires two trucks to ship it and assembly takes a crew of 12 approximately four days.

The Webb telescope will add to observations by earlier space telescopes, and stretch the frontiers of science with its discoveries. The model size shows telescope's complexity and how the observatory will enable the Webb telescope's unique mission.

For more information visit http://www.nasa.gov/topics/nasalife/features/webb-balto.html

Scramblers...