Science Lesson 101

Okay, this absolutely astounded me. After watching this video I no longer have any faith in the human race. In fact, it's been a few good hours since I first watched it and I am STILL flabbergasted.... and I don't get flabbergasted often. So we are going to have a little education about rainbows. Contrary to unpopular belief, rainbows are actually caused by the Sun's light refracting off the surface of a raindrop, reflected off the back of it, and then finally refracted again as it leaves the raindrop. All raindrops reflect light in this way, but we only see a rainbow when the Sun appears to be behind the rainbow. Chemically induced rainbows.............. I don't even have anything to say about that O.O

Solar Eclipse!!

Listen up peeps! There is going to be a solar eclipse on August 1st! This is the first one we've had in two years, so it's a big deal!! However, there is one teeny tiny flaw to the whole thing..... you won't be able to see it in Florida. At all. But at least none of the other states will get to see it either, so HA! But if you happen to live WAAAAY up north then you are now the object of my envy. I'm turning green..... sooooo green.
And here's a video of a solar eclipse seen from NASA's STEREO spacecraft, which is a pretty nifty view, not going to lie.
Full link to article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20080725/sc_space/viewersguideaug1solareclipse

Jupiter Had a Baby!

Okay, not literally, but it's close enough. It's actually a baby red spot!! It's adorable and I've named him Jr. So that's it in the picture and it is soooooo cute!!! Unfortunately it didn't quite make it all the way around the giant red spot, but it still gets an E for Effort.

Earth Songs!

This is the sound that Earth makes and that aliens and whatnot could hear if they really wanted to. This lovely sound is created when charged solar particles slam into our magnetic field. Luckily for us, our ionsphere blocks this from actually reaching us. And this is amazingly good because this sound is a radio wave that oh so happens to be 10,000 times stronger than anything that we've got and that would totally explode our radio stations.... which might be fun to watch but what are you supposed to listen to when you are driving?

Scientists have known about the radiation since the 1970s. It is created high above the planet, where charged particles from the solar wind collide with Earth's magnetic field. It is related to the phenomenon that generates the colorful aurora, or Northern Lights.

And here's the full article, which will not link once again. We are seriously getting very friendly with mister cut and paste. http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/080701-st-earth-sounds.html

Doomsday is Nigh!

Just kidding! :P But according to some people, it really is and via CERN's Large Hadron Collider, wich smashes protons and whatnot together. So these naysayers have tried to bring a lawsuit against CERN for possible world destruction. They seem to think that micro black holes will form instantly and destroy the Earth or that hypothetical particles that haven't actually been found to exist yet will pop out and say, "HEY GUYS IMMA GONNA KEEL YOU!" But whatev, cause my hero Stephen Hawking says that everything is all okay and since he is super crazy smart I am going to believe him on this.

Ellis said doomsayers assume that the collider will create micro black holes in the first place, which he called unlikely. And even if they appeared, he said, they would instantly evaporate, as predicted by the British physicist Stephen Hawking.

So read the whole article for deliciousness: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080628/ap_on_re_eu/doomsday_collider

Mars had a Little Accident

Since the 1970's Viking missions to Mars, scientists have been wondering why the northern and southern hemispheres are so drastically different. Now studies find that an asteroid could have struck the poor hapless planet and literally blown the crust off of half the planet..... which is pretty damn cool. What makes it cooler is the fact that it hit Mars and not us. I don't think we would be in the position to appreciate such niftyness on the account that we would be dead. And by dead I mean really dead. Unless you're a mutant of some kind. And if that's the case then I am severely jealous.

According to Nimmo's analysis, shock waves from the impact would travel through the planet and disrupt the crust on the other side, causing changes in the magnetic field recorded there. The predicted changes are consistent with observations of magnetic anomalies in the southern hemisphere, he said.

And here's the full article, which I know all of you will read with delight: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080625140659.htm
And for some reason it won't link properly. Probably because I'm extremely computer illiterate. But I'm sure that you can copy and paste it and everything will be alright and the sky won't come crashing down and the world will stay intact due to its non-exploding.

Best Song Ever!

I love this song! This guy made a whole song completely composed of the sounds from Windows 98 and XP and he did a wonderful job! I couldn't help listening to it over and over again!

Happy Dance

This video made me insanely happy! Matt is everywhere and dancing and it's great! LOVELOVELOVE!!!

Martian Ice

Scientists have found ice on Mars! This is very exciting to everyone here and by everyone I mean me because I'm that awesome. There was some uncertainty about whether the ice was actually salt, but it melted when expossed to the Martian atmosphere and salt doesn't do that sort of thing and if it did we would have to call some chemists and get the whole thing sorted out and that's going to take forever on the count that it's hard to find a local chemist who can fix salt of its identity problem.

"It must be ice," said Phoenix Principal Investigator Peter Smith of the University of Arizona, Tucson. "These little clumps completely disappearing over the course of a few days, that is perfect evidence that it's ice. There had been some question whether the bright material was salt. Salt can't do that."

And here's the full article which is a must read!! http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080619221234.htm

I'm Officially Scared

I just found out that this spa in Russia has created a monument to the enema..... and I'm not kidding. This actually scared me. The syringe bulge is 800 pounds and is held up by angels. This leads me to wonder what kind of angels these are because I never want to run into them if they are having a bad day. And apparently enemas are very popular in this part of Russia.

"There is no kitsch or obscenity, it is a successful work of art," Alexander Kharchenko told The Associated Press. "An enema is almost a symbol of our region."

And here's a link to the full article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080620/ap_on_fe_st/russia_enema_monument

UFO that is actually IFO

Once again Floridians reign supreme! Subrata Roy of the University of Florida has constructed one sweet UFO.... but it's actually an IFO because it's identifiable (ha! get it?!). This thing apparently runs on plasma and is kind of like an aircraft, a helicopter, and (the best part) a saucer all in one.

Roy applied his experience doing U.S. Air Force-funded plasma research to develop the propulsion system devoid of typical aircraft parts such as propellers and engines.Here is how it works: Electrodes lining the vehicle’s surface ionize the surrounding air. This creates plasma on the vehicle’s exterior. An electrical current sent through this plasma generates a force that not only produces the necessary lift and momentum. It also stabilizes the vehicle in windy conditions.

And here's an added bonus of this awesome video of pre-Subrata Roy UFO's.... and I must say that they are nowhere near as exciting, but they are very amusing, so I guess they get a gold star for that. Full Article: http://www.livescience.com/technology/080612-plasma-saucer.html

And here's the video!! http://www.livescience.com/php/video/player.php?video_id=310707FlyingSaucer&plugin=f

Solar Probe!

This niftyness is extremely nifty. By the year 2015, NASA hopes to send a probe to the sun. And yes, it will be heat resistant. Seriously, what's the point of sending a probe only to have it burn up..... although maybe if you packed some sulfur and diamonds in it you could make a Kirk cannon and blast our space alien neighbors, which would probably look really cool from a telescope. Until our space alien neighbors got angry and fired lazers at us. But the real reason for sending a solar probe is to solve two major mysteries: 1) Why is the corona a hundred times hotter than the actual sun? This just defies all common sense, so my mind has been blown. 2) How is the solar wind so gusty? It's not gusty around the sun, so why should it be gusty everywhere else? Once again, the laws of common sense have been torn to shreds.... along with my mind.

"We are going to visit a living, breathing star for the first time," says program scientist Lika Guhathakurta of NASA Headquarters. "This is an unexplored region of the solar system and the possibilities for discovery are off the charts."

I am so excited!! Here's the full article: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080611142452.htm

ZOMG! New Earth!

Astronomers have found a trio of "Super-Earth" planets---- meaning that they are Earth-like but big. And big is big, so these planets are packed with niftyness.

"None can be imaged directly at such distances but can be spotted indirectly using radio waves or, in the case of HARPS, spectrographic measurements. As a planet orbits, it makes the star wobble very slightly and this can be measured."

Check it out! http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080616/sc_nm/space_planets_dc

Space Aliens Eminent

Well, maybe the little green guys won't be beaming down quite yet, but apparently scientists have found basic components of our DNA that is only found from outer space..... which is AWESOME! This bit of news just made my day. Who's a star? The Cataclastic Writer, that's who!

"Because meteorites represent left over materials from the formation of the solar system, the key components for life -- including nucleobases -- could be widespread in the cosmos. As more and more of life's raw materials are
discovered in objects from space, the possibility of life springing forth wherever the right chemistry is present becomes more likely."

So now there is a bigger chance for life out yonder! There had better be some Vulcans out there. Full article right here for ya: http://www.physorg.com/news132577096.html

Florida Got Jilted!!

Okay, so this little bit of news came to my attention just now. And I must say how deeply hurt I am. It is obvious to me that Florida is the #1 launch site EVER. Come on, we have the sun (cause, you know, the other states don't) and we have oranges, and we have..... aligators? Ummm sure, that sounds right....

While Orbital's decision dealt a blow to Florida, Steve Kohler, president of the state's space arm, Space Florida, said there are several other customers either committed or in negotiations to use Florida launch facilities.

It's okay Florida, I'm here for you >hugs the North American peninsula<

Picture Source: http://www.worldproutassembly.org/archives/2006/09/_space_shuttle_1.html

Full Article: http://www.space.com/spacenews/spacenews_summary.html#BM_2

Real Life Death Star!

Okay okay, you got me. It's actually the real life death of a star. Just curious, how many Star Wars fans did I fool? None? Oh. Okay, moving on.....

"We believe that this light, emanating from deep within the star, was generated after its core collapsed and compressed the gas
surrounding it to around one million degrees Kelvin.’ Around four hours after this light was observed a shockwave from the collapsed core, travelling at 50 million kilometres an hour, would have hit the surface of the star and blown it apart."

This is absolutely amazing! This has never been seen before, so it is VERY exciting. And one million degrees Kelvin is a little toasty. And by "toasty" I mean a burning, searing hot 1799540.33 degree Fahrenheit.

Full Article: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080613134315.htm

Introductions....so this is me saying "hi"

Well hello there. My name is Aly and I am the Cataclastic Writer. This is a blog mostly about space, science, astronomy, physics, or (in other words) all that is nifty. The other non-mostly bits are just sheer randomness, just cause it's fun. And I like to craft, so some of that might be thrown in the mix...... mmmmm..... mix-y goodness. Like a cake. Except a really awesome cake. About as awesome as a cake can get. So this blog is a niftyly-awesome cake.