NASA Announcing Kepler Discoveries at Science Conference

Source:  http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2011/nov/HQ_M11-243_Kepler.html

 

 

MOFFETT FIELD, Calif. -- NASA will host a news briefing at 8 a.m. PST, Monday, Dec. 5, to announce new discoveries by the Kepler mission. The briefing, during the Kepler Science Conference, will be in building 152 at NASA's Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, Calif.

Kepler is the first NASA mission capable of finding Earth-size planets in or near the "habitable zone," the region in a planetary system where liquid water can exist on the surface of an orbiting planet. Kepler is detecting planets and possible candidates with a wide range of sizes and orbital distances to help scientists better understand our place in the galaxy.
A live stream of the Kepler Science Conference will be available at:  http://connect.arc.nasa.gov/kepler

Kepler Science Conference: http://kepler.nasa.gov/Science/ForScientists/keplerconference

Kepler Mission:  http://www.nasa.gov/kepler

NASA: "Lightning-made Waves in Earth's Atmosphere Leak Into Space"

Full story at http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/news/lightning-waves.html

"Now, NASA's Vector Electric Field Instrument (VEFI) aboard the U.S. Air Force's Communications/Navigation Outage Forecast System (C/NOFS) satellite has detected Schumann resonance from space. This comes as a surprise, since current models of Schumann resonance predict these waves should be caged at lower altitude, between the ground and a layer of Earth's atmosphere called the ionosphere."

For more information on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schumann_resonances

Stephen Hawking "says the colonization of outer space is key to the survival of humankind"

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/canada/breakingnews/human-survival-depends-on-space-exploration-says-stephen-hawking-134135238.html

Something I have believed for long time personally.

Jawbone's Jambox, Cool Bluetooth speaker & speakerphone!

If you hate headsets like I do, or just want a good speaker that doesn't require wires, take a look at the Jambox, it is a high end Speaker and Speakerphone. 

You can use Bluetooth for wireless operation, since it uses a rechargeable battery, or the standard 3.5mm jack to connect it to your laptop, iPad, Cell phone, etc.


Supposedly a NASA engineer/scientist was involved in the design of the Jambox.  So it appeals to the Gadget Geek in me!

Got my girlfriend a Blue Jambox for her Birthday last month, she really likes it, no problem using it via Bluetooth for her Ipad or Blackberry phone, also worked fine with the 3.5mm headphone jack hooked to her TV. 

She has used it with her iPad near daily for 12 days on the first charge.  So the battery life is really good, she was using it to listen to streaming music off the iPad most evenings afterwork.  Plus watching movies a few times a week.  Not sure how many total hours, but even people that use it day long should be satisfied I think.


It also works good as a speaker phone, I will be borrowing it this weekend for some Skype calls (I hate headsets), hopefully she gets the hint that I want one for Xmas.


It also includes good, perhaps even great accessories, it comes with two different length USB/powercords, a AC adapter, 3.5mm cord, & a neat padded carrying case.  The case is padded has magnetic flap closures, it compresses flat and the flaps secure it on the flat empty position or the closed position when protecting the Jambox.

Comes charged and ready to use out of the box!  Any questions?  Post them below.


The Jambox is really cool.  More information available at Jawbone Official site.

NASA in Final Preparations for Nov. 8 Asteroid Flyby, inside Moon's orbit

Details at NASA

Here is snippet from NASA:

The trajectory of asteroid 2005 YU55 is well understood. At the point of closest approach, it will be no closer than 201,700 miles (324,600 kilometers) or 0.85 the distance from the moon to Earth.

NASA, Google award $1.35M prize for ultra-cool, mega-efficient electric aircraft

http://www.networkworld.com/community/blog/nasa-google-award-135m-prize-ultra-cool-mega-

200+ MPG!  Beats a Prius by a lot.

Cassini Solstice Mission

This is simply cool, http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/photos/ I could spend hours playing on that site.

Note you can look through the raw images, you might even find something before anyone else does.

Mars Rover arrives at Endeavour Crater on Mars

Only took about 3 years to go 13 miles, talk about slow drivers!  More detailed pic.

Possible Water Flows on Mars

Embedded video from


NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory California Institute of Technology

August 04, 2011

PASADENA, Calif. -- Observations from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter have revealed possible flowing water during the warmest months on Mars.

"NASA's Mars Exploration Program keeps bringing us closer to determining whether the Red Planet could harbor life in some form," NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said, "and it reaffirms Mars as an important future destination for human exploration." ~NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (more)

 For more information from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter [MRO] check  NASA MRO or Mars Program they have lots of high resolution pictures.  In addition to much more information.

NASA Juno space probe

This is the quote that caught my eye:

Attached to the probe are three little Lego figures specially made of space-grade aluminum. They represent the Italian physicist Galileo, who discovered Jupiter's four biggest moons; the Roman god Jupiter; and his wife Juno, for whom the spacecraft is named.

Lego's in space, makes me think of MST3K.

More detailed information from NASA.

Neat Gift that has a lot of utility

Just a few examples, for more information click here.

These items are made from multiple colors of paracord, they look very attractive, yet if you ever need some cordage you will have some with you.

They even offer to replace for free if you ever have to use it in an emergency.  As long as your willing to send them your story & photos so they have an endorsement from satisfied customer.

Personally I think they look good enough to wear just for the look, but then I like neat things like this.  Check out "EDC" [Every Day Carry, usually refers to small items that might be useful] labeled posts on my blog for some other things I think are neat.

So a good, modest priced, gift idea for kid or adult, specially for anyone that likes outdoor activities.  That could actually save someones life, or more realistically, provide a temporary fix to get you home.

If your not familiar with paracord, it is cordage (basically thin rope) that meets the standards needed for parachute.  It is the gold standard of rope for hikers, astronauts, hunters, military, etc. 


Wikipedia link for more information on paracord.

Here is a picture showing what the insides look like, you can use the smaller inner strands for thread if you need to mend clothes or a tent.

Jules Underwater Lodge

Whether your into scuba diving, marine ecology, eco tourism, or not Jules Underwater Lodge is simply cool.

Imagine spending the night underwater, about 30 feet down, with windows to view the sea life and all the comforts your used to at home.

They are also paired up with Aurora Aerospace to provide zero G flights, like astronauts use for part of their training, as a package deal.