Learning Science Through Technology
Newsletter for May 2003
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Where Is Spring?
It's May 1st, but where is spring? There is recent snow on the ground in New England, and California - it's cold and it's damp this May Day. Rain, rain and more rain. But that goes to show you that predicting the weather is an iffy thing. Imagine trying to predict global climate trends.
Much has been written about the perils of global warming but recently, a team from Harvard University, examining such things a tree rings and ice cores have raised some interesting questions. Their research indicates the weather during the Middle Ages was unusually warm until about 1300, when a mini ice age kicked in. As a result, climate predictions using historical data can vary markedly depending on what baseline assumptions about what 'normal' is. All I know is that spring isn't here yet and it's almost summer.
For more reading visit: The Telegraph and the University of California.
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SCIENCE NEWS AND LINKS
Galaxy Evolution Explorer Ready To Study Galaxies
NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) spacecraft successfully launched Monday, April 28, 2003 from a Pegasus XL rocket released by an L-1011 aircraft off the coast of Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Station at 7:59:57 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). Carrying into space an orbiting telescope that will observe a million galaxies across 10 billion years of cosmic history, GALEX will help astronomers determine when the stars and elements we see today had their origins.
Image and text courtesy NASA
Whole Lotta Shakin'
Who says that California is the only 'earthquake country' in the USA? Try asking someone from Alabama. On April 29, 2003 they experienced a 4.9 tumbler that set nerves a-jittering. Although earthquakes are less frequent in the southern United States, there is historical evidence that the south can really move.
Interactive Sound Waves from NASA's Glenn Research Center
Sometimes it helps to visualize things. How about seeing sounds? With this software you can investigate how sound waves travel through the air and how shock waves are formed.
http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/airplane/sndwave.html
Image and portions of Text Courtesy NASA Glenn Research Center Website
Update on SARS
Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a respiratory illness that has recently been reported in Asia, North America, and Europe. As of April 20, about 198 suspect cases of SARS and 38 probable cases of SARS had been reported in the United States. This fact sheet provides basic information about the disease and what is being done to combat its spread. To find out more about SARS, go to CDC's SARS Web site and WHO's SARS Web site. The Web sites are updated daily. [JUMP]
A Star With Two North Poles
Three years ago, something weird happened to the Sun. Normally, our star, like Earth itself, has a north and a south magnetic pole. But for nearly a month beginning in March 2000, the Sun's south magnetic pole faded, and a north pole emerged to take its place. The Sun had two north poles.
"It sounds impossible, but it's true," says space physicist Pete Riley of Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) in San Diego. "In fact, it's a fairly normal side-effect of the solar cycle." Every 11 years around solar maximum, the Sun's magnetic field goes haywire as the Sun's underlying magnetic dynamo reorganizes itself. The March 2000 event was simply a part of that upheaval. [MORE]
Image Caption: An ultraviolet image of the Sun at solar maximum. Image credit: SOHO.
Image and Text Courtesy Science@NASA
New Look For the NOAA
NOAA recently launched its home page with a new and fresh look. Each year millions of Internet surfers turn to the NOAA home page and its related sites for the latest news from the agency, including weather across the nation. The redesign comes three years after NOAA unveiled a design that proved very popular with surfers on the Web.
The new design still maintains the information and links that surfers have come to expect. The improvements include a front-page link to the latest weather conditions across the United States from the NOAA National Weather Service. You can also find beach temperatures, navigation charts, drought and fire weather information, and the latest satellite images of world events. [Visit NOAA Now]
Also don't miss Fish News. FishNews is an automated, e-mail-based newsletter that provides electronic notification of important actions, rules, policies and programs that may be of interest to you. The newsletter is coordinated by the National Marine Fisheries Service’s Office of Constituent Services. Participation is entirely voluntary and free of charge.
To sign up for FishNews, [Click Here]
Images and Text Courtesy NOAA
Quote of the Month
"A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. And, so it a lot."
Albert Einstein
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