junal.singh: October 2013

Thursday, October 31, 2013

Primary GOES-R instrument ready to be installed onto spacecraft

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

31-Oct-2013

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Contact: Rob Gutro
Robert.j.gutro@nasa.gov
301-286-4044
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center

A key instrument that will fly on the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite R (GOES-R) spacecraft, NOAA's next-generation of geostationary satellites, is cleared for installation on the spacecraft.

The Advanced Baseline Imager, or ABI, is GOES-R's primary instrument for scanning Earth's weather, oceans, and environment and is a significant improvement over instruments on NOAA's current geostationary satellites. The ABI will offer faster imaging with much higher detail. It will also introduce new forecast products for severe weather, volcanic ash advisories, fire and smoke monitoring and other hazards.

"The United States is home to some of the most severe weather in the world including tornadoes, hurricanes, snowstorms, floods, and wildfires," said Mary Kicza, assistant administrator for NOAA's Satellite and Information Service. "The ABI offers breakthrough technology that will help NOAA develop faster and more accurate forecasts that will save lives and protect communities."

The first satellite in the GOES-R Series is currently scheduled for launch in early 2016. GOES-R's instruments will also feature improved lightning detection and solar weather monitoring tools, and will provide near real time data to forecasters during severe weather events.

The ABI has two scan modes. It will have the ability to continuously take an image of the entire planet, or a full disk image, every five minutes compared to every 30 minutes with the current GOES imager. It also has an alternative, or flex mode, which will concurrently take a full disk image every 15 minutes, an image of the continental U.S. every five minutes, and smaller, more detailed images of areas where storm activity is present, as often as every 30 seconds. This kind of flexibility and increased frequency of images is a boon for forecasters.

"Completing ABI is a major milestone for the program, the culmination of nine years of work to develop an instrument with extraordinary capabilities for weather observation," said Pam Sullivan, project manager of the GOES-R Flight Project at NASA Goddard. "With its increased resolution and faster scan times, ABI is comparable to a hi-definition upgrade for our geostationary weather satellites."

In early 2014 the ABI will be shipped from its developer, ITT Exelis, in Ft. Wayne, Ind. to the spacecraft developer, Lockheed Martin Space Systems Co. in Littleton, Colo., to be installed onto the first GOES-R spacecraft. Lockheed is building the spacecraft for the GOES-R series.

The remaining GOES-R instruments to be delivered are:

Geostationary Lightning Mapper, which will provide continuous surveillance for the first time of total lightning activity from geostationary orbit over the western hemisphere;

Space Environment In-Situ Suite, which consists of sensors that will monitor radiation hazards that can affect satellites, radio communications and navigation systems;

Solar Ultraviolet Imager, a high-powered telescope that observes the sun, monitoring for solar flares and other solar activity that could impact Earth by disrupting power utilities communication and navigation systems and causing damage to orbiting satellites and the International Space Station; and

Magnetometer, which will provide measurements of the magnetic field surrounding Earth that protects the planet from charged particles released from the sun. These particles can be dangerous to spacecraft and human spaceflight. The geomagnetic field measurements will provide alerts and warnings to satellite operators and power utilities.

A sixth instrument, the Extreme X-Ray Irradiance Sensor (EXIS), was completed in May 2013 and was the first of GOES-R's instruments to be ready for integration. EXIS will provide important early warnings of impending solar storms and give scientists a more accurate measure of the power of solar energy radiating toward earth, which can severely disrupt telecommunications, air travel and the performance of power grids.

NOAA manages the GOES-R Series program through an integrated NOAA-NASA office, staffed with personnel from both agencies and located at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.

###
For more information about GOES-R and the current GOES satellite fleet, visit:

http://www.goes-r.gov/

http://goes.gsfc.nasa.gov/

For more images visit our Flickr gallery: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nasa_goddard/sets/72157637133559554/

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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Primary GOES-R instrument ready to be installed onto spacecraft

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

31-Oct-2013

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Contact: Rob Gutro
Robert.j.gutro@nasa.gov
301-286-4044
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center

A key instrument that will fly on the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite R (GOES-R) spacecraft, NOAA's next-generation of geostationary satellites, is cleared for installation on the spacecraft.

The Advanced Baseline Imager, or ABI, is GOES-R's primary instrument for scanning Earth's weather, oceans, and environment and is a significant improvement over instruments on NOAA's current geostationary satellites. The ABI will offer faster imaging with much higher detail. It will also introduce new forecast products for severe weather, volcanic ash advisories, fire and smoke monitoring and other hazards.

"The United States is home to some of the most severe weather in the world including tornadoes, hurricanes, snowstorms, floods, and wildfires," said Mary Kicza, assistant administrator for NOAA's Satellite and Information Service. "The ABI offers breakthrough technology that will help NOAA develop faster and more accurate forecasts that will save lives and protect communities."

The first satellite in the GOES-R Series is currently scheduled for launch in early 2016. GOES-R's instruments will also feature improved lightning detection and solar weather monitoring tools, and will provide near real time data to forecasters during severe weather events.

The ABI has two scan modes. It will have the ability to continuously take an image of the entire planet, or a full disk image, every five minutes compared to every 30 minutes with the current GOES imager. It also has an alternative, or flex mode, which will concurrently take a full disk image every 15 minutes, an image of the continental U.S. every five minutes, and smaller, more detailed images of areas where storm activity is present, as often as every 30 seconds. This kind of flexibility and increased frequency of images is a boon for forecasters.

"Completing ABI is a major milestone for the program, the culmination of nine years of work to develop an instrument with extraordinary capabilities for weather observation," said Pam Sullivan, project manager of the GOES-R Flight Project at NASA Goddard. "With its increased resolution and faster scan times, ABI is comparable to a hi-definition upgrade for our geostationary weather satellites."

In early 2014 the ABI will be shipped from its developer, ITT Exelis, in Ft. Wayne, Ind. to the spacecraft developer, Lockheed Martin Space Systems Co. in Littleton, Colo., to be installed onto the first GOES-R spacecraft. Lockheed is building the spacecraft for the GOES-R series.

The remaining GOES-R instruments to be delivered are:

Geostationary Lightning Mapper, which will provide continuous surveillance for the first time of total lightning activity from geostationary orbit over the western hemisphere;

Space Environment In-Situ Suite, which consists of sensors that will monitor radiation hazards that can affect satellites, radio communications and navigation systems;

Solar Ultraviolet Imager, a high-powered telescope that observes the sun, monitoring for solar flares and other solar activity that could impact Earth by disrupting power utilities communication and navigation systems and causing damage to orbiting satellites and the International Space Station; and

Magnetometer, which will provide measurements of the magnetic field surrounding Earth that protects the planet from charged particles released from the sun. These particles can be dangerous to spacecraft and human spaceflight. The geomagnetic field measurements will provide alerts and warnings to satellite operators and power utilities.

A sixth instrument, the Extreme X-Ray Irradiance Sensor (EXIS), was completed in May 2013 and was the first of GOES-R's instruments to be ready for integration. EXIS will provide important early warnings of impending solar storms and give scientists a more accurate measure of the power of solar energy radiating toward earth, which can severely disrupt telecommunications, air travel and the performance of power grids.

NOAA manages the GOES-R Series program through an integrated NOAA-NASA office, staffed with personnel from both agencies and located at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.

###
For more information about GOES-R and the current GOES satellite fleet, visit:

http://www.goes-r.gov/

http://goes.gsfc.nasa.gov/

For more images visit our Flickr gallery: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nasa_goddard/sets/72157637133559554/

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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-10/nsfc-pgi103113.php
Category: harry potter Pga Leaderboard

Darach Watson receives Lundbeck Research Prize

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

31-Oct-2013

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Contact: Gertie Skaarup
skaarup@nbi.dk
45-35-32-53-20
University of Copenhagen - Niels Bohr Institute

Darach Watson has been awarded the Lundbeck Foundation Research Prize for Young Scientists for his outstanding and innovative research in astrophysics, where he has developed a groundbreaking method for measuring distances in the cosmos using the light from distant quasars. The result was selected by Physics World as one of the year's most important breakthroughs in physics.
Darach Watson is from Ireland and received his PhD from University College in Dublin. He came to Denmark in 2003 and has been a core member of the Dark Cosmology Centre at the Niels Bohr Institute at the University of Copenhagen since 2005. He is a leading expert in X-ray astronomy and has played a key role in the important developments in the research of supernovae (exploding massive stars) and gamma-ray bursts (violent outbursts of gamma radiation.
"His research style is original and inventive and by combining different techniques and ideas, he creates new knowledge," explains Jens Hjorth, professor and head of the Danish National Research Foundation's Dark Cosmology Centre at the Niels Bohr Institute.
New groundbreaking methods
Darach Watson has broken new ground in several areas. In 2006, he developed a new method to study the properties of cosmic dust. The method is now one of the most advanced for studying the detailed properties of cosmic dust in distant galaxies.
In 2011, he made his most important discovery to date. He developed a new method for measuring long distances in space using the light from quasars (active black holes). Again, it was ability to think differently, innovatively and originally that gave him the idea.
"During a lecture, as one of my colleagues was talking about quasars, I suddenly got the idea that if the brightness of the quasar was related to the size of the gas cloud surrounding it and if you could measure the size of this cloud, you could calculate the distance to the quasar," explains Darach Watson. The idea proved to be brilliant. He explains that quasars have many advantages. They are common throughout the universe and they are stable sources that do not fade and disappear after a short time like supernovae. They are also extremely luminous and can be observed at much greater distances than other sources for distance measurement. Most important, he points out, is that the measurements can be very accurate.

History Chemistry Physics - Astrophysics
But what was it exactly that led him to astrophysics?
"I always knew I wanted to do a PhD. My father was a professor of Irish and Dean of the Faculty of Celtic Studies and my mother had a PhD in history. I was interested in many topics and when I was in my last year of secondary school, I talked with my mother about what I should choose to study at university: chemistry or history. She said I could always become a professional research scientist and an amateur historian, but it was almost impossible to be an amateur scientist. I followed her advice and chose chemistry. Halfway through my studies, I discovered what really excited me were the physical processes; what the elements could do and what the physical mechanism was. At the same time, I looked at the curriculum for physics superfluidity, high-energy particle physics, relativity theory and gravity, superconductivity, plasmas and I thought it sounded incredibly exciting. So I switched to physics. When I had to decide what to do my PhD on, I discovered that astrophysics was the most interesting branch of physics," explains Darach Watson.
Enthusiastic research
Suddenly, he got a chance to work with gamma-ray bursts explosions of massive stars, the most violent explosions in the universe since the Big Bang and he jumped at the opportunity. They managed to obtain the first high-quality X-ray spectrum of a gamma-ray burst and discovered the signature of a supernovae in that spectrum. He can still remember the walk home after the discovery, "I was so elated," he explains. It is this excitement that is still the driving force for his research in astrophysics. But history has not been forgotten.
"What I find peculiar is that my love for and interest in history has crept into my science. My research is related to the history of the universe on a large scale: how it was formed and evolved, how stars and galaxies develop over time and how we ended up where we are now," says Darach Watson thoughtfully and welcomes the recognition his research has now received with the Lundbeck Foundation Research Prize for Young Scientists.
###

For more information contact:
Darach Watson, Associate professor, Dark Cosmology Centre, Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, +45 3532-5994, darach@dark-cosmology.dk

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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Darach Watson receives Lundbeck Research Prize

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

31-Oct-2013

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]

Share
Contact: Gertie Skaarup
skaarup@nbi.dk
45-35-32-53-20
University of Copenhagen - Niels Bohr Institute

Darach Watson has been awarded the Lundbeck Foundation Research Prize for Young Scientists for his outstanding and innovative research in astrophysics, where he has developed a groundbreaking method for measuring distances in the cosmos using the light from distant quasars. The result was selected by Physics World as one of the year's most important breakthroughs in physics.
Darach Watson is from Ireland and received his PhD from University College in Dublin. He came to Denmark in 2003 and has been a core member of the Dark Cosmology Centre at the Niels Bohr Institute at the University of Copenhagen since 2005. He is a leading expert in X-ray astronomy and has played a key role in the important developments in the research of supernovae (exploding massive stars) and gamma-ray bursts (violent outbursts of gamma radiation.
"His research style is original and inventive and by combining different techniques and ideas, he creates new knowledge," explains Jens Hjorth, professor and head of the Danish National Research Foundation's Dark Cosmology Centre at the Niels Bohr Institute.
New groundbreaking methods
Darach Watson has broken new ground in several areas. In 2006, he developed a new method to study the properties of cosmic dust. The method is now one of the most advanced for studying the detailed properties of cosmic dust in distant galaxies.
In 2011, he made his most important discovery to date. He developed a new method for measuring long distances in space using the light from quasars (active black holes). Again, it was ability to think differently, innovatively and originally that gave him the idea.
"During a lecture, as one of my colleagues was talking about quasars, I suddenly got the idea that if the brightness of the quasar was related to the size of the gas cloud surrounding it and if you could measure the size of this cloud, you could calculate the distance to the quasar," explains Darach Watson. The idea proved to be brilliant. He explains that quasars have many advantages. They are common throughout the universe and they are stable sources that do not fade and disappear after a short time like supernovae. They are also extremely luminous and can be observed at much greater distances than other sources for distance measurement. Most important, he points out, is that the measurements can be very accurate.

History Chemistry Physics - Astrophysics
But what was it exactly that led him to astrophysics?
"I always knew I wanted to do a PhD. My father was a professor of Irish and Dean of the Faculty of Celtic Studies and my mother had a PhD in history. I was interested in many topics and when I was in my last year of secondary school, I talked with my mother about what I should choose to study at university: chemistry or history. She said I could always become a professional research scientist and an amateur historian, but it was almost impossible to be an amateur scientist. I followed her advice and chose chemistry. Halfway through my studies, I discovered what really excited me were the physical processes; what the elements could do and what the physical mechanism was. At the same time, I looked at the curriculum for physics superfluidity, high-energy particle physics, relativity theory and gravity, superconductivity, plasmas and I thought it sounded incredibly exciting. So I switched to physics. When I had to decide what to do my PhD on, I discovered that astrophysics was the most interesting branch of physics," explains Darach Watson.
Enthusiastic research
Suddenly, he got a chance to work with gamma-ray bursts explosions of massive stars, the most violent explosions in the universe since the Big Bang and he jumped at the opportunity. They managed to obtain the first high-quality X-ray spectrum of a gamma-ray burst and discovered the signature of a supernovae in that spectrum. He can still remember the walk home after the discovery, "I was so elated," he explains. It is this excitement that is still the driving force for his research in astrophysics. But history has not been forgotten.
"What I find peculiar is that my love for and interest in history has crept into my science. My research is related to the history of the universe on a large scale: how it was formed and evolved, how stars and galaxies develop over time and how we ended up where we are now," says Darach Watson thoughtfully and welcomes the recognition his research has now received with the Lundbeck Foundation Research Prize for Young Scientists.
###

For more information contact:
Darach Watson, Associate professor, Dark Cosmology Centre, Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, +45 3532-5994, darach@dark-cosmology.dk

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Share

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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-10/uoc--dwr102413.php
Category: Pumpkin Carving Ideas sat scores the voice How To Close Apps On Ios7 Jenna Wolfe

Meet Google’s New Nexus 5 Phone and KitKat

Google showed off its new Android version 4.4 (or KitKat) operating system, running on a new flagship phone, the Nexus 5. Google uses its Nexus line to show off its new operating systems, and the device and OS are reflections ...

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/GearFactor/~3/rR2wOeuWY-k/
Tags: Origami Owl once upon a time nfl standings chargers syria

Make a Spooky Smoke Waterfall Using Sticky Notes and Fire

Here's an awesome experiment you can try if you're looking for a last minute way to decorate your cubicle or house for Halloween. It's particularly great if you have one of those tiny relaxing waterfalls at your disposal, since replacing the water with cascading smoke is sure to have everyone thinking you're some kind of wizard—despite your costume.

Republicans' Plan: Repeal and Cackle

It is a season of hubris for Obamacare’s critics. The website is behind schedule, the administration turns out to have misled the public when it insisted nobody would have to change plans, and the roughly 5 percent of Americans with plans on the individual-health-insurance market have been thrown into a panic amid a storm of cancellation notices. This is certainly a political victory for the Republican Party, which has turned the page from its shutdown debacle and found a batch of investigative strings to pull on, administration officials to torment, and new ways to throw red-state Democrats on the defensive. Weeks like this one will continue through this year, and at least for a while into the next one.

Source: http://www.realclearpolitics.com/2013/10/31/republicans039_plan_repeal_and_cackle_318993.html
Category: mlb kris jenner Cecily Strong ariana grande big brother spoilers

Why Apple should be run like Bloomberg (or, you know, Apple)

Apple, like many big companies, gets confused for its stock. Like any public company, it's also subject to intense scrutiny, including from people who don't understand its position or business, or who simply want to take advantage of it. Felix Salmon does a great job explaining why that is, and what should be done about it. Reuters

Steve Jobs always regretted going public. He raised very little money by doing so, and in return he ended up with people like Carl Icahn constantly second-guessing his decisions. Jobs was good at ignoring such gadflies; his successor, Tim Cook, is a little more shareholder-friendly. But shareholders really do nothing for Apple, which hasn’t had a public stock offering in living memory, and which has so much money now that it can pay its employees large amounts of cash to retain talent, instead of having to force them to gamble with restricted stock units.

In other words, Apple should be run a bit like Bloomberg: as a profitable company which pays well, which concentrates first and foremost on making its product as great as possible, and which doesn’t try to be something it’s not, or allow itself to be distracted with financial engineering. Sometimes its stock will go up, and sometimes its stock will go down. But the company, and its core values, will endure.

Both Steve Jobs and Tim Cook have said this repeatedly. They worry about the top line and let the bottom line take care of itself. They pay attention to making great products, not the stock price. I can see how that no doubt drives some people crazy. Good. The insanity and manipulations of the market deserve some crazy back.

Read the whole thing:

Source: Reuters via Daring Fireball