Science anyone?

Spanish Sky

As I lay upon a beach
and feel the waves break themselves
upon me in salty swells of innocence,
I watch the sun drown itself once more
in distant ocean reaches beyond the borderline
of where the earth meets the sky,
and far off stars slowly unveil one by one
as the moon turns and looks my way.
I have never seen a sky so clear,
so naked and unashamed of its twilight glory.
I see a star for every tear I've shed,
for every doubt I've felt,
for every time I've wished a change of season.
And all the while the moon sits there
like a broken promise, a forgotten secret.
For all its beauty the sky is a cold reminder
of things done wrong and words left unsaid.
But as I start to cry in pity for myself
a new light moves across the dark dome of night.
It is a comet, a celestial ball of fire and ice
racing from horizon to horizon with graceful purpose.
As it soars above me my heart swoons at its brilliance,
at its blameless magnificence and unknowing passion.
I run along the beach, leap across the surf,
and pray with fevered soulfulness that wings will sprout
from my back so that I might fly into the night
and into the arms of my desire and my dream.
But no matter how much I wish,
no matter how hard I pray,
I always crash back down to earth with nothing gained
save a broken heart and wounded soul.
So I sit and watch and yearn for what I cannot have,
to try and touch the infinite in you,
what seems so close yet so far beyond my reach.
Would it have been better to have never seen,
to have never known what happiness lies in the skies above?
This I try to answer as I hold myself
shivering in the cold spray of an ocean
as uncaring and unfeeling as the night around me.
I hear music in the crashing waves
and laughter in the sand beneath my feet,
but my soul is silent, without song, without words.
And as I stare into the Spanish sky
for the missing piece of my puzzled heart,
I find myself in the end as I was in the beginning,
alone. . . and afraid.

-- Justin R. Macumber --
(In: Windows to the Universe)

Swan

Amazing NASA video shows the moon like you’ve never seen it before

Amazing NASA video shows the moon like you’ve never seen it before

Very nice, NASA.
And thanks for sharing this amazing video of the rotating Moon, NoOne.
What a stunning effect when the picture is enlarged to take up the full screen! Awesome.
Swan

Good Day Everyone,
Is anyone interested in several more questions while we wait for ISS to return?

Sea, Sky, and Land:

1. The Whale Shark that is found in tropical waters and has a calm disposition, posing no threat to humans, has how many rows of teeth?

2. What is the only mammal native to St. John?

3. What is the rarest naturally occurring element on Earth?

4. As it releases the equivalent of one(1) billion nuclear bombs per second, what are the temperatures of the Sun's a) Corona, b) Surface, and c) Core in degrees F?

5. What is the only ocean critter to use a tool to eat it's food?

6. While a crab moves sideways, how does a scallop move to get from one point to another?

7. The Blue Whale is the largest in the ocean; what is the 2nd largest whale?

8. How many limbs do crabs, lobsters, and shrimp have?

9. How do Dolphins locate objects?

10. Which is greater? The number of stars in the sky? - The number of grains of sand on the planet Earth? - or The number of molecules in ten(10) drops of water?

"In order to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first create the universe."
-Carl Sagan -
Enjoy! 🙂

Swan

Quick answers from J Miss Swan. Sorry I made him get in the shower because he was disgusting from the water at the marina.

#1 lots but they won't bite you.

#2 bats

#5 bottle nose dolphins and octopus

#6 they clap their shells

#7 fin whale

#8 they have 8 legs and 2 claws

#9 echolocation

1. The Whale Shark that is found in tropical waters and has a calm disposition, posing no threat to humans, has how many rows of teeth?
(Ans: JJ - lots but they won't bite you.) That is very true. Also, the number of rows of teeth they have = 400 rows!

2. What is the only mammal native to St. John?
(Ans: JJ - Bats.) Right. Of the six (6) native species of bats, three (3) are listed as endangered. They eat huge quantities of insects and mosquitoes, pollinate florals, and disperse fruit-bearing seeds into the environment.

5. What is the only ocean critter to use a tool to eat it's food?
(Ans: Dolphins and Octopus.) Not quite. The critter I was looking for lays on his back on the ocean water and uses an object to crack open shellfish which he then eats. 🙂 Hint: He keeps the object (tool) on his stomach while he cracks open his shellfish.

6. While a crab moves sideways, how does a scallop move to get from one point to another?
(Ans: JJ - they clap their shells). Yes they do!

7. The Blue Whale is the largest in the ocean; what is the 2nd largest whale?
( Ans: JJ - fin whale) Yes, the Fin Whale at up to 88' long and approximately 76 tons. Their diet comprises fish, crustaceans, krill in the Antarctic and small schools of fish in the north.

8. How many limbs do crabs, lobsters, and shrimp have?
(Ans: JJ - they have 8 legs and 2 claws) Yes. They have ten(10) limbs.

9. How do Dolphins locate objects?
(Ans: JJ - echolocation) Yes. They have the ability to bounce high pitch sounds off of objects and examine the echoes.

Very well done JJ!

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Four Questions remain. Anyone?

3. What is the rarest naturally occurring element on Earth?

4. As it releases the equivalent of one(1) billion nuclear bombs per second, what are the temperatures of the Sun's a) Corona, b) Surface, and c) Core in degrees F?

5. What is the only ocean critter to use a tool to eat it's food?

10. Which is greater? The number of stars in the sky? - The number of grains of sand on the planet Earth? - or The number of molecules in ten(10) drops of water?

Swan

5 is an otter. I had the lovely opportunity to discover this years ago when i took my first diving lessons in monterey bay california.

5 is an otter. I had the lovely opportunity to discover this years ago when i took my first diving lessons in monterey bay california.

G' Day Quirion,
Yes, the Sea Otter. Amazing critters, aren't they?
Swan

http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/sea-otter/

3:
no idea, but I'd guess it's a short halflife radioactive isotope (which decays into another element, making it even more rare).

4:
A)something like 30 million F
B) around 6,000 F
C) WHO KNOWS?! some (wildly guess and) say 27 million F but since sun spots are COOLER than the surface, it's probably more like 1,000F or cooler.

this lends credence to the theory of an "electric" sun, and negates the theory of a "nuclear furnace" sun.

10: molecules in 10 drops of water, given that you count "stars in the sky" as visible stars.

Good Evening,

Answers to the remaining questions:

3. What is the rarest naturally occurring element on Earth? It is Astatine - Symbol At - 85; Atomic Wt. 210 (209.9871); with a half life of 8.1 hrs.; it decays into Bismuth 206 through alpha decay and into Polonium 210 through electron capture. The Earth contains a total of one (1) ounce of Astatine.

4. As it releases the equivalent of one(1) billion nuclear bombs per second, what are the temperatures of the Sun's a) Corona, b) Surface, and c) Core in degrees F? The Corona - approximately 3,500,000 degrees F; the Surface - approximately 10,000 degrees F; the Core - approximately 27,000,000 degrees F. Because of the extremely high temperature and density, thermonuclear fusion can take place whereby hydrogen atoms can fuse together to form helium, thereby releasing energy in the process.

10. Which is greater? The number of stars in the sky? - The number of grains of sand on the planet Earth? - or The number of molecules in ten(10) drops of water?

Actually, no one really knows for sure. Some say that there are 7.5x10-22 stars; Grains of sand? The estimate indicates about 7.5x 10-18 (7 quintillion 500 guadrillion grains of sand); and the 10 drops of water? Ten drops of water contains about the same amount of molecules as there are stars.

Thanks everyone...Science is fun!

(Note: a board member ate Carl Sagan's apple pie 🙂 )

Swan

Good Evening Everyone,

Remember back in the spring of 2012, Sky's the Limit introduced us to the Eaglecam at Alcoa in Davenport, Iowa? We had a "bird's eye view" of the nest activities as a pair of Bald Eagles (named Liberty and Justice) successfully reared their three eaglets (named Faith, Hope, and Spirit -also known as Peewee). We witnessed the egg hatching, the feeding of the kids, the parents teaching the eaglets how to eat, and saw them fledge and take to the sky!

Out of curiosity, I went to Alcoa"s Eaglecam site to see if Liberty and Justice had kids this past spring, and guess what? They did!

They had two eaglets, Honor and Glory. The parents were successful again in their rearing/ teaching efforts and the babies, who were hatched in mid-March of 2013, fledged the nest on June 9th, 2013. Alcoa keeps the Eaglecam on at all times, except to do maintenance, updating, or make changes to the system.

I posted the link. It contains this season's wonderful story of this beautiful family along with great pictures and updates. Hopefully we will visit the nest next spring and watch the awesome couple raise a few more of our nation's representatives...representing the Pride of our country.

Congratulations for a job well done, Liberty and Justice! And many thanks to you.
Swan

http://www.alcoa.com/locations/usa_davenport/en/info_page/eaglecam.asp
Click on pictures to enlarge.

Good Day Everyone,
I always seem to think of Uranus as a somewhat forgotten planet in our solar system; and yet it has the most extraordinary features perhaps of all the planets and features still unknown to many of us. This week may be a favorable opportunity to spot our distant neighbor in the night sky.
Many thanks to our stargazers -
Swan

http://www.space.com/22983-see-planet-uranus-night-sky.html
http://www.popastro.com/skytonight/month.php?name_skm=October%202013 ( Note: Uranus is somewhat toward the SE)

May I set aside Science for a moment and share with you my favorite of compositions. It is he who also composed "Beyondness".

Swan

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIYEkLZQ10Y

Good Evening Everyone,

A minor lunar eclipse will occur this Friday evening (Oct. 18th) and is expected to be quite visible throughout the Caribbean.
Enjoy!
Swan

http://www.space.com/23197-minor-lunar-eclipse-friday.html

Imagine...
Swan

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCmJmTYS7Zw

G'evening everyone,

This article was PM'd to me by another board member and I simply had to share it with you.

Think about this: Absolute zero is -459.67 degrees F. ( zero degrees Kelvin) - which means that gas as it contracts upon cooling, has zero pressure and zero volume; no mechanical energy can be extracted from the system; and Molecular Motion Ceases.... molecules, themselves, stop moving... the near impossible has happened....

Swan
http://earthsky.org/space/the-coldest-place-in-the-universe

Good Afternoon Swans,

Here is a link to a beautiful video of Solar Flares..........enjoy

http://www.space.com/23331-sun-erupts-major-solar-flare-video.html

That poem is beautiful

Good Afternoon Swans,

Here is a link to a beautiful video of Solar Flares..........enjoy

http://www.space.com/23331-sun-erupts-major-solar-flare-video.html

Thanks Daniel! CME's truly are amazing, especially when you realize that they continue travelling past all of the planets in our solar system straight on out to interstellar space. I thought about CME's when I was doing a comparative of our Sun's size and the size of the largest star discovered so far in our Milky Way Galaxy - VY Canis Majoris: Dan, can you IMAGINE the CME from this one?
Swan

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fe/Sun_and_VY_Canis_Majoris.sv g" target="_blank">http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fe/Sun_and_VY_Canis_Majoris.sv g"/> &imgrefurl= http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VY_Canis_Majoris&h=177&w=284&sz=1&tbnid=AwOB2jIHrzAe7M:&tbnh=124&tbnw=200&zoom=1&usg=__ncacOyGojC6RDeXBOrseXE83O5Q=&docid=KwcSYp8EhrYh1M&itg=1&sa=X&ei=urhtUoqnNfCV0QWywoCACg&ved=0CJcBEPwdMAo

G' Afternoon,
Question everyone: Remember this video I posted on the 23rd? Well, something is wrong/ incorrect with it... were you able to spot it? 🙂
Swan
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCmJmTYS7Zw

Good evening everyone,

Were you able to find the glitch in the video?
All of the planets and suns are rotating clockwise when, in fact, they should be spinning counter-clockwise. Venus, however, is the exception as it has always rotated clockwise (the only planet to do so in our solar system.) She's always been a defiant little planet in the family...

Swan

You Go Girl !!!!!!

You Go Girl !!!!!!

Venus or me? (LOLs)
Swan

Good Afternoon Everyone,

Is anyone interested in a few questions about space and science? Ready? 🙂

1. What Moon in our Solar System has an internally generated magnetic field?
2. Our Solar System is located in what arm of the Milky Way Galaxy?
3. What is Milkomeda?
4. What element is the most dangerous and detrimental to a Star?
5. The Horizontal Direction is Space; the Vertical Direction is Time.
What is a region or area of Space-Time in which neither matter nor light can enter from the outside, but all matter and light can escape?
Enjoy!
Swan

Cool close ups of Saturn: The Day the Earth Smiled

The Day the Earth Smiled