Quote:
" Administrator Michael Griffin could turn astronomers' Halloween into Christmas with an announcement on whether he will send astronauts on a final mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope.

The announcement was expected Tuesday on whether he will prolong the life of an instrument that has captured some of the most spectacular images of the universe.

"It's a bit like we know there is a big present under the Christmas tree and we have no idea what's in it," said Matt Mountain, director of the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, which coordinates use of Hubble.
"

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061031.../shuttle_hubble

nazarone posted on
CGTALK
a link to a wonderful doc on the making of Blade Runner:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Doc:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?d...docidfeed&hl=en

Thread:
[URL]http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=422548 /[URL]


-R

Quote:
"-- Ancient human footprints discovered in the Mexican desert may be among the oldest in the Americas, researchers said on Wednesday.

The 13 footprints found in Cuatro Cienegas in the northern state of Coahuila are fossilized in stone less than an inch deep and are around the age of the oldest known footprints in North or South America.

"We believe they could be between 10,000 and 15,000 years old," said archeologist Yuri de la Rosa. "The research we have done on Cuatro Cienegas shows the presence of hunters and gatherers in the Coahuila desert beginning 10,000 years ago."

"

http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/scienc...reut/index.html

Quote:
" NASA satellite data shows the region east of the Andes Mountains in Argentina experience the Earth's most intense thunderstorms.

The data from NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission, or TRMM, satellite, surprisingly also show some semi-arid regions can generate powerful storms, including the southern fringes of the Sahara, northern Australia, and parts of the Indian subcontinent. In contrast, rainy areas such as western Amazonia and Southeast Asia experience frequent storms, but few are severe.

"

http://upi.com/NewsTrack/view.php?S...26-084606-3560r

Quote:
"Ethiopia agreed on Tuesday to exhibit its world-acclaimed archaeological find -- the 3.2 million-year-old remains of a female hominid known as Lucy -- and 190 other heritage items in America, officials said.

An exhibition is scheduled for September 2007 at the Houston Museum of National Science and then will move to 10 other U.S. museums. Lucy is expected to return to Ethiopia in 2013.

Ethiopian Minister of Culture and Tourism Ahmed Drir and Joel Bartsch President of the Houston Museum of National Science signed the agreement.

"

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061024...fossil_dc<br />

Quote:
"Welcome to the
Wirefly X PRIZE Cup 2006

Welcome to the official website for the Wirefly X PRIZE Cup, Earth's great space exposition. This year's Cup features three spectacular competitions with over $2.5 million in prize purses, multiple high-powered sounding rocket launches, the unveiling of the Rocket Racing League's development X-Racer, multiple static engine test firings live on the field, fly-overs by the T-38 astronaut trainer, and a variety of other rocket surprises in the air and on the ground. Link
$2.5 Million in Prize Competitions"

http://www.xprizecup.com/

Quote:
"The work is very preliminary, but it could herald an era of effectively invisible "cloaked" devices, says study senior author David Smith of Duke University in Durham, N.C.

A prototype so far only hides objects from microwaves, not from visible light, so the human eye can still see the objects. But scientists say it shows the technology is feasible.

Here's how it works: Electromagnetic waves scatter and reflect when they strike objects, and the eye picks up this reflection to see. The new technology relies on materials that theoretically can bend electromagnetic waves, including visible light, around objects as if nothing were there.

Scientists created a cylinder, or "cloak," about 5 inches across, consisting of 10 fiberglass plates precisely etched with U-shaped copper divots to cancel reflections and shadows from microwaves.

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/scienc...ak_x.htm?csp=34

A seemingly violent collision of two galaxies is in fact a fertile marriage that has birthed billions of new stars, and an image released on Tuesday gives astronomers their best view yet.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061017...space_galaxy_dc


-R

"GREENSBURG, Kan. - Scientists located a rare meteorite in a Kansas wheat field thanks to new ground penetrating radar technology that some day might be used on Mars.

"The dig Monday was likely the most documented excavation yet of a meteorite find, with researchers painstakingly using brushes and hand tools in order to preserve evidence of the impact trail and to date the event of the meteorite strike. Soil samples were also bagged and tagged, and organic material preserved for dating purposes.

"Even before they had the meteorite out of the ground, the scientific experts at the site were able to debunk prevailing wisdom that the spectacular Brenham meteorite fall occurred 20,000 years ago. Its location in the Pleistocene epoch soil layer puts that date closer to 10,000 years ago."
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/15294523/?GT1=8618

Quote:
"This is the amazing picture that shows the effects on Mars of 'dynamic climate changes'.

The image, taken during a test of the NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter's instruments, is the clearest yet of the Red Planet and shows clay-rich areas that could have supported life.

See more pictures here
The Mail's Michael Hanlon shares his passion for the Red Planet


Scientists were also able to see frost, and layered deposits of ice and dirt at the polar ice cap which indicate "dynamic climate changes" as recently as 100,000 years ago, scientist Scott Murchie said.


This latest Mars mission will also determine whether there is enough water on the planet to support a manned mission. "
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=410901&in_page_id=1770

Quote:
"Astronomers have long suspected that most large galaxies form at least in part by acquiring smaller galaxies in dramatic cosmic mergers.

New images from the Hubble Space Telescope support that view.

Hubble photographed the Spiderweb Galaxy [image], officially MRC 1138-262. It is 10.6 billion light-years away. The light we see from it emanated when the universe was only a couple billion years old.

The Spiderweb Galaxy sits amid an emerging galaxy cluster [image], and dozens of young, small, star-forming galaxies are seen merging into the Spiderweb.

"The new Hubble image is the best demonstration so far that large massive galaxies are built up by merging smaller ones," said study leader George Miley from Leiden Observatory in The Netherlands.

"
http://<br /> http://www.space.com...laxy.html<br />

Quote:
"A research team at the National Research Council Canada (Ottawa) has developed a new quantum technology which uses laser pulses to control quantum processes. The method, which is described in the October 13th web release by the world's leading scientific journal, Science, was illustrated by changing the outcome a chemical reaction.

Quantum technologies make use of the molecular scale properties of matter. At this scale, which is different from our everyday world, matter behaves according to the rules of quantum mechanics. Although the rules are well understood, the tools required to control quantum processes are still under development. Quantum technologies aim to manipulate molecular scale behaviour, in a way not usually seen in nature, for fundamentally new applications. For example, methods to implement quantum information/computation (i.e. computers based upon quantum rules) are the subject of an international race to harness the power of this new technology. Another example of quantum technology is the control of chemical reactions using laser light, the example chosen by the NRC researchers to illustrate their new approach.

"
http://steacie.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/overv...oom/main_e.html

Quote:
"Mock moon landers are set to compete for millions of dollars in prize money at next week's Wirefly X Prize Cup in Las Cruces, New Mexico, US.

As the US prepares to return humans to the Moon, ambitious young companies are trying to build their own versions of a Moon lander for the Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge, a NASA-backed contest. It will be one of the headline events at the competition promoting private spaceflight on 20 and 21 October.

There are actually two levels to the competition. In Level 1, the mock landers will launch up to 50 metres high, hover for 90 seconds and then land vertically on a concrete pad 100 metres away.

For Level 2, entrants will launch their rockets, hover for 180 seconds and then land on an uneven simulated Moon surface 100 metres away. For both levels, the rockets can refuel before making the return launch back to the first pad.

Time will present a big challenge. Teams have just two and a half hours to drive from a staging area to the launch pad, pressurise and fuel their vehicles, and complete the challenges.

Up to $2.5 million is up for grabs. The Level 1 winner will win $500,000 and the runner-up will get $150,000. The big money comes with the Level 2 competition. First place gets $1.25 million, second place $500,000 and third place $250,000. "

http://www.newscientistspace.com/article/dn10284-mock-lunar-landers-to-go-head-to-head-in-x-prize-cup.html

Quote:
" The poet Robert Frost wondered if Earth would wind up a world of fire or ice. Astronomers have discovered that a distant planet is both.


With one side always hot as lava and the other chilled possibly below freezing, Upsilon Andromeda b is a giant gas planet [image] that orbits extremely close to Upsilon Andromeda, a star 40 light-years from our solar system in the constellation Andromeda.


"If you were moving across the planet from the night side to the day side, the temperature jump would be equivalent to leaping into a volcano," said study leader Brad Hansen of the University of California, Los Angeles.


What's cooking


Researchers think Upsilon Andromeda b is absorbing and then immediately radiating heat from its star [animation], so that one side is always hotter than the other. It's also possible the planet is tidally locked to its star the way the Moon is with Earth, so that one side of the planet always faces-and is always heated by-its star.
"

http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/061012_fireice_planet.html

Quote:
"One day, a U.S. soldier entering tense situations without the assistance of an Arabic interpreter might rely on two-way translation software in mobile computers.

This year the military's Joint Forces Command has been testing laptops with such software in Iraq. When someone speaks into a microphone attached to the computer, the machine translates it into Arabic and reads that translation aloud over the PC's speakers. The software then translates the Arabic speaker's response and utters it in English.

If the software is uncertain about what one party said, it presents choices on the computer screen for the speaker to choose.

The military has had variations on this. Troops in Afghanistan had a gadget called the Phraselator that could speak a list of commonly useful phrases such as "get out of the car."

But the newer software can facilitate two-way conversations not limited to pre-chosen phrases. Recently the Joint Forces Command began testing one such system, known as IraqComm and produced by SRI International, on about 30 computers. Now the military is announcing a similar experiment is underway with software known as MASTOR from IBM Corp.
"

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061011...BHNlYwN5bmNhdA—

Quote:
" Teenage boys and computer games go hand-in-hand.
Now, a St. Louis-area teenage boy and a computer game have gone hands-off, thanks to a unique experiment conducted by a team of neurosurgeons, neurologists, and engineers at Washington University in St. Louis.

The boy, a 14-year-old who suffers from epilepsy, is the first teenager to play a two-dimensional video game, Space Invaders, using only the signals from his brain to make movements. "


http://news-info.wustl.edu/news/pag...7800.html<br />

QUOTE:
"A multicolored bird with reddish-brown and black eyes has been discovered as a new species in a Colombian cloud forest accessible only by helicopter, scientists say.


The fist-sized yellow and black Yariguies Brush-Finch, topped with an orange plume, was found by a Colombian-English ProAves Foundation team high atop the country's eastern Andean range in Santander province.

Discovery of the bird, named after an Indian tribe that once lived in the nature reserve where it was found, was published in the Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club.

Colombia, one of the most ecologically diverse countries in the world, has about 1,800 species of bird."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061010...TdmBHNlYwM3NTM-

-R

Quote:
"In the 1982 movie "Tron," a programmer goes into a computer world, where he must compete in the gladiator-style games he helped design. For many gamers, possessing the powers, living the life and fighting the battles of their favorite characters would be a dream come true. Virtual reality can make this possible, but it's not the only solution. What if you could build a video-game environment in the real world with a system that would allow you to perform all of the game's actions and moves in real time and space? A team of three New York University students -- Daniel Albritton, Quanya Chen and Noah Shibley -- is doing just that with one of the most popular video games ever produced: "Super Mario Bros." They're calling their creation "Nintendo Amusement Park," and with it, they're helping to evolve a new area of science known as physically-augmented reality. "

http://entertainment.howstuffworks....-park.htm<br />

Quote:
"When Star Trek IV The Voyage Home was released in Europe and South America in 1987 (re-titled The Voyage Home : Star Trek IV - see the international poster below), producer Harve Bennett and director Leonard Nimoy created a special prologue to the movie to help sell it in the foreign markets"

http://<br /> http://www.youtube.c...h?v=VROqPUlQH2U

QUOTE:
"A model of the Starship Enterprise used in the pilot and title sequences of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" sold for $576,000 Saturday at an auction of costumes, sets and props from 40 years of the "Star Trek" sci-fi franchise.

The 78-inch-long miniature of the "Enterprise-D," built by Industrial Light and Magic, debuted in 1987 in the episode "Encounter at Farpoint," and then was used in many subsequent episodes, as well as the film "Star Trek Generations."

More than 1,000 items from the archives of CBS Paramount Television Studios went on the block over three days at Christie's auction house, and by early afternoon on Saturday fans of the series had forked over more than $4.9 million for set furniture, pointy Vulcan ears and other props."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061007...ar_trek_auction

-R

Quote:
"Who could overlook gigantic buildings resembling scrap piles? Ever since the opening of the Guggenheim Bilbao Museum back in 1996, the controversial designs of Frank Gehry have become an international sensation. Big city developers have adopted a new motto: "Build a Gehry and the crowds will come." Fans sport Gehry's silly watches and relax on his cardboard chairs. So, what's the secret of this knight's success? Starting with messy drawings, Gehry and his associates assemble miniature models. Then, using high-tech scanning methods, they digitize the models into full-scale blueprints -- making even the most crumpled buildings possible."

http://dir.yahoo.com/thespark/2237/...zarre-buildings

-R

Quote:
"NASA’s newest Mars orbiter has spied the plucky rover Opportunity perched at the rim of the red planet’s massive Victoria Crater as both vehicles explore the fourth planet from the Sun.

Appearing almost as a shiny boulder, Opportunity’s lumpy outline and its camera mast shadow can easily be seen in a high-resolution image of Victoria Crater taken by NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) and released by the space agency on Friday.

“It is so good to see that rover again,” said Steve Squyres, the lead Mars Exploration Rover scientist from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, during a press briefing. “I’ve got to say that image with that little rover 200 million miles away, parked at the top of that cliff, that’s just one of the most evocative images I’ve ever seen in the planetary program…it’s just beautiful.”"

http://www.space.com/missionlaunche...y_victoria.html

-R

Quote:
"Who could overlook gigantic buildings resembling scrap piles? Ever since the opening of the Guggenheim Bilbao Museum back in 1996, the controversial designs of Frank Gehry have become an international sensation. Big city developers have adopted a new motto: "Build a Gehry and the crowds will come." Fans sport Gehry's silly watches and relax on his cardboard chairs. So, what's the secret of this knight's success? Starting with messy drawings, Gehry and his associates assemble miniature models. Then, using high-tech scanning methods, they digitize the models into full-scale blueprints -- making even the most crumpled buildings possible. But his designs, opponents say, are just ugly gimmicks with gargantuan glares that overpower the building's surroundings. Nevertheless, the constant demand for Gehry stands strong with several projects including another Guggenheim in Abu Dhabi and the Bridge of Life museum in Panama City.
"

http://dir.yahoo.com/thespark/2237/...zarre-buildings

Quote:
"NASA’s newest Mars orbiter has spied the plucky rover Opportunity perched at the rim of the red planet’s massive Victoria Crater as both vehicles explore the fourth planet from the Sun.

Appearing almost as a shiny boulder, Opportunity’s lumpy outline and its camera mast shadow can easily be seen in a high-resolution image of Victoria Crater taken by NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) and released by the space agency on Friday.

“It is so good to see that rover again,” said Steve Squyres, the lead Mars Exploration Rover scientist from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, during a press briefing. “I’ve got to say that image with that little rover 200 million miles away, parked at the top of that cliff, that’s just one of the most evocative images I’ve ever seen in the planetary program…it’s just beautiful.”"

http://www.space.com/missionlaunche...y_victoria.html

-R

QUOTE:
"We're still a long way from beaming people across the galaxy, but physicists have made exciting progress in the effort to make teleportation a reality.

Beaming people in Star Trek fashion is still in the realms of science fiction but physicists in Denmark have teleported information from light to matter bringing quantum communication and computing closer to reality.

Until now scientists have teleported similar objects such as light or single atoms over short distances from one spot to another in a split second.

But Professor Eugene Polzik and his team at the Niels Bohr Institute at Copenhagen University in Denmark have made a breakthrough by using both light and matter.

"

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=2529533

-R

QUOTE:
"Has anyone made a metamaterial?
Yes. Scientists in the U.S. and the U.K. have made metamaterials with what’s called a negative index of refraction. Generally, these metamaterials are coiled metal wires surrounded by air or another insulator and affect only microwave radiation. Can the cloaking be perfect? Almost. Any metamaterial absorbs a little bit of light and therefore casts a slight shadow. "

http://www.popsci.com/popsci/techno...l<br /> <br />


-R

Quote:
" Japanese mental health counselor recited pi to 100,000 decimal places from memory on Wednesday, setting what he claims to be a new world record.

Akira Haraguchi, 60, needed more than 16 hours to recite the number to 100,000 decimal places, breaking his personal best of 83,431 digits set in 1995, his office said Wednesday. He made the attempt at a public hall in Kisarazu, just east of Tokyo.
"

http://www.newsvine.com/_news/2006/...o-100000-places

Quote:
" Luxury retailer Neiman Marcus may have the perfect gift idea for the loved one who wants to get away from it all: a space trip that includes a spectacular view of Earth and a chance to experience weightlessness.

Or, to keep that special person closer to home, how about a limited edition black 2007 BMW M6 convertible with a V-10 engine? Or, for those concerned about still-high gas prices, a pedal-powered, two-person enclosed vehicle may be just the thing.

This year's Neiman Marcus holiday catalog offers gift seekers a slew of ideas ranging from a $25 crystal desk bell to the $1.76 million space charter for six passengers including medical assessments, training, a ride on the Virgin Galactic spaceship and an after-party at Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson's private-island retreat in the Caribbean.

"
http://today.reuters.com/news/artic...&src=rss&rpc=22

-R

Quote:
"The first 11 teams for a race in which robot cars will jostle with real ones along mocked-up city streets have been announced. The teams must construct autonomous vehicles to navigate an unfamiliar urban environment in the shortest time possible.

The robot racers will face a "simulated" urban course 96 kilometres (60 miles) in length in November 2007. The course will feature urban obstacles, such as trees and buildings, traffic signs and other moving vehicles. Its location is yet to be disclosed.

The contestants must obey traffic regulations. As well as merging with other traffic, changing lanes and observing stop signs, the robo-participants will have to pull into a parking lot for a short period. The first three vehicles to complete the course in less than 6 hours will be awarded prizes.

The event is called the Urban Grand Challenge and organised by the Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). It is the follow-up its original Grand Challenge, a robotic race across a 212 km desert course, which was successfully completed in October 2005
"
[URL}http://www.newscientisttech.com/article/dn10220-robot-cars-will-race-in-real-traffic.html[/URL}
-R

Quote:
"Hubble's most frequently used instrument, the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS), is partially functioning again, after shutting down unexpectedly on 23 September.

The ACS uses three channels that are essentially three different cameras, and the problem began shortly after Hubble's managers attempted to switch power from the Solar Blind Channel (SBC) to the High Resolution Channel (HRC).

Despite the command to switch, Hubble's computer detected that power was not getting to the HRC and automatically shut down all three channels (see Hubble's key camera shuts down again).

Now, the camera's Wide Field Channel (WFC) has resumed observations, with the other two channels still offline. The WFC, the channel that had been used for most ACS observations, gets its power from an independent route that is not affected by the other two channels.

"
http://www.newscientistspace.com/ar...ck-to-life.html
-R

Quote:
"Americans John Mather and George Smoot won the 2006 Nobel prize for physics on Tuesday for spearheading a satellite program that added weight to the Big Bang theory of the origin of the universe.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, which awarded the 10 million Swedish crown ($1.37 million) prize, said the two men were instrumental to the success of the cosmic background explorer (COBE) satellite program launched by NASA in 1989.

Measurements taken by the satellite offered insights into the age of the universe, galaxies and stars by calculating the temperature of cosmic microwave background radiation, a relic of the infant universe, the Academy said."

http://<br /> http://news.yahoo.co...TdmBHNlYwM3NTM-


-R

Ok I am bored tonight, so here are some videos from You Tube..


Biff's Question Song (Stand-up Comedy)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwY5o2fsG7Y

Weird Al - White & Nerdy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWs1FF-BS7c

Weird Al - Don't Download This Song
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBuZxdhVP2o
and if you like those songs..



check this one out
http://musicmovies.ign.com/music/au...ourepitiful.mp3

have fun!

-R

Roberto's Note:
Yes I know that we have been flooded with space news..
Ill post more FOR REAL topics soon.


Quote:
Virgin Galactic’s CEO, Sir Richard Branson, describes the evolution of his company’s Space Tourism plans. Credit: Virgin Galactic

Video:


http://www.space.com/php/video/play...rgin_galactic02


and on a related note:

London man uses air miles for space trip
A London man has become the first person to exchange his frequent flier miles for a trip into space with Virgin Galactic.

Electrician Alan Watts said he flew to and from the United States on Virgin Atlantic flights more than 40 times in the past six years, earning him enough miles to take the trip into space with Virgin's space wing, London's The Sun newspaper reported Friday. The trip cost 2 million frequent flier miles, compared to the 90,000 miles required for a first-class flight from London to New York.

http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/view.p...29-084812-6008r



-R

Quote:
"IT WAS the perfect quote to match a momentous occasion. As Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the Moon in 1969, a global audience of 500 million people on Earth watched and listened with bated breath.

“That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind,” they heard him say as he dropped from the ladder of his spacecraft to make the first human footprint on the lunar surface.



But from the moment he said it, and for 37 years since, debate has raged over whether the Nasa astronaut might have fluffed his lines.

Mr Armstrong has long insisted that he meant to say “one small step for a man . . .” — which would have been a more meaningful and grammatically correct version, free of tautology. But even the astronaut himself could not be sure.

“Damn, I really did it. I blew the first words on the Moon, didn’t I?” he is reported to have asked officials later, amid uncertainty as to whether he had blown the moment or simply been drowned out by static interference as his words were relayed 250,000 miles back to Earth.

"

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/articl...2384628,00.html

Boy that was fun..
-R

Quote:
"Even if you don't recognize Peter Cullen's name, you've probably heard him -- the actor has voiced husky Transformers hero Optimus Prime for 20 years, and he appeared in nearly every popular cartoon during the '80s: The Smurfs, Snorks, Gummi Bears, Ghostbusters, G.I. Joe, Voltron, the list goes on. In recent years, he has also voiced Eeyore in Winnie the Pooh cartoons.

Recently I chatted with Cullen about what it's been like to play an Autobot for two decades, and what he thinks of the upcoming live-action Transformers movie, in which he'll reprise the role. If you'd like to meet him in person, he'll appear at this weekend's BotCon in Lexington, Ky.
"

http://blogs.usatoday.com/popcandy/...t_with_pet.html

-R