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Wednesday Science Stack
Author: BobR    Date: 09/07/2016 14:00:44

Yes, FOX "News" is melting down. Yes, the tRump campaign is circling the bowl. Yes, he held a fundraiser for the prosecutor who dropped his case. But today, we take a break from presidential campaign politics to revisit an old friend - the Science Stack. It's been quite a while since we perused the myriad interesting science-related stories out there. So let's feed our minds for one day before we wallow in the mud.

First up: The Juno Jupiter probe. The Juno probe was launched 5 years ago with the goal of giving us a better understanding of the largest planet in our solar system. It has completed a few orbits, and sent back the first pictures of Jupiter's north pole (which is not visible from earth). It was not what scientists expected:
“First glimpse of Jupiter’s north pole, and it looks like nothing we have seen or imagined before,” said Scott Bolton, principal investigator of Juno from the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio. “It’s bluer in color up there than other parts of the planet, and there are a lot of storms. There is no sign of the latitudinal bands or zone and belts that we are used to -- this image is hardly recognizable as Jupiter. We’re seeing signs that the clouds have shadows, possibly indicating that the clouds are at a higher altitude than other features.”

One of the most notable findings of these first-ever pictures of Jupiter’s north and south poles is something that the JunoCam imager did not see.

“Saturn has a hexagon at the north pole,” said Bolton. “There is nothing on Jupiter that anywhere near resembles that. The largest planet in our solar system is truly unique. We have 36 more flybys to study just how unique it really is.”

I am looking forward to seeing what other new information and images we get from this project.

Also out in space, we will be launching a probe tomorrow that will collect - and return - samples from an asteroid following earth's orbit around the sun:
A U.S. space probe was cleared for launch on Thursday to collect and return samples from an asteroid in hopes of learning more about the origins of life on Earth and perhaps elsewhere in the solar system, NASA said on Tuesday.

A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket was scheduled to blast off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida to dispatch the robot explorer Osiris-Rex on a seven-year mission.
[...]
Osiris-Rex is expected to reach Bennu in August 2018 and begin a two-year study of its physical features and chemical composition. The solar-powered spacecraft will then fly to Bennu’s surface and extend a robot arm to collect at least 2 ounces (60 grams) of what scientists hope will be carbon-rich material.

“We’re going to asteroid Bennu because it’s a time capsule from the earliest stages of solar system formation, back when our planetary system was spread across as dust grains in a swirling cloud around our growing protostar,” lead researcher Dante Lauretta of the University of Arizona told a prelaunch news conference on Tuesday.

Hopefully, the information will give us a better understanding about the formation of our own solar system. I don't know how NASA scientists can deal with such long project timelines. I would be bouncing out of my seat waiting for results.

A little closer to home, the Chinese have put a satellite in earth orbit to test quantum communications:
QUESS is an experiment in the deployment of quantum cryptography — specifically, a prototype that will test whether it’s possible to perform this delicate science from space.
[...]
Inside QUESS is a crystal that can be stimulated into producing two photons that are “entangled” at a subatomic, quantum level. Entangled photons have certain aspects — polarization, for example — that are the same for both regardless of distance — in fact, the satellite will test that at 1,200 km, which will set a new record.

The basis of this is that since protons "entangled" at the quantum level will always behave the same, changing the polarity of one will cause the polarity of the other to change as well, through a process we do not yet understand. That could be the basis of a completely secure instantaneous digital communications mechanism.

Finally, in the "are you kidding me? - Gross!" category, scientists are looking at cockroach milk as a new superfood. I am not even going to quote the story - read it yourself. First, though, they're going to need to create some very small milking machines...
 

23 comments (Latest Comment: 09/08/2016 13:09:21 by BobR)
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Comment by Mondobubba on 09/07/2016 13:21:52
Good morning! <----- I, Mondo didn't fall asleep until 2 this morning.

Comment by Scoopster on 09/07/2016 13:36:56
Mornin' all!

My boss brought back a special yummy chocolate present from Colorado.

Comment by wickedpam on 09/07/2016 13:47:23
Morning

Comment by Will in Chicago on 09/07/2016 13:50:08
Good morning!

Here is a story from CNN: How Hillary Clinton could win. Some national polls show a dead heat. I find this very disturbing, as I think that the Democrats will need to focus on turnout.

In some good news, I got a call to interview for a teaching position at 3:30 PM my time. I hope to have some good news to share with the blog soon. Also, the heat index should be around 100 degrees today - so I am definitely NOT wearing a long-sleeved shirt.



Comment by Will in Chicago on 09/07/2016 13:56:08
Mondo, as our Florida expert, any comments on this story: Trump held fundraiser for Pam Bondi at Mar-a-Lago after she dropped investigation? (By the way, Bob Kincaid of the Head On Radio Network has referred to Trump as the Mar-a-Lago Mussolini. Personally, I think that Mussolini had better hair than Trump. )

Comment by BobR on 09/07/2016 14:01:43
BLOG POSTED

Comment by Raine on 09/07/2016 14:08:23
good morning!

It is pretty awesome to see the return of Science stack!

When they retired the shuttle program I was sad. Now with the amazing advances with technology I am pretty excited to see all the things NSA is doing.

Comment by Mondobubba on 09/07/2016 14:18:07
Quote by Will in Chicago:
Mondo, as our Florida expert, any comments on this story: Trump held fundraiser for Pam Bondi at Mar-a-Lago after she dropped investigation? (By the way, Bob Kincaid of the Head On Radio Network has referred to Trump as the Mar-a-Lago Mussolini. Personally, I think that Mussolini had better hair than Trump. )


Pam Bondi's level of corruption and incompetence knows no bounds.

Here are some examples of what some of the papers in the state have to say about her:

1. Eight reason why Pam Bondi is the worst AG in the history of Florida.

2. Bondi continues to rack up mistakes

3. Bondi hit with 3 ethics charges

This is the woman who asked the equally awful Rick Scott to postpone an execution so she could attend a fundraiser for her reelection campaign. Need I say more?

Comment by Will in Chicago on 09/07/2016 14:18:19
Quote by Raine:
good morning!

It is pretty awesome to see the return of Science stack!

When they retired the shuttle program I was sad. Now with the amazing advances with technology I am pretty excited to see all the things NSA is doing.


Raine, I presume that you meant NASA and not the NSA.

There also is exciting recent news about a planet found orbiting nearby Proxima Centauri.

Comment by BobR on 09/07/2016 14:29:44
Quote by Will in Chicago:
Quote by Raine:
good morning!

It is pretty awesome to see the return of Science stack!

When they retired the shuttle program I was sad. Now with the amazing advances with technology I am pretty excited to see all the things NSA is doing.


Raine, I presume that you meant NASA and not the NSA.




Comment by Raine on 09/07/2016 14:31:54
So, this story is science adjacent and it is a GREAT story.


http://wdy.h-cdn.co/assets/16/05/980x490/landscape-1454612525-baby-pandas.jpg
In a win for conservationists/fans of adorable animals, the giant panda is no longer listed as endangered by monitoring groups, as its numbers are increasing in the wild.

A panda in a Malaysian zoo. Mohd Rasfan / AFP / Getty Images
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which monitors threatened species on its “Red List,” announced Sunday that giant pandas were being shifted from the endangered category to being listed as vulnerable.


Comment by Raine on 09/07/2016 14:32:55
Quote by BobR:
Quote by Will in Chicago:
Quote by Raine:
good morning!

It is pretty awesome to see the return of Science stack!

When they retired the shuttle program I was sad. Now with the amazing advances with technology I am pretty excited to see all the things NSA is doing.


Raine, I presume that you meant NASA and not the NSA.


oh dear....




Comment by Will in Chicago on 09/07/2016 14:38:43
Here is a story that I found on CNN on how math is being used to drive income inequality and racism. I do like the phrase Weapons of Math Destruction.

Comment by TriSec on 09/07/2016 14:43:12
Ah, the Post Estate. Perhaps I'll fly over it on the way into PBI this spring.

Remember when Il Duce tried to get the airport to shut down so us common folk wouldn't sully his airspace?

Comment by Scoopster on 09/07/2016 15:06:33
Quote by Will in Chicago:
Here is a story that I found on CNN on how math is being used to drive income inequality and racism. I do like the phrase Weapons of Math Destruction.

This coming from the people whose poll was so deliberately skewed with bad demo tabs that it actually had T ahead nationally... I heard NBC analyzed and reported the CNN poll with corrected numbers and it had Clinton up 4, and didn't even mention their own poll that also said that.

Comment by Will in Chicago on 09/07/2016 15:16:24
Quote by Scoopster:
Quote by Will in Chicago:
Here is a story that I found on CNN on how math is being used to drive income inequality and racism. I do like the phrase Weapons of Math Destruction.

This coming from the people whose poll was so deliberately skewed with bad demo tabs that it actually had T ahead nationally... I heard NBC analyzed and reported the CNN poll with corrected numbers and it had Clinton up 4, and didn't even mention their own poll that also said that.



Well, it is more a report on a book by an author.

As for polls, I treat them with skepticism. I suspect that there is a lot of undersampling of people who do not have landline phones.

Comment by Raine on 09/07/2016 17:21:24
Comment by Mondobubba on 09/07/2016 17:32:22


If you were to do a Google image search for "No moral compass," there would be a picture of Sean Hannity.

Comment by Scoopster on 09/07/2016 17:52:59
Quote by Mondobubba:


If you were to do a Google image search for "No moral compass," there would be a picture of Sean Hannity.

Hey who knows.. It could be both of them.

Comment by Scoopster on 09/07/2016 17:54:26
So this thing tonight.. it's not a debate per se, but I still think Hillary has to both take it hard on the issues in the campaign AND dish it out hard & heavy at T.

Comment by Mondobubba on 09/07/2016 19:04:02
Quote by Scoopster:
So this thing tonight.. it's not a debate per se, but I still think Hillary has to both take it hard on the issues in the campaign AND dish it out hard & heavy at T.


She needs to beat him like Keith Moons double kick drums.

Comment by Scoopster on 09/08/2016 00:12:33
Is anyone watching this thing?

Comment by BobR on 09/08/2016 13:09:21
Apropos of this blog - a photo of Jupiter's south pole:

https://scontent-lga3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/13775621_10209711521603161_5304147927647615931_n.jpg?oh=785c6a4397a1bc9be34aa8dda4c9c4bd&oe=5881ED57