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Spacewatch: Jupiter's extraordinary moons This January brought the 400th anniversary of Galileo's discovery of the four main moons of Jupiter, a finding that helped to demolish the idea that all celestial objects circled the Earth. His crude telescope would be no match for those widely available now, and even decent binoculars are enough to glimpse the Jovian moons. Check for yourself as Jupiter climbs brightly through the E and SE this evening (15 September).Since the first flyby of the planet by Pioneer 10 in 1973, those moons, named Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto in order from Jupiter, have become recognised as interesting worlds in their own right. Io is the most hostile: bathed in an intense belt of radiation and tidally squeezed between Jupiter and the other moons, it is the most geologically active body we know. More than 400 volcanoes spew lava and towering sulphurous plumes that paint and repaint the surface in hues that range from yellow and green to white and red.Ganymede surpasses Mercury in diameter, while Callisto comes close: both may harbour oceans of water under their rocky and icy surfaces. It is the likely subsurface ocean of Europa that is usually seen as a possible location for extraterrestrial life, though it may be decades before anyone gets to drill through its icy crust to investigate directly. Meanwhile, Nasa and ESA are considering a joint mission for launch in 2020 to discover whether habitable conditions might exist on Jupiter's moons.Alan Pickupguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Man convicted of DUI crash that killed pitcher By AMY TAXIN 2010-09-28T08:01:46ZSANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) -- Parents of victims wept as guilty verdicts were read for a construction worker accused of killing promising Los Angeles Angels rookie pitcher Nick Adenhart and two of his friends in a drunken-driving crash.... hosted.ap.org |
Scientists rally against research funding cuts Prateek Buch describes a good-humoured but vociferous rally in support of science funding at the Treasury on SaturdayWhat began as just another blog post culminated in an estimated 2,000 scientists, engineers, students and various allies of science gathering outside the Treasury yesterday, to send a clear and simple message to Chancellor George Osborne – Science is Vital. Of course it wasn't "just another blog post" that led an eclectic mix of biologists, chemists, physicists – even the odd histopathologist – to come to Whitehall in a show of support for UK science. It was a rallying call that succinctly expressed the anger at the government's proposed cuts to science funding, made by the first speaker to address the gathering, Dr Jenny Rohn of University College London. She told the nerds present – resplendent in our lab coats, safety glasses, novelty T-shirts, and bearing placards – many different versions – that she had come to this country from the USA because of our excellent track record in science, and didn't want to have to go back. Simon Singh, libel hero and science writer, also spoke of the fantastic environment the UK has built for young people to get involved with science – a key decision in his parents emigrating from India, which given India's increasing presence on the world stage may be a journey families make in reverse in years to come.Jenny and Simon weren't the only speakers to raise the frankly depressing prospect of a "brain drain" should government investment in science be cut yet further – Professor Colin Blakemore FRS recalled the scenes in the 1980s when many of the most talented scientists left the UK for countries that were actively growing their research base. The more interconnected and international nature of modern science makes a 21st century brain drain that much more likely.Prof Blakemore also emphasised just how much the UK produces: 12% of all citations and 14% of the most highly cited papers from a pot of funds equivalent to just 0.55% of GDP, such that we're ranked 15th in the world in terms of public expenditure on science behind the likes of Germany, the USA, Sweden and Japan. "We already do more with less" was the message.The eloquent defences of science funding didn't only come from scientists themselves. This rally wasn't a lobby from a special interest group, although we did hear from the Prospect union on the need to protect investment. The tangible impact of scientific research on the lives of real people was brought home in two moving testimonies, one from a daughter who lost her mother to Alzheimer's disease, and the other from a young Claire Daniels who survived Hodgkin's lymphoma thanks to the evidence-based chemotherapies and stem cell transplants that medical science has developed. If ever we needed a reminder of how vital science is, there it was standing before us.It wasn't all serious though. We were treated to a collective game of Rock, Paper, Scissors by Dr Mark Miodownik, who used the game as an analogy for why science is vital, and Dr Dean Burnett (known as @garwboy on Twitter and the Science Digestive online) was very entertaining. Ben Goldacre – yes, that is an anorak he's wearing – spoke too, insisting that although politicians and the media don't really understand scientists, we aren't all that strange and already do great work for a pittance.We also had two renditions of "Heeeyey, Osborne! (ooh, aah), I wanna knoooow, if you'll fund my work" and a tribute to Pink Floyd's Another Brick in the Wall – all led by the dulcet tones of the day's compere, Dr Evan Harris. His role in the rally and the campaign as a whole can't be underestimated, nor can that of the whole Science is Vital team, who made all this happen at such short notice and really helped send our message directly to the heart of the corridors of power: that cutting science funding is a folly that will deepen the scars left by the financial crisis, not help heal them.In the end, though, for all the rallying, protesting, lobbying and blogging to add up to more than the sum of their parts, we need politicians to understand that not only is science vital, but there is a vocal and mobilised constituency willing to defend it to the hilt. With just days left until the Comprehensive Spending Review is published, we can only hope this rally serves as a vivid reminder that if we are to return to economic growth, if we are to tackle the great social, environmental and medical challenges we face, then investment in science isn't a matter of balance sheets and departmental budgets, nor is it a matter of choice – Science is Vital.For more photos from the Science is Vital Rally, please visit http://bit.ly/science-is-vital-rallyPrateek Buch is a research scientist at University College London. He blogs at teekblog.blogspot.com, and is @prateekbuch on TwitterScience funding crisisScience policySpending review 2010guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Sea ice melting as Arctic temperature rises By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID 2010-10-21T18:56:03ZWASHINGTON (AP) -- The temperature is rising again in the Arctic, with the sea ice extent dropping to one of the lowest levels on record, climate scientists reported Thursday.... hosted.ap.org |