HAPPY NEW YEAR 2014 DEAR FRIENDS...

Astronomers Figured Out How to Weigh Entire Planets Using Starlight

 

Weighing a planet is a tough task. I mean, it's not like you can just put them on a bathroom scale. And, while astronomers figured out how to measure the mass of planets in our solar system a long time ago, it's practically impossible to weigh exoplanets. Well, it was until recently.

 

MIT planetary scientists Julien de Wit and Sara Seager just devised a method that enables them to weigh an exoplanet by measuring the starlight that shines through its atmosphere. It's so simple, it's genius. See, when an exoplanet passes in front of its star, it causes a blip in the amount of light that shines toward Earth. This is actually how we're able to discover exoplanets in the first place.

 

Not all of the starlight zooms past the exoplanet, though. Some is actually filtered through the atmosphere, and by measuring the spectrum of that light, the MIT scientists are able to learn all kinds of things about the planet, such as atmospheric pressure, temperature, and gravitational pull. With that information, they've come up with a new method for calculating not just atmospheric chemistry but a planet's weight and mass.

 

So why does this matter? Well, it's always been really difficult to learn details about exoplanets. They're really far away! With this tried and true starlight method, though, astronomers can now also deduce whether the planet is gassy like Venus or rocky like Earth. It also makes it easier to discover new exoplanets which—let's cut to the chase—brings us that much closer to finding an Earth twin

Death Valley - Hottest Place In The World

Death Valley- Hottest Places In Tha World...

EcoFriendly Computer Mouse

• AlestRukov computer mice are eco-friendly alternative to harmful plastic gadgets polluting our world. The idea behind the product is to get the maximum out of natural materials and extend lifetime warranty. AlestRukov computer mice have warranty coverage of over 5 years and can be upgraded to extend the service.
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Extreme and Craziest Things in Nature You Won't Believe Existed...

Giant Clouds over Beijing

Light Pillars over Moscow

Underground Natural Springs in Mexico

Underwater Forest of Lake Kaindy

Blood Falls in Antarctica

Spiderweb Cocooned Trees in Pakistan

Shimmering Shores of Vaadhoo, Maldives

Reflective Salt Flats in Bolivia

Rainbow Eucalyptus Tree in Kailua Hawaii

Nature Salt Water Fountain off the Coast of Oregon

Lake Hillier Australia

Giant Crystal Cave in Nacia Mexico

Beautiful Sandstone Formation in Arizona

Can U See Lizard? [Amazing]

 

 

Rainbows of the Natural World

China’s rainbow mountains

Imagine a world where the mountains are striped with candy colours and people are dwarfed by the landscape’s immensity. Such a place exists in China’s

northwestern Gansu Province, where 24 million years of vibrant stone and mineral deposits have created rainbow-striped mountains.

The tinted peaks were fashioned by uplift from the Earth’s tectonic plates – the same ones that formed parts of the Himalayan range – while rain, wind and erosion shaped them into the jagged world seen today. Located around the city of Zhangye, the area covers more than 10sqkm and the vista is most dazzling after a rainfall, when the colours glow even brighter than usual. (Melinda Chan/Getty)

Oregon’s painted hills

With the hipster amenities of Portland to the west and the national wonder of Crater Lake to the south, eastern Oregon’s John Day Fossil Beds often get overlooked. This 14,000 acre national park is a natural museum of geological eras, though it is the Painted Hills region that offers the most dramatic view. The spectacular landscape was shaped by numerous volcanic eruptions and extreme climate change around 35 million years ago. As time wore on, the lush vegetative climate turned more arid. Ash, clay, minerals and decaying plant matter all mixed into the soil, leaving pronounced streaks of gold, black, red – even purple and blue. The colours change according to the air’s moisture level, and are said to be most vivid come late afternoon. (Purestock/Getty)

Ethiopia’s alien crater

In the language of the Afar people, Dallol means disintegrated. So it makes sense that Ethiopia’sDallol Volcano is less a volcano than a sunken crater. Caused by 

groundwater and magma colliding, sulphur, iron oxide, salt and other minerals have created the vivid greens and neon yellows that form one of the most remote, untouched and ethereal natural rainbows in the world.

Dallol lies near the border of Eritrea in an area that was closed to foreigners until 2001. Even today it is prudent to travel with an armed guard, as border tensions persist and kidnappings have been known to happen. Because of this, only a few hundred visitors make it to this remarkable landscape every year – which is probably for the best considering the fragility of the landform, the toxic gases and the temperatures that average above 30C. (Thierry Hennet/Getty)

Wyoming’s ultimate spring

Yellowstone’s Grand Prismatic, named for its brilliant colouration, is the largest hot spring in the US – its 370ft diameter put into perspective by the paved walkway visible near the photo’s top. The colour spectrum that ranges from deep blue to burnt red is the product of trillions of thermophiles, or bacterial microorganisms, which flourish in hot waters. Different temperatures determine the hue, and the centre’s blue is the result of extreme heat that leaves the bacteria sterile. Grand Prismatic is one of many coloured springs in Yellowstone and draws millions of visitors every year. (Werner Van Steen/Getty)

Light up the night in Iceland

The Aurora Borealis appears in a complete spectrum of colours, from light pinks, reds and greens to the yellows, blues and violets seen here on Iceland’s Reykjanes Peninsula. The beams that dance against the night’s sky are the result of particles colliding, sometimes resulting in streams, ripples or arcs across the horizon. Despite a host of science to explain how exactly these lights come to fruition, there is an alien energy to the glow that makes this a mystery often better left unexplained.

World’s Strangest Buildings

1. Mind House (Barcelona, Spain)

Montreal Biosphere (Canada)

  Cubic Houses (Kubus woningen) (Rotterdam, Netherlands)

 

House Attack (Vienna, Austria)

 

National Theatre (Beijing, China)

 

The National Library (Minsk, Belarus)

 

Habitat 67 (Montreal, Canada)

  Rotating Tower, Dubai, UAE

Kansas City Library (Missouri, USA)

Museum of Contemporary Art (Niteroi, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)

Atomium (Brussels, Belgium)

GLOWING MUSHROOMS

Glowing Mushrooms Photographed in Quirk of Fate

Bioluminescent "Jill o' Lanterns" (Omphalotus subilludens) in Mt. Dora, Fla. Credit: Taylor Lockwood. View full size image

Taylor Lockwood is a mushroom hunter and photographer who has presented his work at shows throughout the world for over twenty-five years and has archived his photographs on the site Mushroom.Pro. Lockwood contributed this article to LiveScience's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights.
After taking my camera and passion for bioluminescent mushrooms around the world, I was pleased to find some "glowers" in my little town of Mount Dora, Fla. I had only seen them once before, so an uncommon bloom of these "Jill o' Lanterns" (Omphalotus subilludens) got me right into gear.

If you're a topical expert — researcher, business leader, author or innovator — and would like to contribute an op-ed piece, email us here.

View full size image

These are the cousins to the "Jack o' Lanterns" (Omphalotus illudens) known up and down the east coast and into parts west.

According to Jim Kimbrough's book on Florida mushrooms, Omphalotus subilludens wasn't known to be bioluminescent. Some two years ago, I had found and documented the mushrooms' dim greenish glow — I believe the first such photos of O. subilludens. [Glowing Mushrooms, Stalk-Eyed Bugs & Plant Toilet Found in Borneo ]
This time I was ready with a plan.
I've been waiting and looking for them for months, and as soon as I found some, I drove to Orlando (the nearest big city) and rented a Canon EOS 6D camera, top-rated for its low-light capabilities. The result was that I got some good photos from a very difficult-to-photograph Spirits of the Forest mushroom. And then two days later, as fate would have it, I found another kind of rarely captured bioluminescent mushroom — two different species within the four days of my rental period. These might be the only two that glow and grow on my home turf.

Panellus pusillus is a bioluminescent mushroom only rarely photographed glowing. Photographer Taylor Lockwood was able to use a special low-light camera to capture this image.
Credit: Taylor Lockwood.

View full size image

The second group I found was so dim I only noticed them in my peripheral vision — long after my eyes had adjusted to total darkness. Looking at them directly, it was hard to tell if they glowed at all. However, the bigger-better-faster camera saw it well enough to capture a passable image.
This second set was Panellus pusillus, a tropical mushroom found occasionally in Florida. Both are featured in the new video Spirits of the Forest.
http://www.livescience.com/41637-glow-in-the-dark-mushrooms-snapped-by-photographer-video.html