Call your interstellar friends using Neutrinos!

John Learned of the University of Hawaii and Anthony Zee of the University of California, Santa Barbara, propose that we should look for signals from space in the neutrino and other astrophysical data already acquired in this Economist article.

HMC Livestream about Japan Earthquake, Tsunami

Harvey Mudd College Professors Greg Lyzenga '75 and Peter N. Saeta discuss the Japan earthquake and tsunami in a live stream today at 5 pm PST.

Lyzenga will describe the recent Japanese earthquake and tsunami and will explain why earthquakes of magnitude nine cannot happen in Southern California. Saeta will discuss the basics of nuclear power and the challenges facing the Japanese as they seek to regain control of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. They will also take questions from the audience.

To view the lecture online, please go to www.hmc.edu/japan-tsunami.

Should be very interesting. Professor Lyzenga was my advisor and is an excellent professor and a great guy.

Last 50 years of Space Missions on 1 Map

I came across a great picture on digg.com that originally appeared on the National Geographic site. It is a map of the solar system with individual lines representing a past space mission.

View the photo at either:

http://books.nationalgeographic.com/map/map-day/index

or

http://www.flickr.com/photos/adamcrowe/4002050596/sizes/o/

Body Worlds

We had the opportunity this past weekend to visit the California ScienCenter Body Worlds exhibit. It is hard to put into words our thoughts and emotions about the exhibit. All we can is that it was:

fascinating
creepy
surreal
detailed

We wonder if medical doctors see their patients this way?

If you can stomach it, this is an amazing and enlightening exhibit. Visit Body Worlds for more information.

Junk Raft

To bring awareness to the staggering amount of plastic in our oceans, members of the Algalita Marine Research Foundation spent the last few months making a sailboat out of plastic bottles and other "junk". Today they set sail from Long Beach, CA harbor with the goal to sail to Hawaii in about 6 weeks. We were fortunate enough to watch them get under way today at their launch party. It was quite exciting!

Visit the junk raft blog to see updates on the voyage, learn more about the junk raft, and find out how plastics are hurting our oceans.

2008 World Science Festival

As I write, the festival is over this year but, it still interesting to see what events transpired over the past week. The World Science Festival is held in New York City. This year it was from May 28- June 1, 2o08.

From what I gather about the World Science Festival, the sessions and talks contain a unique blend of scientists and celebrities discussing a wide range of science topics. The NY Times TierneyLab Blog offers some interesting commentary and discussion about the festival. Of course you can still visit the World Science Festival website to see the past weeks activities as well as sign up for info on the 2009 festival.

If anyone actually attended any of the events I would be curious to hear your thoughts!

Human Footprint

The National Geographic Channel is airing the Human Footprint. It focuses on human consumption - finding out what we consume, what goes into it, and then finally what happens to it. What makes this show unique is the visual representation of what we consume. It originally aired on April 13th but check your local tv listings for repeat showings.

Avalanches on Mars

The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter took the first ever image of an active avalanche near the north pole of Mars. The image is quite spectacular and worth a look.

Read more at Science@NASA - Avalanches on Mars.

Track Santa

A fun thing to do with kids and adults. On Christmas Eve head over to Norad Santa Tracker and track Santa live on Christmas Eve. They even have a tie into Google Earth so you can track Santa in 3d. A very clever site that is definitely work a visit.

Dolphin mothers carrying their young

Do you get tired carrying your child? Imagine carrying one underwater. Results of a two-year study by Shawn Noren of UC Santa Cruz show how mothers "carry" their newborn young by assisting their swimming in an "eschelon" formation. Much like how bicycle racers can draft off pack leaders, the young calf benefits from staying in their mother's slipstream. They can move faster than the could alone, say to stay with the dolphin pod, and even take a break to save energy for growing up. The study analyzed underwater video measured the speeds of mother and calf alone and together. The paper is published in Functional Ecology but has also been highlighted in The Economist and on the Quirks & Quarks CBC Podcast.

Comet 17P/Holmes

Another interesting and exciting comet has appeared in our night skies. On October 24, 2007, Comet Holmes had a spectacular eruption. It is now a 3rd magnitude object and can be seen by the naked sky in the constellation of Perseus after sunset.

Visit a great collection of photos at the SpaceWeather.com photo gallery.

Watch out for the sun!

Science@NASA had a great article yesterday about a comet's tail being ripped off by a solar eruption. NASA's STEREO-A probe was at the right place at the right time and caught footage of Comet Encke's demise.

To see the video visit The Sun Rips Off a Comet's Tail.

Girls into Math

A recent NPR Science Friday podcast interviews mathematician/actress Danica McKellar, Harvey Mudd College President Maria Klawe, and the US Girls Math Team to share the latest developments, like McKellar's new book "Math Doesn't Suck", and speak on overcoming outdated stereotypes.

Lunar Eclipse

If you missed the beautiful lunar eclipse last night, head over to Wired Science Blog . They have a great round up of images from Flickr.

Hydrogen-powered car - toy size

Dubbed the "best selling fuel cell car", the H-Racer comes with a solar-powered hydrogen station that uses the sun to break ordinary water into Hydrogen and Oxygen to power this fuel-cell car. I'd buy for my son, but I'll have to wait: Ages 12 and up.

Plant a Tree, but Where?

A new article by LLNL climate scientist Govindasamy Bala presents results of simulations suggesting the location of new trees could actually warm the planet, or cool it, depending on where in the world it's planted. Discussed recently in both the Economist article "A new tree line" and on an NPR Science Friday Podcast on carbon emissions, the article prompts a double-take on an seemingly good-sounding idea.

B-flat's in the Universe

Are there B-flat notes all over? Robert Krulwitch describes in story and podcast in song from crocodiles to black holes where B-flat notes can be found. I'm just surprised he didn't mention the biggest note in the universe resonating in the cosmic background radiation flat of B.

Track US Flight Traffic

Flight Aware has a neat visualization of where all traffic of flights in the US is. They've assembled a movie of a day of flight data showing the ebb and flow of planes over 24 hours. See how the East coast wakes up a few hours earlier and flows as the West coast awakes.

Fat or Thin? Check the Gut Microbes

The top of the recent Quirks and Quarks podcast describes how obesity is not simply a balance of calories but is strongly determined by the performance of microbes in the stomach. Swapping these microbes between mice stomachs demonstrates the effect. Listen here.

Total Lunar Eclipse, March 3rd

View a total lunar eclipse of the Moon, Saturday March 3, 2007. Visible from parts of all seven continents, including the eastern half of the United States.

Read more about the lunar eclipse and find the best time to view where you live at NASA Science News.