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71 articles from SUNDAY 13.5.2012
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SUNDAY 13. MAY, 2012
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23:30
Starwatch: Transit of Venus
Britain is poorly placed for views of the astronomical highlight of 2012, but the situation is not hopeless. To see the whole of the transit of Venus across the Sun's disc on June 5-6, though, it is not too late to travel eastwards, perhaps to areas around the W Pacific. If we are quick enough, we could even take in the annular eclipse of the Sun which begins over E China and Hong Kong next Monday morning, local time, and ends (after crossing the date line) on Sunday evening over the SW USA.
Venus is an outstanding evening star to the N of W at nightfall tonight, its altitude at sunset falling to 15° by the 22nd when it stands above the slimmest of young moons. We probably lose it in the twilight a week later and after another week its inky black disc crosses the N part of the Sun as shown by our diagram.
Seen from the direction of the Earth's centre, Venus first touches the Sun's NE limb at 23:10 BST on 5 June, is farthest on to the disc at 02:30 on the 6th and finally leaves the WNW limb at 05:49. In fact, these times vary by up to 6 minutes depending on our location on the Earth; as seen from much of Britain, for example, Venus does not disappear from the Sun until 05:55.
Britain's problem is that most of the transit occurs before the Sun rises above our NE horizon. For example, sunrise for London, Cardiff and Belfast occurs at 04:45, 04:58 and 04:51 respectively. Scotland, particularly N and E Scotland, fares better, with sunrise for Edinburgh coming at 04:30. As the transit ends, the Sun stands 8° high as seen from London and 9° high for Edinburgh.
Even though the Sun is low in the sky, serious eye damage is likely if we look directly at it through a telescope or binoculars. Instead, project the Sun's image through the eyepiece on to a white card or obtain an approved solar filter to block the Sun's heat and intense light before it enters the optics.
The fact that the time of a transit varies worldwide was of major interest during the 18th and 19th centuries, for exact timings could be used to triangulate the distance to Venus, and hence the scale of our solar system. Expeditions to far-off locations to secure observations included the first voyage by James Cook who timed the transit of 1769 from Tahiti.
Part of the romance of such events is their rarity; there have been only three transits since Cook's venture, those of 1874, 1882 and 2004. Britain, at least those parts without too much cloud, witnessed the whole of the 2004 event but we need to wait until 2247 for an equally-favourable one. Before then there are transits in 2117, which occurs in the middle of a winter's night for Britain, and 2125 when the Sun sets at about mid-transit.
guardian.co.uk © 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
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23:17
Black Holes are Bad for Star Formation
Black holes are at least partially responsible for the size of their host galaxy; it seems galaxies with more active black holes produce fewer stars. -
22:24
Plant enzyme's origins traced to non-enzyme ancestors
(Phys.org) -- As plants began to transition from aquatic habitats to dry land some 500 million years ago, their needs changed. Those primitive ancestors of modern plants were ill-equipped to survive in a dry, sunlight-blasted world. But gradually, they evolved enzymes that let them synthesize new kinds of chemicals to protect them from the threats of their new world, such as the damaging ultraviolet (UV) rays of the sun. -
22:07
Yahoo replaces CEO Scott Thompson after 4 months
Yahoo has replaced its recently hired CEO, Scott Thompson, naming its global head of media, Ross Levinsohn, as the company's interim chief.
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21:58
AP Photos: Enterprise's final journey continues
The space shuttle Enterprise has been separated from the NASA 747 Shuttle Carrier at John F. Kennedy International Airport, just weeks after flying over New York City.
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20:46
DNA replication protein also has a role in mitosis, cancer
Scientists have discovered that a protein known as Cdt1, which is required for DNA replication, also plays an important role in a later step of the cell cycle, mitosis. The finding presents a possible explanation for why so many cancers possess not just genomic instability, but also more or less than the usual 46 DNA-containing chromosomes.
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20:46Scientists have developed a way to generate power using harmless viruses that convert mechanical energy into electricity. The scientists tested their approach by creating a generator that produces enough current to operate a small liquid-crystal display. Their generator is the first to produce electricity by harnessing the piezoelectric properties of a biological material.
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20:46A new study holds implications for the impact of biofuels production on deforestation and greenhouse gas emissions. The volume of greenhouse gas released when a forest is cleared depends on how the trees will be used and in which part of the world the trees are grown.
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20:46Using tiny solar-panel-like cells surgically placed underneath the retina, scientists have devised a system that may someday restore sight to people who have lost vision because of certain types of degenerative eye diseases.
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20:46Milk poured down Britain's kitchen sinks each year creates a carbon footprint equivalent to thousands of car exhaust emissions, research shows.
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20:45That overweight during pregnancy can lead to overweight children and adolescents has been known for some time, but new research indicates that excess weight before and during pregnancy can have long-lasting health consequences for the offspring of such mothers even later in life.
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20:45Scientists have discovered that the single protein -- alpha 2 delta -- exerts a spigot-like function, controlling the volume of neurotransmitters and other chemicals that flow between the synapses of brain neurons. The study shows how brain cells talk to each other through these signals, relaying thoughts, feelings and action, and this powerful molecule plays a crucial role in regulating effective communication.
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20:45Why diabetics suffer from increased pain and temperature sensitivity is a step closer to being understood and effectively treated.
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20:24The average U.S. citizen is willing to pay 13 percent more for electricity in support of a national clean-energy standard (NCES), according to Yale and Harvard researchers in Nature Climate Change.
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20:24The foundation of biological inheritance is DNA replication – a tightly coordinated process in which DNA is simultaneously copied at hundreds of thousands of different sites across the genome. If that copying mechanism doesn't work as it should, the result could be cells with missing or extra genetic material, a hallmark of the genomic instability seen in most birth defects and cancers.
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20:24(AP) -- Don't let the hoodie and sneakers fool you. Mark Zuckerberg is no wet-behind-the-ears CEO.
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20:24BGI, in cooperation with Zhangjiakou Academy of Agricultural Science, has completed the genome sequence and analysis of foxtail millet (Setaria italica), the second-most widely planted species of millet. This study provides an invaluable resource for the study and genetic improvement of foxtail millet and millet crops at a genome-wide level. Results of the latest study were published online today in Nature Biotechnology.
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20:24(AP) -- The Wall Street Journal's technology blog AllThings D is reporting that Yahoo CEO Scott Thompson will step down.
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20:24Imagine charging your phone as you walk, thanks to a paper-thin generator embedded in the sole of your shoe. This futuristic scenario is now a little closer to reality. Scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have developed a way to generate power using harmless viruses that convert mechanical energy into electricity.
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20:24Using tiny solar-panel-like cells surgically placed underneath the retina, scientists at the Stanford University School of Medicine have devised a system that may someday restore sight to people who have lost vision because of certain types of degenerative eye diseases.
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20:24A new study from the University of California, Davis, provides a deeper understanding of the complex global impacts of deforestation on greenhouse gas emissions.
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20:24A team of Duke University engineers has created a master "ingredient list" describing the properties of more than 2,000 compounds that might be combined to create the next generation of quantum electronics devices.
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20:24Milk poured down Britain's kitchen sinks each year creates a carbon footprint equivalent to thousands of car exhaust emissions, research shows.
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19:43
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19:33
Naposledy aktualizované zdroje
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EurekAlert (dnes, 06:00)
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BBC Science/Nature (dnes, 05:05)
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Technology Review Feed - Tech Review Top Stories (dnes, 02:26)
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Sci-Tech Today (20. 5, 23:10)
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ScienceNOW (20. 5, 22:24)
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National Geographic News (20. 5, 21:58)
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NYT > Science (20. 5, 21:34)
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NASA (17. 5, 02:56)
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TIME (27. 7, 08:30)
