Sunday, February 6, 2011
Reagan at 100
Friday, February 4, 2011
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Egypt unrest
It's good to see popular revolts around the world. Tunisia most recently and now Egypt. How about Libya? Iran? Israel? Too many countries exist under repressive regimes. We can only hope that the Muslim Brotherhood does not fill much of the vacuum in Egypt, which could be real trouble for Israel and other neighbors.
Sometimes I get the feeling that this kind of unrest is what the Tea Party and Republicans want to see in the United States. As if Obama is anywhere near as repressive as some of these dictators. Give me a break. Obama is a moderate freakin' Republican, people! Maybe that's why they hate him. He's not hard-core Republican enough!
There are too many sources of info on Egypt to list any links here. I haven't been able to keep up with all of them. I'm sure you, dear reader, are keeping close tabs, right?
Sometimes I get the feeling that this kind of unrest is what the Tea Party and Republicans want to see in the United States. As if Obama is anywhere near as repressive as some of these dictators. Give me a break. Obama is a moderate freakin' Republican, people! Maybe that's why they hate him. He's not hard-core Republican enough!
There are too many sources of info on Egypt to list any links here. I haven't been able to keep up with all of them. I'm sure you, dear reader, are keeping close tabs, right?
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Yasi! Flee!
Queensland evacuations urged ahead of Cyclone Yasi
Cyclone Yasi poses an "extremely serious threat", forecasters say
Australian officials have urged residents in parts of Queensland to evacuate with their loved ones before Cyclone Yasi strikes, late on Wednesday night local time (after 1200 GMT).
State Premier Anna Bligh said people should just "grab each other" and find safety before the storm hits the coast.
Officials say the category five storm is expected to be the largest to ever hit the continent.
Last month, Queensland was hit by widespread deadly flooding.
Yasi is currently 555km (344 miles) east of Cairns and 560km northeast of Townsville. It has winds of up to 295 km/h (183 mph) at its centre.
Ms Bligh warned that Queenslanders faced a "frightening time".
'Threat to life'Thousands of people have already fled their homes close to the coast and the army has flown hospital patients in the northern city of Cairns to further south to Brisbane.
Ms Bligh told all those remaining in low-lying areas, which are at threat from severe flooding, to leave swiftly before roads and airports close.
"Do not bother to pack bags. Just grab each other and get to a place of safety. Remember that people are irreplaceable," she said.
Those living further inland were meanwhile told to "bunker down" in their homes and prepare for powerful winds.
The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) has warned that Cyclone Yasi posed an "extremely serious threat to life and property within the warning area, especially between Cairns and Townsville.
"This impact is likely to be be more life threatening that any experienced during recent generations," it warned.
More than 400,000 people live in the cyclone's expected path. The area, which includes the Great Barrier Reef, is also popular with tourists.
Cairns airport closed on Wednesday. Rail lines, mines and coal ports have also shut down.
"We're in the process of packing up boxes... the dogs and the pet snake and getting out of here," Melissa Lovejoy, from Cairns, told Australia's ABC news.
Cyclone Yasi is expected to hit the Australian coast early on Thursday
She said the family are moving to a friend's house that was further inland.
'Preparing mentally'Earlier, Ms Blight warned that the state was "facing a storm of catastrophic proportions in a highly populated area".
"We're looking at 24 hours of quite terrifying winds, torrential rain, likely loss of electricity and mobile phones. People really need to be preparing mentally if nothing else."
Senior BoM forecaster Gordon Banks said the storm had the potential to get even stronger after making landfall.
"As a strong category five we could see wind gusts in excess of 320 kilometres an hour, which is just horrific," ABC News quoted him as saying.
"If you're bunkering down in the regions, it's going to be quite frightening and it's going to go on and on for quite some time."
Analysis
After the worst floods in the state's history, Queenslanders are being told to brace for the most catastrophic storm ever to hit their shores. State Premier Anna Bligh said she did not think Australia had ever seen a storm of this intensity in an area as thickly populated.
She predicted it would be a very frightening time, with 24 hours of terrifying winds, torrential rains, and the likely loss of electricity and mobile phones. Storm surges are expected to cause widespread flooding and wind gusts are likely to rip off roofs and cause significant structural damage.
Meteorologists have upgraded Cyclone Yasi to a category five storm, the most severe level. With winds of almost 300km/h (185mph), they are warning it poses an extremely serious threat to life and property, especially around the cities of Cairns and Townsville. People in low-lying areas especially are being urged to evacuate.
February stargazing
February Summary
As the nights grow shorter during February, the stars of winter reign for much of the night. Beautiful Orion is in the south at nightfall, with dazzling Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky, twinkling fiercely to its lower left. By late in the month, though, the stars of spring slide into better view. Leo clears the horizon by mid-evening, with Virgo trailing behind him. Venus reigns as the "morning star," while Jupiter dominates in the evening, although it slides lower in the sky each day.
As the nights grow shorter during February, the stars of winter reign for much of the night. Beautiful Orion is in the south at nightfall, with dazzling Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky, twinkling fiercely to its lower left. By late in the month, though, the stars of spring slide into better view. Leo clears the horizon by mid-evening, with Virgo trailing behind him. Venus reigns as the "morning star," while Jupiter dominates in the evening, although it slides lower in the sky each day. More stargazing information: http://stardate.org/nightsky
Radio Program Highlights
Hear StarDate every day on more than 360 radio stations nationwide or subscribe to our podcast: http://stardate.org/feeds/podcast.xml
February 1-6: Stellar Messengers. The stars send out countless messengers -- particles of light that carry information about the stars themselves. We'll have details. And we'll also talk about messages from deep inside the Moon.
February 7-13: Planets Galore. The population of known planets beyond our own solar system is getting a lot more interesting. It includes a world with water in its atmosphere, plus a system of at least five planets. Join us for these and many more exoplanets.
February 14-20: Machines. The night sky is filled with machines. The stars are all factories that forge chemical elements deep in their cores, for example, while a few constellations honor the machines forged by people. Join us for details this week.
February 21-27: A Changing Dipper. The Big Dipper is probably the best-known star pattern in the sky. But it won't always look like a dipper. We'll explain why. And we'll also tell you why the end of the dipper is really the leader.
February 28-March 6: Underground Astronomy. Most astronomy is conducted on high: from mountains, balloons, and spaceships. But some astronomy is conducted down low: from deep under water, under ice, and under ground. Join us this week for details on the depths of astronomy.
February Program Schedule: http://stardate.org/radio/calendars
Find an Affiliate: http://stardate.org/radio/affiliates
Coming up in StarDate Magazine
Coming up in our next issue, take a peek into the life of the French astronomer who predicted Neptune's existence before anyone spied the planet: Urbain Leverrier. We'll celebrate the 200th anniversary of his birth in March. And learn about one of the least expensive, easiest to use telescopes: the Dobsonian.
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News from the Observatory
Astronomers 'Weigh' Heaviest Known Black Hole in our Cosmic Neighborhood
Astronomers led by Karl Gebhardt of The University of Texas at Austin have measured the most massive known black hole in our cosmic neighborhood by combining data from a giant telescope in Hawai'i and a smaller telescope in Texas. The result is an ironclad mass of 6.6 billion Suns for the black hole in the giant elliptical galaxy M87. This enormous mass is the largest ever measured for a black hole using a direct technique. Given its massive size, M87 is the best candidate for future studies to actually "see" a black hole for the first time, rather than relying on indirect evidence of their existence as astronomers have for decades.
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